How would
you stand in a fight?
What does
your stance say about you?
What
information does your stance convey to your opponent?
OK stances
are not nearly as interesting as locks or as glorious as throws but they are
perhaps one of the most important parts of self-defence. If you have a bad or
weak stance then your fight could be over before it starts; while a strong
stance or the “right” stance may stop the fight before it starts.
Find a
mirror and take a fighting stance. Have a look.
What do you
see?
Do you look
strong/weak, capable/laughable, mobile/immobile, confident/scared, ready to
kick ass/ready to run?
Where are
your hands, are they provide proper protection for your head or are they below
your shoulders?
Can you see
properly past your hands or are they blocking your vision?
Are your
elbows sticking out like chicken wings or are they in tight to your body?
Are your
hands too far out or too close to your head or body?
Could your
attacker strike a vital target (head, neck, floating ribs or groin)? To answer
this one assume that your attacker is much quicker than you, would you have
time to defend against a lightning fast strike?
Be honest
would you fight you?
Now I want
you to think about how you feel in your fighting stance.
Self-defence
is about confidence, do you feel confident and ready to take on anything from
any direction?
A fighting
stance is a very personal thing and everybody’s is different any stance that
makes you feel weak, immobile and/or awkward is wrong for you.
Here is a
little exercise for you to try. Take each one of the stances listed below.
Throw a couple of punches and kicks. Look at yourself in the mirror. What are
your answers to all the questions above?
Full
front stance
Standing
with your feet side by side about shoulder width apart. This stance offers up
the most target for your attacker.
¾ of
boxing stance
Standing
with one foot forward, typical left side if you’re right handed. Your weight
should be 70% on your back leg with your knees slightly bent. This stance
offers up many targets for your attacker.
Side on
stance
Stand with
either your left or right leg forward. Your other leg should be shoulder width
apart with knees slightly bent and 60% of your weight on your back leg. Your
feet / legs should be in line with each other and your attacker. This stance
offers fewer targets to your attacker than any other stance.
Which of the
above stances feels the best to you?
There are
many other stances, some good, some not so good, they each stance you know out
and be honest with yourself. Do not stick to one stance because it was what you
were taught, that’s a poor excuse for doing something that does not work for
you.
Once you
think you have your stance figured out, play with it in class (or after class).
Do some techniques or light sparing. Does your new stance work as well as you thought
it would? If not have a look at what don’t feel right and see if your can
adjust it until it does work for you.
Stances are
personal things. Many look similar but no two are the same. We all have
different body types and sizes and as such our stances will be different as
well, find yours.
If your interested in jiu-jitsu video instruction take a look at our
jiu-jitsu distance education program.
Cheers,
Head
Instructor
Koketsu
Kai - Tiger's Den Jiu-jitsu and Grappling
Located
at:
The
Academy of Martial Arts
851
Princess Street
Kingston,
Ontario
