Stance - Square Shoulders v 45 Degrees

[firstborn]

I've learned the hard way that squaring up doesn't work well for me!

[#1Assassin]

i always thought angled stance gave your opponents less of a target and is better for your jab, angelo dundee used to teach angled stance

but joe frazier said this:

"Note that, when the feet are placed correctly, the upper body is turned, but just slightly. A lot of trainers will tell you that when you are in position, you should angle your upper body with the lead side forward so that your opponent gets a smaller target. That's wrong. How are you supposed to have balance when you're standing sideways? You want to be just about squared up to your opponent, facing him head-on. That's how you stay on balance. That's how you get power. So don't turn sideways. Stand with your shoulders just about straight across. Standing that way gives you more options defensively (block, slip, roll, duck) and it gives you better balance and power"
- Joe Frazier

probably good for frazier's style but he did have an underrated defense...

thats also why frazier was a one handed fighter, he couldnt turn anything over from the right side.

how much you angle your body depends on how you are built and your style of fighting. but being almost entirely squared up is never a good idea, you get a lot of power in your lead hand but lose all power in your backhand and you make yourself an easier target.

by turning your torso you get a longer and quicker jab that can still land with lots of power. you also get power in you backhand and make yourself less of a target.

to square up on occassion to throw 3-4 punches in a row using only the left is one thing (even that could be advised against). but to be constantly square is just not a good idea.

same thing applies to standing too sideways, you lose your balance and with that your power. but if you have any real sense of balance you shouldnt need to be almost entirely square to maintain it.