For a combative sport that involves two players facing each other from a standing position, a stance is of paramount importance. If you don’t pay attention to your stance in BJJ, you won’t be able to get the position or technique right.
How you stand, where your feet are pointed, how is your body weight distributed and the position of your body are all important factors to consider. That’s what stance in BJJ is all about. It gets you to a good start and gives you the kind of momentum you need to execute your technique and bring the competition to the conclusion you desire with a submission.
Ironically, stance is one of the least covered and talked about aspects of BJJ. Despite its importance, you won’t find much information about it. Your teacher will touch on it in passing and assume you get the point without much elaboration. But as we all know, not everyone has the ability to grasp concepts intuitively. So we put together this post about stance in BJJ.
Stance in BJJ
Since takedowns are an integral part of BJJ unlike other MMAs like Judo or Karate, this discipline pays extra attention to how you maintain your balance from a starting position and how you distribute your body weight. The last thing you’d want is for your opponent to catch you on the wrong foot or take advantage of your lack of balance.
Hence, the adoption of the wrestling stance. You face your opponent with your legs close to your body and your weight distribution leaning toward the front of your body rather than the back. You need your upper body muscles all alert and ready to engage. Grappling is as we know the heart and soul of BJJ, so your arms are usually the first to take action against the opponent.
That doesn’t mean that your legs stand around idly, if you get my drift. Far from it. While your arms are out and your hands are itching to get a hold of your rival’s Gi and grapple with them, your thighs have a role to play. Your feet are apart at shoulder distance and your knees are bent and relaxed. You don’t want to be tense or have stiff knees. That makes it easier for the opponent to take you off your feet.
Your eyes are on the opponent. Your peripheral vision engulfs the rival’s limbs but you’re really focussed on their arms. Your foot work matches that of a fencer. As the opponent moves, you move as well. If they come at you, you counter with your defense. You’re watching for a flaw in their stance to launch your offense. Of course, they are doing the same as well.
From the first moment, your stance says a lot about you. If you get it right, your opponent will find it hard to penetrate your armor. If your stance needs working on, this makes the rival’s job much easier. BJJ stance can work either for or against you.
When you’re on the offense, the right stance helps you deliver your assault with great force. When you’re defending, a good stance maintains your balance and blocks the opponent’s attacks effectively.
Why is BJJ Stance so Important?
While stance is important in all combative sports, in BJJ it has special benefits. Why? Because in BJJ both your face and crotch are not protected. And while you’re not really going to kick your opponent the way Karate players do, you still need to take into account that both those areas need to be guarded.
In Karate for example, the player’s stance focuses on the hips. That’s because they’re going to launch their attack using their legs if they need to. But in BJJ, if you’re starting from a standing position, then grappling is your go-to strategy. This is why balance is crucial both as a defense and offense mechanisms.
When we say balance, we mean how your body weight is distributed. If you lean forward too much you leave your legs and feet vulnerable to an attack. If you lean too much on your feet, your upper body loses the momentum you need to grapple and fend off a frontal assault from the opponent.
But as you know it’s not always black and white in BJJ. There are no clear cut answers. How you place your feet sometimes comes down to personal preference. Some players choose to keep both legs level. This is the wrestling stance. Others choose one leg leading forward the way Karate players do.
But stance is not just about where you place your feet. So let’s explore the different types of stances and what each one means and entails.
Open vs. Closed Stances
When you start with one leg leading, you have two options. Either the open or closed stance. The difference is in the distance between the leading leg and your other leg at the back. In general, the open stance is preferred over the closed one and you can probably see where this is going.
Remember we talked about balance and weight distribution as essential aspects of a good BJJ stance. When you keep your legs close you are not maintaining a good balance. Your stance is awkward at best. Your body weight is focused on a few points which means that a good grapple will make you at the mercy of your opponent. So you need to go with the open stance instead.
The right distance between your feet is a matter of personal choice. It depends on how tall you are and how wide your legs can open without you careening like a ship at a rough sea. Tall players can have a more open stance and this helps them cover more of the mat and look more intimidating.
But this is BJJ. So no matter what your height is, you can still achieve the right stance that correlates to your body size and give you a great advantage.
Long vs. Short Stances
While open stances refer to the distance between your legs laterally, whether you keep your legs on the same level or should you place one in front of the other is also up for debate. We already covered that when we talked about the difference between the wrestler stance and Karate stance.
So if you decide to go with the Karate stance, how far should your lead leg be from the back leg? Experts have varying opinions here as well. A long stance means your front leg is way ahead of your body. It is favored because it gives you more balance and allows you better reach as well.
But a short stance has its merits as well. It makes you more agile and alert. You can shift gear so to speak in a heartbeat and change your strategy quickly. So which one is better?
It’s a matter of choice. You can try both and go with the one that works best for you. But if you can’t make up your mind, you can just keep your feet shoulder-width apart. This one works well in most situations and gives you balance and agility at the same time. The best of both worlds.
Weighted vs. Unweighted Stances
Weight is undoubtedly what makes stances in BJJ such a debatable topic. A weighted stance throws your weight on either your upper or lower body. An unweighted stance, on the other hand, means you have your weight well proportioned between both your feet. Your weight is equally shared and supported by each foot.
Whether you go with the weighted as opposed to the unweighted stance depends on the type of stance you choose from either the wrestler or Karate types. A wrestler stance is unweighted. Your feet carry your weight in equal proportions. You have good balance and your stance allows you to go on the offensive or fend off an attack.
It’s the Karate stance that is a little more complicated. Since you got one leg forward, your weight can either go with that leg or you can choose to throw your weight on the rear leg. The first one is well suited for the offense. You have chosen to launch an assault and you need your weight in your upper body.
The backward-weighted stance is when you’re on the defense and you need to hold your ground against an especially aggressive opponent.
As you progress on your BJJ journey and get the basics down, your stance will develop on its own. You might choose to stick with one stance that works for you all the time. Or you might mix your stances to keep your opponent guessing and make it harder for them to read you or know your game plan.