- The weak foot is forward, and the strong foot is back.
- The weak hand is forward, and the strong hand is back.
- Both hands are held defensively in front of the the body or head.
- The stance is square enough so that the opponent can still be easily reached with the strong hand.
In fencing they have the opposite of an orthodox stance. They are standing so far sideways that it is hard to reach the opponent with the rear hand, and they are leading with the strong side. This stance is often popular in light contact point-sparring competitions that imitate fencing.
The best weapon fighters right now seem to be using a stance that is strong side forward, but which is otherwise what I would think of as an orthodox stance.
I am very interested in using an orthodox stance (instead of a strong side forward stance) in weapon fighting, a tactic that after a lot of experimentation and development, I tried out at the 2017 Pacific North West Tipon Tipon:
Besides Boxing and Kick Boxing, typically Sword & Sheild fighters will fight with an orthodox stance:
And most people who train with spears quickly realize you want to use an orthodox stance with long weapons as well:
Even in the notoriously strong-side-forward world of Japanese weapon martial arts, with long weapons a more orthodox stance is preferred:
What the orthodox stance brings to smaller weapons such as knives, is it keeps the empty hand in the fight. Normally beginners and many others will want to knife fight with only one side of their body, keeping distance from the opponent and not endangering their weak hand (which is full of vulnerable and valuable veins, nerves and bones). But when using an orthodox stance in knife fighting, it forces you to keep the weak side of your body in the fight, so that you are more likely to employ two hands instead of just one:
The other big advantage of the orthodox stance is that kick boxers and boxers should be able to integrate their unarmed strikes into their weapon duels more easily, if they are starting from a stance they are already trained to use.
Right now the orthodox stance is not the dominant stance in full contact weapon sparring, but for me the verdict is still out on this.
The best weapon fighters right now seem to be using a stance that is strong side forward, but which is otherwise what I would think of as an orthodox stance.
I am very interested in using an orthodox stance (instead of a strong side forward stance) in weapon fighting, a tactic that after a lot of experimentation and development, I tried out at the 2017 Pacific North West Tipon Tipon:
Besides Boxing and Kick Boxing, typically Sword & Sheild fighters will fight with an orthodox stance:
And most people who train with spears quickly realize you want to use an orthodox stance with long weapons as well:
Even in the notoriously strong-side-forward world of Japanese weapon martial arts, with long weapons a more orthodox stance is preferred:
What the orthodox stance brings to smaller weapons such as knives, is it keeps the empty hand in the fight. Normally beginners and many others will want to knife fight with only one side of their body, keeping distance from the opponent and not endangering their weak hand (which is full of vulnerable and valuable veins, nerves and bones). But when using an orthodox stance in knife fighting, it forces you to keep the weak side of your body in the fight, so that you are more likely to employ two hands instead of just one:
The other big advantage of the orthodox stance is that kick boxers and boxers should be able to integrate their unarmed strikes into their weapon duels more easily, if they are starting from a stance they are already trained to use.
Right now the orthodox stance is not the dominant stance in full contact weapon sparring, but for me the verdict is still out on this.
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