[QUOTE=David Jamieson;1026845]boots off, pants down, hat on, junk erect
I win every time.[/QUOTE]
Sounds like you’re fighting for that last bar of soap before the guards come.:eek:
[QUOTE=SevenStar;1026863]traditionally, thai boxing had a few stances. primarily, the normal stance and kick stance. old thai boxers weren’t much for mobility - that is something that has been brought into the style via western boxing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkigvaSZxBM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxr8IOYNNZU&feature=related
notice the lack of mobility. it is skill and toughness. evasion plays a much lesser role.
In jun fan, you learn to fight strong side forward. in boxing and muay thai, strong side is back. training in both has me constantly changing leads as well.[/QUOTE]
This is a good point. Several Muay Thai gyms in recent years began incorporating punching technique and footwork into their Muay Thai training from western boxing.
50/50 - horse
60/40 - lead step
70/30 - bow and arrow
100/0 - one leg
[QUOTE=YouKnowWho;1026883]If you always move around and constantly give your opponent pressure, you will find out that you are not using any fighting stance. Only when you wait for your opponent to attack you, and you act like a sitting duck, you have to use some kind of “fighting stance”.
IMO, the concept of the fighting stance is too conservative. If you drop guard, your opponent will hit your head. If you raise guard, your opponent will kick your belly. No matter what you do, you can’t cover your entire body. It’s better to let your opponent to worry about it instead.
[/QUOTE]
agreed. A “Fighting Stance” is used to give a student a platform for throwing their techniques with the best body structure possible. The coverage is neccesary because as much as we want to attack, attack, attack, there is always the chance that our opponent is going to launch his attack first, and as much as we like to say, “You attack first, I hit first,” it don’t always go down like that.
In addition, it teaches you to attack and cover at the same time, thus allowing interception (stop-hits) and to take advantage of the openings that occur when your attacker throws.
fighting stances also look very cool in the mirror…
at least mine does.
(this, of course is the ideal set-up for MK to post an apropos pic)
On a side note:
Besides drilling moves from a fighting stance, it is also crucial to drill them from neutral stances such as:
Hands down by sides
Arms crossed
Hands in pockets
Etc.
Besides providing mobility the stances are a source of power and help in transferring it ground (earth)up, in kung fu, so depending on the style one practices one needs to maintain a certain amount of structural integritty…