Using Half Stance in Fighting

Half stance is an offensive, aggressive stance used primarily in close fighting circumstances. Once you come into contact with your opponent, switch to half stance and commit to your secondary response. By creating a stable base and freeing your upper and lower body for easy lateral movement, half stance allows you to attack strongly and confidently with a wide variety of striking and grappling skills.

Half stance is recommended for grappling, locking, throwing, joint immobilization, choking and grabbing. It also allows for great variety in lateral attacks using both right and left legs without the need for pivoting or spinning.
Use full stance to overpower and confuse your opponent. Defensively it is effective in resistance and lateral evasion in both close and neutral ranges. Avoid using half stance during medium range combat and in transitional movements when it is difficult to block incoming attacks. Half stance is vulnerable defensively because you are facing your opponent head on and exposing prime targets.