A Brief History of the Isosceles Shooting Stance
The Isosceles Stance is old.
In the early days of IPSC, if you didnt shoot some sort of Weaver, you werent crap.
The men who changed that in the early and mid-1980s in that game wereRob Leathamand Brian Enos.
The author, Massad Ayoob, is a recognized shooting expert and trainer. In this article, he teaches you how to shoot using the Isosceles Stance.
Training intensively together, they were beating all comers.
Variations…and Semantics
For many years Hell, fordecades the Isosceles wastaught and used poorly.
Executed effectively, however, the Isosceles is one of the strongest shooting stances.
The key to a strong, aggressive Isosceles Stance is having your bodyweight forward on the flexed, lead leg.
Even today, Isosceles is interpreted differently, and terminology adds to the confusion.
Many shooters prefer to bend their elbows slightly, a stance some call Modern Isosceles.
This can certainly work, but Isosceles is a poor term for it.
Vietnam-era combat Marine Don Mara inspired the author’s preferred variation of an aggressive Isosceles Stance.
Some bend their elbows slightly down, others turn the knob of the elbows outward.
This latter posture allows the hands to press more tightly together laterally on the gun.
Don Mara stood with chest square, arms locked out rigid at centerline, and head and shoulders forward.
The author demonstrates a strong Isosceles Stance with the forward knee flexed and toes pointed toward the target. The rear leg is just off full lock with the heel firmly planted.
Perks and Quirks
As always, every technique has strong and weak points.
Iso advantages include:
Perhaps the simplest to teach:Face the target in a true fighters stance.
Extend both arms forward with the handgun until the elbows lock.
The author demonstrates that the Isosceles Stance gives you the widest traverse toward your strong hand side on multiple or moving targets.
Keep body weight forward.
Put gun in hand, extend arms,et voila:fight or flight equals Isosceles.
With the Isosceles, less adaptation is required.
Cross dominance is said to affect nearly one in five shooters. It is relatively easy to adapt the Isosceles Stance for these shooters.
The bent, forward-tensioned arm of the Classic Weaver comes into its own in this situation.
This varies, of course, among individuals.
Despite chronic and sometimes acute arthritis elsewhere in the body, this writer has experienced no elbow issues whatever.
The author demonstrates an incorrect implementation of the Isosceles Stance. Having his shoulders back exaggerates muzzle rise.
Summary
There are good reasons to know multiple stances.
