Stepping over to Southpaw once in a while.

[Ironberg]

Commonly, in boxing, it is seen that right-handers lead with the left, and southpaws with the right. The philosophy is pretty foolproof that you train your jabs to be the face-softeners of the harder punches.

 

In Tae Kwon Do, or Karate, I've noticed a some good things comming into play with a bit of boxing in the mix. I've noticed that I am able to be more deceptive, land bigger blows, or be more of a nuisance when me (being right-handed) leads with the left. I've noticed this working well at tournaments at times.

 

My question is: does anyone else sometimes mix things up a little? In TKD it is common to switch stances quite often in a match. True, my right hand can still jab better than my left, but then my left punches are not as strong. Normally I see myself as a kicker, but when I face opponents about as tall as myself, I tend to punch more often.

[cross]

I switch sometimes but generally lead with the left.

 

I am left handed. So its strong side forward for me.

[TheDevilAside]

I like to switch, but my preference is to lead with the right (I'm right-handed).

[White Warlock]

It is a tendency for people to go on the defensive if they switchup, which is one of the reasons why it is important to build aggressiveness in your off-hand stance... to counter this inherent weakness.

 

As to the softening up stuff, that's really only applicable in a tournament, with rounds and breaks. In most other cases, quick jabs are used to disrupt and create an opening.

[cross]

As to the softening up stuff, that's really only applicable in a tournament, with rounds and breaks. In most other cases, quick jabs are used to disrupt and create an opening.

 

I agree with this, also in self defence you are not going to be worried what stance you are in, attack and escape is all that you should be thinking about.

[Shorinryu Sensei]

As to the softening up stuff, that's really only applicable in a tournament, with rounds and breaks. In most other cases, quick jabs are used to disrupt and create an opening.

 

I agree with this, also in self defence you are not going to be worried what stance you are in, attack and escape is all that you should be thinking about.

 

I disagree that stances are unimportant in a self-defense situation. If you have a weak foundation (stance), your techniques will be weak.

 

As for the left/right side forward, I do both during a fight often. It keeps the opponent off balance and gives me the opportunity to exploit different openings with different techniques. I'm right handed and my right side hits harder, but I find I can mix it up far more effectively by switching legs.

[cross]

I disagree that stances are unimportant in a self-defense situation.

 

I didnt want to imply that stance isnt important, they are highely important, but its not the main thing your going to be thinging about.

 

We train stances all the time so they are natural when we are fighting.

[White Warlock]

I agree with SS... your stance and body positioning is important, very important. It is especially important to realize that there is a subconscious relation between your positional arrangement, as opposed to the positional arrangement of your opposition. This fares heavily in the outcome of a conflict and should not be so readily dismissed.

[Ironberg]

Thanx for the replies. Sometimes I am forced to mix things up for the simple reason that my legs have different strengths (my left is more cordinated and technical, the right is more brute force). Does anyone else have this problem with cross-dominance with different sides within a vast array of techs?

[White Warlock]

I have more injuries/tears in my left leg and more injuries/tears in my right shoulder, so i feel far more comfortable in the southpaw position.

 

When i work with dual weapons, both my arms work comfortably in unison and individually, but if i am wielding but one weapon, it is my left that shines and my left that i prefer, primarily because i'm a lefty, but secondarily because of the tears in my right interfering with the flow of my actions.

 

Also, partially because of the injuries to my left leg, and partially due to my being a left-hander, i feel more assertive in the southpaw position.

 

Still, i practice all positions, to minimize my weaknesses.