# Side stance or squared up?



## BrothersMA (Mar 16, 2016)

Which stance do you use or like most?
Do you like the side stance like traditional karate or taekwondo?
Or squared up like a boxer or krav maga(er)?
Or do u switch it up depending on situation? 
Personally ill use side for most kicks and some front hand tech. Where i use squared for more hands, knees, and elbows. 
Thoughts?


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## Touch Of Death (Mar 16, 2016)

BrothersMA said:


> Which stance do you use or like most?
> Do you like the side stance like traditional karate or taekwondo?
> Or squared up like a boxer or krav maga(er)?
> Or do u switch it up depending on situation?
> ...


Well, it isn't about preference, it is about distance. Square is fine, both close and super far away, but if you are anywhere in between, you may want to lessen your targets, and offer them your strongest base of support.


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## Dirty Dog (Mar 16, 2016)

I use whatever stance is (in my opinion) most useful for a given set of circumstances. Which, not surprisingly, changes constantly.


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Mar 16, 2016)

I change constantly. Been paying attention recently, noticed that if I plan on keeping my distance I'll go side stance, and square up if I'm going to close in on the person. May need to work on that, so I'm not as predictable.


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## Touch Of Death (Mar 17, 2016)

kempodisciple said:


> I change constantly. Been paying attention recently, noticed that if I plan on keeping my distance I'll go side stance, and square up if I'm going to close in on the person. May need to work on that, so I'm not as predictable.


Sounds predictable, to me. Just sayin'


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## drop bear (Mar 17, 2016)

Front on.


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## RTKDCMB (Mar 17, 2016)

Usually I like to stay side on whenever practical as you are better protected.


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## Gnarlie (Mar 17, 2016)

Somewhere in between for me, a relaxed short stance, especially within kicking range. Side on presents problems dealing  with low kicks to your front leg unless you're very good at reading the opponent and maintaining range.

For Olympic style sparring, side on. 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


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## BrothersMA (Mar 17, 2016)

RTKDCMB said:


> Usually I like to stay side on whenever practical as you are better protected.


You are. But you also lose some of your tools in that trade. Hence why i posed the question


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## BrothersMA (Mar 17, 2016)

Touch Of Death said:


> Sounds predictable, to me. Just sayin'


It is but also sounds practical.


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## RTKDCMB (Mar 17, 2016)

BrothersMA said:


> You are. But you also lose some of your tools in that trade.


I usually like to put my tools away when I am not using them.


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## Andrew Green (Mar 17, 2016)

It's going to largely come down to the rules you're playing under.  For example taking a very sideways stance when kicks to the legs or takedowns are allowed is likely going to go pretty poorly.  Of course the reverse is also true, I imagine most TKD players would rip you apart under those rules if you came at them square.


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Mar 17, 2016)

Touch Of Death said:


> Sounds predictable, to me. Just sayin'


That it is. It's why I'm trying to change it. As I change, I'm tending to go side stance a lot more, and am trying to switch only when I'm doing a takedown, or the instant I'm closing range, as a way to get in closer faster.


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## Touch Of Death (Mar 17, 2016)

BrothersMA said:


> It is but also sounds practical.


Not the way I read it. LOL


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Mar 17, 2016)

Touch Of Death said:


> Not the way I read it. LOL


It's practical enough for my purposes. if I wasn't sparring the same people over and over again, I wouldn't really see a need to change it.


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## drop bear (Mar 17, 2016)

kempodisciple said:


> That it is. It's why I'm trying to change it. As I change, I'm tending to go side stance a lot more, and am trying to switch only when I'm doing a takedown, or the instant I'm closing range, as a way to get in closer faster.



You don't necessarily need to switch stance to be either unpredictable or throw flash kicks.

Look at guys like James moontasari or ben Nguyen and they throw everything from a basic stance.

The advantage,especially if you are doing take downs is you are less likely to get caught wrong footed.


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## hoshin1600 (Mar 17, 2016)

If we are talking street or self defense then 100% square on.  When I was younger and into competitive sparring I did like the side stance.


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## drop bear (Mar 17, 2016)

hoshin1600 said:


> If we are talking street or self defense then 100% square on.  When I was younger and into competitive sparring I did like the side stance.



Why do you feel there is a difference?


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## JR 137 (Mar 18, 2016)

I used to use a bit of both.  I'm pretty much 100% squared up now.  I dropped the side stance for a few reasons...

It exposes my back and kidneys too much.  When people use it against me, I noticed it's far easier to circle to their back side when I counter, leaving them pretty much defenseless if I get there quickly enough.

Because the stance is longer, it's easier to sweep someone in it by kicking out the front leg.

The reverse side hand and foot are a lot further away, taking those a bit too long to reach their target.

What sealed the deal for me is that I've been hitting a heavy bag 3-4 days a week for the last 3 months straight (New Years resolution to lose weight, get faster and stronger still in effect).  I'm a lot weaker with my front side, especially out of that stance, and it takes too long to hit with the same power from my back side as a squared up stance.

I'm not saying this is true of everyone; maybe I'm the exception.  I've tried to make it better, but it's like fitting a square peg into a round hole.  The only application I see for it for me personally is point fighting where power doesn't mean much, and speed of making first contact is everything.  Having zero interest in point fighting, I've stopped using it almost completely.  I'll find myself in it once in a while through the course of sparring, but it's more of a transition during movement than anything else.

I'll practice it a bit on the heavy bag for if I'm ever forced into it in a SD situation, but I'm not giving it any more attention than that.

Everyone's different.  Use what works for you.  A lot of things changed for me when I started hitting the bag on a regular basis.  And I'm not doing cardio kickboxing on the bag by any means.  Combinations at full speed and power, footwork and sharpening basics are what my workouts on the bag consist of, not Billy Blanks Tae Bo stuff.


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## marques (Mar 18, 2016)

Mostly 'squared up'.


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## lklawson (Mar 18, 2016)

Stance?  "Stance" is just something I transition through as I'm fighting.  Body posture, positioning, and footwork all alter with distance/measure, timing/tempo, weapons, and the position of the opponent(s).

Don't get hung up on "stance."  Stance is nothing more than a starting position or something you transition through.  Just learn to fight.  The right "stance" will fill itself in as you gain experience.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk


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## JowGaWolf (Mar 18, 2016)

BrothersMA said:


> Which stance do you use or like most?
> Do you like the side stance like traditional karate or taekwondo?
> Or squared up like a boxer or krav maga(er)?
> Or do u switch it up depending on situation?
> ...


For me it doesn't matter.  I use a basic fighting stance where a side stance is only inches away and I can switch back in forth between stances in less than a second or while moving.  Depending on what is going on, my stance may be a hybrid.


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## hoshin1600 (Mar 18, 2016)

drop bear said:


> Why do you feel there is a difference?



I'll give the short answer,,,it comes down to rule sets.
This was before MMA rules. The old kick boxing rules were, no contact to the back and no  grappling so side stance gives an advantage.


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## JR 137 (Mar 18, 2016)

BrothersMA said:


> Which stance do you use or like most?
> Do you like the side stance like traditional karate or taekwondo



Not to open up a can of worms, but I don't think the side stance is a "traditional karate" thing.  I haven't seen people use it as a "fighting stance" (meaning not a transitional stance, but one you spend most time in) in schools/styles like Uechi Ryu, Goju Ryu, etc.  I think it's more of a sport karate thing.

I'm no authority on this, just my guess.  If you're from one of the "old school " systems and you and your fellow practicioners use it extensively, I'll take your word for it.


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## Langenschwert (Mar 19, 2016)

I like to stay square to my opponent whenever possible. I don't like having my rear side too far away, nor do I like to make it easier for someone to get my back. Part of it also has to do with keeping things consistent from unarmed to sword work. There are always exceptions, and of course one is always moving and transitioning, but it's a general principle to which I adhere.


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## Lameman (Mar 23, 2016)

I will typically fight one foot forward. Mostly because I don't like to waste movement. Once I step forward I fight from the new stance. For me, a stance is just how you stand while you are not moving. Since I don't typically hop in a fight that means side on. Oh, and if you do notice a habitual tell, don't count on a new opponant to not pick it up.


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## Kung Fu Wang (Mar 23, 2016)

I like to use "cross stance" with my right foot forward but my left hand forward. It has the advantage of both "squared stance" and "side stance".


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Mar 23, 2016)

Kung Fu Wang said:


> I like to use "cross stance" with my right foot forward but my left hand forward. It has the advantage of both "squared stance" and "side stance".


How do you get power in your strikes? Anyway I attempt this makes me fight my own body mechanics, and also minimizes my reach.


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## Kung Fu Wang (Mar 23, 2016)

kempodisciple said:


> How do you get power in your strikes? Anyway I attempt this makes me fight my own body mechanics, and also minimizes my reach.


The "cross stance" is commonly used by wrestlers. The idea is trying to have the same reach with both hands without staying in "squared stance".

From the striking art point of view, in the following clip, since

- your right hand is back, you will have more powerful right "jab".
- you stay in "side stance", you can still have longer reach on your right jab when your left back shoulder, right front shoulder, and right front hand make a straight line.

The only difference is the starting position of your right jab is farther away from your opponent and need to travel more distance.


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Mar 23, 2016)

Ok, I realize what your saying now. I've generally seen people do right (or left) foot distinctly forward, but having both hands the same amount 'out'. Might try it that way just for the fun of it during sparring tonight.


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## Lameman (Mar 23, 2016)

Never really thought about it, but, yeah, that's pretty much what I do. Cross stance, huh.


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## drop bear (Mar 24, 2016)

The ammy boxing coaches that I have met have been very rear hand forward (ish)







Young Jake the snake in action here.


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## Buka (Mar 24, 2016)

I've used that cross stance, too. Just in the dojo, I don't usually fight anywhere else.
It's interesting to work with. Different options.


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## Tony Dismukes (Mar 24, 2016)

I've seen some FMA practitioners advocate for the cross stance. I've played with it a little bit, but not enough to have any strong opinions.


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## Kung Fu Wang (Mar 24, 2016)

There is a good reason that wrestler like to use "cross stance". If both you and your opponent have right leg forward, in wrestling, it's important to "use your back left hand/arm to control your opponent's leading right arm" (similar to Judo sleeve hold). After you can obtain that control, your can use your leading right arm to deflect your opponent back left arm. You then extend your leading right arm to obtain head lock, under hook, over hook, waist wrap, shoulder push, neck push, chin push, face push, forehead push, ... If at the same time you can also apply your leg skill such as cut, hook, sweep, scoop, spring, ... you can execute your throw, take your opponent down, end the stand up fight, and start your ground game.

As far as to use cross stance in the striking art, IMO, since your both hands will have the same reach without going through a full body rotation, that's the PRO. It's like using the "squared stance", since your chest is completely facing to your opponent, it will give your opponent a larger target to kick you. That's the CON. Also since you are most likely not using "full body rotation", your may not be able to generate the most powerful punch. That's another CON.


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## Lameman (Mar 24, 2016)

Contact first, power second. Sometimes it is better to hit soft then hard. If it is not the final blow, then it sets up the final blow. Power, shocks and scares. Soft, confuses or builds confidence. Further, if your opponant likes to dodge, and all you are trying to do is move them around, soft blows that let you focus on defence are better then overcommitted powerful ones.


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