stance

[weak guy]

what should be the best streetfight stance?with opponent armed or unarmed?some say the southpaw stance,so that you can deliver the heel kick to the opponents knee,if you fail make combo by dropping down and grab his hips or leg for submission,problem im orthodox

[Tant01]

what should be the best streetfight stance?with opponent armed or unarmed?...
...

There is only one stance in JKD, it's the same from either side. They call it Bai Jong or "ready" position. Other names for the Bai Jong include the on gaurd stance or the small phasic bent knee position...

It's all about mobility, not how you stand but how you MOVE...

[Oreomeister365]

Hmm, I can at the very least describe the stance-from the feet up, like I know it at any rate. (JKD stance)

bring the feet shoulder width or so apart, and twist your body so that your belly button is at a 45 degree or so angle to the opponent, this reduces what he has to throw at, as opposed to the more or less flat boxing stance. Your lead foot should be angled in slightly and slightly ahead of your lead shoulder. The back side foot should come out roughly around the back side shoulder; the back side of the foot should be a couple inches off the ground so you can spring forward with it..like..uh...a spring. As far as footwork is concerned, it is importan that your feet never cross, keep the lead foot in front, and when moving, move the lead foot followed swiftly by the hind foot the same distance, so it's more like shuffling. The reason for this is that you are constantly in that stance, and because crossing your legs gives oppurtunities to get knocked off balance. Oh, and keep your knees slightly bent.

Now, the lead arm should be set out so the fist is level with your cheek, the elbow joint at a 45 degree angle. You should be able to look at your hand almost as iff you were holding a telescope or something in it. The hind fist is kept slightly below the hind side cheek bone, elbow tight to the side.

The idea is that you can do virtually everything from this stance, you are always poised to do what you need (which I agree with for the most part). Now what I'm wondering is if there are stances that are better for any particular situation? then wouldn't it be ideal to train in every single stance and use them as needed? I guess if you're fighting an unpredictable fighter (a good fighter) then it would take too much time and energy to be stance dancing all the time, unless it was natrual.

Now I don't even remember if what I just wrote had anything to do with the topic.

[Kenpodog]

The idea is that you can do virtually everything from this stance, you are always poised to do what you need (which I agree with for the most part). Now what I'm wondering is if there are stances that are better for any particular situation? then wouldn't it be ideal to train in every single stance and use them as needed? I guess if you're fighting an unpredictable fighter (a good fighter) then it would take too much time and energy to be stance dancing all the time, unless it was natrual.

In American Kenpo we have a similar stance which serves the same purpose, the Neutral Bow:
From a Natural stance, drop leg back, feet at 45 degrees, front toe parallel to rear heel, equal weight distribution, front arm out at 90 degrees in front of face, rear arm in close covering midsection.
All other stances come from the Neutral Bow and we change stances quite often, thats where the power comes from.

In addition,
I believe that the Twist Stance was designed for climbing stairs while fighting and the Cat Stance for fighting with your back up against a wall, etc....

If the attacker has a gun, then I'll use the "Hands up in the Air" stance

[Tant01]

Strange as it may seem, particular stances are not stressed in Bukti Negara. (a mixed style of Pentjak Silat)


A stance is at most a reminder, a stage one passes through momentarily on the way to somewhere else. A static position leads to static fighting and thinking. Even the name Pentjak alludes to movement. A skilled opponent can look at someone's stance and have a pretty good idea of the opponent's training, skills and tactics. It is best not to give an enemy such an advantage.

... Silat is an art designed for immediate and desperate self-defense...
You will not have the luxury of assessing the situation and getting set in a training stance facing the assailant. In order to survive you have to be able to fight right away, from whatever position you happen to be in.


Cassimore Magda

Excerpts from "The devastating art of..."

[Kenpodog]

Strange as it may seem, particular stances are not stressed in Bukti Negara. (a mixed style of Pentjak Silat)

[I]A stance is at most a reminder, a stage one passes through momentarily on the way to somewhere else. A static position leads to static fighting and thinking. Even the name Pentjak alludes to movement. A skilled opponent can look at someone's stance and have a pretty good idea of the opponent's training, skills and tactics. It is best not to give an enemy such an advantage.

Hello Tant01,
Your comment is very interesting and I'd like to know more.

IMHO stances are extremely important (good stances = good technique).
We transition between stances constantly to generate power, create distance, decrease distance, increase stability, change direction, increase speed, etc....
To clarify, I'm not talking about bouncing around like we do in sparring on Thursday/Friday nights in class, but in a streetfight where I have already moved inside to apply technique.
Here is a link which describes some Kenpo stances:
http://www.bakerfamily4.net/kenpo/stances.htm

What are your thoughts??

[Tant01]

"Stances are one of the cornerstone of our movements in Kenpo."


Seems like a lot of stuff to learn...

[Tant01]

Hello Tant01,
Your comment is very interesting and I'd like to know more.

IMHO stances are extremely important (good stances = good technique).
We transition between stances constantly to generate power, create distance, decrease distance, increase stability, change direction, increase speed, etc....
......
What are your thoughts??

To move is good, stability during your transition in movement is good. To change your direction is good (unless you cross your own legs to do it)

Power and speed are nothing, timing is everything.

[doubleouch]

Spar and test everything against live opponents. Then you don't have to have 40 stances. Protect your head, stay mobile, keep moving. Not much more than that needed.

[Kenpodog]

Power and speed are nothing, timing is everything.

Yes Timing is very important!!
In certain techniques, (5 Swords for example, see link below) we actually have to slow down and wait for the attacker's body to react to the strikes.
http://www.pcwood.com/kenpo/techniques/orange.tech.html

Spar and test everything against live opponents. Then you don't have to have 40 stances. Protect your head, stay mobile, keep moving. Not much more than that needed.

I don't understand, all training is with live opponents?
We do sparring or Freestyle as part of our training, but we also learn and apply techniques as another part of our training.
It sounds like your talking about sparring and as I stated in my previous post

To clarify, I'm not talking about bouncing around like we do in sparring on Thursday/Friday nights in class, but in a streetfight where I have already moved inside to apply technique.

When applying technique, you get close and strike, choke, lock, poke, rake, etc... depending on the technique or (parts of different techniques) while changing stances until it's over (hopefully in a few seconds if your technique is good, and NO my technique is not good YET )

[weak guy]

thanks

thanks guys for all your answer to my question,they all make sense to me,im really learning a lot in this forum