Stances of hung gar

[Dark_Samurai]

Maybe this topic has been discussed in a past thread, and I do not mean any disrespect to the art of hung gar that I love and practice. Here's my question:
What is the point (again, this is just an objective question, I'm not trying to diss hung gar, I just want to understand) of practicing the hung gar's stances if we do not use them in a real combat? I know it trains your legs muscles so you have greater power in your kicking and greater balance, but what is the point of training techniques with them if these techniques are not going to be apply with them in a combat or sparring? Thank you in advance !!!

[RAIN]

maybe you don`t will use hung gar stances in san sou or another sport fighting , but you must think in real life situations . think making a strong hung gar step over you oipponent . using you weight to broke the knee or togheter with a broken arm technique or some heavy straight .
the gloves and trainning gear of full contact lost the most powerfull techniques of kung fu .

[lungyuil]

i haven't practiced Hung gar for a while. However stance aren't useless in combat. they are very useful. Stances and hand techniques go together, you just need to see through them to be able to apply it.
Stances also tell you the angle of attack and where you are attacking.

[iron_silk]

Everyone made good points already

...but the lower the stance the greater the power and higher the stance the quicker the speed...

you practice so you know how to root your feet and have the ability to generate power

actually it's in the practice does it assist in higher stances of spar

[denali]

Stances are not only for training..of course they are to be used in real fighting. If someone tells you they train hung gar and they don't know how to use the footwork and stances in application, he doesn't know much about hung gar.

[illusionfist]

I agree with denali. There are many that are mistaken about Hung Gar's stancework and footwork usage. The common stereotype is that we are quite still and we use super deep stances. Anybody who has done Hung Gar long enough can atest to the fact that we are actually quite mobile and our footwork is very lively.

You fight like how you train. If you are training and not using hung gar stances, then you are not training hung gar and doing something else.

[Dark_Samurai]

Thank you very much for all your replies... but I cannot see how the super large/stiff/low stances hof hung gar can be lively. Again, this is just an objective question, I'm not trying to diss hung gar here.

[HuangKaiVun]

Look at illusionfist's avatar, dark_samurai.

Notice how the guy is turned to the right? Well, one should be able to shuffle in all 4 directions out of that stance - QUICKLY.

When somebody grapples you, you DROP in order to prevent your center of gravity from being taken out. This doesn't always work, but it often works well to keep you on your feet.

Power is generated from the back leg up the entire body.

Does your sifu use the mabu this way when fighting, Dark_Samurai?

[denali]

we don't train so low that we have no mobility. where would the sense be in that?
do you think that in 5 minutes of thinking and looking at our stances, you suddenly can see the flaw in hundreds of years of development?
i think you would be better off training under a real master who can show you the point of a stance, rather than asking on a forum..the thing about kung fu is..you will never understand it without training it.

also, hung gar is not stiff dangit!

[TenTigers]

Stances are one moment in combat. As Illusionfist said, we don't just stand there. If I train from a low stance and can explode, then how fast can I be from a slightly higher stance? If you train in a narrow stance, when you move, your stance will be narrower still, your foundation is gone. If you start low, even when you narrow your stance,it ends up being firmer than if you hadn't. The forms are practiced slow, so is Tai Chi-don't mistake that for the way we fight. Misinterpeting a training exercize for the fighting usage would be like misjudging Tyson's skill in fighting because you saw him skipping rope."Aww, how tough could he be? What's he gonna do, skip at me?"

[TenTigers]

Stances are one moment in combat. As Illusionfist said, we don't just stand there. If I train from a low stance and can explode, then how fast can I be from a slightly higher stance? If you train in a narrow stance, when you move, your stance will be narrower still, your foundation is gone. If you start low, even when you narrow your stance,it ends up being firmer than if you hadn't. The forms are practiced slow, so is Tai Chi-don't mistake that for the way we fight. Misinterpeting a training exercize for the fighting usage would be like misjudging Tyson's skill in fighting because you saw him skipping rope."Aww, how tough could he be? What's he gonna do, skip at me?"

[Dark_Samurai]

Thank you very much for all your answers!

by the way denali, my masters are very good...

[omarthefish]

Although many of us definately do fight from a higher more agile position this is non-traditional. I also would argue that with proper training, the low stances are NOT lacking in mobility. Overly WIDE stances are lacking in mobility.

Interesting someone mentioned Tyson. One of the things I love about his style is his nice low stances. I have watched him squat down to where his knees were bent 90 degrees before he blasted out one of his trademark 1 punch k.o.'s.

The grappling question is another good thing to consider. Traditional Hung-gar is heavy on the stand up grappling. Those high agile stances made popular by Bruce Lee, Joe Lewis (the kickboxer) and Mohammed Ali have proven especially vulnerable to takedowns.

[tparkerkfo]

Hi,

I agree with most on this thread. The stances are indeed used. What would you actually use in combat if you never trained it? But there may be confusion to people who are looking outside.

The stance, as was mentioned before, are not static poses. We don't sit in sae ping ma and wait for an attack. The stances generate power in many ways, one of which is by using gravity as well as torquing motions. If you grab me and I sink into sae ping ma, you can not hold me with out disrupting your balance or letting go. These stances, when used properly, are designed to affect the opponents structure . Hung Gar doesn't just sit in a low horse and fire blows from them. A lot more complex.

The stance is the base of any style. A strong and stable stance is always required. Hung Gar does take it to the extreme and they work on very low stances. This helps to develop strong legs and root which can then be tapped later while fighting. In real fighting, there may be some modification. We mau not go as low as in training, but we still will utilize good stances. Strengthing the legs also helps to be mobile while your down low.

Just some thoughts
Tom
________
FISTING FRENCH

[Dark_Samurai]

tparkerkfo, I think I'm going to learn a lot from you on this forum...