Interesting. It just struck me as so odd, probably because I'm always practicing having my moving metal/wooden shield as my guard.... But it definitely makes sense to move around that way purely from the standpoint of saving energy. Gets exhausting to keep your weapon moving constantly.
Boar, have you read this manual on five element fighting yet? Would be interested in your thoughts. I had the honor of meeting and training with Frank Smith (Sensei) at a Shinbikai gathering about a year ago. Skip to page 19 or something, it's long.
http://defensiveartsplus.tripod.com/DAP_Student_man.pdf