The Arcing Movement

 I'm currently reading the book Straight Talk On Armed Defense edited by Massad Ayoob which is a compilation of articles by self-defense experts on various topics related to armed defense, with each article being one chapter in the book. Chapter 5 is "The Criminal Assault Paradigm" by Craig S. Douglas.

    Douglas initially focuses on how the training we receive may not match what the circumstances we would encounter on the street before moving on to discuss specific examples. One of the specific topics he covers is how to react when a stranger encroaches into your personal space in order to initiate a robbery, typically initiating contact and fooling you into letting them come inside your personal space by asking a question or offering help. 

    While the encroachment problem could be a single mugger, Douglas also addresses the issue of where there is more than one assailant; for instance, one assailant encroaching and distracting you while their compatriot approaches from behind. Douglas explains that "[t]he classic criminal assault with a second assailant ... is usually a pincer movement conducted from the blind spot." He goes on:

More than likely there's a verbal component from the predator and the objective is to get the citizen engaged in dialogue. While engaged in dialogue, the likely approach is from behind by the second adversary.

He notes that this can be a difficult problem to solve because even if you are aware of the possibility of someone coming up behind you and turn to look, your doing so "may very well be the window that the initial adversary uses to throw a punch or draw a gun." 

    To address this issue, Douglas recommends an arcing movement rather than just moving backward to create distance. He explains:

    Backwards movement is expected by any bad guy and it's quite easy to "steer" the uninitiated pretty much anywhere, once this basic reaction is understood.

    One recommendation is to "arc" around the adversary and not move backwards. A good way of visualizing this is if one were to place themselves on the face of a clock with the predator standing at twelve o'clock and the citizen standing at 6 o'clock, the objective would be to try to cut a perfect arc up to either the 9 o'clock or the 3 o'clock position. This is not a natural or instinctive thing to do. In fact, it's quite counterintuitive, as are many of the best practices in self-defense. ...

    Douglas notes three significant advantages to this tactic. First, it allows us to keep the first adversary in our direct vision while allowing us to see someone else approaching from the 6 o'clock position in our peripheral position. 

    Second, "if indeed there is a second adversary, then what the good guy has done is remove him/her self from a 180 degree pincer problem and significantly narrowed the field of threat." That is, rather than being in a position with one adversary in front of you and another directly behind you, you have now placed them to each side of you; it is the beginning of attempting to stack your opponents. 

    Third, "[t]he arcing movement is so out of pattern from average that, often, the reports back from those who have actually used this tactic are that the encroaching party gives the good guy an odd look and walks off mumbling."