Those are two different things. One is part of the kick, the other isn't, so I'm not sure how we got into that side bit. As with most things related to stance, there are advantages and disadvantages to a lower fighting stance. As for the bent leg during the kick, you've made that statement several times, without suggesting how a bent leg during a kick alters forward mobility. You're standing with all your weight on that leg, bent or no.We were talking about both fighting stance and stance during kick. Unneccesary bent leg during kicking phase does impact mobility moving forward, it does not neccesarily make you slower though. Having a very deep fighting stance to kick from however will make the travel path longer