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Centerline theory involves an imaginary line that extends vertically and divides the body into two bi-laterally symmetrical halves. The centerline is important because many vital pressure points lie along it (both front and back), such as the brain, throat, heart, solar plexus, bladder, testicles, or the spine. By shifting your centerline with respect to your opponent, you may make it less accessible and less vulnerable to attack. Your guard and blocks should protect your centerline.

The opponent's centerline serves as the convergence point of your strikes. Attacks should be directed toward the centerline. Do not extent your attacks and blocks past your own or your opponent's centerline or you will expose your side and rear to attack. Not extending your strikes and blocks to the centerline opens your centerline to attack.

If one can control the opponent’s centerline, then his ability to effectively move and strike will be nullified. Thus, understanding centerline theory and applying it in practice can greatly enhance one’s ability to strike and to defend.

Ways to Defend the Centerline

Blocking techniques may be applied in multiple ways depending on circumstances. For example, at the basic level the blocking arm can be used to simply parry a punch or kick using a "strength against strength" principle. This will be successful as long as the block is stronger than the opponent's strike.

At another level, the effectiveness of the blocking can be enhanced by simply shifting off the line of attack and adjusting the angle of your body obliquely (approx 45 degrees) to the incoming strike. In this way, the lead arm slips the strike, and the ”soft contains the hard."

At yet another level, blocking can be performed as a  two level system based on "intercepting and redirecting" the incoming attack in conjunction with the body shift mentioned in the previous paragraph. Here, the trailing arm is used to "intercept" or cover the incoming attack after which  the leading arm is used to "redirect" the force of the attack away. Alternatively, the trialing hand may be used to intercept and the leading arm used to counter strike the opponent. 

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