Martial Art Stances and Stepping

Foundational to almost all martial arts are the use of well balanced stances. Stances differ
from style to style, but can typically be divided into ritual and practical stances.

Ritual Stances
Ritual stances are used for formalities, and usually involve bowing postures. Some
common ritual stances include kneeling meditation postures, kneeling and bowing (also
known as the formal bow), standing and bowing, as well as attention stances, which are
usually in a standing posture.

Practical Stances
Practical stances are used to keep good balance while performing various offensive or
defensive techniques. Stances differ widely from one martial art to the next and
terminology is equally divergent. The following descriptions are generalizations and only
cover some of the more prevalent stances.

Ready Stance

The ready stance is usually a relaxed, but focused posture with feet about shoulder width
apart and the body weight distributed equally over both feet. The hands are often closed
into fists.

Fighting Stance

The fighting stance has one foot forward about half a step with the feet a little more than
shoulder width apart. The weight is distributed somewhat equally over both feet and the
knees are slightly bent. This stance can easily maneuver forward and backward, as well as
to the sides, and is therefore popular in sparring.

Forward Stance (Walking Stance)

In the forward stance the martial artist shifts his or her body weight more onto the front
foot. The front knee is usually bend and the front foot facing forward. The back leg is
usually straightened, with the back foot pointing diagonally forward. The hips are often
squared. The forward stance is effective for strong linier advances, and quite stable
because of the low centre of gravity. Unfortunately, the low centre of gravity tend to make
kicking difficult.

Back Stance

In the back stance the centre of gravity is shifted back towards the rear leg. Both the
knees are usually bend and the hips are not fully turned. The rear leg supports about 6070% of the weight. This stance is common when withdrawing from an attack and can be a
good position from which to counter-attack.

Cat Stance (Rear Foot Stance)

The cat stance has most of the centre of gravity brought over the rear foot, with only an
approximate 10 percent remaining on the front foot. The rear leg is usually well bend.
Since most of the weight is carried by the rear leg, the front foot is free for a variety of
kicks.

Horse stance (Sitting Stance)

The horse stance is a forward facing stance with the feet wide apart and bend at the
knees. It is popular with wrestling martial arts, such as Sumo, and is often used to
strengthen the thigh muscles.

Stepping
Footwork is very important in the martial arts and requires a multitude of steppingmotions. Some common stepping-motions include the half step, stepping over, crossover stepping, semi-circular stepping, side-stepping, dodging and pivoting.

Half step

A half step is when you move one foot forward and shift the rear foot after it. This shuffle
ensures a quick, but focused advance, without changing your posture or guard. Half steps
are often used by boxers. The half step can also be done retreating.

Stepping over

Stepping over is when one paces forward so that ones rear foot advances and replaces
the front foot as the leading foot. A step over covers a larger distance but turns the body
position. One can step forward or backward.

Cross-over stepping (Scissors stepping)

A cross-over step is performed when one brings the rear foot forward so it crosses the
front leg. The cross-over step is often followed with a kick. Different kicks require the
rear leg to cross-over either the back or the front of the leading leg. The sidekick requires
a back cross-over and a roundhouse kick (turning kick) requires a front cross-over.

Side-stepping

Side-stepping is a particularly useful maneuver to avoid an oncoming attack. Usually the

front leg is used to quickly do a half step to the side or diagonally forward and drawing
the other leg in. On occasion the rear leg can also be moved back to initiate a side-step.
After a successful side-step, one is often in an advantageous position from which to
perform a counter-attack to ones opponent.

Dodging

Dodging is a form of side-stepping or other form of swift maneuvering to avoid an

oncoming attack.

Pivoting

There are a number of ways of turning, all requiring one to pivot in ones stance. Turning
motions begins from the hip and can add much momentum to strikes.

Guard

The position of your hands relative to your stance determines your guard. A good guard
requires a balanced stance and arms that can easily protect against attacks to the upper
body.

Blocking
Martial Arts are well known for their arsenal of blocking techniques. Blocking requires
the interjecting of a body part of your own, to interrupt and usually deflect the attacking
limb of an opponent.

Hard blocks
Hard styles tend to use blocks as intercepting weapons, to hurt the attacking limbs of
their opponents. Hard blocks meet force with force, but also use rotational tactics to
spread the force over a greater surface area, and so lessen the impact of the incoming
attack. Hard blocks usually require much conditioning of the blocking areas. Thai boxers,
for instance, use cola bottles filled with sand to harden their shins, which are used for
both striking and blocking.

Soft blocks
Soft styles typically use blocks to redirect and deflect the force of an opponents attack. By
redirecting the force of the opponents attack, the soft style martial artist can control the

opponents force and use it against him. Soft style blocks often require much training,
which involves one to merge with the opponents attacking force before one can redirect
and control it. Soft style martial arts like Aikido often require little muscular strength, but
warrant much dexterity and sensitivity to the movement of ones opponent.

Counter-attacking
Blocks are customarily followed by counter attacks. Hard blocks are usually followed by
strikes or kicks and soft blocks are usually followed by a grab and wrist lock or some type
of throwing technique. Counter-attacks needs to follow the block immediately, before the
attacker has time to assess the situation and recuperate. Many martial artists believe that
the ultimate aim in their training is to complete such a block and counter-attack with
such proficiency that no other retaliation would be necessary. One blow (counter-attack)
should be enough to immobilize the attacker.

The Bodys Striking Weapons

Techniques rely on certain natural weapons, innate to the human body. The weapons
include the hands, arms, legs, feet and other miscellaneous body parts.

Hands
The hand is probably our most important and versitile body tool. With it we do
everything from caressing to punching.

Closed fist

The closed hand creates what is known as the fist the most common hand weapon.
Using the hardened knuckles, the fore fist can be a devastating weapon, capable of much
carnage.

Hammer fist (Side fist)

Another favorite is the hammer fist. Instead of using the knuckles of the closed fist, the
hammer fist uses the side of the closed fist (on the little finger side). The technique is
often used in a clubbing action and is an easy and natural way of hitting. One often sees
other primates and even children using the hammer fist as an instinctive weapon.

Back fist

Similar to the fore fist, the back fist uses the back of the knuckles. The wrist is often kept
loose, and snaps at the target in a whipping action, to increase the acceleration of the
strike.

Half-open fist (Long fist)

When the fore fist is slightly unrolled so that the attacking area is not the knuckles, but
the middle digits of the fingers, it is known as a half-open fist, or a long fist because of the
slightly longer reach of this technique. The half-open fist is used to attack narrow
openings such as the throat.

Palm heel

When the hand is opened and stretched back so that the bottom of the palm is revealed, it
is called the palm heel. Striking with the cushioned flesh at the bottom of the palm
greatly reduces the risk of personal injury. In Chinese styles the fingers tend to be
extended open, while in Japanese and Korean styles the fingers tend to be slightly bend.

Knife hand

The knife hand is similar to the hammer fist, but with the hand open, focussing on the
pad of flesh on the edge of the hand. The knife hand is used to strike soft areas such as
the neck and since the strike is concentrated on a small surface area, the force can be
quite great. The knife hand is equally as effective as a block and is sometimes followed by
a grab.

Ridge hand

The inverse of the knife hand is the ridge hand. The thumb side of the hand is used for
striking. The thumb is tucked away to produce a safe surface area for striking (or
blocking).

Fingers

Many martial arts employ the fingers as effective weapons. The fingers can be poked into
the eyes or at pressure points all over the body. Much effort is taken to strengthen the
fingers, when they are to be used as weapons.

Arms

Forearms

The forearms, specifically the bony area directly below the wrist and on the sides of the
arm, are excellent areas for blocking. Although not generally used for striking, it is
possible to use the forearm as an attacking tool, for example against the neck.

Elbows

The elbow is one of the bodies most versatile and hardened weapons. It is especially
effective at close range encounters and can be swung horizontally, vertically and
diagonally and even thrust straight back.

Legs
The legs are primarily used for kicking techniques.

Knees

Like the elbow, the knee is a powerful close range weapon. The knees can be swung
upwards to the groin or diagonally at the floating ribs or solar plexus.

Shins

When conditioned the shin is a extremely hard surface area and excellent weapons for
kicking and guarding.

Feet

Instep

The instep is often used for kicking, with the toes curled in and the foot flexed so that the
instep is in line with the shin. Since the top of the foot has many vulnerable little bones, it
is better not to use the instep unless wearing sparring boots or shoes.

Ball of the Foot

The ball of the foot is an excellent weapon for kicking. It is padded with strong
cushioning and doesnt require much condition to be effective. When used, the toes must
be pulled back, lest they be injured. The ball of the foot is especially effective for the front
kick and roundhouse (aka turning) kick.

Sole of the Foot

The sole of the foot is used in Chinese and Korean martial arts to thrust the opponent
away. It can also be used against the knee joint.

Edge of the Foot (Foot Sword)

The edge of the foot is used as the main weapon for the side kick and can be used to
attack the instep, the shin, the knee, the ribs, the neck or the face, among others.

Heel

Some kicks, such as the downward (aka axe kick) make use of the heel of the foot. For the
downward kick the leg is swung up and over the opponent and then forcefully jerked
downward, slamming the heel into the opponents head or collarbone. The heel is also
used for some spinning kicks.

Miscellaneous Weapons

Head

The head butt is an effective technique and a common surprise attack during street
brawls. The hard skull makes for an effective weapon.

Chest

Sometimes the chest can be slammed into an opponent, as in Sumo wrestling.

Hips

Occasionally the hips can be jammed into an opponents side as an unorthodox attack.
The hips are also effectively used in various throwing techniques and can cause crushing
pressure when dropped onto a person.

Teeth

Although not very graceful, biting is an effective attack. The teeth are hard and sharp and
can cause serious injury. Fists are often cut accidentally when punched into teeth.

Other Ways of Fighting

Apart from striking and kicks, there are also other ways of fighting an opponent. The first
is to use an opponents force against him and the second is to employ leverage and joint
locks.

Using an Opponents Own Force Against Him

Generally, if two people should grab hold of each other, it is the person with the most
muscle strength that would get the upper hand. However, many styles have learned to
use
the
opponents
strength
against
him.

Judo and Aikido, for instance, uses the attacking force of an opponent and redirect such
force into a throwing technique.

Leverage and Joint Locks

Many styles focus on leverage and joint locks to manipulate an opponent. An example is
the simple arm bar that hyper extends the elbow joint by pulling it across the forearm or
over the shoulder. A martial art like Hapkido specializes in manipulating the joints of the
opponent. Smaller joints such as the wrist joints or fingers get special attention, as they
are easier to lock than larger joints such as the shoulder or knee; however, all the joints in
the
human
body
are
potentially
vulnerable
to
attack.
Using leverage a relatively smaller person is able to manipulate a much larger opponent.
Martial arts that focus on leverage and joint locks include: Judo, Jujitsu, Taiho Jutsu,
Brazillian Jujitsu, Aikido and Hapkido.