Stance Changes

[Jerrit Reed]

What would make a combantant change stances/guards? Would one change for tactical reasons? Or to perform a better counter?

[Joel Norman]

What would make a combantant change stances/guards? Would one change for tactical reasons? Or to perform a better counter?

The term "tactical reasons" is kind of all-encompassing, so I would say yes to that one. There are lots of tactical reasons why you should change stances/guards for both offense and defense. One of the reasons that strikes me is that changing positions keeps your opponent guessing as to what you are going to do; if you are static and remain in one position, it's easier to find a way to hit you.

[Corey Roberts]

Stance transitions are performed relatively continuously and naturally in the course of a fight, you might change wards in response to actions of your opponent, or you might change guards as a result of your own actions. Let's say I'm standing in Vom Tag and I throw a Scheitelhau at my opponent which is voided, because I don't want to just be sitting pretty with my hands stuck out mid motion and just freeze into a vulnerable posture from which my opponent can kill me; naturally my motion will continue into Alber where I'm ready to respond with something else. The last thing you want to do is just sit fat and happy while your opponent clobbers you; so stance transitions are merely a natural flow from one ready position to another.

[Jeremiah Backhaus]

Jerrit,

You are asking the wrong question man. Instead, 'why would I stand still in a fight?' If I lock into a stance and hold it, then I am leaving so many portions of my person open that an opponent of any skill would be able to read not only the proper course of action, but also your response.

Each stance/guard/hut that you can find yourself in during a fight has pro's and con's. They need to be used as they are best fitting. To keep your opponent guessing, to give you more options in the fight, to create openings, to keep your muscles from stiffening (if you have been fighting for a while), etc. There is no simple answer to your question - except: don't not change stances, that would be your death.

-Jeremiah