Description

When the left leg is forward, the stance a left front stance. When the right leg is forward, it is a right front stance.
Stand with feet parallel, 1 and 1/2 shoulder widths apart. Step one foot directly forward 1 and 1/2 shoulder widths deep into a front stance while maintaining the width of 1 and 1/2 shoulder widths. Imagine a square drawn on the floor with each side equal to a shoulder width. You are standing on the corners of the square. For a proper front stance, one foot moves up its side of the square to the top corner. If the stance is too long, you will not be able to move quickly. If the stance is too short, you will not have proper stability. It is often claimed that longer stances strengthen the muscles that work through the knee joint and so help to protect the knee joint from the damage caused by unloaded kicking. However, it is better to protect the knee joint by avoiding unloaded kicking altogether.
In a low front stance, the imaginary square is enlarged to 2 shoulder widths or greater, which makes the stance lower, wider, and more stable, but it also makes movement slower. Too wide a stance opens the groin to attack.
Test your fore/aft stability by having someone push on your extended fist. You should be able to resist a very strong push from this direction. Some coaches also pull you forwards by drawing on your lead arm, but the stance is designed to withstand a frontal impact.
The body faces the opponent. Keep hips parallel with the shoulders and perpendicular to the opponent.
Front foot is pointed toward the attacker but angled slightly inward.
Bend the front leg at the knee, with the shin vertical. With the leg in this position, there is a smooth flow of tension throughout the leg. If the knee is not bent enough, mobility is lost. If is bent too much, the sharp angle of the knee interrupts the flow of tension throughout the leg. TIP: When front leg is bent properly, your front toes should just be hidden by the knee. Do not lean knee forward past the toes. Do not lean the knee inward.
Point the rear foot toward the opponent (may angle outward 15-30 degrees). Any lesser angle puts too much stress on the leg and mobility is reduced. Any greater angle weakens the stance and lessens the amount of force that may be applied in a forward direction.
The rear leg is straight but knee is not locked.
The toes and outside edges of the feet grip the floor, while the feet are tensed with the feeling of trying to pull the feet inward toward each other (inner tension).
The center of mass is centered between the feet, at the center of the imaginary square. TIP: In this position, 70 percent of the weight will be on the front foot (hence the name front stance) and 30 percent of the weight will be on the back foot. Do not shift too much weight to the front foot.

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