The Importance of the VT Stance
General Guideline only. (Adjust according to your shoulder and feet length)
It is pretty common knowledge, if you can’t stand, you can’t fight. The VT stance is the foundation of Ving Tsun and one of the most important aspect. For a quick recap of how you are supposed to make the VT stance, check out my video and view the picture here for the general alignment guideline.
Now, why do we need to practice the VT stance? This is because we need to learn how to properly relax our upper body and place our weight into our legs. Our legs are one of the biggest muscles, we need to learn to utilize them, otherwise none of your VT technique will have the power or stability to support them. Another important aspect of the VT stance is that since we are using our legs, it helps to narrow the gap of weight difference between us and our opponents. Someone who uses a lot of upper body strength, we can use our legs to help reduce the strength advantage they have. The speed of your punch, the speed of your Paak Da will come from the legs. The famous saying is “Feet moves, hands move”. If you start with hands first, feet follow after, you will end up leaning and over reaching. Don’t believe me? try it. Try the Paak Da from stand still, and attack with your hand first and feet after. You will notice that you will end up slightly leaning forward, but your opponent may not move an inch from your attack. Now try focusing using your feet to move with your hands for the Paak Da. If done correctly, your opponent’s balance will most likely be affected and you will notice you have much more power behind it.
To put it simply, we train the VT stance because the stance is un-natural, however we must make the un-natural become natural for us. We must drill this stance into our training so that it is just like standing upright. You don’t need to think about how to stand upright, therefore you should not need to think about how to perform the VT stance. This is the only way we will be able to actually use it when we are in a stressed or pressured setting.
Next time you are training, look in the mirror, see if you are properly aligned, check to see if you have your weight in your legs. When you are doing any partnered drills, keep your focus on your stance. Stop using your upper body strength. Relax your upper body and let your stance and legs guide you.