isshinryuronin
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Interesting point few of us have considered, I'm sure. So, when we look at traditional stances, maybe we can understand them better by taking this into account. Even with today's pavement, flooring, shoes, etc., there are times we will not have ideal footing, so the value of these stances may come into play.This reminded me of something an old teacher pointed out and it's why keeping the fashion and technology of the times in perspective is valuable to me.
We often take our modern world of "grip" for granted.
People of the past often learned to fight and wrestle in footwear and on surfaces that would have you slipping around if
you weren't careful.
A lot of fighting traditions come from a time when grippy concrete surfaces and rubber soles were just unfathomable.
Best people had was leather soled shoes or sandals against surfaces like stone or wood that were just getting smoother with age. There was give inside your socks, shoes/boots/sandals, and then between your soles and the ground.