Stances, according to Webster dictionary, are a “way of standing or being placed”. For martial artists, it is not only a way of standing or being place, stances are a way of remaining standing and maintaining balance while moving or on a steady position. Like a tree that has roots to make it stand firm and steady even when under attack by winds and storm, solid and correct stances serves as the “root” for martial artists that keeps him standing. Having the correct stance not only makes the martial artist stable and balanced, it also develops form and enables ease of maneuverability. Even though Filipino Martial Arts stances are presented in this article, the stances can also be applied to any martial arts that has a standing position.
Stances develops form and power
Correct form is important for a martial artist to be able to deliver powerful strikes and blocks, however, the foundation of a correct martial arts form is a correct stance. Training for a proper form starts with the consciousness of the correct stance, body shift and hand placement that will be used for the technique. It can be considered that correct stance brings about correct form and correct form gives power to every strike and block that is delivered.
Stances maintains stability and balance
Stances enables the martial artist to maintain stability and balance when doing a particular technique or a sequence of techniques. By knowing the correct stance, the body weight or center of gravity is perfectly placed to either the front leg (as in the case of forward stances), back leg (as in the case of back stances) or in the middle (as in the case of straddle stances). Through consistent practice of the techniques with a proper stance, the martial artist will be able to switch the body weight dynamically thereby avoiding being outbalanced by the opponent.
Stances for maneuverability
Another purpose of stances is for maneuverability. Maneuvering or going from one position to another is achieved through a sequence of steps or proper foot placement - that is basically a sequence of stances. In martial arts, there are many kinds of maneuvers or footwork that includes “striking maneuvers”, “blocking maneuvers” and “evasive maneuvers” just to name a few. But regardless of the maneuver that will be done, there will always be an initial stance from whence the maneuver will come from and an ending stance where the maneuver will stop. So knowing which stances to use to maneuver from place to another is as important as the technique itself.