Originally Posted by
Pork Chop
Yeah, that's kind of what I'm thinking about it...
The static stance is the way to clear up your form for the dynamic/moving stance...
It's corrective in nature and not the end goal...
Holding it for a long time is not just to build up endurance, but to help you find the best structural fit in order to stay down there without much effort - if your hips need to stretch more to get the mechanics right then they'll stretch...
I just think that too much static practice can be harmful over a long period of time, after you've already got perfect structure.
Going back to what I was saying before about practice how you fight:
Why would Hung Gar want to sit low when a muay thai guy wants to kick out his legs?
Well eventhough I said I don't agree with "fight high, train low"; there's a time and place for everything.
When you're still at the outside range - stay mobile (which would probably be higher).
Even if it's a situation where your legs are getting kicked out - weight on a straight leg that's getting kicked is BAD, weight on a bent leg getting kicked is not as bad - it can even help you absorb & catch the leg kick (see Cung Le's video).
When punching, sitting on your punches is a big thing in boxing, so knowing how to sink into your stance at the moment of contact is a good thing.
There's something to be said for being able to sink, even when striking at range.
Also when you've closed distance & engaged, then sinking can be a good idea.
This is especially true if you're worried about throws, it's not bad to get your hips low on the inside.
Chinese prioritized still being mobile while being engaged, hence all the dynamic stance drills - if you could apply that to wrestling, that would be akin to being able to drop level and shoot shot after shot tirelessly: shoot, get stuffed, step through and shoot, get stuffed, step through & shoot, get stuffed.... till you get it.
If you're about to get thrown sinking your weight's a real good thing - be it making yourself heavy in a sprawl (though not sitting in a horse), or sinking when you're about to be hip thrown.
Now you may be asking: "yeah but why do Thais keep their hips forward & raise on their toes in the clinch?"
Don't forget that their ruleset specifically outlaws wrestling shoots & forward body locks (talking about forward bear hugs where you drive your head into their chest while clinched around their lower back).
The muay thai clinch can be particularly vulnerable to both techniques (speaking from experience).
It's a time and place thing.
I think *some* kung fu schools *can* get a little detached from proper context and get a little obsessive over stance training; but don't throw the baby out with the bath water.