High-stationed versus medium-stationed fighting cocks
Medium-stationed birds are not at any disadvantage to high-stationed birds just because they are so. Always consider gameness, good timing, fighting smarts like evasion and high breaking, and accuracy of hitting.
Medium-stationed gamefowl have longer thighs which sometimes are better than long-legged fowl because your rooster has better control of the lower legs and knife action. If the knife or gaff is attached closer to the ground, as with medium stationed gamefowl, this adds reach or length to a rooster’s hitting.
High stationed birds fight better if the gaffing used is Long-Knife. They are beautiful to look at, or ‘guapo’ in local parlance, and roosters that stand tall usually extend a stronger kick at an opponent faster and with greater reach, attacking from outside.
If the bloodline is a good cutting machine, high stationed gamefowl are often preferred for birds that fight in the air.
Tactics and Fight Style Preferences
Some street smart Pinoy cockers will favor the medium to med/high-stationed cocks versus purely ‘guapo’ high stationed’ birds.
Goy Goittia, an expert animal veterinarian and close friend of cocker Sir Biboy Enriquez, has mentioned in our previous interview that from conformation, a high stationed rooster can kick out faster and have a reach advantage...but the preference of some cockers is that an aggressive, medium-stationed rooster can negate the reach by closing in and fighting close quarters trampling the other with multiple shuffle knifing.
If a high-stationed bird is forced to fight close in, some of its kicks will miss because the reach extends past the target, just like in the human sport of boxing.
Look closely at some pit fights and you will see that some matches favor the medium-stationed bird once the skirmish is up close and personal like with the medium-high Sweaters.
More wisdom from Goy Goittia: "When the thighs of a chicken are set close to the body their legs become more mobile. Hitting power comes from the thighs and legs as a proportional conformation. Too long legs are wobbly and make roosters stumble in a fight that requires fast movement and quickness in shifting position to evade or strike as well as recover from and jumps in the air. Too small thighs may hinder a rooster at extending a winning kick, compared with a fighter that has good conformation for both appendages of its lower anatomy."
Medium-length feet and good thighs are what breeders check for. It is this conformation that allows better gamefowl to skirmish with the best of them and get in striking a killing blow.
There are gamefowl that fight better AS medium-high to medium compared to high-stationed, and breeders who prefer shorter stances cull their stocks and sell off the taller birds.
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