If you have been involved in Tai Chi, Kung Fu, Wushu, or other martial arts, you’ve probably heard of “Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg”. This stance goes by many different names such as: “Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg to Announce the Dawn”, “The Golden Bird Standing Alone”, “Golden Cockerel Stands on One Leg”. “Du Li Bu”.
All birds are renowned in the East and in many martial arts because of their ability to be perfectly balanced while standing on one leg. They are often imitated in different postures (White Crane for example). “Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg” is said to come from the image of a “golden bird living in the sky that stands on one leg”.
This popular stance/posture may be interpreted differently depending on which form you are practicing. It may or may not be part of a combination posture. Most commonly the Golden Rooster stance consists of lifting your “lead” leg with the knee bent to around waist height. The “lead hand” is raised near center midline with the elbow bent. The palm faces inward towards the other side. The non-lead hand is usually somewhere near waist height with the palm facing down towards the ground. Again, this depends on the interpretation of the form you are practicing.
In a simple Golden Rooster, the hand first draws the opponents attention by striking the face while the foot on the same side attacks the lower body. However, in Yang 24 for example, Golden Rooster is considered a combination technique. This combination move is sometimes known as Lower Body and Stand on One Leg because it follows immediately after doing Low (or Squatting) Single Whip.
In this combo technique, you aim for or hit your opponents groin with your left palm towards the end of Low/Squatting Single Whip. When your opponent moves to cover their groin, you would move forward and attack with the Golden Rooster move. Where these strikes actually hit depends on the martial artist, their skill, intention, and whether this is “practice” or actual self-defense. While the move is flowing and can look elegant, it can also be quite lethal!
Let’s talk about the health benefits!
Believe it or not, Golden Rooster is not just a martial move, it does have health benefits. The obvious one is improving one’s balance. For this reason alone, it is important to practice Golden Rooster, especially if you have a poor sense of balance. When it comes to balance, some days you will be successful in negotiating a perfect (or near perfect) Golden Rooster; on other days, not so much. You also need to take into account that there are differences in both sides of the body, minor as they may be. These will affect your ability to negotiate the stance on both sides with equal ease or skill. Weight gain or loss will even make a difference in your balance, as will the effect of medications.
In the Eastern tradition or Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) the belief is that practicing standing on one leg can reduce blood pressure,headaches, tinnitus, dizziness, or gout. It is also believed to improve diabetes, diseases of the neck and spine, dementia, and memory. In fact, it is said practicing Golden Rooster with both eyes closed prevents dementia!
Western medicine has started to realize the benefits of Chinese Martial arts and some “experts” have stated that doing Golden Rooster may be linked to cognitive issues, stroke, or small cerebral vessel disease. Golden Rooster obviously improves your balance, and also has a positive effect on your vision sensory circuits, proprioception, and your inner ear (vestibular) system. The result being a lower risk of falls. This is very important for everyone, particularly for seniors or anyone with balance issues.
Important to the Tai Chi practitioner,Golden Rooster trains your ability to balance and improves equilibrium, flexibility, and bone strength (particularly in the lower body). We learn to develop a strong root and to relax our muscles.
Bottom line:
Negotiating the Golden Rooster posture is of benefit to almost everyone. You can do it with very little space and almost everywhere. You can even “Greet the Dawn” in the mornings with a few Golden Rooster drills! You can even challenge yourself to do a certain number of Golden Rooster Drills each day!
If you are unable to stand on one leg for at least 5 seconds, it just means that you need to practice, especially if you are a beginner. Yes, I just mentioned practice just like I do in almost every blog I write!
Once you can do Golden Rooster at least 5 seconds, you can try holding the posture even longer. For a challenge, try doing it with your eyes closed. Dare I say it? It’s something to really Crow About.
A few YouTube videos for your viewing (if you desire). The first one is Yang Style, the second is Chen Style, and the third is Kung Fu Style.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqGI-LW0Oq4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRygtZdrEw4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTI3NZJwoYQ&t=133s
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