Tai sabaki

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Alternative spellings: taisabaki, tai sabaki, tai-sabaki

Tai sabaki is a term from Japanese martial arts and which relates to 'whole body movement', or repositioning. It can be translated as body-management. It is a term used widely in kendo, jujitsu, aikido, judo and Wado-ryu karate. Tai sabaki is usually used to avoid an attack, such that the receiver of the attack ends up in an advantageous position and it is often wrongly referred to as evasion.

An example of tai sabaki is 'moving off the line' of attack using irimi and tenkan movements rather than to 'move against' the attack. This implies the use of harmony rather than physical strength. See hard and soft (martial arts)

Tai sabaki is related to ashi sabaki (footwork) and te sabaki (handwork).