What Is the Baki Pose & How Do You Do It? Everything You Need to Know

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Learn the benefits of mastering this challenging pose

Co-authored by Maryana Lucia Vestic, MFA, M.Phil. Reviewed by Candace Gasper

Last Updated: December 10, 2025 Fact Checked

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Doing the Baki Pose

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Can anyone do the Baki pose?

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Baki Pose Benefits

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Baki Pose Origin

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Originally appearing in the anime manga series Baki the Grappler, the Baki pose is a challenging one-arm handstand performed with the knees resting on the opposite elbow. It’s recently become a popular social media challenge using the #bakipose tag. If you’re wondering whether you can (or should) try doing the Baki pose, read on for a step-by-step Baki pose tutorial, including how beginners can work their way up safely. Find out whether you can do the pose, while learning about its benefits and origins.

How to Perform a Baki Pose

An illustration of the 4 steps required to do the Baki pose.

Squat down while leaning your front leg onto your closest arm.
Raise your legs so they’re parallel to the ground in a sideways frog stand.
Hold a support to practice balancing—first lower, then higher.
Release your hand when you're ready to balance in a full Baki pose.

Section 1 of 4:

How to Do the Baki Pose

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Get into a frog stand position to practice balancing. Begin by deep squatting with your hands on the ground and your fingers pointing slightly out. Place your elbows on the inside of your knees or thighs and lean forward. Slowly shift your weight onto your hands until your feet can lift off the ground. Keep your knees up against your elbows while engaging your core, and try to hold for 20 seconds.^{[1]
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- Place a pillow in front of you in case you fall forward.
- Practice shifting your weight from side to side until you can hold the position for 20 seconds. Then, you're ready to try the Baki pose.
- Warm up before attempting the Baki pose to prevent sprains, strains, or injury.
- Practice while being supervised by a professional yoga teacher or trainer to reduce the risks of injury.
- Consult a physician before attempting the pose if you have any pre-existing conditions.^{[2]
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To do the Baki pose, turn at a 45-degree angle and squat down. Stand facing forward with your legs slightly apart. Reach your arms out so your hands are parallel to the floor and your fingers are spread. Shift your feet so your body is turned at a 45-degree angle and squat down to your knees. Lean your front leg slightly on the arm closest to you—specifically, lean your knee and thigh area on your elbow.^{[3]
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- Make sure your fingers are spread when placing your hands on the ground directly in front of you.
- Leaning your front-facing knee and thigh onto your elbow will set you up for the next step in the progression.
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Lift your legs parallel to the ground and shift into a sideways frog stand. While leaning your knees and/or thigh on your closest elbow, slowly lift your legs and feet until they’re parallel to the ground, but still bent. Squeeze your legs together as you balance your weight on your arms, wrists, and hands. Try to hold the sideways frog stand for 20 seconds.^{[4]
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- Focus on your breathing to help you balance.
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Grip or hold a chair or a stack of blocks to support your dominant hand. You can also grip a parallette for support as you practice holding the position. Try to stay in a lower assisted Baki pose for 12 seconds.^{[5]
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- Using higher levels of support puts more strain on your dominant hand, so start at a lower level and work your way up.
- Transitioning slowly into a Baki pose with one arm can help build your strength and balance safely.
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Do a higher assisted baki pose when you’re ready. Grab your support source with one hand while continuing to balance in a sideways frog stand. It’s possible to raise your level of support little by little, so you may end up practicing 3 or more levels, instead of just one or 2. Try to hold the highest level position for 8 seconds.^{[6]
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- Many parallettes are adjustable, so you can use them as both lower and higher levels of support.
- Avoid grabbing onto any source of support that is higher than the level of your head.
- Fingertip baki pose: Try only touching a lower support source with just your fingertips. See if you can hold the position for 5 seconds.^{[7]
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- Shoulder taps Baki pose: Try removing your hand completely from the support and tapping your shoulder. See if you can do this for 5 seconds.^{[8]
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Keep practicing using proper form. Gaining strength and improving balance and flexibility takes time. Keep working on building your skills as you move through the variation of the Baki pose: frog stand, sideways frog stand with support(s), and, eventually, full Baki pose.
- Always listen to your body and stop if you experience pain, strain, or physical stress.

Section 2 of 4:

Can anyone do the Baki pose?

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Yes, it’s possible to do the Baki pose, but it’s an advanced skill. It’s considered an advanced calisthenics technique that takes a lot of strength, balance, and flexibility. Wrist strength is one of the most central skills needed to perform the Baki pose, because it requires strong wrists to balance on one elbow when doing the full Baki pose. If you don’t have much wrist strength or stability, you could potentially hurt yourself. To build more strength and flexibility in your wrists, try these exercises:
- Knuckle push-ups: On your knees, put your hands into loose fists and perform push-ups.^{[9]
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- Finger push-ups: In a push-up position on your hands and knees, place your hands on your finger pads instead of your palms to perform push-ups.^{[10]
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- Wrist rotations: Carefully rotate your wrists clockwise, and then counterclockwise; you can use light weights or resistance bands.^{[11]
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- Isometric holds: With your forearm, palm up or down, hold your palm still with the opposite hand. Try to bend your wrist while resisting with the opposite hand. You can also do it side to side.^{[12]
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Doing the Baki pose can cause wrist or joint injury if you aren't careful. The one-handed “full Baki pose” requires forearm, core, and shoulder strength that takes long-term training. Warning: Because the Baki pose is a fictional technique based on anime and not real life, beginners should not attempt the full pose due to a higher risk of injury and pain without supervised training. Other skills you can work on if you’re interested in achieving the Baki pose include:^{[13]
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- Free handstands: Begin against a wall until you’re ready to pull away with your fingers to get into a free handstand.^{[14]
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- Advanced plank holds: While balancing on your forearms (or wrists) and toes in plank, and keeping your body in a straight line, try adding shoulder taps, leg lifts, or jumping both feet out and in again.^{[15]
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Section 3 of 4:

Benefits of the Baki Pose

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The baki pose builds strength and stability in the upper body, core, and legs. It targets major muscle groups that include the quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and shoulders. For your upper body, the pose can also increase your strength level in the deltoids, pectorals, biceps, and wrists. It also strengthens the core and back, which can enhance your stability and overall posture.^{[16]
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Performing the pose deeply stretches the muscles in the back and the spine. It also increases flexibility in the hips, hamstrings, and shoulders. Better flexibility can help you perform yoga poses more easily and prevent injury.^{[17]
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It positively affects balance, focus, and mood. The pose requires concentration in order to maintain stability; this can increase your sense of spatial awareness. By safely practicing the Baki Pose regularly, you may be able to improve how well you perform other daily physical activities. Additionally, the calm and focused mindset you need to get into the Baki pose can promote a sense of peace, a positive mindset, and help to reduce stress and anxiety.^{[18]
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- Spatial awareness refers to how well you perceive the way your body physically relates to other objects or people in a physical space.
- Working towards the Baki pose can improve your confidence when it comes to physical challenges.

Section 4 of 4:

Origin of the Baki Pose

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The Baki pose originated in the anime manga series Baki the Grappler. It’s the signature pose of Baki Hanma, the main character in the series created by Japanese manga artist Keisuke Itagaki. Baki is a martial artist known as the "champion" of the Underground Arena who trains to fight powerful opponents and build up his strength.^{[19]
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- Though not based on yogic tradition, the Baki Hanma pose resembles a combination of the side crow (Kakasana), planche, and downward-facing dog poses in yoga.^{[20]
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It became a viral social media challenge among athletes and martial artists. Many of those skilled in calisthenics began attempting to perform the Baki pose, which involves supporting the body on one arm while squatting. Baki poses challenges appeared on TikTok and Instagram under the tag #bakipose.^{[21]
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- It’s important to remember that the Baki pose is an advanced technique and requires a certain level of athleticism and training.