Black Belt Tae Kwon Do by Yeon Hwan Park

Author:Yeon Hwan Park
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 1999-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Open vs. Closed Stances

There are always two things to keep in mind whenever you adopt a stance against an opponent—protection and the opportunity to attack. More than just assuming a good fighting stance with your hands in the correct guard position, you must also consider which lead you will use. Lead refers to the side of your body that is turned toward your opponent. Since most people are right-handed, a fighting stance with a left lead is the most common. Attacks with the lead side of the body tend not to be as powerful as attacks from the rear side. This is because rear side attacks travel a farther distance, thereby allowing you to build up more speed and power in your strike. Right-handed people therefore tend to want to keep their stronger, right side back. In this way they are able to quickly jab with their left side to stun or distract an opponent, while keeping their stronger right side back for finishing techniques.

The terms closed and open stances do not refer to a specific stance per se. Rather, they refer to the way you are standing relative to the way your opponent is standing. Photograph (A) illustrates a closed stance. This means that both competitors have assumed stances with the same lead and their chests facing in opposite directions. With their bodies turned in this way, it is difficult for either person to launch an effective attack with the rear foot (or hand). They are closed against an attack, hence the name closed stance. Not only would the opponent have more time to react to an attack launched from the rear, but the very way the body is turned naturally provides protection from attacks.

a

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