I've heard that kuk sool won has low stances I was wondering if kuk sool won as an art has lower stances than others, or it just has lower stances the other korean arts. I've also heard that kuk sool won has some chinese influence I was wondering in what way if it does. thanks
KSW reportedly contains some praying mantis influence. One can see this in the mantis strikes and grabbing techniques. At least I can. As far as overall lower stances go,the KSW I've seen mainly has lower stances contained in the hyung,but not so much in actual technique. I have found that some of the lower stances in KSW hyung are also found in Hapkido "finishing" techniques.FWIW
We're taught that we must keep our stances the same for both Hyung and techniques - LOW. We run drills sometimes where we get in the horse riding stance and place a staff on our knees and try to keep the position for as long as possible without dropping the staff. Great leg workout! I try to practice my forms in this very low stance, but I still have to go nice and slow to get the form right, in time I will be able to speed it up.
personally i don't use low stances in my techniques. it wasn't really every taught to us that way. I think that's just a matter of your instructor. From everything else I've seen though, yes KSW tends to push for lower stances than most other styles. I'd also guess that it does have some chinese influence. Not just with the mantis strikes either. We have a lot of techniques that are animal based. I think there is some question as to whether it's really chinese influence or very old korean technique. I won't argue the point either way. I'm just content to learn it.
