How do you position your front foot when you spar?

[koreantiger81]

If you're in left hand sparring stance, how would you position your front foot?

 

a) Have your front foot directly pointing towards your opponent.(This foot positioning allows for quick front leg front kicks and allows for quick pivot on this foot when you execute a back leg round house kick or side kick.)

 

b) Have your front foot point 90 degrees to the right from your opponent.

 

(This foot positioning allows for quick front leg side kicks, but poor pivoting when executing a back leg round house kick or side kick.)

 

c) Have your front foot pointing 45 degrees to the right from your opponent. (This foot positioning is a compromise of "b" and "c")

 

What's your answer?

[fungku]

I wouldn't say a, because I'm not comfortable like that. plus it seems to make me stand 'square' to my opponent, leaving me open.

 

I also wouldn't say b, because that restricts me. it make me stand completely sideways.

 

Unless I liked to stand with my body distorted of course, but god knows how I'd going to generate any power.

 

So I guess the only option left for me to take is c. a comfortable position that doesn't leave me as open as a, and doesn't restrict me like b. It allows for the full body rotation to punch with speed AND power.

 

And that's my final answer.

[Thai_Kick]

"a) Have your front foot directly pointing towards your opponent.(This foot positioning allows for quick front leg front kicks and allows for quick pivot on this foot when you execute a back leg round house kick or side kick.)"

 

In Muay Thai I need my front foot to be used as a quick, hard teap to keep distance and if I don't like my opponent, I trust my teap in his face as a form of disrespect. I also NEED to have a quick pivot on my front foot to execute a powerful cut kick or knee trust with my back leg so I would HAVE to go with A!

[karatekid1975]

I use a cross between a walking stance and a back stance .... kind of an up-right back stance with my front foot toward my opponent. Some what like Thai discribed. More weight on my back leg, because I'm a "front leg" kicker. A "fighting stance" in TSD is a "back stance" in TKD. I'm so used to it that I still use it in TKD. Not many people fight that way in my dojang (with the front leg) so I use it to my advantage

[G95champ]

I raise mine sort of like a thai fighter. Although I do Shotokan.

[KickChick]

All 3!

 

... depends on the offensive or defensive technique you plan on using of course!

 

I never stay in one stance .. I'm kinda all over the place

[Kyle-san]

Like KickChick said, all three. I switch stances and move around so much it doesn't matter anyway.

[G95champ]

yeah I will agree with that but I do that Thai thing just to fool arround. However I use my front kick a lot to make distance and I find that it works well by doing that. I do agree that you must change stances as much and as often as possible to throw people off.

[JerryLove]

Hmmm.

 

Basic serak stances (the ones we use) don't have a lead foot. Both feet are side-by-side and together. My Baji is pretty similar (looks like running in place).

 

I have a Kuntao position that would look most like the MT stance (lower and more compact than I see in MT tournament sparring, but similar). In that case, my front foot is fully weighted, directly under my elbows, and bent at 90-degrees (and pointing directly at the opponent).

 

The only other one I have regular practice ith is from Tjikulung... and I am not sure which foot to call "forward" as I use it primarily for mutliple-sparring.

[LigerZeroKaiser]

I only take notice of which way my front foot is facing just before I'm about to execute techniques off of my front foot, because I can throw almost all of my front leg techniques; be they front snap, hooking, crescent (inner and outer), twisting or turning kicks at the same speed, no matter which way my foot is facing. But generally I fight with both feet at 45 degrees to the opponent, in line and one shoulder width apart.