Various fighting stances

[Berserk]

What according to you is the best fighting stance?

Different Martial Arts have different stances. A Taekwon Do fighter will stand side ways with his guard at chest level and legs almost straight. A Muay Thai fighter will stand with his guard at face level and keep most of his body-weight on his rear leg. A Jeet Kun Do fighter stands with both legs slightly bent and hands at chest level, in a criss-cross manner (Bi-Jong stance).

I personally stand with my lead foot pointing straight ahead and trail foot pointing to the right. Weight distribution: 70% on the trail leg and 30% on the lead leg. Hands at face level. I think this is the best stance because it allows me to execute ANY kick without having to move my hips too much.

[SheepDog]

Yeah that's a good one too - I call it the "thinker" or "contemplative" stance. The forearm of the hand on your chin is nicely positioned in front of your throat, and the other arm is already loaded for a backfist or some such.

Scratching the back of your head, in apparent confusion, is a good one too, especially if you point your elbow at the bad guy. Whichever hand I'm using, the other drops to either my knife (my "off" hand) or my gun (my strong side, or on my hip if I'm doing a small-of-the-back carry).

[SheepDog]

My wife and I have a thing worked out where if we're approached, I keep their attention while she stands off to the side, doing the "helpless female" routine. With their attention on me, they don't realize there is a black belt in front of them and one behind them (usually, both armed!). Also we practice multiple-attacker scenarios - where the multiple is us. Also, after 16+ years of wedded bliss, we can communicate a lot with just looks and glances, and have an entire sub-dialect of "emergency" phrases worked out (of which our kids are also aware).

But that's more tactics than fighting stance...we don't usually take any kind of a formal fighting stance on the street. If you've got the time to do that, you usually have the time to turn around and haul a$$.

[Karl K. Wagner]

I feel most comfortable, confident and mobile in a modified sochin-dachi. Both hands forward guard crossed loosely with lead hand low (palm down floating above thigh of lead leg) and other hand high (palm up at high chest level). Open hands allow me to remain relaxed and alert. My weight would be equally distributed, but yet spongy in movement. To advance with an attack or step off with defense would be 50/50. From this posture, I am able to utilize kado ido taisabaki in both offensive technique as well as defensive counter technique. My forward knee and turned thigh gives guard to my groin, yet allows pliability to sweeps or leg checks.

[larry nicholson]

I think this is a good discussion. For an actual street altercation. It ,I think is best to take a natural stance.50 50 0n each leg, one leg forward of the other, bending the knees,slightly. Legs close enough to close off the groin area.This gives you the opportunity to change your stance to whatever you would like it to be. These stances in a set pattern , are training devices, I highly regard a good solid zenkutsu dachi, for training, but these stances are really transitional stances, as in moving into one technique to another. For instance it would be a mistake to take a neko ashi dachi , in a real altercation, but moving into position to deliver a kick, then the neko ashi dachi comes into play.Avoiding a punch and gaining position behind your opponent thats when your zenkutsu dachi comes into play.But its better to always end up in a natural fighting position. To take a martial arts stance at the beginning, I believe you will lose.Keep in mind traditional stances that we train in are actually vehicles to drive you into position, to be able to capitalize.To set your feet, in any other way you will be thinking ,in the fight . Are my feet right.And you will not win. If you are standing in a natural position you wont have to worry so much and can concentrate on the fight at hand. I have found through practical application that this is true. Also, I have found that, the fight normally ends in a grappling situation. It is a bad mistake to think that you must go to the ground.If you are jiujitsuka, fine for you, but as for me, shitoryu, I do not have to get on the ground at all. And I would like to add one more thing. If someone is taking a martial arts stance before you, then you have made a mistake, he or she, is a martial artist too, so better to befriend that person and learn from, him or her. If you are already fighting, you have lost,in one way or another, a time to learn something new.