# Can you Asian squat? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 28, 2016, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-asian-squat/753336 "2016-04-28T14:25:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-asian-squat/753336/1 "2016-04-28T14:25:28Z")
Just learned this was a thing on Facebook. This is news to me, and I’m quite baffled by it really, as “Asian Squating” has always been my natural way of squating. So, can you? Give it a try before polling. 🙂 [Short video here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibzp-bFBu_Y) (Basically squating with your feet remaining flat. As opposed to on your toes.) ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-asian-squat/753336/2 "2016-04-28T14:30:44Z")
I didn’t know what it was until I googled it. But yes I could do it. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-asian-squat/753336/3 "2016-04-28T14:45:57Z")
I thought that was sort of the point, just about everyone can do it, including [grandma](http://donaldandcathy.typepad.com/.a/6a00e55288aaf88833017ee99cf120970d-800wi). It is much easier than squatting on your toes. ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-asian-squat/753336/4 "2016-04-28T15:11:31Z")
Tried it, landed on my tuckus, voted “nope” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-asian-squat/753336/5 "2016-04-28T15:55:03Z")
I can physically do it, yet. But I spent too many years watching baseball to do it any other way than a catcher. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-asian-squat/753336/6 "2016-04-28T15:55:21Z")
I’m Asian, so duh. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-asian-squat/753336/7 "2016-04-28T15:56:35Z")
Yup. Either way is equally easy/doable for me. But if I gotta be down that low for any period of time, I take a knee. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-asian-squat/753336/8 "2016-04-28T15:57:01Z")
Living in the lands of squat toilets for several decades, then yes, I can. Most toilets now are Western style, but I’ve lived in houses which had the traditional ones. Dropped a Japanese to English dictionary from a back pocket right onto a turd before I learned the proper way to position your pants, though. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-asian-squat/753336/9 "2016-04-28T15:59:23Z")
It’s more stable but it cuts off circulation at my knees at bit worse than Western squatting. I really prefer neither method of squatting, but if I have to, I’ll alternate. ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-asian-squat/753336/10 "2016-04-28T16:01:07Z")
Yes, it’s very comfortable for me. I lift weights, though, so I’m used to keeping my weight on my heels when I squat. If you can’t do it, I encourage you to practice. It’s great for your overall flexibility and posture. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-asian-squat/753336/11 "2016-04-28T16:12:08Z")
I do it when my back is feeling bad. 30 seconds and any back pain goes away, and I’ve recommended it many times. But it is hard on the knees. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-asian-squat/753336/12 "2016-04-28T16:49:43Z")
I never knew it as the Asian squat, in highschool all my puerto rican friends sat like that. It does center you very well, it was very hard to knock them of balance. No way i could do it though, i guess my feet are not flexible enough. ---
**Author:** ![brainstall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@brainstall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brainstall)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-asian-squat/753336/13 "2016-04-28T17:51:42Z")
I can do it, but there’s a lot of snap, crackle, pop from my knees and a fair amount of grunting to get back to standing. Definitely not a comfortable position for more than a minute, if that. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-asian-squat/753336/14 "2016-04-28T18:12:43Z")
I can’t do it. I’d say the problem is that I’d need to have more flexibility in my ankles so that I could bring my center of gravity forwards without more or less leaning my chest on my thighs. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-asian-squat/753336/15 "2016-04-28T19:15:13Z")
Yes, and I do squat that way if I have to stay in the position for any length of time. If not, I just do the one knee down thing. I have a hard time with the ball of the foot squat. I don’t feel stable. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-asian-squat/753336/16 "2016-04-28T19:21:44Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Living in the lands of squat toilets for several decades, then yes, I can. Most toilets now are Western style, but I’ve lived in houses which had the traditional ones. Dropped a Japanese to English dictionary from a back pocket right onto a turd before I learned the proper way to position your pants, though. I’ve only used a squatter twice in my life (despite living in Japan for 7 years - and one of the two was in India, not Japan). What _is_ the proper pants position? I was able to escape calamity, but it was apparent that I was doing it in a non-sustainable fashion. Granted, having better posture when asian squatting might help. If you can get your back straight up and down, that probably is a bonus. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-asian-squat/753336/17 "2016-04-28T19:24:08Z")
I absolutely cannot do it. I’ve never been able to. I’m reasonably fit and reasonably flexible, but if I try, I’ll end up on the ground. I don’t know if it’s my proportions or what - but it doesn’t work for me. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-asian-squat/753336/18 "2016-04-28T19:24:54Z")
The main problem I have with flat-foot squatting is that it requires a different center of balance than on my toes. I keep thinking I need to change position to balance, but I’m actually throwing myself off center when I do it. If it did it frequently, I’m sure I’d get the right posture down quickly and then that would be my intuitive “correct” position. I’m not a big fan of squatting at all though. My knees have never been happy with it, even when I was a child of an average weight for my age/height. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-asian-squat/753336/19 "2016-04-28T20:34:32Z")
Not a problem. I even once lived in a house with that kind of facility. But I needed to have something rigid nearby to hold onto to keep my balance. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-asian-squat/753336/20 "2016-04-28T20:42:42Z")
I learned about it in Vietnam, when I was 20. I noted that they could stay in that position for a very long time, and adopted it myself. Nowadays, my knees won’t allow it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-asian-squat/753336.md?page=2)