Othismos: Classical vs Crowd Theory Othismos

[Paullus Scipio]

That is most interesting, as ever, Cole. Earlier, Paul B. mentioned that American football and also Rugby players push from a square-on stance. Whilst this may be true for ' defensive linemen' in an American scrimmage, it is certainly NOT true of Rugby players. In a formal scrum the players 'pack down' and invariably, even the players like the 'Props' who pack down with shoulders squared, have one leg forward and one back - what I have earlier called 'three-quarter' stance, or what Cole calls 'classical stance'. This stance - with one leg forward and one back - is the stance that all martial artists use, especially sumo wrestlers ( who only go 'square' when trying to lift an opponent close in, or when forced to the edge of the ring, where they invariably lose to an opponent in 'three quarter' stance). This is because this is the most stable stance for all purposes, and it is unsurprising that all 'warriors' instinctively adopt this stance.
'Square on ' is an artificial stance taught to American footballers, and I think that Paul B. may be unduly influenced by his American football background into thinking this inherently unstable stance is 'strong'.....