45 Degree Angle

Have you heard of this one before where sensei says you should move to a 45 degree angle off an adversaries centerline while maintaining your centerline to attack or counter-attack? Yea, do you know why they tell you to do that other than a quick quip that it is a tactical move? 

One of the martial artists who made a video talks about the human tendency to orient on the 90 degree of their circle, that circle around our bodies we sometimes refer to as our space. It is that space when someone enters triggers a response from the lizard brain. The response depends on how the lizard came to see that invasion of space. 

When you happen to be facing an adversary centerline to centerline your moving to the 45 degree spot to his left or right side puts you midway between his 0 degree spot and his 90 degree spot. It is what Marc MacYoung calls his “semi-blind spot.” Marc MacYoung goes on to state that 99 times out of 100 your adversary will stop, reorient, observe, reorient back into his forward line putting his centerline back in relation to his attack vector, and then act again - most likely to knock your block off once and for all. This should sound familiar, say the OODA loop. That spit second or so can mean an opportunity to strike and stop his attack against you. 

Don’t forget, you will maintain your centerline and your wedge so that you can act accordingly taking advantage of that small time respite you can use. This 45 degree move also allows you to avoid any attacks, i.e., blows, strikes, etc., and thus also disorient them, i.e., the OODA thing again. This also positions yourself for other methods such as spinning him along his vertical axis when you continue to move past him. 

Kind of provides you with a meaning and validation for learning how to move to that 45 degree angle in a fight. Does this work for the street? Yea, or so says Mr. MacYoung but don’t take my word for it, read his book listed below.

Bibliography:

MacYoung, Marc (Animal). “Taking It to the Street: Making Your Martial Art Street Effective.” Paladin Press. Boulder, Colorado. 1999.