Unlike a Herman Munster punch, a quick controlled jab takes all of about a tenth of a second to fire and retract.
Moreover, if he is not standing in glue he will expect you to move and be tracking and adjusting his facing, firing multiple jabs as you do, and ready to fire a rear hand at any time.
I agree with the idea of *subtle* movement, a tiny angle off of a few degrees while firing a counter jab for example is reasonable, as are other counters that take milliseconds vs. many tenths of a second. But I feel that saying, "just get his side" is somewhat misleading in terms of what is and what is not possible, in terms of movement/reaction time against something like a true jab fired off by a competent fighter.
If you think about it_ this is so true.
And again it goes to the question: are you practicing self-defense skills or fighting skills_ not sure we have a clear definition of these concepts.
Try to envision ‘attack/defensive modules’ most likely to occur in your life.
None of us really practices these in Uechi, except a few.
Will you face a surprise attack? Well, how about defining this? How will it come and why in your life style?
Will you be engaging in mutual combat, taking stances etc., or will the attack come as you try to defuse and or evade?
So what will be coming at you?
Shoves/punches/kicks/grabs/waist tackles/head grab/improvised weapon? Hair grab/shirt, coat grabs and pulls over your head? / Grabbing/slapping your right shoulder? / Lead hand slap? /rear hand uppercut? /rear bear hug? /front headlock and choke?
Does your attacker have longer arms/reach? /heel stomping/ jump stomping/frontal choke/wall smash/lead hand slap under chin, followed by straight right to chin? /hair grab and head dunk? _
How fast and from what distance will they come?
Just a few examples of what you will face on the street. So how fast and how close will they be? And are we really prepared for this? If yes, what are we doing that make us so prepared?
From what I read, it seems Rick Wilson is the only one who works these concepts as part of his regular Uechi training_