Evasions

Most people walk like toddlers, or Frankenstein’s monster; they raise up, fall forward, and catch themselves in a controlled fashion. This is why toddlers fall -- they gradually increase their speed until their legs can’t keep up, and they haven’t figured out how far they can fall and still catch themselves.

To become an effective fighter, you must change the way you move. Martial artists don’t step in the conventional sense; they drag their legs, as though they were in a ball crawl, or a giant pile of leaves. Conventional stepping requires you to change your leading side, and clever opponents can exploit this. Our special stepping techniques are members of the set of tai sabaki (literally: “body management”) techniques. Tai sabaki are more than a simple evasions. Rather than just avoiding an attack, tai sabaki are designed to dodge an incoming blows while simultaneously moving into tactically superior positions; evading attacks and setting up counterattacks in one move. In The Karate Kid, Part II (1986), Mr. Miyagi quipped about how the best defense is to not be there. Like all jokes, this holds a kernel of profound truth. The authors cannot find any instance in our system that doesn’t involve some form of tai sabaki, because tai sabaki can be performed in tandem with any technique, adding an additional layer of defense.

Within Goshin-Jutsu, we make use of the following evasions:

• 7-3
• Double step
• Twisting
• Tenkan

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