All the fighting stances explained for MMA & Self defense

One of the first things you should be taught in any striking martial art is your stance. If you have a bad fighting stance to begin with, then it sets you up to fail later on. However, if you start a fight with a good stance, then you have the building blocks for success. In other words, it’s very important to learn. Not only this but there are also differing fighting stances from the different martial arts. For instance, a Karate stance may differ compared to an MMA stance.

Often, these stances are dictated by the rules and cultures of each martial art. For instance, in Karate you will often have lower hands that ready up kicks. However, during a boxing stance, you will have your hands raised to defend against punches. When fighting, you may even switch between stances to give yourself the best possible chance of winning. Below we shall go into detail regarding various fighting stances.

Boxing stances

Orthodox fighting stance

The Orthodox fighting stance is commonly used in boxing and is seen more often than the Southpaw stance. This stance favors right handed boxers and means leaning forward with your left leg and arm in front of your right leg and right arm. The point of this is to jab with your left arm which is usually your weaker side. Here, the jab can act defensively as well as offensively. Usually, the Orthodox stance means keeping your right hand back to throw big punches when needed such as hooks and uppercuts.

Southpaw fighting stance

The Southpaw fighting stance is basically the opposite of the Orthodox stance and is suited towards left handed fighters. This means your right hand and right leg lead with your left hand and leg behind. The point of this is once more to jab with your weaker punch, whilst loading up on your stronger punch which is in this case your left side. As less of the population is left handed, this typically means that the Southpaw fighting stance is less common. It can also make fighting against a Southpaw quite difficult due to their unorthodox nature.

What is a proper fighting stance?

A proper fighting stance can be defined as something which works in a fighting scenario. This can mean in an MMA setting or in a street fight, depending on your situation at the time. Too often, people won’t use a proper fighting stance and end up getting knocked out. For instance, many people don’t correctly defend their heads when throwing strikes. This can be from a defensive or offensive position where their hands stay down.

Another common example of poor technique is foot work and movement. If done incorrectly, this can make for sloppy, slowed movement which means your strikes are less likely to land, whilst your defense will be worse too due to lack of speed and fluidity. Often in street fights, you’ll see people throw kicks from a bad angle without any knowledge of what they’re doing.

This is sometimes countered by a heavy punch or catching the leg and using it to get a takedown. Remember, a good fighting stance helps your entire body and sets up multiple attacks as well as defense.

Knife fighting stance

Obviously, you should hope you’re never involved in a knife fight. However, if you are then like striking, it involves technique. These techniques can be learned in Kali and Krav Maga gyms and may save your life. Often, the knife fighting stances are quite similar to the boxing ones previously mentioned. This means people will often use a Southpaw or Orthodox stance whilst fighting.

Generally, these stances are quite defensive and cagey too, which is understandable due to the dire consequences of getting stabbed. Usually, there are two ways to hold a knife too. People will either hold it upright or downward. Each position has its own set of pros and cons. The main point though is to hold the knife in your leading side. So, if you’re leading with your right arm and leg, hold the knife in your right hand.

Another commonly seen knife fighting stance involves crouching quite low with your defensive arm tucked into your body. The point of this is to stop your body from getting opened up and block knife attacks from the side. Although gruesome, you would much rather get stabbed in your arm than in the side of your body which could be fatal. Overall, the point of this stance is to stay compact and minimize the damage done by a knife. Of course, if possible – try to run and escape as quickly as you can.

Muay Thai fighting stance

The Muay Thai fighting stance is like a hybrid of the conventional boxing stances which makes sense due to it having a lot of upper body strikes in common. One key difference with the Muay Thai stance though is that it often uses a higher guard. This means having both arms raised to cover the head to block any potential punches. In general, it’s also quite loose which is certainly not a bad thing when fighting.

Another nuance of the Muay Thai stance is the lead leg. This will often have its heel off the floor, with the toes pointing down into the ground. As you may have figured, the goal of this is to be able to use this leg to kick opponents and pivot on this leg when required. This also explains the high guard, because when knees and kicks are involved, it changes the dynamics of a fight. Also, the front leg can be used defensively, in the same way a jab is used. This means it can block potential kicks, as well as being offensive too.

Krav Maga fighting stance

Once again, the Krav Maga fighting stance is typical of its ruleset. In Krav Maga’s case, it doesn’t really have any rules due to being based on street fighting and survival rather than professional fighting. As a result, its stance is quite unique and different compared to the others previously mentioned. Like others though, it does have a front and resting leg which is common sense when fighting.

However, the hands are positioned differently, and open palms are shown towards the opponent. The reason for this is the ability to place both hands on your opponents shoulders or head if they try to attack you. Supposedly, this stops people lunging forward as it makes a skeletal frame to defend from. For instance, if you can keep them at bay then you can avoid punches and headbutts. One key thing about the use of the open palm is the ability to eye gouge which is a big part of Krav Maga.

Obviously, eye gouging is illegal and isn’t recommended, but remember Krav Maga was originally designed for the Israeli military. In brief, if someone lunges at you and you keep your palms open and facing them, you can potentially eye gouge them and start the fight with an advantage. The open palm stance can also lead to elbow strikes and open palm punches if required.

This is sometimes called the guard stance and also helps defend against head kicks from distance. If you’ve trained Krav Maga then you’ll also know it has a lot of influence from Kickboxing, so don’t be surprised to see a mixture of Kickboxing stances thrown in too.

TKD fighting stance

As Taekwondo is based around kicks – this is dictated by its starting stance which is quite similar to the Karate stance. This means doing a stance that is similar to an Orthodox or Southpaw style, but with the resting leg further back and almost parallel with your front leg. In other words, this makes your body much thinner than other stances as you’re standing side-on.

The point of the TKD stance is that your body makes an angle that you can kick from. By leaning back onto your resting leg, you can generate a lot of power in the front leg. This means techniques such as roundhouse and axe kicks can be performed with greater ease compared to other stances. Of course, this is Taekwondo after all which centers around kicks more than anything else.

At the same time, the upper body is quite similar to boxing which means you can jab and throw punches if required, whilst also blocking with your arms. In fact, in Taekwondo head blocks are crucial as if a kick lands cleanly, it can potentially knock you out. With this in mind, it’s important to block your head with your hands and stay defensive.

MMA fighting stance

Really, there is no definitive MMA fighting stance that makes sense. As MMA is a blend of martial arts (hence the named mixed martial arts), it is possible to take from many of the aforementioned stances. For instance, if you want to use a boxing stance then you can, but you can also mix it up with a TKD stance if you want to throw kicks.

What makes MMA stances different though is the use of grappling as well. Whilst striking stances are the norm, you also have to be ready to block takedowns and shoot for them yourself as well. For instance, if a good wrestler is getting hit whilst standing, they will usually try a takedown such as a double leg when the timing is right. To do this, they could begin with a regular Orthodox stance, close the distance then aim for the hips when the opportunity is there.

In other words, MMA fighting is very versatile and there’s a lot going on. That isn’t to say it’s superior to other forms of fighting, but it just means that it takes from a blend of martial arts. Various martial artists have used their own styles over the years though. For instance, Lyoto Machida used a very common Karate stance, whilst Anderson Silva used a Muay Thai stance.

Really, it depends on your own style and so long as the fundamentals are there, you should be ok. As mentioned, be wary of Judo and wrestling though which completely changes the dynamic for strikers.

Wing Chun fighting stance

The Wing Chun fighting stance is very unusual and is certainly unique. Although each martial art has its own style, Wing Chun’s is like nothing else. This stance starts by standing straight, with both knees and feet bent inwards so they’re facing each other. Then, both elbows should be tucked in at the hip, with clenched fists facing upwards. In the meantime, your spine should be straight whilst doing this.

As you may have figured, this stance is very awkward and can take years to learn. Because of this, some people question the realistic nature of Wing Chun and whether it’s legitimate. In a Wing Chun setting though, this works as Wing Chun is often about trapping close-range punches with your own arms. So, it may not be very effective against a haymaker or hook punch that comes from the outside, but from the inside its goal is to block punches and counter with your own.

Although the foot work is strange, this may be due to the lack of kicks in Wing Chun. Of course, Wing Chun does use kicks but doesn’t use high kicks which may explain the bent legs. For those doubting the legitimacy of Wing Chun, it has actually been used in the UFC by the likes of Anderson Silva, Rose Namajunas, and Tony Ferguson. These are all top fighters and it may be fair to say that on its own, Wing Chun isn’t the best stance for fighting. However, when combined with other styles it works well.

Kung Fu fighting stance

The Kung Fu fighting stance is based on a low center of gravity where your hips are close to the ground. This means you’re almost squatting at times with your arms stretched out for defense and offense. The point of this is to be able to spring into attacks when needed such as low kicks or to pivot on your resting leg and kick from the front.

Kung Fu also has other stances too which are done from standing up. This is typically quite a fluid stance that has wide legs and relaxed arms. Arguably, this is too relaxed at times and can be vulnerable to punches due to its low guard. As well, you will need to be quite flexible to be able to perform a Kung Fu fighting stance. This is due to its reliance on extending your legs and being able to perform athletic kicks at all times.

Defensive fighting stance

Sometimes, it’s good to be offensive when fighting. However, even the best fighters in the world will need to defend at times which is where the defensive fighting stance comes in handy. This is based on avoiding strikes and damage limitation. In other words, if you’re getting hit then you need to defend to avoid defeat. A good defensive fighting stance is by adopting an Orthodox or similar position.

Then, you should raise both arms to your head to protect against head strikes. At the same time, you should also try and keep your elbow low on your left side. The reason for this is that it protects against liver strikes. As we know, a liver shot is like being knocked out and will instantly lose you the fight. In short, the point of this is to stay tight and defensive.

Generally, when fighters adopt these positions, they also try and make space from their opponent. For example, if you’re getting punched then you may use this stance and try to step backwards or to the side. If you can escape a flurry of punches and make space between the opponent, then you can move into a neutral stance. Often a good defensive stance is the difference between winning and losing a fight – and sometimes fighter will switch between defensive and offensive during fights.

Best fighting stance

Overall, there is no ‘real’ best fighting stance and it really depends on the individual. For instance, someone may feel great with an Orthodox boxing stance. This is also one of the more natural positions which even untrained people will naturally assume when fighting. However, this doesn’t necessarily make it the best stance either. Sometimes, Kung Fu stances can work brilliantly due to throwing the opponent off. Although this may take time to master, it’s quite good in the long run and may pay off.

What’s worth noting is that whatever your fighting stance is, your fundamentals need to be good. In other words, you should always use a stance that can switch from attack to defense and make sure your feet provide a good base. As long as you have these things covered, whatever you do you should be ok. Just remember, correcting your fighting stance can take years of practice though, and needs lots of patience and dedication.

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