Way of positioning the feet and hands in combat sports
In
combat sports
such as
boxing
and
MMA
, an
orthodox stance
, also known as a
northpaw stance
, is one in which the fighter places their left foot in front, thus placing their left side closer to the opponent.
[1]
Because it places the right side (the stronger side for most people) in the rear, the orthodox stance can allow for more rotation and distance to accelerate right sided strikes, in turn generating more power.
[2]
This makes it the most common stance in boxing,
[3]
as well as MMA,
[4]
and primarily used by right-handed fighters.
Usage
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Orthodox stance is the most common stance in boxing
[3]
and MMA
[4]
due to its superior power generation for right-handed fighters. The stance also finds usage from some left-handed individuals, however, owing to some of the advantages it has in general, as well as for left-handed individuals in particular.
General advantages
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The orthodox stance has two major advantages for all practitioners: its ubiquity and its placement of the lead hand and foot closer to the right side of the opponent. Since it is the most common stance, high quality training in the stance is more widely available. Furthermore, most of the opponents any fighter trains with will use orthodox, building greater familiarity with the stance.
[5]
Additionally, because the left side is forward, the left hand and foot are quite close to the opponent's right side.
[6]
This is particularly useful as the liver is a highly vulnerable target; various fighters such as
Stipe Miocic
have KO'd other fighters through liver shots.
[7]
Advantages for right-handers
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Placing the right hand in the rear allows for the most powerful punches from right-handed fighters. Since the more powerful right side is in the rear, there is more time and rotation of the body between launching the punch and impact, allowing for more power generation.
[8]
Advantages for left-handers
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For left-handed fighters, the orthodox stance provides the benefit of placing the more powerful hand in the front. This provides more power to the quicker punches of the lead hand, such as the jab and lead hook.
[8]
MMA considerations
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The same power advantages of punches described above also apply to kicks for the respective dominant sides. Further, for right-side dominant fighters, having the stronger foot in the rear allows for more stability when defending takedown attempts.
[4]
Statistical advantage
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Statistically, orthodox fighters are not more likely than other fighters to win, but regardless of their stance, fighters are more likely to beat orthodox opponents.
[9]
Examples
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Right-handed orthodox fighters
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Since the orthodox stance is so common, especially as pertains to right-handed individuals, there is a quite extensive list of prominent right-handed orthodox fighters. Some of the most famous include
Muhammad Ali
,
Floyd Mayweather
,
Sugar Ray Robinson
,
Khabib Nurmagomedov
.
Left-handed orthodox fighters
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]
While this stance is predominantly associated with right-handed fighters, there is a notable contingent of left-handed orthodox fighters, including such prominent figures as
Oscar De La Hoya
,
Sonny Liston
,
Miguel Angel Cotto
,
Gerry Cooney
,
Mike Tyson
,
Sean Strickland
,
Michael Bisping
,
Renan Barao
, and
Marco Antonio Barrera
.
Alternative stances
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The opposite stance to orthodox is
southpaw
. It is a mirror image of the orthodox stance. A southpaw fighter stands with their right foot forward, with their left side farther from the opponent. Some famous boxers who use the southpaw stance are
Marvelous Marvin Hagler
,
Victor Ortiz
,
Sultan Ibragimov
,
Naseem Hamed
,
Joe Calzaghe
,
Manny Pacquiao
, and
Lucian Bute
. Famous MMA southpaws include
Nick
and
Nate Diaz
,
Conor McGregor
and
Anderson Silva
.
Notably, many fighters such as
Francisco Palacios
,
Andre Ward
,
Jon Jones
, and
Terence Crawford
normally fight as orthodox, but occasionally switch to a southpaw stance.
Hagler
was the opposite, normally fighting southpaw but sometimes switching to orthodox.
While southpaw is generally associated with left-handed fighters, there are some right-handed individuals who favor the stance over orthodox, such as
Vasiliy Lomachenko
,
Oleksandr Usyk
,
Shakur Stevenson
, and
Nate Diaz
.
References
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External links
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