A good stance is one of the best assets one will possess in traditional martial arts. We all understand if the foundation is not good, the house will fall. In this regard we could be speaking of your martial arts foundation or your stance as it relates to your body and its position when you are delivering, taking, avoiding a blow or standing ready to do one, the other or all at the same time.
Traditional martial art training almost always begins with stance training. We see the movies where the student is told to sit in a stance for an hour or more while the master leaves the room or training hall to do something else, seemingly cold and unconcerned about the student’s welfare. Grandmaster Alan Lee's father used to leave him standing for over an hour in a horse stance with a command not to move. It is said he stood so long that his sweat as it dropped to the ground caused depressions from the constant dripping. The ground in the room where he trained was riddled with little divots.
Why is this done? Why must a student endure such humiliation? This humiliation is designed to make a student mentally and physically stronger. The student becomes mentally stronger because he or she will develop patience and discipline. You don’t know when the teacher is coming back, so you stay. You become physically stronger because of the power and endurance it will build in your legs as you remain in one spot fighting the urge to move. You are working your legs in an isometric fashion as you pit one muscle against the other and the force of gravity. This training creates mental toughness.
A strong stance can help you overcome fear. While blocking punching or kicking, your ability to do so is dictated by your ability to stand firm. When your legs start to wobble, the rest of your body will follow. Once that rhythm begins all is lost. It is like the boxer whose legs begin to shake, you know it won’t be long before he will fall. This is less pronounced in martial arts because we do not scrutininze the stance since it is and should be ever changing. Though we don’t see it the tremors are there like a silent earthquake undermining our position. Regardless of the martial discipline, the result will be the same; a weak stance or weak legs will cause your house to fall.
If you like competition, stay one up on your competitors. Work your stance for a better score. Judges watch the legs and your body positions when you perform. When you step, spin or jump are you firm and still when you stop or when you land? If not, you will lose points. Those of you who are familiar with gymnastics, when a gymnast sticks their landing there are fewer deductions. The martial artist should seek the same.
Some might utilize a style of martial or fighting arts that focuses on the hands and think they don’t need to work their stances. This thinking is flawed because your legs still need to be strong to get you from point "A" to point "B" to deliver those hands. Moving from point “A” to point “B” in actuality is stepping, but how can you step correctly without having first held a stable position? No matter what the style, work your stances. It will increase the value of your entire martial arts experience.
Master Robert Thomas has been a member of the Chinese Kung-Fu Wu-Su Association since 1974, where he currently holds the position of Kung-Fu Wu-Su Master Instructor and Co-Director. He has also served as an expert on the allexperts.com website for 6 years, February 2002 to February 2008, answering various questions concerning Chinese martial arts. Most recently Master Thomas was profiled in a documentary entitled "Natural Mystery," that aired on The Learning Channel (TLC) and was distributed worldwide. You can contact Master Thomas directly concerning martial arts issues at kungfuwusu@aol.com.
