Differences in Basic Fighting Stance

[Mischievousjoe]

Hey all, been reading some of the posts on this forum for a while and finally thought of a question of my own, so here goes :

 

I'm a purple belt in ITF tae kwon do and recently started taking goshin jutsu karate as that is what is available when i moved for schooling recently. In my new school the stance that is encourage during sparring is mostly the same as in tae kwon do, except that the forward hand is supposed to be kept low , covering the torso more whereas in most pro fights i've watched, and tkd the lead hand is kept more or less up near face level, and I'm used to thinking of this as being a protective place for blocking.

 

So I guess i was just curious what you all prefer when you spar, and which advantages each might offer over the other. or possibly other variations of basic fighting stances .

[foreveryoung001]

Welcome to the forum!

 

As for fighting stances. In Chung Do Kwan TKD, we teach students to keep their lead hand up and their back hand below the lead elbow, letting their rear forarm cover their midsection. This is the formal way we teach the stance, yet when it comes to sparring, I encourage students to find a position where they are comfortable, and protected. I want them to move, bounce a little, stay light on their feet as it were, and I find it very hard to do that myself if I have to hold a technical fighting stance. I encourage them to keep their lead hand up about chin level, and the rear hand somewhere near their stomach, but they are allowed to try whatever they would like to. It's easy to teach them to keep that lead hand up with a couple of quick backfists to their forheads, but it takes a while for them to find what works for them. I see some of them like to keep their rear hand almost tucked under their lead armpit. I like to sneak a lot of front leg side kicks up under their lead arm if they raise it to high, so this is a bad habit some of them have gotten into. It really limits the usefulness of their trailing hand if they have it wedged up there. I also see a tendency, and maybe this is just because a lot of them watched the olympics, but they want to drop their arms a lot. I'ts not to hard to persuade them to put their hands back up after they get pegged a time or two, but it don't want them getting over confident. Chung Do Kwan is very self defense oriented, not sport oriented, and we work a lot on how to deal with real life situations... I've never been in a street fight, close a couple of times, but I would hate to think that any of my students would keep their arms down at their sides in an actual life or death situation.

[cross]

I use pretty much a boxing/kickboxing guard. This obviously changes while your moving and attacking.

Edited April 25, 2005 by cross

[Melody]

In my TKD class we keep our hands level with our chin, and close enough to our face that we can put our thumbs on our cheeks. And we keep our arms and elbows tucked in, protecting our ribs, chest and sternum. And the reson for keeping our hands so close to our head is well....duh...to protect it. It's a very effective position in sparring, because it is extremely difficult for another to strike you in one of the "point" areas. It's almost a boxing stance really.

[Kicks]

I do both. But for different reasons.

 

While sparring at "fighting distance" (just out of range of a kick) I keep my hands up as described by cross. Melody's description seems a little too close to the body for my comfort level. The advantage here is if my opponent throws one of the more common kicks, like a roundhouse or side kick, I can quickly 1) drop my arm down into a downblock using a hammer fist to attack the nerveson the shin, or 2) quickly drop my elbow down on to their ankle. Remember, its quicker to drop your arms then to raise them.

 

I will also fight with my lead arm down under a few circumstances. 1) when stepping inside "attack distance" (close enough to strike). Since I am confident my footwork is quick enough to step inside and not give my opponent time to get a kick up high, then only place he has a chance to hit is a body shot. So I protect the body before beginning my attack with punches and kicks. 2) When sparring an opponent who only throws side kicks, and I know a few like this. I'll mix my arm position back and forth between up and down trying to throw their attack plan off. 3) I'll keep my front arm low when I want to challenge my opponent to attack my head so I can trap him and launch my counter attack. This sounds like a foolish plan, but I only do it when I know the person I'm sparring and that there's the slimest chance of a snowball in hell that he'll actually succeed. Ok, I'll be honset, I do get more daring than that. 4) With front arm down, I'll place my rear arm farther to the rear then normal, opening up my body for attack. Again, this is a challenge to my opponent and I use this trap when I know I can counter attack my opponent.

 

Hope this helps, and doesn't get you killed next time to are sparring!

[TeaL]

i like a mix...

 

between a TKD, and boxing...

 

angled so our about parallel with your opponiant, maybe 20-30 degrees off, right arm tucked down more, with my left arm about perpindicular with the ground, (again, this is just a desciption, its much more fluid when i do it). I liek it because it allows for kick defense easly, without giving an open head/torso. I like to use my above average reaction times to my advantage, using at times far blocks.

 

I dont bleive this stance is best, or even good for other people.. its just my adaptation... with my arms up im free to block "haymakers" and top foot kicks..

 

im not sure how this would effect in a spar, but its very nice for a street fight/messing around

[Shorinryu Sensei]

What Iteach beginnning students is left or right foot forward (I encourage switching from one to the other and learning both) with the front foot facing your opponent, and the back foot at a 45 degree angle...sometimes 90 degree's, but that tends to open and twist your hips more.

 

Lead hand (right foot forward, so lead hand is right) at around upper chest/chin height, back hand around lower chest/stomach level. In time, they will find what works best for them and they can put their hands where they want to.

 

Myself, my feet are about 2-2 1/2 feet apart, legs slightly bent, very relaxed stance, with lead hand out about lower chest height and open, palm angled outwards and to the side a bit (45 degrees or so). Back hand lower, around belt height palm facing downward and out a bit (I had to get up and try it to see where I hold it ). Hands are also very relaxed. I've used this stance and hand placement for years and it works well for me.

 

We don't encourage a "boxer" stance with both hands protecting the head, as the groin and knees are viable targets. We also don't use a wide stance because they are slow to move out of...and we like to move..and move quickly.

[Kicks]

Hey..have any of y'all tried this....

 

Sometimes in class I'll spar with 'one arm tied behind my back'. Not literally, but what I'll do is just use my forward arm and hand to block with and leave my rear arm to my back side. I won't even bother being aggressive so I don't back my opponent away. I'll encourage my opponent to throw punches and kick combinations. I found I can be just as quick with only one hand blocking. Just stay relaxed and use your reflexes. Just keep your forward arm between your body and his.

Edited October 26, 2004 by Kicks

[Jinxx0r]

We're taught to keep it up and protect the face. Like someone else said, gravity is your friend (it's easier to go down that to go back up). I see a lot of people get hit in the face when the don't... I'd rather get hit in the stomach... or not at all actually

[Shane]

as for our basic fighting stance, the stance that is taught to all of our students. You place your rear hand about temple level and your elbow in, this way your hand is up to protect your face area and your elbow and forarm take care of the mid section. The Front hand is placed just about chin level so that you can protect your face and it does not effect your vision in anyway, I wont get into knee, feet positions on this one. Anyways the basic stance is learned and strikes are learned to be delivered from this stance. I then allow the student to develop their modified version of this basic stance. Basically letting them find the most comfortable way to hold their stance and still be able to protect themselves.