trouble with stances

[hiddendragon98]

I am almost a black belt i isshinryu and jiu-jitsu but just starting out in shotokan the isshinryu and jiu-jitsu stance has more of a wide base so you don't get sweeped very easily but my shotokan sensei is always telling me that the shotokan stance is better which he does have a point kind of because he did an odd sweep that worked when i was in my isshinryu stance but i think the shotokan stance is narrow and a 360 spin sweep or osodogari would take a person in that stance down very easily any higher belt ranks care to state there opinion?

[JusticeZero]

Which stance(s) specifically?

Unless the difference in size is absolutely colossal, I don't know that a change in width will have that much effect on how easily one can be swept. Someone who has a well constructed stance and control of their weight is hard to sweep even if their stance has their feet together. What makes you vulnerable to sweeping is unweighted feet that you are still reliant upon, or energy that you don't have completely controlled.

It is most likely not "resistance to sweeping" but a number of other tactical synergies that have dictated the stance height in the different lines. Find the differences, find what techniques you are opening up or foreclosing on by switching stance to the newer material, then as your own personal tactics evolve you can find the stance structure that works best for your purposes.

That said, you should try to lean more on whatever the teacher you are training with is teaching while you are training with them, for obvious reasons. if someone comes into my class insisting on doing L-negativa or Joao Grande negativa instead of the one we use, there's not a lot I can teach them because because they aren't willing to meet me with common structural ground that I can critique or tune effectively; in fact, I can't even coordinate class drills with people trying to use excessively foreign stance work mixed into the class.

[MasterPain]

A wide stance is good for rooted power, or a quick level change to transition to wrestling. A more narrow stance is good for quick movements and utilizing rhythm and timing to strike. Both have merits. Anything new will feel funny for a while, especially when very different from previous training. Give it a try, use it while sparring, get beat up because you're using new stuff instead of your personal A-game for a while. In time you may come to prefer it.

Concerning technical counters mentioned, Osoto geri requires a grip, so you can always adjust your stance if someone grabs you. A 360 spinning sweep sounds like a good way to get stomped on. Until otherwise specified, I'm imagining a Mortal Kombatesque ducking, spinny maneuver.

[hiddendragon98]

sorry for the bad definition of the 360 sweep i was talking about i just dont know what to call its not to unusual of a thing go here to see what i am talking about

[MasterPain]

Yeah, that's what I thought. I'd be impressed by someone making that work, much in the same way I'm impressed by Super Dave.

[hiddendragon98]

thank you for your opinion and not arguing but i have used it effectively in sparring matchs against much higher belt ranks it worked well for me when my opponent retracted the foot and kept it there instead of putting it back in place however i still hardly ever use it

[JusticeZero]

Coming from someone whose entire art is built around body dropping movements like that and a lot of sweeps, that technique looks more than a bit lolworthy to me. We use a huge variety of sweeps, and we don't do that because that technique breaks up his power structure for doing it, puts him in a position which i'm sure he does not have a lot of alternatives in, then relies on impact force to do a leverage job, taking too much time and too much space to do it. It's not going to sweep anyone in a halfway solid stance. So I wouldn't worry about justifying your stance size based on the possibility of dealing with techniques that look like that.

[sensei8]

sorry for the bad definition of the 360 sweep i was talking about i just dont know what to call its not to unusual of a thing go here to see what i am talking about

Imho, the one doing that sweep better be extremely fast and accurate. The one doing the kick won't be just going through the motions, because they'll be quite fast.

[sensei8]

Wide or narrow or in between stances are not the problem. Why? Because it's the practitioner whose the problem.

The varying parameters can be quite discerning.

[Kuma]

Which stance specifically did he demonstrate with hiddendragon98? What is your Isshin-Ryu stance and what is your Shotokan stance? Otherwise I'm not quite following.