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All stances may be oriented in either a closed (both opponents have same foot forward) or an open (opponents have opposite foot forward) position. This is an important concept as it pertains to how a stance is used while sparring.

Competitors use a variety of stances while sparring but the most common stance used is the basic fighting stance. Of the basic Taekwondo stances, the back stance offers the best fighting position, but it is forced stance, meaning that you must consciously force your body stay in the back stance position. To change the back stance into a more effective fighting stance start in a classic back stance and then relax and stop forcing the stance letting the body shift into a natural, more relaxed version of the back stance by:

• Letting the front foot naturally angle inward (about 45 degrees) to help protect the groin.

• Letting the back foot naturally angle inward (about 45 degrees).

• Letting the upper body naturally angle inward to protect the centerline.

• Slightly bending both knees and keeping them bent. If you straighten the knees, you lose mobility and power.

• Keeping the arms up in your favorite guard position, keeping the elbows inward to protect the midsection.

• Letting the shoulders relax and drop

• Lowering and tucking the chin to protect it.

Try to relax the entire body. Instead of holding the body upright by tension, pretend you are a marionette being held up by strings; without the strings, you would collapse. A relaxed body can move and react instantly, When the body is under tension, to move, it must relax the tension, complete the movement, and then apply the tension again. This tension-relax-tension cycle uses a lot of energy.

Once in the fighting stance, then one has to decide as to whether to make it closed or open.

Closed. This most common positioning of a stance. In a closed position, both opponents have same foot forward. This means the front of one opponent’s body will be facing toward the left while the other opponent’s body will be facing right. The closed position is common when both opponents are right-handed, or when both are left-handed.

• Leading leg is pretty much limited to kicks to the front or side of the opponent, but is quick and very versatile.

• Trailing leg has a long distance to move so it is should only be used in combinations not as an initial attack.

• Trailing leg round kick must be to the head, since the back of the opponent is not a valid target area.

• Leading hand is quick, very versatile, and sets up trailing hand and leg power attacks.

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