What will stances help you? More than you think...





Somehow the first thing that seems to disappear when a style goes full-contact is traditional stances.

Yes- I also know the story where Bruce Lee punched the martial arts master and told him that he does not pull or push. Some of you may have seen that as a master's blessing to let go of an odious part of your training.

Well- fact is: MMA has taught us that punching and kicking only gets you so far. (I am still not a fan of MMA, but you can learn a great deal from watching MMA fights.) Further I trust that many will agree with me that the adversary that is probably going to test your self defence skills is not necessarily going to be in your weight class. Further- not all attackers punch, kick or swing a weapon at you. Many will push, grab and maybe even pick you up.

In my post on footwork I have already touched on the subject on how stances help us move faster in a fight. What else do stances do for us?

1. First of all- proper stance gives techniques power. They enable us to hit harder and to push and pull our opponents- even if they are heavier than us.

2. Then they also reduce the amount of targets available.

3. They provide secure footing- whether it be on a slippery surface or an uneven one.

4. Lastly (or last I can think of now) they assist the proper channelling of qi into techniques.


Okay- I admit that not all these benefits (if any) are obvious benefits of using traditional stances, but that is because stance training to me goes beyond knowing the Japanese/ Chinese/ Korean name of the stance and making sure your toes point the right way.

You have to practice the stance with the job it has to do in mind. Whether it be moving forward, sideways or back, punching, throwing, escaping a hold or something that I cannot think of you have to be sure that you will get the job done. 

Many of you already practice a martial art and have been taught the proper way to perform these stances. I do not feel the need to elaborate thereon here. If anyone reading this blog is not studying any martial arts yet, but is nevertheless curious about the difference a stance can make they can message Marthinus Boshoff on Facebook or email me on boshoffm3@gmail.com.


Train well! 

O! I remembered one more benefit! Stance training strengthens the legs!

:D      

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blindfold training

Image
Now here's something I have not yet written about. :D I have been interested in the Zen side of Japanese martial arts since the age of 16. It was about at this age when I began with Qigong as well. As a young karateka back then I did not have the confidence, strength or aggression of my classmates and looking back- I think it was a good thing. Because of that classes scared me. Now- had it not been to exposure to the mental training techniques provided to me by Zen- I would not have seen this hostile dojo environment as the ideal testing grounds for the things I have read. This is one major factor to which I attribute my development as a martial artist. One very important training tool that has always served me well and that continues to do so to this dat is Zen Meditation. This, in itself, has provided me with a number of benefits about which I can write in detail. One of those- was the development of intuition and sensory acuity. It is actually wonderfu
Read more

Tai Chi Movement #3- Wave Hands like Clouds

Image
I have just started searching for examples of this movement on the internet and realised that among all the people doing Tai Chi out there I might just be the only one who would apply Cloud Hands the way I do. I have found different variations of the movement itself as well. This makes my writing about my version and its application a bit unfair as you will be missing out on some really elaborate applications. Now- how I always did this movement is starting from a posture like the Lute Playing posture like the picture below- or the Spread Wings posture like this: From either one of these ready postures I then rotate my front foot and let my body follow while my leading hand makes contact with an imaginary thrust and I then complete the rotation by passing the attack while I guide its force past me with minimal effort and my free hand follows the blocking hand to wind up for an outward strike. When the rotation and step is complete I shift weight
Read more

Learning a Martial Art- some basic guidelines

Image
I think we have by now come across a couple of people who are studying some martial art or the other on their own. Back when I tried doing it at the age of 10 I used a book and later more books followed. Well- even after I did join an actual dojo more books followed even then... People are quick to say that you can't learn a martial art from a book. That is understandable. I for one know that you can't work as a lawyer if you have only gotten your law degree. In fact- few people feel as incompetent as a bright graduate starting out as a candidate at a law firm. The main reason why martial arts can't be learnt by reading alone is that experience plays a large part in developing the skills that any martial art has to offer. Knowledge is not enough. Nonetheless- self study is possible. We may argue about to which extent, but the history of Chinese and Japanese martial arts feature instances where people studied a scroll or a f
Read more