Ernest Cadorin
Defensive Postures
2020/11/07A Spectrum of Options
One of the most common reasons people learn martial arts is so they can handle themselves in the face of physical aggression. It’s an unfortunate fact of life, but even the most mild-mannered person minding his own business can become the target of a stranger’s ire.
Many years ago, on a Saturday morning, my wife and I were on our way to meet her parents for lunch. We were in an empty bus bay waiting for our connection when, for no apparent reason, two guys started circling us in a challenging manner. One of them came right up to me and made some threatening gestures with his hands. His movements were mediocre in comparison to the attacks I had become used to dealing with in the dojo, so after getting nothing more from me than an unflinching glare, the two “tough guys” gave up and continued on their way.
In these types of situations, it’s usually prudent to take some measures to protect ourselves. Staying in a natural stance may help keep the overall tension level down, but it also leaves us somewhat vulnerable. Going into a full sparring stance, on the other hand, while giving us more protection, may inadvertently provoke our aggressor and escalate the situation.
Luckily, we have a couple of other options at our disposal. Let’s take a closer look at them within the spectrum of defensive stances:
Natural stance is our least provocative stance, but also our least secure one. With our arms down and our bodies squarely facing the threat, our targets are completely open. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that we can’t defend ourselves from this stance. It just means that we have to be quicker. In the dojo, we often do drills that require us to defend ourselves from a natural stance. These drills are intended to challenge us by putting us in a worst-case scenario.
Holding our hands up is a huge improvement over keeping them at our sides. We’ll be able to deal with a “sucker punch” or some other sudden advance much more effectively. At the same time, this posture is not provocative at all. In fact, it’s almost conversational.
Bringing one leg back gives us even more protection. It makes our targets less accessible (because the body is turned), and it allows us to move backwards instantly if necessary. This stance looks more like a sparring stance than the previous ones, but it’s still non-confrontational.
Our most guarded stance, of course, is our sparring stance. From this posture, it’s obvious that we are ready to defend or attack as required. Check out my article on sparring stances for tips on making this stance work for you.
I couldn’t resist including a combined graphic of the whole spectrum. It reminds me of a scene from The Usual Suspects as well as just about every Weezer album cover ever made!
