Newsletter 1010
Proper Martial Arts Stances!
Hey guys and gals!
Good Florida morning!
I hope the rest of the US is as happy as we are down here.
Now,
last issue I talked about footwork.
But footwork doesn’t mean diddly,
if you aren’t connected to the ground.
The body is a motor,
and a motor won’t work
if it isn’t connected to something.
Tied down.
So it doesn’t just flop around.
So…
I remember the big myth about stances.
Everybody was talking about…
all the books were writing about…
distribution of weight in stances.
In the front stance
you have 70% of your weight on the front foot
In the back stance…you have 30%
Or some other percentage,
like 60/40,
and the percentages were worked out for other stances.
Then some guy put out two bathroom scales
and all stances were 50/50.
So this is what I want you to do,
sink into your stance
and don’t overly weight one foot or the other.
Have both feet gripping the ground.
Like your two fingers might grip an apple,
use your two feet to grip the earth.
So your front stance is now sort of a horse stance
with the body more on the front leg than the rear.
Your back stance is now a horse stance
with the body more on the rear leg than the front.
Your feet might be turned a little differently,
but it is still a horse stance,
and…
most important…
YOU ARE GRIPPING THE GROUND!
Instead of taking a big step with the front foot
when shifting from the front stance to the rear stance,
just do a little shift.
You get the same amount of weight transferred into the punch,
but you don’t waste motion.
It will be faster and more concise.
It will be more…usable.
As for cat stances?
I don’t do them.
People say they free up the front leg for kicking.
I say that tells your opponent what you are going to do.
So I take a narrow hourglass stance
and turn one foot,
and shift the weight back slightly.
Twisted or Dragon stances?
Good for exercise,
I recommend them for exercise,
but not for fighting.
Never seen a dragon stance used in a fight.
But I do see the conditioning they impart
as useful in a fight.
Stances where you are just standing with your feet together?
Why?
You would NEVER,
in your wildest dreams,
use that in a fight.
That is just ritual.
Stupid.
Okay,
do you get the idea?
I know,
it flies in the face of traditional stances,
but traditional stances are tainted.
They have been adjusted to teaching groups,
and have lost their workability.
traditional stances don’t work well
except as they promote the singular concept
of dropping the weight.
So play with this concept,
do your forms out of slightly off center horse stances,
play with the direction of the feet,
find out what intention they support
before they become less than useful.
And let me know how it goes.
Now,
there is a big PS below,
do me a favor and glance at it,
but for now,
that’s it and…
Have a great work out
Al
BIG PS
I write other books.
And they help support me
and this website.
I have two releases this month.
MONKEYLAND
Is a re-release.
Fully edited,
new cover,
and a whomper stomper of a story.
If you like tight action,
intense plotting and dialogue,
this will fill the bill.
Check it out at…
MONKEYLAND
three 5-star rating so far!
And,
my other book this month…
Again, only three reviews,
but all 5-star.
Just read the reviews.
see what people are saying…
it’s like matrixing for politics
So,
if you look my traffic is better,
if you buy you directly support matrixing
and a better world.
Thanks.
Al
