How my understanding stances can makes me a better fighter.

JowGaWolf

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I thought I would share some of my knowledge about how I use my understanding of a stance to help make me a better fighter. I'm not a master, I don't even call myself an expert or advanced student. The things I will discuss are things that I've learned, observed, and tested in an effort to really understand the basics of stances.

Observation #1: Stances determine how strong everything else will be. Having a strong solid stance makes it possible to deliver strong and powerful strikes. It allows grapplers to execute incredible take down techniques. It helps to make defense stronger. It helps make mobility and movement faster. A small injury to the foot or leg greatly affects the performance of everything up top. Muay Thai fighters understand this as they are more than willing to damage their opponent's ability to use a strong stance. Things such as sprained ankles, stumped toes, and even in-grown toenails, make it difficult to produce powerful striking, kicking, and grappling techniques. From a self-defense perspective stomping the toe when someone grabs you from behind seems stupid and impractical to do. From a functional and more practical perspective stomping the toe or the foot when the person is facing you is not only much easier to do but is often done by accident in the form of "Stepping on the foot." The true benefit of stomping on someone's foot isn't that it's painful, but it reduces the ability to create a strong stance. If the stance is weak then everything else is week.

Observation #2: This is where the topic of this post really begins. Every Martial Art and fighting system and even in sports uses some type of specific stance that make it easier to maximize the effects of the techniques of that system. Basketball players uses a stance that makes it easier for them move around on the court, to dribble and protect the ball, and to guard. Baseball players use stances that help them to be able to better hit, throw, and field the ball. Stances are so identifiable that we could watch a videos that show only the legs using stances and determine what activity is being done. Many of us will be able to even recognize the specific sport based on how the person is standing. What's even more amazing is that we would be able to tell what types of actions are mostly to be possible by the way a person stands. Martial Arts is no exception this and the more Martial Arts you expose yourself to the better you'll be able to distinguish how the stances vary and what actions and motions are better suited for that stance. Some stances allow better forward and backward movement, while other stances allow better side to side movement. The type of technique a martial artist uses is going to vary based on the stance that they are in. There are very few exceptions to this.

Observation #3: For most people out there, foot position is going to determine direction. The reason why this is the case is because we only have 2 legs so movement in one direction or the other is going to require that we place the foot in the direction that we want to go in. You will find it very difficult to lift your right leg and move to left without either hoping on the left leg, or moving the right leg in the direction that you want to go. By understanding this you'll be able to narrow down your opponent's options for directional movement based on how they are standing.

Observation #4: Certain techniques can only be done when in certain stances. This one is my favorite observations because I'm always trying to draw out the techniques that I want my opponent to throw by using my stance. I can fight both in open and closed stance, but I only use one of the two stances to understand my opponent and his stance. If the person is standing in a side stance, then I know that an attempted shoot on my legs is very unlikely because the stance doesn't favor that. I also know that a rear hand power shot is also not on the table while in that stance as there is too much distance to cover while in a side stance.

A person that takes more of a square up stance is looking to make use of both of his hands, most likely in a forward advancing series of punch combinations. This stance is a feet point forward = fast forward and back pedaling speeds. Fast movement in angles will also be quick. The down side is that stability will be sacrificed for speed. This means I'll have an opportunity to interfere with the movement of the feet where I can interfere with the movement of the feet. This is where Observations #1, #2, #3 come into play at the same time. Fast feet that move often = opportunity to trip or sweep. This type of movement is often common with boxers who greatly depend on their footwork and body movement to get them into and out of attack and defenses, without grabbing.

Anyone who is willing to dedicate time and effort to study and analyze stances will gain a big advantage over their opponent.

Tip #1: When sparring create enough distance between you and your opponent for the main purpose of analyzing your opponent's stance. Your opponent will do 1 of two things. He will either give chase or he'll stand still and and wait for you to re engage. Chasing usually (not always) means that the person is eager to engage with you. Use his eagerness to create counters to his attacks. If he stands stills and barely advances then he is seeking to take a defense approach. When this happens be careful of counters to your attacks. You will be able to verify if this holds true by the way he stands. I recommend that you try this with someone of a lower skill level than you, if you have never tried this before. A lower skill level opponent will give you enough time to figure things out. Someone one the same skill level as you or a higher skill level than you, will mean that you have less time to figure stuff out, and you may get hit if you they catch you looking too hard.
 
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JowGaWolf

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WEEK #1 CHALLENGE:
Watch 5 street fight videos and 5 MMA videos. Only focus on the legs, stances, and the movement in the stances. Try to identify if the fighter will move forwards, backwards, or lean backwards based on his or her stance.
 
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Don Johnson

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WEEK #1 CHALLENGE:
Watch 5 street fight videos and 5 MMA videos. Only focus on the legs, stances, and the movement in the stances. Try to identify if the fighter will move forwards, backwards, or lean backwards based on his or her stance.
Much can be learned from studying specifics like JowGaWolf has suggested. Do your homework. Speed up the process even more by learning from instructors who have done their homework, for years. ;)
 

Don Johnson

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Ugh those are so bad.
Street fights rarely look good from a technical standpoint. The good news is that you only need to get just enough right to get home emotionally and physically intact. I find studying the good, the bad, and the ugly on the street too be enlightening.

A couple things to notice...Distance...Most people are surprised that an encounter even becomes physical. It is obvious by their lack of distance. Many begin face to face. Lack of distance gives your opponent the opportunity to attack you from any angle with any tool at any time. As JowGaWolf suggests above, distance allows you to analyze and anticipate your opponents intentions, or at least their options. Don't allow a potential opponent to surprise you. Action is always faster than re-action. When one understands that a physical encounter is even possible, the intelligent fighter will manage distance, even before it ever begins. Hopefully, distance enough will prevent it from happening. What's the best distance? Miles away. Absolute minimum distance, a leg away.

Second...Stance...Since this thread started with stance, lets look at stance on the street. Not only do few maintain distance, most stand completely upright before the encounter begins. Often their chest puffed out, meaning their body weight is back. And their legs are at normal standing distance apart. What does this tell us? Ready for nothing, except to be knocked on their a** or throw weak strikes. And you wonder why most street fights go to the ground. Duh. On the street, I find a non-threatening, non-revealing, maximized option and maneuverability, stance the best. What does that look like. Feet shoulder width apart, bladed stance which means one leg is back a bit farther, front foot forward, back foot 45 degree, knees slightly bent, hips and shoulders in natural blade with feet, bent very slightly forward at waist, hands open and up face high in a stop position, arms bent just greater than 90 degrees, fingers and thumbs together, relaxed and ready. Just my suggestion, based on my homework.
 
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JowGaWolf

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From a self-defense perspective. One is more likely to see bad stances and stealth approaches, than they are trained fighter stances. The sucker punch stance, when aggressor is facing you, is unusually high and stealthy in it's appearance. This stance tends to over-sell the look of someone who is calm but puts the person within attack range. It's kind of funny because when you are out of range they will try to creep into range while looking as if they aren't going to do anything physically. The distance never disengages. A simple step backward will not only help to keep a person out of range, but it will also shine light on what they are really up to. The guy in the video does a good job in highlight all the good qualities of a sucker punch. He might as well raise a sign saying "I like to sucker punch people." While he didn't do a good job of hiding his intention some people do. I'll ignore all of the upper body signs and only focus on the stance.

Take note of his foot position. Watch the position of that lead foot at the start and where it stops right before the sucker punch. The rear foot is in position to push. His front foot is pointed in the direction that he wants to go in. For most people the position of his feet is harmless. For people who train Martial Arts, that stance should look a little like a cat stance. That foot position is also used in Olympic Fencing for forward movement. He also does that "sucker punch creep" which is a series of small steps for the goal of being stealthy about closing the distance. Take note of the distance that he is actually able to close with his "sucker punch creep."

So what does this guy's stance tell us? What are the limitation of the stance?
  1. Highly likely to sucker punch
  2. Foot is turned so that he can move forward
  3. Lead hand is closer than the rear hand which means that it's most likely to be a lead hand attack
  4. Both are kind of in an open stance, open stances tend to draw out lead hand punches and kicks
  5. If he throws a lead hand attack then he's probably using his stronger punch arm. Not many people would use a weaker punching arm to execute a sucker punch.
If we think he's going to move forward then what are his movement limitations. Can he easily move left or right with that stance? We can easily find this out by moving left or right to see if his position changes a lot or very little. If his position changes a lot then you have found the limitation of movement for that stance in terms of moving left to right. The best way for me to test this guy's stance is to move towards the outside of the lead foot. His right foot is forward, so I would move to my left to watch what happen with his stance. I would also try to increase my distance in this process. The benefit of this is that he would have to re-position his lead foot in order to execute a sucker punch which is what I'm currently addressing. The other benefit is that he doesn't have another fist on the side that I'm moving to and it increases the distance of that his left hand has to travel to hit me. It also means that he'll have to re-position his body to even launch the left hand.

I don't think he will kick but I do think he may step forward to punch, if that's a possibility then I need to position myself to take advantage of that by sweeping or kicking that lead leg as he steps forward. Sweeps have 2 advantages that I like. It's a low attack that works really well by breaking the root. If I break the root before the punch lands then the punch falls weak. The other benefit is that sweeping changes my head position so when I start the sweep, my head will no longer be where he is originally punching.

This seems like a lot to think about, but in reality your eyes and minds can process all of this information incredibly fast, especially if you are familiar with stances and movements with stances. If you need more time to figure out what is going on then increase the distance.

Now that I've gone over all of this watch how this next video plays out. Watch the feet and movement and tell me if you see something that looks identical.
 

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What I've always been told is never get in a stance until it's on. If for example someone's mouthing off at you and you get in a stance in case they attack you show them you know martial arts and give away the element of surprise if you just stay in a standard position and someone throws a punch you can still block and throw a kick to the groin or knees which hopefully would end it there but if not then you would have to take your stance
 

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From a self-defense perspective. One is more likely to see bad stances and stealth approaches, than they are trained fighter stances. The sucker punch stance, when aggressor is facing you, is unusually high and stealthy in it's appearance. This stance tends to over-sell the look of someone who is calm but puts the person within attack range. It's kind of funny because when you are out of range they will try to creep into range while looking as if they aren't going to do anything physically. The distance never disengages. A simple step backward will not only help to keep a person out of range, but it will also shine light on what they are really up to. The guy in the video does a good job in highlight all the good qualities of a sucker punch. He might as well raise a sign saying "I like to sucker punch people." While he didn't do a good job of hiding his intention some people do. I'll ignore all of the upper body signs and only focus on the stance.

Take note of his foot position. Watch the position of that lead foot at the start and where it stops right before the sucker punch. The rear foot is in position to push. His front foot is pointed in the direction that he wants to go in. For most people the position of his feet is harmless. For people who train Martial Arts, that stance should look a little like a cat stance. That foot position is also used in Olympic Fencing for forward movement. He also does that "sucker punch creep" which is a series of small steps for the goal of being stealthy about closing the distance. Take note of the distance that he is actually able to close with his "sucker punch creep."

So what does this guy's stance tell us? What are the limitation of the stance?
  1. Highly likely to sucker punch
  2. Foot is turned so that he can move forward
  3. Lead hand is closer than the rear hand which means that it's most likely to be a lead hand attack
  4. Both are kind of in an open stance, open stances tend to draw out lead hand punches and kicks
  5. If he throws a lead hand attack then he's probably using his stronger punch arm. Not many people would use a weaker punching arm to execute a sucker punch.
If we think he's going to move forward then what are his movement limitations. Can he easily move left or right with that stance? We can easily find this out by moving left or right to see if his position changes a lot or very little. If his position changes a lot then you have found the limitation of movement for that stance in terms of moving left to right. The best way for me to test this guy's stance is to move towards the outside of the lead foot. His right foot is forward, so I would move to my left to watch what happen with his stance. I would also try to increase my distance in this process. The benefit of this is that he would have to re-position his lead foot in order to execute a sucker punch which is what I'm currently addressing. The other benefit is that he doesn't have another fist on the side that I'm moving to and it increases the distance of that his left hand has to travel to hit me. It also means that he'll have to re-position his body to even launch the left hand.

I don't think he will kick but I do think he may step forward to punch, if that's a possibility then I need to position myself to take advantage of that by sweeping or kicking that lead leg as he steps forward. Sweeps have 2 advantages that I like. It's a low attack that works really well by breaking the root. If I break the root before the punch lands then the punch falls weak. The other benefit is that sweeping changes my head position so when I start the sweep, my head will no longer be where he is originally punching.

This seems like a lot to think about, but in reality your eyes and minds can process all of this information incredibly fast, especially if you are familiar with stances and movements with stances. If you need more time to figure out what is going on then increase the distance.

Now that I've gone over all of this watch how this next video plays out. Watch the feet and movement and tell me if you see something that looks identical.

Loved the videos. It's funny seeing both creep in for sucker punches, throwing them, and then getting their asses whooped. The BJJ fighter would've had him done in a rear naked chokehold in about 5 sec if the other guys didn't start interfering. At least he still grabbed the leg for a leg lock and held him until you hear the woman breaking it up.
 
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JowGaWolf

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What I've always been told is never get in a stance until it's on. If for example someone's mouthing off at you and you get in a stance in case they attack you show them you know martial arts and give away the element of surprise if you just stay in a standard position and someone throws a punch you can still block and throw a kick to the groin or knees which hopefully would end it there but if not then you would have to take your stance
Most people on the street don't pay attention to stances and your stances don't have to full on stances that scream fight me. I tell people that if they think they are going to be in a situation where there's a possibility that it will get physical, then they should get as much of a head start as possible. You saw in both of those videos that the attacker had no problem with getting in an attacking stance before the other guy was ready. My stance is going to determine how fast I can counter or avoid an attack. It determines how fast I can get into defense. If my feet are too close and the person looks like they want to go for my legs, then I'm already behind. The stance that you take can actually discourage or delay an attack. Not taking the appropriate stance can actually encourage an attack.

I wouldn't worry about thinking if I'm showing martial arts or not to an aggressor. The element of surprise isn't that you know Martial Arts. The surprise is in the techniques that you are able to effectively use. Me seeing that you know martial arts doesn't tell me much about what techniques you are going to try and use on me. As an attacker it's to my advantage to attack you when you aren't ready or when you aren't in a good stance to deal with my attack.
 
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JowGaWolf

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Loved the videos. It's funny seeing both creep in for sucker punches, throwing them, and then getting their asses whooped. The BJJ fighter would've had him done in a rear naked chokehold in about 5 sec if the other guys didn't start interfering. At least he still grabbed the leg for a leg lock and held him until you hear the woman breaking it up.
That's the danger of being on the ground, other people can interfere. You may have noticed how easy the other people were able to reach out and grab the BJJ guy. The BJJ guy is lucky that the guy who attacked him didn't have back up. Even the Gracies stated that the BJJ guy put himself in a bad position.

There was also an opportunity for the guy to slam the BJJ guy on the ground. For me I would have just dropped my entire body weight on the BJJ while he was trying to lock my arm. There was also an opportunity to stand on the BJJ's face at 1:40 had the stance been strong and stable enough to put the foot on his face. To be able to do something like that would require a strong stable stance, martial art systems that often stand on one leg usually have this time of strength. You can also see how the the weakness of the stance that sucker punchers take. Sucker Punchers often try to knock the heads off of people so they put all of their energy and body into a punch which throws them off balance when they miss. Sometimes it throws them off balance when they hit. When he misses his punch you can see how the weight is mostly on his toes which makes it impossible to resist the downward pull from the BJJ.

A good horse stance would have allowed him to remain standing. The good thing is that most people neglect training their stances, especially the "bad guys."
 

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You do understand that many Bjj takedowns are specifically designed to bring down people in traditional MA stances right?

It's not like there's some glorious history of Kung Fu and Karate guys actively stopping grappling takedowns with deep stances. In fact, history shows the exact opposite.
 

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Stances serve several purposes. They create and maintain stability. They allow for movement. They enable specific techniques to be used effectively for defense and attack.

A proper stance is the basis of nearly all martial arts techniques (discounting the various flying techniques of course).

As we are all affected by gravity, the ground or floor is the basis from which we begin and end. From the stance, to the center of gravity. From there to the rotational core. We develop power. We deliver or absorb power in accordance with our good center, and good base or stance.

Stances are changed and adapted according to conditions such as terrain, weather, and techniques anticipated to be used.

Because not every condition can be anticipated, one should practice different techniques from different stances.

Coupled with stances are transitions. Necessarily less stable and safe than stances, transitions between various stances should be practiced assiduously.

Noticing the stance or stances used by an opponent can be advantageous, as JowGaWolf noted. Every stance has both weakness and strength. Knowing the weakness of any given stance opens opportunity to attack if one can take advantage of it. Poor stances with obvious flaws can be exploited.

For the advanced student who has the luxury of time, press an opponent to change stances and note that most follow the same pattern. That is, they move from A to B, favoring left or right. They typically will not move from A to C after previously having moved from A to B, nor will they change the direction they tend to pivot. This can be exploited.

Everything that stands upon the ground has a stance. Nature has created the perfect stance for every plant and animal, based upon most likely threat within given parameters. Trees do get blown over, prey animals get knocked down, so no stance is perfect. But ignoring stance training is foolish, it should be a very important and regular part of training.
 

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That's the danger of being on the ground, other people can interfere. You may have noticed how easy the other people were able to reach out and grab the BJJ guy. The BJJ guy is lucky that the guy who attacked him didn't have back up. Even the Gracies stated that the BJJ guy put himself in a bad position.

There was also an opportunity for the guy to slam the BJJ guy on the ground. For me I would have just dropped my entire body weight on the BJJ while he was trying to lock my arm. There was also an opportunity to stand on the BJJ's face at 1:40 had the stance been strong and stable enough to put the foot on his face. To be able to do something like that would require a strong stable stance, martial art systems that often stand on one leg usually have this time of strength. You can also see how the the weakness of the stance that sucker punchers take. Sucker Punchers often try to knock the heads off of people so they put all of their energy and body into a punch which throws them off balance when they miss. Sometimes it throws them off balance when they hit. When he misses his punch you can see how the weight is mostly on his toes which makes it impossible to resist the downward pull from the BJJ.

A good horse stance would have allowed him to remain standing. The good thing is that most people neglect training their stances, especially the "bad guys."
I agree with your first paragraph but not so much with your assumptions in the second. I think as a non-grappler your assertions make sense but it's because you don't understand what the guy on the bottom is actually doing. Body slamming is a real danger in grappling but the standing guy wasn't in a good position to do it. Unless you're really bigger and stronger then you need to get yourself under that person. "Dropping your weight" after the failed arm bar wouldn't do much. We train against that all the time because a basic defense that we learn to counter is getting stacked (body weight dropped on you and forcing your legs over your heard). It's a simple move of his left foot slipping behind the guys head, grabbing the right ankle, and rolling right into a more solid arm bar with the guy on the ground. Without the pressure from the top guy, he instead opted to transition to an x-guard and sweep the guy. I think this is where you're saying he'd have the opportunity to head stomp him but really all he would be doing is speeding up the sweep. The BJJ guy handled himself very well... It's just never smart to go to the ground with a bunch of people around you.
 
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JowGaWolf

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You do understand that many Bjj takedowns are specifically designed to bring down people in traditional MA stances right?

It's not like there's some glorious history of Kung Fu and Karate guys actively stopping grappling takedowns with deep stances. In fact, history shows the exact opposite.
It doesn't matter what they were designed for. If you are on the ground then it makes it easy for other people to interfere and even join in the fight. If your 2 arms are busy choking one person then you have nothing to use to defend against other attacks. If you are the ground you can run away.

Just as there are Bjj techniques to take down MA stances there are stances that help defend against it. Simply increasing the distance makes things more difficult to do, which is why in many self defense programs they say increase the distance.
 

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It doesn't matter what they were designed for. If you are on the ground then it makes it easy for other people to interfere and even join in the fight. If your 2 arms are busy choking one person then you have nothing to use to defend against other attacks. If you are the ground you can run away.

Just as there are Bjj techniques to take down MA stances there are stances that help defend against it. Simply increasing the distance makes things more difficult to do, which is why in many self defense programs they say increase the distance.

You're arguing with hanzou. Bjj > everything else.
 
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JowGaWolf

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I think as a non-grappler your assertions make sense but it's because you don't understand what the guy on the bottom is actually doing.
I spar with grapplers before and have actually been in that exact same position with the exact same opportunity. If that arm isn't locked then there are a lot of things that can go wrong with the guy trying to apply the lock

Body slamming is a real danger in grappling but the standing guy wasn't in a good position to do it.
He didn't have a good stance to do anything, which is what I've been saying about having a good stance and why it's important.

Dropping your weight" after the failed arm bar wouldn't do much.
It could have been worse. It could have been on a hard surface like a basketball court.

 

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I spar with grapplers before and have actually been in that exact same position with the exact same opportunity. If that arm isn't locked then there are a lot of things that can go wrong with the guy trying to apply the lock

I know. My comment was that you don't know all of the chess moves he has next after the failed arm bar. It's the same as me watching two Jow Ga dudes sparring. I understand striking principles with some trapping and combos but I don't know the way they've trained to chain them together and even what all is in the arsenal in Jow Ga. It wasn't a slight on you.

It could have been worse. It could have been on a hard surface like a basketball court.


I'm not sure the point of the video? I said that body slams are a real danger. I've seen lots of guys get knocked out, even on a mat. That's different than dropping your weight on someone and stacking them which every BJJ person trains to react to.


Not the same technique I mentioned but an example of what to do if a person is dropping their weight on you and stacking you over.
 
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JowGaWolf

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I know. My comment was that you don't know all of the chess moves he has next after the failed arm bar. It's the same as me watching two Jow Ga dudes sparring. I understand striking principles with some trapping and combos but I don't know the way they've trained to chain them together and even what all is in the arsenal in Jow Ga. It wasn't a slight on you.



I'm not sure the point of the video? I said that body slams are a real danger. I've seen lots of guys get knocked out, even on a mat. That's different than dropping your weight on someone and stacking them which every BJJ person trains to react to.


Not the same technique I mentioned but an example of what to do if a person is dropping their weight on you and stacking you over.
This thread is about strong stances so if you look at their legs and forget about everything else then you'll be able to see how their stance plays an important role in helping them perform a technique. A strong stance isn't just a striking thing. Hanzou's remark kind of got me off topic a little but I'll get back to the focus of stances and my original purpose which was to basically share how stances help me. I do a lot of stance work and training as well as mobility drills while in stances. What I know and what I do may help shed light on some other systems or at the very least help people recognize those with a strong stance vs someone with a weak stance. Like Bill was saying if you can recognize a weak stance then you can exploit it.
 

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This thread is about strong stances...
The term "strong stance" can mean "sitting duck". The stronger your stance is, the harder for you to change.

IMO, the best stance is the stance that you can "spring" from it. A strong stance just doesn't fit that requirement.

If your opponent keeps circling around you, he will force you to turn with him. Your strong stance will have to be readjusted. The issue is your opponent will attack you while you are shifting your stance and not while you are in strong stance.

Old saying said, "Even if I can't find any opening to attack you at this moment, but if I keep moving and moving, soon or later I'll find that opportunity to attack you." The term "strong stance" doesn't apply in "fast moving footwork" as shown in the following clip.

 
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From a self-defense perspective. One is more likely to see bad stances and stealth approaches, than they are trained fighter stances. The sucker punch stance, when aggressor is facing you, is unusually high and stealthy in it's appearance. This stance tends to over-sell the look of someone who is calm but puts the person within attack range. It's kind of funny because when you are out of range they will try to creep into range while looking as if they aren't going to do anything physically. The distance never disengages. A simple step backward will not only help to keep a person out of range, but it will also shine light on what they are really up to. The guy in the video does a good job in highlight all the good qualities of a sucker punch. He might as well raise a sign saying "I like to sucker punch people." While he didn't do a good job of hiding his intention some people do. I'll ignore all of the upper body signs and only focus on the stance.

Take note of his foot position. Watch the position of that lead foot at the start and where it stops right before the sucker punch. The rear foot is in position to push. His front foot is pointed in the direction that he wants to go in. For most people the position of his feet is harmless. For people who train Martial Arts, that stance should look a little like a cat stance. That foot position is also used in Olympic Fencing for forward movement. He also does that "sucker punch creep" which is a series of small steps for the goal of being stealthy about closing the distance. Take note of the distance that he is actually able to close with his "sucker punch creep."

So what does this guy's stance tell us? What are the limitation of the stance?
  1. Highly likely to sucker punch
  2. Foot is turned so that he can move forward
  3. Lead hand is closer than the rear hand which means that it's most likely to be a lead hand attack
  4. Both are kind of in an open stance, open stances tend to draw out lead hand punches and kicks
  5. If he throws a lead hand attack then he's probably using his stronger punch arm. Not many people would use a weaker punching arm to execute a sucker punch.
If we think he's going to move forward then what are his movement limitations. Can he easily move left or right with that stance? We can easily find this out by moving left or right to see if his position changes a lot or very little. If his position changes a lot then you have found the limitation of movement for that stance in terms of moving left to right. The best way for me to test this guy's stance is to move towards the outside of the lead foot. His right foot is forward, so I would move to my left to watch what happen with his stance. I would also try to increase my distance in this process. The benefit of this is that he would have to re-position his lead foot in order to execute a sucker punch which is what I'm currently addressing. The other benefit is that he doesn't have another fist on the side that I'm moving to and it increases the distance of that his left hand has to travel to hit me. It also means that he'll have to re-position his body to even launch the left hand.

I don't think he will kick but I do think he may step forward to punch, if that's a possibility then I need to position myself to take advantage of that by sweeping or kicking that lead leg as he steps forward. Sweeps have 2 advantages that I like. It's a low attack that works really well by breaking the root. If I break the root before the punch lands then the punch falls weak. The other benefit is that sweeping changes my head position so when I start the sweep, my head will no longer be where he is originally punching.

This seems like a lot to think about, but in reality your eyes and minds can process all of this information incredibly fast, especially if you are familiar with stances and movements with stances. If you need more time to figure out what is going on then increase the distance.

Now that I've gone over all of this watch how this next video plays out. Watch the feet and movement and tell me if you see something that looks identical.

Easy demonstration


You don't want to get suckered Start further back.

It is pretty simple nobody does it.
 

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