Lower! LOWER!

[BJJShotoshe]

This is the way I look at it....

 

Not that I am just into karate for a belt that is black. I could buy one of those. Anyways... If you want to make it to your black belt you need low stances. I mean low stances are part of basics. And getting the Honor of shodan black belt means that you have mastered the basics.

 

I also think they are good to tone your legs. When I "feel the burn" in my legs it makes me feel like I am actually trying, and it gives me an excuse to be lazy at school. It is good to have low stances under control. And besides they look cool.

 

Obviously, your not going to use them in real fights because you have an 88% chance of ending up on the ground anyways, but that is a different story.

 

Thanks!!

[Hudson]

Monkey, I really don't have much problem with that last post. I did try to make it clear that the cat stance was movement and that at one point you would be in proper cat stance.

 

Also, the transition is of course important - I don't think you and I have much debate on what stances are to the arts.

 

I think you can relate on how hard it is to translate movement into words for this forum - I do agree that the forward motion (Which actually would take you out of the still frame of cat because of foot weight) is when you sink and strike.

 

As for the sidestepping example:

 

In my style, it is a theme in some forms to move at 45 degrees and to always be on the outside where you have a better passive defense. So yes, sidestepping the straight kick to the outside does blindside the attacker. The cat stance is because now the weight is on your back foot taking the tension out of the blocking hand, then sinking and pushing forward (Perhaps into dragon) and delivering a palm strike to the ribs. The cat stance is not a withdrawal, it is a shift to get to the side of the person. I hope that makes sense.

 

As for my style, I train Pai Lum Kung Fu.

[SevenStar]

 

I also think they are good to tone your legs. When I "feel the burn" in my legs it makes me feel like I am actually trying, and it gives me an excuse to be lazy at school. It is good to have low stances under control. And besides they look cool.

 

there's no such thing as tone...

 

Obviously, your not going to use them in real fights

 

Not so obvious....alot of people don't know that.

[SevenStar]

Alright, let me clear some things up:

 

I agree low stances will build power. I'm living proof of it. But then again, power is the end result of many things: Technique, speed, etc;

 

I can squat over 400 lbs. Can you? If not, how is your power from stances different from my power? stances don't build power beyond a certain point...they are endurance exercises.

[SevenStar]

There are some deeper stances, but you never throw a kick or anything like that from those stances. Those are almost always, at least in my mind, used specifically for grappling and throwing (i.e., not a front stance).

 

in shuai chiao, the front stance is used in a throw called diagonal cut.

 

In judo, you are in what's similar to a front stance when you finish throwing someone with tai otoshi.

[Logan]

[quote name="SevenStar

 

I can squat over 400 lbs. Can you? If not' date=' how is your power from stances different from my power? stances don't build power beyond a certain point...they are endurance exercises.[/quote]

 

Are you saying that strength equals power?

[jarrettmeyer]

Are you saying that strength equals power?

 

All of you, back to the physics classroom. Strength is the ability to support weight. Power is a function of mass, acceleration, distance, and time.

 

Let's start with a base model of a 400 pound squat, 10 reps, 1 squat every 4 seconds.

 

Cutting time to 75% (from 4 seconds to 3 seconds) generates 180% power (same amount of strength). Or you could use 720 pounds (increase strength). Or you could do 18 reps (increase duration).

 

Cutting time to 50% (from 4 seconds to 2 seconds) generates 400% power. Or, you could use 1600 pounds. Or you could do 40 reps.

 

Obviously, you're not allowed to cut corners on your lift, and a 2 second squat is pretty darn quick to make them quality squats. But, you should be able to see that because speed is such an important factor, you can cut weight and still generate the same amount of power by doing more or doing them faster. Of course, you can also keep the weight up, and do them faster, and do more.... and power goes through the roof.

 

(Sorry, I'm an engineer, so I really get into this conversation every time I see it. I'm a total geek, and I mean no disrespect. If I post that enough times, eventually we will all know the difference between strength and power.)

[Shorin Ryuu]

There are some deeper stances, but you never throw a kick or anything like that from those stances. Those are almost always, at least in my mind, used specifically for grappling and throwing (i.e., not a front stance).

 

in shuai chiao, the front stance is used in a throw called diagonal cut.

 

In judo, you are in what's similar to a front stance when you finish throwing someone with tai otoshi.

 

Forgive me, I was referring to really deep front stances. Yes, I agree with you on this.

[SevenStar]

[quote name="SevenStar

 

I can squat over 400 lbs. Can you? If not' date=' how is your power from stances different from my power? stances don't build power beyond a certain point...they are endurance exercises.[/quote]

 

Are you saying that strength equals power?

 

in his instance, power is actually endurance. that's the point I'm trying to make. Holding a horse stance for 10 mins isn't a strength exercise - it's an endurance exercise. the longer the duration of an exercise, the more endurance intensive it is. low reps, heavy weight - like my 400 loud squat are one thing, but no weight and an extended duration in horse stance is something different.

[ShotokanKid]

Everyone always tells me to get my stance lower so I guess you're supposed to have low stances. However, depending on the style, they may or may not emphasize a certain stance the same way other styles do.