Forward Stance
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Front stance, sometimes also called forward leaning stance or forward stance, is a basic
stance Stance may refer to: Sports *Stance (American football), the position an American football player adopts when a play begins *Stance (martial arts), the distribution, foot orientation and body positions adopted when attacking, defending, advancing ...
used in various
Asian martial arts There are many distinct styles and schools of martial arts. Sometimes, schools or styles are introduced by individual teachers or masters, or as a brand name by a specific gym. Martial arts can be grouped by type or focus, or alternatively by re ...
. Although the specifics of the stance vary by style, overall it is visually similar to a moderate lunge, with the forward leg bent at the knee, and the rear leg straight, while the hips and shoulders remain squarely facing forward. The purpose of the stance is to teach musculo-skeletal alignment that adds as much mass of the earth to a strike as possible. The stance allows a great deal of power generation forward, but very little in any other direction.


Japanese martial arts

In Japanese martial arts, the is primarily practiced in
karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...
and its variants. Some variations include the version practiced by
Shotokan is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" thro ...
, where students generally place their feet at a longer depth, while
Isshin-ryū is a style of Okinawan karate created by Tatsuo Shimabuku (島袋 龍夫) in approximately 1947/1948 (and named its present name on January 15, 1956). Isshin-Ryū karate is largely a synthesis of Shorin-ryū karate, Gojū-ryū karate, and k ...
students place their feet shoulder width, but with much shallower length. Other variations are also practiced. The purpose of the front stance is to provide stability while projecting the body weight forwards, such as when punching. The straight rear leg pushes the center of gravity forwards, ensuring the full body weight is behind the strike, while the bent front leg supports the body weight. The front stance can be used when moving forwards or backwards, as long as the body weight or center of gravity is projected forwards. The back stance is by contrast used when the body weight or center of gravity is positioned on the rear leg, such as when leaning backwards to avoid an attack.


Korean martial arts

The front stance is primarily practiced by students of
taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...
, where it is called ap kubi. Students of
Tang Soo Do Tang Soo Do (; ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean martial art based on karate which can include fighting principles from taekkyeon, subak, as well as northern Chinese martial arts. From its beginnings in 1944 to today, Tang Soo Do is used by ...
or Kong Soo Do call this stance chun gul chase. Depending on the school's lineage, it will either be very similar to a Shotokan deep and long stance (Most Moo Duk Kwan or Chung Do Kwan lineage schools), or else appear more similar to a Shudokan or Renbukai stance, which is of shorter length (Most Jido Kwan, Han Moo Kwan or Chang Moo Kwan schools). {{DEFAULTSORT:Front Stance Martial arts stances Martial arts stances (Japanese)