[Say, it isn't that bad!]

Originally Posted by maximara

Do "black belts" in radically different styles really circle each other or that something that people at the lower levels do?

It's been over twenty years, to establish a time, since I took karate; I no longer remember nearly as much as I did. This thread has helped bring some of it back, though. :)

However, I still watch various types of sparring videos on Youtube, and the circling seems universal. In cases where circling does not happen, they re-engage. Or the initial clash turned into a grapple; in which case arguably the initial clash didn't end.

As for an explanation why; I don't know. It may be due to a natural instinct to try to get to the side or behind the opponent; it may be out of a hope that you can "pull" the opponent into making a mistake.

Note that this is explicitly for one vs one; if there's more than two combatants, simple circling seems a lot less likely.