Stance Training good idea or bad?

Question

20yrs ago I practiced shotokan karate and felt at the time the stances where irrevilent for fighting ,but having matured lol, I've came to realise that the purpose was for strengthening and flexibility reasons and not for fighting per'se

Your thoughts please !!!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

stances are a very good idea to learn correctly.if your stance is wrong youve made a mistake and mistakes compound they dont correct.ma is about perfection if your not perfect you are going to get beaten,and considering your jj background you should know this?ppl who dont think stance is important are not and never will be martial artists as there view is to restricted.stances arn't just about stand up ie:punching or kicking.stances are very important in redirection techniques and throws etc.have you ever tried to hip throw someone twice your size with an incorrect stance?then you know what i mean.

Answer 2

Shotokan has to be learned from the bottom up which means stances. Unfortunately for many practioners they only ever learn 3. Zenkutsodachi, Kokutsodachi and Kiba dachi. Even some Black belts look at you as if you have horns on your head if you asked them any of the others.
The reality is that it is the others that form the basis of fighting as the first 3 are as you say training stances. In fact some of the katas which use these stances are dismissed by some senior instructors as just training kata and have no meaning beyond that.
Most people who criticise Shotokan for the long stances are only showing their lack of depth of knowledge of the art as they have only seen or experienced it at a very basic level.
One last point is that the transition between stances has probably more relevance in application than the start and finish point.

Answer 3

I think that indeed many of these "unnecessary" techniques serve a purpose. If you look at it the old masters needed to learn how to fight no more no less. They Had no time to waste on stuff that would not have served them with any use. e.g. in aikido we are taught elaborate techniques of turning and manipulating the human body that seem very unpractical at first sight it isn't until later on that you realise that you are actually laying the basics for what is the real effective aikido. Same goes for stance training you are always taught to look for the centre of balance and usually a beginner think that it's not that important in fighting it isn't till later on that you learn that balance is the quintessential part of martial arts. Similar thing with the other martial art I practice: capoeira. Many people ask what is the purpose of all those acrobatics since they serve no fighting purpose. If you practice handstands and cartwheels and flips for an hour or so you know why. It develops the muscles like no other. The old master knew what they were doing unfortunately not every one understands it that well

Answer 4

Stance is another aspect of martial arts sports has screwed up.People either get into a locked up posistion and cant move or dont know the purpose of stance.To say stance is not a fighting method is partially true .Facing off and moving and maneuvering stance should be natural loose and quick rigid stance is applied with a counter to an attack using the stance to uproot and unbalance you opponents posture.But such maneuvers are not allowed in sport as it means attacking your opponents legs mainly with your knees so the practice becomes lost as so many other effective things all for some plastic and wood dust collectors.

Answer 5

Oh god... Look, what does stance mean? It means the way in which you stand.

A boxer calls how they stand a stance, a boxer uses foot work. The main reason for practicing any stance is that it has a fighting application, maybe horse stance looks useless to you but next time someone tries to grapple you try sinking into a low horse stance and see how they go getting you to the ground from there.

I think that really most people overlook the importance of stance training as they don't understand where each stance could be applied effectively.

Answer 6

Stances are good, they aren't just to look pretty, no news there. We've all realized it aids strength development and balance. I think it's just another of those benefits in martial arts that aren't always clear to junior grades: blocks as strikes, pulling hands as grabs/holds/locks, power from hips, etc. As mentioned in another answer, any way of standing is a stance, some serve a particular purpose, fighting stances tend to be natural to the fighter, unlike "basic" training stances.

Answer 7

That as well as other things are why stances are important. They are also important for generating more power in your techniques and also to teach a student how to generate more power when using their hips and back rather than just their arms when punching. Most instructors do a very poor job of teaching or demonstrating this to students so that the student never comes to realize the full purpose of this. Start looking how a boxer spreads his feet and plants them when he settles down on his feet and punches harder after he has his opponent hurt. Prior to that he will be mobile, on his toes and agile. Some of your stances work much the same way and you apply them in certain situations to make your techniques more effective or to better fit the situation. Unfortunately a lot of instructors teach them "because that's the way we do it" without having the knowledge to explain and relate it to practical application.

Answer 8

Stance is where balance is at! It's good but Also realize that a free stance is more maneuverable then a wide. Remember that the movement of the hips make your strikes powerful and Throws Effective! A good spraw defense will depend on your movement in the hips!

Answer 9

You are correct, the stances in shotokan Are great for building strength and flexability. They are also usable ( with some slight modification ) in real world situations. Such as the zenkutsu stance being shortened, but still maintaining the strength of the stance.

Answer 10

I think you have hit the nail on the proverbial head.

In the beginning much of what you learn is structured, formalized, and very rigid for some very good reasons. It builds good habbits, if builds strength, and it develops ideas of movement and stability. Later, as you progress in experience, skill, and effectiveness, the rigidity should be relaxed to accomodate individual differences in students and outlooks.

Some of what is taught though is very practical, such as methods of moving.i.e. not tripping as you move, how to cover distance quickly and effectively, how to move at angles and so on.

I think most disciplines have a systematic and progressive construct that takes students through a planned series of advances. Unfortunately, some instructors are not very good at discussing this with students, and some don't understand it very well themselves.

I hope you are able to glean much more as you resume your training, and that you will continue to pass it on to those students of lower rank or less experience than youself now.

Good luck with your continued training :)

Ken C
9th Dan HapMoosaKi-Do
8th Dan TaeKwon-Do
7th Dan YongChul-Do