He was shielding her before moving out of the way. This type of scenario often limits self preservation or instinct to dodge. For instance, if someone throws a knife at me, you are behind me, and I duck at the last second - the knife will hit you regardless of how much you want to live. It will only not hit you if you are fully aware the knife is coming at you before hand which often requires some thought and in many cases the event occurs too fast for such a reflex.
This is why him dodging becomes such a frowned upon event. Nothing to be said about how fucking stupid he acts about it after the fact, he is barely apologetic.