Heiji was smart and Hershel couldn't help but smile at that tactic, even if it did totally throw him off balance. He had to tighten his grip quite a bit, making a mental note in his head to try and focus more on making sure the shinai didn't get knocked straight out of his hands.

He stepped back to steady himself before deciding to meet speed with speed. trying for lighter, quick swings again before taking steps back to avoid any of Heiji's. He had to try to avoid more than defend, or else he'd probably lose his grip and shinai.

Backing up so much might mean that he eventually backs up enough to turn over the plant, sorry there Charlie... If he does he doesn't notice because he's too busy trying to read Heiji's body language and figure out where his next swing was coming from before he tried to get his swings past Heiji's defenses.