In Budo arts “tai-sabaki,” meaning body shifting, is paramount in the execution of waza or techniques. In Western martial arts the use of body shifting is most evident in boxing. Boxer’s utilize head movement to avoid punches, use footwork to evade or enter into an opponents space. Western fencing uses a more straight back and forth style of body movement and footwork. In grappling arts such as judo, body movement is used to turn the body to enter into the correct position to execute a throw for example.
The most basic forms of movement in the striking arts is to move forward, backward, and to move from side to side. Circling movement is also evident as well and used to a high degree by novices and experts. Diagonal and arcing stepping take tai-sabaki to another level. Here these forms of body shifting can be used very effectively to lure an opponent to attack, to confuse them and to position the body in such a manner so that the opponent is not able to immediately counter-attack.
The best use of movement is to combine them together with other movements such as head movement and moving just the upper torso. For new practitioners it is always best to start with simple movements and progress to more complicated movements. A continuous study and practice of body movement/footwork is necessary to prevent stagnation.