Stance and Balance

I'll try to keep this discussion as open as possible and not specific to Siu Lum kung fu, so that every martial art, including MMA, can take something of value and apply it to their own training philosophy.

Proper stance when training is extremely important. Think of your stance as the foundation that you build the "house of perfect technique" on.

Stance comes down to a few key elements.

• Proper foot placement: depending on the martial art, proper foot placement will vary depending on movement. An example of this would be if you are attempting to shoot in and perform a take down, your feet are more likely going to be in a toes forward, straight ahead position. It would be inefficient to approach this type of attack with your feet pointed out like a duck.
• For us, proper foot spacing would be similar to a linebacker stance in football with the feet armpit width apart. This is what we would call a regular spacing. Combat spacing is much wider with the weight lowered. Movement from these positions should be explosive and direct.
• Balanced vs. unbalanced stance: if you ask most people to show you a balanced stance they will most likely spread their feet apart equally and drop their weight a few inches into a stance like the horse stance. This is not a balanced stance. This is a centered stance. Weight is dropped and distributed equally (balanced) between each leg.
• Why isn't this a balanced stance by my regard? Simply because you don't actual require any balance to perform it. It is a lowered center of gravity stance.
• What are the limitations of performing this stance in this fashion? If you intend to stay put and attempt a block strike combo to an opponent who doesn't know any better, then there is none.
• This being said, if body weight is equally distributed between legs then one must first transfer weight in order to move. This adds extra time to a moving counter attack.
• Instead of this definition of a balance stance, I offer an alternate view.  A stance with pre-loaded weight distribution allows for ease of movement. Distribute your weight in an non-obvious fashion to facilitate quick movement in your desired direction.

I recommend about a 40-60 distribution. This provides an example of what I consider to be a balanced stance. While standing in a posture that appears "normal" I am able to pre-load the leg of my choice. This allows me to rapidly transfer the remainder of my weight into whatever action I have selected.

In this position, at 40-60% with very little motion, I would be able to lift the 40% leg slightly off the ground. This is what I mean by balance. In essence, in the 40-60, I am in fact balancing the bulk of my weight on the 60% leg. Doing this allows me to transfer the 60%, or more, into the 40% leg when necessary.

This enables me to summon enough inertia to deal with a larger opponent while still allowing for mobility to move and adjust to a faster one.

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