The switch to MMA gloves in striking sports

[Sinister]

A bit late with the reply.

Yeah, I might be romanticizing someone like Spence or Gonzalez, but do you understand what I mean by how they look different?

I don't presume to know half as much as you or them, and that is why it's interesting for me to get clarified. As I said, I have always had a hard time figuring out what the best way to move and stand is. I'm thinking like a Tai Chi style horse stance, without sounding ridicules/going too low, is the best stance for balance. Low center of gravity, easy to distibute weight, easy to use waist, big BOS(base of support). But as you say, the stance is not static as we are dealing with moving parts. I understand that you would have to move your feet the entire time to stay in that position, so I see why they move as they punch to be in good position. It's just that some seem to sacrifice balance and center of gravity as they do, therefor being in bad position, but make up for it with reflexes or skill.

There are a lot of factors when talking about balance, the most important are probably how well you deliver force to the ground, how good your postural reactions are(both muscular and neurological), how wide your BOS is and where your center of mass is. That is why I hate leaning, because theoretically, if your center of mass gets outside your BOS, you fall. Or at least, you have to use muscle strenght and drive, or change foot positions not to. Which is what I meant by reactive. Like so:

That is where I am claiming that some stances are more in tune with a wider BOS and a lower center of gravity. And why it is not always best to be in a stance like that(or as close to) and never lean, stand tall, move upper body without lower body and so forth.

I guess I just can't see the subleties yet, because I've seen you teach things like the tile exercise, digger down/up, and talk about balance and positioning(broad term) being key. I have a hard time seeing that being displayed in some of the old black and white videos and even newer ones. I do see a lot of timing, turn on punches, ring smarts, traps, proper extension, awareness, toughness and so on though.

Actually when I think about it, I am making a broader generalisation than just the oldschool fighters.

And again, look at someone like Naseem who is the complete opposite of what I just said. He was an amazing boxer.

They don't sacrifice balance as much as you think. If they did, they'd fall over more. They're not catching themselves like acrobats, they're in well-balanced positions.

There are two entire threads about positioning in order to point out the subtleties. Did you miss them?

Positioning 1:

Positioning 2:

 

[Sano]

They don't sacrifice balance as much as you think. If they did, they'd fall over more. They're not catching themselves like acrobats, they're in well-balanced positions.

There are two entire threads about positioning in order to point out the subtleties. Did you miss them?

Positioning 1:

Positioning 2:

I've seen part one before but never read it. Honestly there is a lot going on and hours of footage to go through in those threads. This was a bit more specific in regards to what I interpreted as stance. It's not that they are falling or have bad balance reactions, it's more about the mechanics of optimal balance with the least amount of effort. I don't think I can explain it any better and I don't have enough experience to know if the theory is even applicable. Hopefully some of it made sense.

I will read the positioning threads to get a better understanding.

EDIT:
Last thing, I just watched the George Benton Tribute. Holy shit that was amazing. He definitely had great balance, positioning, and with everything else! Beautiful stuff.

 

[Sinister]

Reading that stuff and going through the "hours of footage" is how to learn it. Just sayin'.

 

[Sano]

Reading that stuff and going through the "hours of footage" is how to learn it. Just sayin'.

True.