But what really exasperated the teacher was the inability of the pupils to distinguish tactics and strategy. They knew the "joseki" for "he raises his right hand, I do this" but not the joseki for "he raises his left hand". They thought of the situation purely in terms of tactics. The teacher point out that instead they had to think in terms of "he is attacking me" (strategy). If the strategic evaluation of that was "I don't know the tactic of how to deal with that", the correct tactical response can be triggered automatically: "step back and take guard again". Not every response has to be a killer move. However, as the teacher pointed out, there were subtle advantages even in just stepping back (as opposed to freezing or running away). The assailant is likely to be disconcerted by the fact you know how to move and don't run away. Hesitation = bad shape. And you are now a step further away. He may be caught by surprise and continue forwards off balance, in which case you have another chance to apply a "killer move" (which would, incidentally, probably be something like: push him hard while he's off balance and then run away).

Until and unless you build up a large armoury of tactical weapons, your best bet is to stick to strategy. Actually, I think that's how most of us old timers play go anyway - it avoids the need for hard thought. Doesn't always work on the board but it makes it easier to sleep at night!