Well OutlawZ, look at it this way. If you were a pirate out there fighting stumps, would you stand out in the open or go behind something so the stump can't get to you as easily.
I don't think it's cheating, it's a method of fighting
I've stood where the stumps would have to navigate around rocks. Sometimes they would figure out how to get around the rocks, but most of the time they would get stuck and run back and forth. I don't think it's cheating.