short stances

[Icetuete]

why do proffessional kickboxers stand in these short stances? what makes them so good? many arts prefer longer stances, so i started to wonder

[Ben]

I'm sure all of you have seen some Ernesto Hoost fights ... if not what is wrong with you people! he usually uses all kinds of stances - but hey, i think he's a kickboxing god so i might be biased.

 

I'd like to know the answer to this too, but i've noticed that quite a few vary their stances quite a bit. I didnt realise that they used short stances so often though, until you pointed it out!

 

[WhiteShark]

Because all the best Kickboxers are Muay Thai fighters. And the Thai fighting stance is short. You cannot effectively defend leg kicks with an overly long stance.

[cross]

Also you are a lot more mobile from a shorter stance.

[Scorcho]

The stance is taylored to the competition format. In competition where heavy gloves are used and the object is to KO your opponent, a shorter stance is usually best. This is doubly true for K-1, because the legs are a target, though you see much variation there as a result of the mixed backgrounds of the participants.

 

This does not mean that MAs which advocate deeper and/or longer stances are wrong or less useful. Their competition formats are just different. As for on the street, I think that bare knuckled fighting where grabbing and grappling is possible is significantly different from Kickboxing. I believe a deeper stance may be better on the street, but what your training has taught you is probably best, since it is what you are used to and have experience with.