In the martial arts we have various fighting postures, used by different styles, schools, and tradition.
The tradition and school that you practice under will have its own set.
What are these postures used for, and how do we use them effectivity?
These postures, kamae, in the Japanese martial arts would be considered part of the kihon- the fundamentals of training.
They are that important.
Martial arts fighting postures are first used to control the distance and timing between you and a training partner.
The human body has various weak points, weak points in structure that can be used by martial arts techniques. By assuming a fighting posture, you are eliminating or removing these points, while at the same time forcing your training partner to expose weak points in the movement of what they are trying to do.
Working on your fighting postures.
The first point?
Work on being able to assume these postures as smoothly as possible with the least or no body tension possible.
Work on flow.
Work on martial arts stretching combined with your postures.
See you on the mat!