In archery, the four stances one can use each have their upsides and downsides. Having knowledge of each of these stances will let you figure out which one is most comfortable for you, as well as helping you to utilize each one under different circumstances.
For the beginner, we have the even stance. It is a position that you can take that will allow you to have consistence in your accuracy and also a stance that is easy to get in to. But as all the stances, there are some downsides to using it. You don’t have much support around you when you use it. It’s easy to be knocked off balance and it doesn’t offer much strength. Falling when in the even stance is also another concern to take into consideration when deciding which ones you will want to use the most. For those shooters that have a broad chest, it does tend to lower the string-clearance area. If you want a very stable, wide stance, you might want to go with the open stance. What it also does is reduces the tendency a lot of novice shooters have which is to lean your body away from the target. However, this stance does to effect your upper body’s tendency to twist in the direction of the target. When you are in this position, you also tend to draw from your arms instead of your back, which are the muscles you should be using when shooting.
The next stance in the closed stance. It provides you with complete shoulder and arm alignment when lining up with the target in front of you. But there are still some negatives to this stance as well. Acting against your body at times, this stance tends to reduce string clearance. Like stances discussed above, this one also causes you to lean away from the target at times.
The oblique stance is the next one. As far as string clearance goes, this would be the best stance to use for utilizing it. When in this stance, the target appears more clearly and your body is evened out better than in any other stance. But beware, this stance is indeed one of the more harder ones to use. Advanced archers are only recommended to use it.
Stand on the line from which you shoot when trying out all the stances. It is said by some that even if you are a few inches off, it will affect your aiming dramatically, so it’s better to safe not sorry.
The two stances that are most highly recommended are the oblique and the open. Both stances are used mostly by advanced archers. But when it comes to which stance is right for you, it all comes down to what feels right for you personally.