Close Quarters Combat // Tzviel (BK) BlankchteinOffset, or "Move off the Straight Line"

Humans, as do most animals, have a unique characteristic that prompts them to launch straight forward. Any change in direction is typically a futile attempt in getting the cerebral cortex to generate the necessary neurological response and get us to turn. To the basic structure of our bodies and brains we should add some stress and the lack of ability to process information and generate a reaction in a hurry, especially movement — and you are left with a body in motion moving straight on. A big reason for why our bodies tend to move forward in a straight line, in addition to the complexity of our skeletal, muscular, and neurological systems, is that our vision, as with many mammals with foreface eyes, is also naturally looking straight ahead.

All the scientific jargon above is a complex way of saying that the human body likes to move straight. Ever tried sprinting in a circle? You’ll notice the first couple of steps will be forward, or straight, before the body adapts to the angle’s change and begins circling around. The only way to overcome that is by slowing things down. If a person was to walk instead of run, then the process would have been simpler.

I will not bore you with the scientific reasoning for why any more than I already have. The point I was trying to make was that we, humans, move straight…fast!

The reason I began this article with the above scientific explanation is that as fighters we must realize the direction our opponents will attack us so we can better prepare to avoid and counter.

I had the unpleasant experience of being in combat in the past. Finding cover and shooting is half the battle, the other half is making sure you don’t get shot at in return. There are many situations during battle when you will not be able to shoot, or will not want to shoot. Some may include malfunction clearing, magazine changes, or just evaluating where your target is. One mistake I see frequently when teaching classes is trainees just standing erect as they are looking around for targets or manipulating their weapons. Standing where you were while firing is a dead giveaway to your opponent of your whereabout, and makes you an easy target for returning fire.

This phenomenon of standing still, especially in front of another combatant is not limited to gunfights. It is also prominent in empty-hand fighting situations. Often times when teaching defensive tactics classes I see individuals executing a proper defense, delivering the necessary counter strikes, but staying put, only to be taken down by their opponent charging back at them.

The above examples may be slightly exaggerated, but nonetheless, the fact remains that people stay in front of their opponents when their opponent’s reaction is sure to be linearly forward.

Whenever in a fight, armed or not, one has to bear in mind that movement is key. Hardening the target by not staying in the same exact spot will make it harder for the opponent to locate and either fire back or launch forward at you. What needs to be done is offset.

If you need to manipulate the weapon, re-acquire target, or tactically must cease firing, and there is no cover for you to duck behind, then the very least you should be doing is taking one or two steps to the side and kneel down. The offset to the side and the change in level, will greatly decrease the accuracy and effectiveness of returning fire. Every magazine change, every malfunction clearing, or every time the fight is paused, you should be a few feet away and lower than you were before.

Similarly, if you are defending an attack when not armed yourself, and you do not offset to one side or another, you are sure to get hit with an oncoming strike, or worse yet, with an edged weapon, by your opponent, or be taken down by a “shoot-in.”

Whenever in combat, weather as the defender or the initiator, you should always move, offset, and re-engage from a position of advantage. Every series of strikes or shots should be executed from a different angle.

Tzviel (BK) Blankchtein, a defensive tactics instructor, is founder and president of Masada Tactical, and may be contacted through the company’s Web site. Readers may send him questions on topics and issues which are of interest to them. He will post some of these questions, and his answers to them, in the column.