No matter what the style of martial art, it can be generally said that they all have at least three stances in common; the fighting/ L-stance, walking stance and sitting horse stance. These stances are generally used far more in training than any other.

In the more sport orientated styles, the fighting stance is the most commonly found position, with the other two being used to either strengthen the legs or as part of the warm-up.

	Fighting Stance Here, Dan (to the left), a friend who has only attended one class in his whole life, is standing in a fighting stance. He was not shown how to do so, I just told him to square up against the camera. Let us examine some of the faults. Starting from the top downwards you can see that his guard, whilst not too bad, is rather low. His head, should he be up against a kicker, would be somewhat vulnerable. A fast puncher would also have a good chance. His chest is also rather open to attack as he is virtually square on to the camera. Again, a kicker would be able attack most of his torso at will. Moving down to his legs. One of the most important aspects of any stance is balance. Looking at the way his heels are lined up, a push to either his back or his chest would most certainly take him completely off-balance. His weight distribution is also equal. The whole point of the fighting stance is that whilst it can be regarded as 'fixed', the majority of the weight (60 - 75%) should be placed on the rear leg so that, in the case of a sweep, the lead leg can be raised without first having to lean back. Both legs are also rather straight and so vulnerable to stamping attacks to the knees. Dean, is the model of a good stance. His guard is up nice and high and his elbows are tucked in. HIs body is turned away from the opponent as much as possible. His stance is more stable with most of the weight being placed on the rear leg. What is not obivious in this picture due to the angle it was taken from is that the lead leg is placed in such a way that it provides some cover to the groin. This is a stance from Kempo and, if you look closely, you can draw a line from the toes of the lead leg to the heel of the rear leg. This is what enables the stance to not only guard the groun but also to still be able to launch kicking attacks from the rear leg.
	Sitting Horse Stance A good exercise for building up both stamina and leg strength, the Sitting Horse Stance is one that a lot of people can get wrong, simply because they lean forward. If you look at Dan (to the left), he is leaning far too far forward, with his bum sticking out quite far. His legs are bent well but his feet are pointing out far too far. Again he was simply asked to just assume the position with no feedback as to what was right or wrong. A strong sense of paranoia and the grins on our faces tended to tell him what was right and what was not! After a bit of repositioning, Dan is now in a good stance. His legs are roughly 1.5 shoulders apart, and his feet have been brought in so that they are facing slightly more forward. His back and bum are lined up and pointing straight down to the centre of balance and his legs are taking the full weight of his body.
	Walking Stance The Walking Stance is used far more in Traditional styles. A good solid base, you will quite often see it used in conjunction with punching drills. Indeed, it is often employed by fighters from which to deliver a reverse punch. Yet again Dan is the model. Yet again, it should be obvious that his balance is seriously out. His feet are in an almost perfect line. A push to either his left or his right would yet again send him flying. His lead leg is also too straight. Since his rear leg is slightly bent, a stamping kick to his knee would most likey suceed in destroying it as he would be unable to withdraw it quickly enough. His legs are also too close together. A few pointers and Dan is in a much better stance. His rear leg has been brought out a bit farther and his stance has been greatly lengthened. An important part of this stance is the postion of the lead leg. You can see how a stamping attack to the knee, whilst painful, would not be debilitating. Because so much weight is on the front leg, sweeps are also slightly harder to perform. The final shot shows his lead leg in the correct position. A good walking stance will mean that you are just about able to see your toes. If you cannot then you are leaning too far forward and if you can see more of your foot then you are leaning too far back.