Ryōashi hiite mae ni taosu
Jumbi Undō 18¶
1. Name of exercise¶
Ryōashi hiite mae ni taosu
(Forward bend with both feet pulled in)
2. Romaji instruction¶
Ryōashi o hiite.
Ashi no ura o awasete.
Mae ni.
Hara ga tsuku yō ni.
Ichi, ni, san, shi, go, roku, shichi, hachi, kyū, jū.
3. Translation¶
Pull both legs in.
Bring the soles of the feet together.
Bend forward.
Bring the stomach toward the feet.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
4. Counting¶
Ichi – Ni – San – Shi – Go – Roku – Shichi – Hachi – Kyū – Jū
5. Short description¶
The practitioner sits on the floor and pulls both feet toward the body (ryōashi o hiite) so that the soles of the feet touch each other and the knees fall outward to the sides. This position corresponds to the classical butterfly stretch.
The feet are held with the hands, usually around the ankles or over the feet, to stabilize the position.
From this position the upper body bends forward toward the feet (mae ni). The movement originates from the hips (koshi) rather than rounding the spine.
With each count the body gradually moves further forward with the goal that the abdomen (hara) approaches the feet while the hips open.
The stretch deepens progressively over ten counts while the knees are allowed to drop closer to the floor.
6. Purpose¶
This exercise develops mobility in the hip joints, adductors, and lower back, while improving outward hip rotation.
It:
- opens the hip joints
- stretches the inner thigh muscles (adductors)
- improves mobility of the pelvis and lower back
- prepares the body for kicks and wide stances
Within the Kyokushin warm-up structure this movement helps increase flexibility in hip external rotation and the groin muscles. This is particularly important for techniques such as mae geri, yoko geri, and mawashi geri, where hip flexibility and control determine both height and power of the kick.
Comments¶
1. Romaji
The phrase ryōashi o hiite means “pull both legs in,” commonly used to describe drawing the feet toward the body.
2. Terminology
Ashi no ura o awasete literally means “bring the soles of the feet together,” describing the butterfly position.
3. Structure in Jumbi Undō
This exercise returns to a symmetrical hip-opening stretch following the previous asymmetrical forward bends.