When you see "taisabaki" translated many people call it Body Shifting but it is more appropriately Body Management.

It's not just about moving completely out the way as ideally the movement that you make provides safety from an attacked, but also keeps you close enough to make your attack to. We try to avoid getting out of their distance and then having to come back into attacking distance. If you can move and counter attack at the same time, then that is great.

Taisabaki doesn't have to be all stiff and upright. The movement is caused by an urgency to react and be safe against an incoming attack, whether it is jodan, chudan or gedan. You can flex and move accordingly. For example, in Wado Ryu Kihon Kumite 4 and 8, your head is moving here and there in reaction to the jodan attack. The body is not bolt upright.