Tips by George Hernandez

A few general points that usually apply to most stances and footwork:

There will be different stances and footwork for different needs. The stance and footwork will vary upon things such as the style (EG: karate v sumo), weapon (EG: hand v rapier), quantity (EG: one v many), and the tactical goal (EG: waiting, attacking, defending, hiding, sideways movement, etc.).
Keep the back vertical (perpendicular to the ground). This is easiest on the back. Think of picking up heavy objects.
Keep the center of gravity somewhere between the feet for stability. Otherwise the person will tend to be off balance.
The orientation of toes, knees, body, head, etc. are important in stances:
- EG: A pigeon toed (toes pointing in) stance may protect the groin somewhat but to move from such a stance, the feet usually have to be adjusted first (because the knee can't take the torque) which results in telegraphing your movement which is obviously tactically a bad thing.
- EG: The most common stance is a natural stance with the body almost facing your opponent at 45 degrees but your head is facing your opponent straight on.
- EG: In a gunfight you want to minimize your profile and you want you're shooting hand forward; However if you're wearing a standard bullet proof vest, you usually turn your body so that your unprotected sides are not facing your opponent.
The orientation of toes, knees, body, head, hip, etc. are important during footwork:
- Usually your extremities lead the movement (EG: Toes and eyes point where you want to go), but the "leading" can also be done to mislead your opponent.
The width or length the base formed by the feet determines stability.
- A wider or longer the base is more stable. However, a base that is too wide or long may have more reach but it is also potentially immobilizing and dangerous. Some styles (EG: Shotokan karate) use a lot of long and deep stances for exercise during training.
- Most practical stances are a body width. EG: The most common stances is a natural stance with the feet one body width apart and one foot ahead of the other by a foot.
- If a large step is taken, the feet must be immediately adjusted to assume a natural stance once more.
The knees (and elbows) should never be locked out (hyperextended). The knees should always be at least slightly bent with flexion. Sideways abduction should be minimized.
Many stances have more weight on one foot than the other. Awareness of this can be used tactically --either to move or to be aware of what your opponent might do.
- Usually the weight bearing foot is about to act as the pivot foot (jiku ashi in Japanese).
- Usually the non-weight bearing foot is about to be the moving foot (do kyaku in Japanese).
- A "front stance" is when the front foot bears the weight.
- A "back stance" is when the back foot bears the weight.
When stepping, avoid getting tangled up by your own feet and legs. There should be a clear path for your feet regardless of the direction you are moving in.
Usually it is best to keep the height of the hips level during movements to maximize horizontal movement and minimize vertical movement.
Most schools have their own particular names for the different kinds of footwork just reviewed. Complex footwork is often more easily shown than written or diagrammed.
A stance is not truly static.

Page Modified: (Hand noted: 2007-10-15 23:51:20Z) (Auto noted: 2010-12-24 22:53:48Z)