Stance / base check
Stance / Solo mat / Foundation
A repeatable starting position for focused solo practice.
Solo study. Solo rehearsal of a shape a coach has already shown you. No partner, no resistance, no finish against anyone. Not coach-verified.
Why it matters
Every study on this site starts and finishes in the stance, and so does every exchange in a match. A stance you can hold without thinking is the only way the rest of the work gets any attention. Ten seconds of holding it, checking it and resetting it is worth more than ten minutes of drilling on top of a base that drifts.
The phases
Wrestling stance
- Base. Begin with a base wide enough to move from.
- Knees flexed. Flex the knees and hips while keeping the head up.
- Hands ready. Hands stay ahead of the body, ready to make contact.
- Hold shape. Maintain a shape you can move from in either direction.
Watch for: Do not turn a lower stance into looking down at the mat.
Three common faults
- Standing up between repetitions
- The hips rise and the knees straighten while the hands stay busy. Watch the hip height at the top of every loop.
- Head down
- The eyes drop to the mat as the level drops. The head should be the last thing to move and it should not move at all here.
- Elbows out
- The elbows drift outside the line of the shoulders and the hands hang. Elbows in, hands carried, not dangling.
In the room
- Use the stance your coach has introduced.
- Stay balanced over your feet and keep breathing.
- Reset whenever you feel your posture drifting.
Drill prescription
| Rounds | 3 holds |
|---|---|
| Repetitions | 20 s each, reset between |
| Rest | 20 s |
Do it first, before anything else, every session.
Open the visual study ↗Where it sits
Foundations: The base, the level change and the four ways the feet move. Everything else stands on this.
Also in this stage: Level change / reset, Stance / circle movement, Square stance / hold, Forward step / rear foot follows.
On the boards: Base first, An entry study, Before practice, Hands and ties, Four weeks: foundations.