The Importance of Horse/Stance Training in a Martial World That's Forgetting It

Although there are some legitimate concerns about traditional martial arts training methods: things like iron horse training in one spot for an hour is not very practical. However, there are other exercises that have many strong benefits that have been lost in recent years. Many traditional martial arts begin with arduous leg training for strength and balance. I went through it myself and though I hated it at the time it has borne out its value over my life. Some of it was meant to weed out the insincere but the majority had functional basis. Most MMA training has discarded this discipline which might not suit them in their short fighting careers but is a loss over their lifetime. Intense balance and strength training if really a great asset to everyday living. Learning to control your weight on varied surfaces, on one leg, inclined platforms and other obstacles really promotes great prowess.  This is something most animals are born with; we need to train it.
  I recently watched a fellow trained in MMA for 10 years try to compete with a Taqi practitioner for balance and push hands control. I must state from the start that I cannot stand these exercises as a test of skill outside their specific arts rules. I have always called this ‘closed set’ fighting which means that you can only do this under certain parameters, in other words, their rules.  The idea of not being able to move during push hands when one person is 5’8” and the other is 6’4” with a much greater reach is just ludicrous. I had this happen to me years ago while participating at a demonstration and I refused to fall for it. The Gracie’s did this in establishing BJJ by making other martial artists adhere to their rules which of course they had mastered and their opponents had no idea how to handle. There are several videos about this on YouTube by those that fell victim to it. It is not realistic and unfair. Chi Sao and Push Hands are prime examples of this; they have their place but are not a barometer of overall martial skills.
Back to the story. So this fellow faces off against the Taqi guy and I immediately notice how high his stance/horse is and how his center of gravity is off. Well, no surprise he cannot compete against the fellow that trains this all the time and gets rag dolled. Where in the real world is someone going to start by placing their hands on the opponent to start?  How did they earn this position.  Although I see this exercise as unrealistic in the real world of combat it does have its value in other aspects of daily life. Regardless, the point is that horse training is vital to develop a strong awareness of your balance and center of gravity.    When you really know how to control yourself and express yourself from the ground up it improves everything about your strength and power.  Punches come from the ground up not  from the arm. More importantly, the everyday applications to daily life are invaluable.  When you learn to control your center of mass you effectively become a different person.  When you trip the tendency is to push up with the legs but if you have trained yourself you will do the opposite. Instead of falling forward and upward you will now instinctively lower your center of gravity to regain your center.  We all know that going back on your heels is deadly in a fight but it is a reflex for the untrained to do so.  We learn to pull back with our head to avoid getting hit which instantly loses our center of gravity. If you move with your shoulders and hips you maintain your structural integrity. I suggest you search out some Teddy Atlas videos on this subject. I learned a tremendous amount from him on his Friday Night Fights shows I worked on years ago.  Everyone in the fight game knows that if you lose your legs you lose the fight.  Again, this is so true in everyday life especially as we age. Old folks have the tendency to look at the ground for balance when they walk. It’s exactly the wrong thing to do. You are much more apt to fall doing this. Normally we look forward when walking because it gives us perspective and options if we trip. Looking at the ground is a recipe for disaster. This is something we need to train throughout our lives and not wait to develop it when older.  MMA training seems to miss this aspect of training while traditional karate and Kungfu always maintain its importance. It should not be all about fighting only. That’s the distinction between martial artists and fighters, one training for all of their life and the other training for fighting only.
Now for my own experience now in my 70” s.  I recently had my left knee replaced. It’s been a bit of a rough road to recovery due to some complications. My PT/Rehab place is excellent and has many pro athletes as clients. It is not a geriatric ward.  My therapist pushed me hard and when we got to the balance exercises on the BOSU half ball it was great.  I could do all the exercises, even the most difficult, within a few treatments.  He told me that I aced the most difficult balance task and said, “Well that karate stuff you have done for years has really paid off.  Almost no one can balance on this apparatus, and you did.” I was happy to have this validation because I have not just trained for fighting my entire life, I’ve trained for health and vitality and it has paid off. Train to become more aware, perceptive and overall strong, this pays big dividends later in life.