# Looking for a little help and advice if possible



## claireg31 (Aug 15, 2008)

Ok, so here it, i am a first dan black belt. hae been pratising tang soo for a good few years now.

enjoy most aspects of the art, but have one fairly big stumbling block.

i'm not a huge fan of sparring, i think the biggest problem being that i have to wear glasses all of the time, for every part of my day to day life and when i take off my glasses my clear vision stops about 4inches from my nose!

it makes sparring difficult as i find it quite hard to focus, i'm no where near as fast as the other competitors at competitions, and yes i know its the taking part that counts, it very demoralising being pummled somewhat in the proccess!

so does any one have any suggestions?

many thanks

claire


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## Yossarian (Aug 15, 2008)

Have you thought about contacts? im really shortsighted too and found I improved a lot when i wore lenses. Try taking your glasses off about 15 to 20 minutes before sparring so your eyes will adjust a bit. The best way to get better at sparring is to spar lots and practice drills etc. Maybe get a few extra sparring sessions in outside of normal class time. Dont let a pummeling demoralise you, analyse the fight afterwards, see where you went wrong and work on that aspect.


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## claireg31 (Aug 15, 2008)

thank you for that,
i've thought about contacts but the whole proccess leaves me a bit squeamish!!

are you going to the compy in Inverness next month?


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## Yossarian (Aug 15, 2008)

Contacts do take a bit of getting used to but there not as bad as you think. Ill be at the comp hopefully with a small crowd, also trying to get a team to go down south for the British in november. Will you be competing at Inverness?


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## claireg31 (Aug 15, 2008)

Hoping to compete, form is in as is money, just practising, planning on doing Naianchi Sam Dan (no kicks!!) and 5th Bo staff and knife i can get either of them sunk in!

not sure on the sparring yet, have entered for it but i really am not convinced!

not going south for the big one in November, got no holidays left to take for work and its too far for me to sit on a bus, i'd be grey haired by the time i got there!


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## Sukerkin (Aug 15, 2008)

It would seem that our eyesight is about matched in it's awfulness, *Clair* :lol:.

I generally either sparred in some cheap glasses that I could afford to get broken or did without.  

Because I've been shortsighted since having the measles at age four and noone realised I couldn't see until I was about nine, I adapted to the world as I perceived it during those years.  

Thus, altho' I cannot make out details beyond a few coloured blurs when things are more than six inches away, I can actually identify people and their movements and coped with sparring perfectly well.

If you can't arrange to have some 'sparring glasses' then I would suggest that your best course of action is to have a crash course in interacting with the world without your glasses on.  Depending on when you lost clear vision, your brain may well have some coping strategies in place that will switch back on after a time without your "seeing irons".


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## Brian R. VanCise (Aug 15, 2008)

Well I would advise going with contacts or sport prescription goggles.  Either one will work pretty well.


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## Tez3 (Aug 15, 2008)

Claire I wear daily disposable contacts and I would fight Randy Couture himself if he tried to take them off me lol!. they are very easy to use, you take them out of their little sealed container and just pop them in. taking them out is easy for me, I just pull gently on the side of my eye blink and they pop out, they don't however come out when I'm doing groundwork. They are unbelievably thin and very soft, you really don't know they are there from the firtst time you put them in. When I first had them in it was literally like a Biblical miracle! I've been very short sighted since I was 10 or 11 and to be able to see was amazing, what it gave me too was periphal vision which I'd never had with glasses. 
I go to Dolland & Aitchenson and get sent my monthly supply through the post. Go and try them (I know they do monthly ones where you keep them in for a month,), it will change literally your whole outlook on life lol!


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## claireg31 (Aug 15, 2008)

thank you very much everyone

i think i may try and take a look around the world without my glasses for a wee while and see how we get on.

we did some sparring in class last night, and i got on ok last night, but its easier in class in some respects.

I'll try out some of your suggestions and i'll keep you posted!

Claire


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## JWLuiza (Aug 15, 2008)

I think vision is very important when learning to spar. If you've been hampered by this for a long time, I'd take some time with contacts and/or goggles and really bring it up to the level you feel you should be at.

At the same time, dong some drills without your eyesight would be great. Especially if an attacker were to remove your glasses somehow.

I'm blind like you and Sukerkin, and it sucks. I started wearing contacts 17 years ago so I'm pretty used to them by now. But I do wear glasses often, so I try to fight a bit without corrective lenses. 

For me, the long distance game is difficult. I'm 6'7" so I tend to use a long range kicking game punctuated by clsoing the gap and using hand strikes.  All timing and distance based fighting... But when I'm without lenses, I can't do that as well. I have to wait for an engagement from the opponent to get tactile distance, not visual distance. Then I'm focusing on positioning and slipping techniques so I can exchange shot for (better) shot.

Good luck.


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## claireg31 (Aug 15, 2008)

i think i'll try some of the classes minus my specs and see how i get on, anything is worth a try.

i've noticed that my depth perception is quite poor and often when i've tried a technique i've noticed just how off i am with it!

i shall persever and i'll improve!


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## tshadowchaser (Aug 15, 2008)

I used to practice with a student who could only see shadows with out his glasses but practice and spar he did without them.
He was always afraid of having the glasses knocked off if he was outside of the school so he practiced for that possible occurrence.


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## zohran (Aug 15, 2008)

I wore glasses from 4th grade up to last year. (9yrs to 34yrs)  From how you described your vision, mine was very similar. I could see clearly up to a few inches from my nose, anything past that was blurry city! During that time i sparred with blurry vision and it worked ok.

I tried the prescription sports goggles and couldn't stand them.  Also, I could never find any contacts that fit comfortably.

Late last year i went and had LASIK surgery done.  It cost about 4k but, to me, it was very worth it.  I now have 20/15 vision and my sparring has gotten much better.  I do not regret having it done.

If you have the cash available i'd recommend the LASIK.  Otherwise your best bet would be contacts i think.


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## Nomad (Aug 15, 2008)

zohran said:


> I wore glasses from 4th grade up to last year. (9yrs to 34yrs) From how you described your vision, mine was very similar. I could see clearly up to a few inches from my nose, anything past that was blurry city! During that time i sparred with blurry vision and it worked ok.
> 
> I tried the prescription sports goggles and couldn't stand them. Also, I could never find any contacts that fit comfortably.
> 
> ...


 
Seconded!  I had vision bad enough that I wouldn't consider sparring without glasses or contacts (way too dangerous) and went the contact lens route during class for many years. 

In April, I had the LASIK surgery done, and absolutely love the results... although I still catch myself when I'm tired trying to take off my glasses before I go to sleep...

Vision is now perfect, and it's great not having to live with the thought that in a real fight, the first thing to go would likely be my glasses (and my vision).


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## CoryKS (Aug 15, 2008)

My vision is lousy.  Can't even read a book without my lenses because when I hold it close enough to read, my eyes start to cross.  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




  I wear contact lenses and have had no problems with them coming out during sparring.  I'm looking at getting LASIK next year.  Everyone who has had it that I've talked to has loved the results.


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## claireg31 (Aug 18, 2008)

ok everyone

thank you very much for your help.

i've got training tonight so we'll see how i get on, i'll try without my glasses for while and see (ha ha!) how i get on.

I have considered contacts in the past but i've got a fairly bad astigmatism, not sure how i wold get on!


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## Yossarian (Aug 18, 2008)

With an astigmatism you would be better siuted to hard lenses which you shouldnt spar with. You can get soft toric lenses for astigmatism but like i found out they are not the best for long periods of time, still much better than no specs though.


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## Tez3 (Aug 18, 2008)

Yossarian said:


> With an astigmatism you would be better siuted to hard lenses which you shouldnt spar with. You can get soft toric lenses for astigmatism but like i found out they are not the best for long periods of time, still much better than no specs though.


 
I'm extemely short sighted and have astigmatism so always thought I couldn't use contacts but the ones I have are brilliant, I works shift so wear them in excess of 12 hours at a time and have no problem. I just don't miss that steamed up glasses look when coming in from the cold nor the rain splashed look lol!


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## claireg31 (Aug 18, 2008)

thats me decided, i've got an appointment coming up with the optitian, i'll ask about some contacts, will give the leaving the glasses off at training a go too!

thank you everyone!


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## MBuzzy (Aug 18, 2008)

I'll put in another vote for LASIK or PRK.  I just had PRK done and it is incredible.  They can fix astigmatism and will make your eyesight perfect.  I still reach for my glasses every morning, but I don't need any vision correction.  It is definately worth the money!


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## Master Jay S. Penfil (Aug 21, 2008)

Clair,
Everyone here has had great adviseregarding your eyewear...

On the other hand, a big part of training as you move upward in time and rank should be sensativity. Much of my training (when sparring) I do with my eyes closed. If you are close enough to make contact, you should be able to feel your opponents movement and be able to move with them.

I have spent the past 11 years cross training with friends who teach Classical Wing Chun. There are drill that we have learned that teach you how to develop this sensativity. If you have a chance to intereact with Classical Wing Chun practitioners you will find it beneficial for your training.


John,
Are you really 6'7"??????????????

I was in Red Lion, PA last week and was trying to contact you regarding coming in for some good training. I will be there again in the near future. Maybe you can make it in at that time.


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## claireg31 (Aug 22, 2008)

well, i went to training on Monday night and i did some of the class minus my glasses and i have to say it wasn't as hard as i thought, i reckoned that my balance would be completely shot, but it wasn't, pleasantly surprised!

i'm going to enquire about the toric contact lenses when i next go to get my eyes checked, the laser eye surgery is a no-no at the moment, i know it works, my sisters boyfriend had this done last december and he has perfect vision now and had no trouble whatsoever with the surgery. I just have no money to fund it at the moment!!

i'm going to continue doing the line work drills without my glasses, just aswell i know the techniques Sir is on about, and he kindly gives them in English too, mind you, i'm a black belt, no excuses for no knowing them!

you've all been incredibly helpful, thank you very much

claire


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## Tez3 (Aug 22, 2008)

Laser eye surgery is out for me because of my work, if I were to have it done I would most likely lose my job.


http://www.myopia.org/bbclasersurgery.htm


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## Flying Crane (Aug 22, 2008)

Some good advice, I'll just add my own two cents here...

I am fairly near-sighted, but probably not quite so bad as some of the people who have chimed in.  

I trained capoeira for a number of years, and when we entered the Roda to play, I just did without my glasses.  I got used to it, and it wasn't a real problem for me.  Getting my glasses smashed in a game was a big no-no for me, so I just didn't risk it.  

Eventually, I got soft, disposeable contact lenses.  My eyes don't like contacts so much, so I only wear them while training.  For a couple hours every other day or so, they are fine, but I cannot wear them full time, my eyes get irritated by them.  During most of the day I wear my glasses, and if I'm just doing forms training or something, I often still wear my glasses but I use a croakie to keep them secure on my face.  This system has worked well for me.

Regarding Lasik, it is an option, but it is not perfect and is not a good choice for everyone.  Be very careful if you consider this, make sure you find a good surgeon and really think hard about it first.

The process does cut thru the cornea of the eye, and while the cornea is able to heal, there is some loss of physical strength in the structure of the eye.  It is possible that this can leave the eye somewhat weakened physically, and a blow to the eye during sparring could be more likely to injure the eye.  Also, after the procedure the cornea heals and is functional pretty quickly, but I think you need to give it a good deal of time before you can really trust it again.  I suspect you may need to end your sparring sessions for 6 months or so.  Talk to the surgeon and be very blunt about these issues.  Ask the difficult questions, and if you feel the surgeon is brushing your concerns aside, FIND ANOTHER ONE.

For many people, the procedure is very effective in correcting their vision problems.  But this isnt' true for everyone.  Some people have problems, I know Bob Hubbard who runs Martialtalk here had a horrendous nightmare experience with it that will probably affect him for the rest of his life.  I remember a few years ago he had a thread here about his experience, I think you ought to read thru it, and perhaps talk with him directly about it.  While his experience is probably unusual, you ought to know what is possible.

For some people, the results are not perfect, and they ultimately need glasses again.  Just be realistic in what you expect.  It's not an absolutely perfect technique.

Personally, I'm hoping they develop a method that does not include cutting the cornea open.  Maybe they can fire the laser thru the cornea to do the work without making any incisions, and without compromising the physical strength of the eye.  If they come up with that kind of thing, I'll get in line for my turn.

Just some thoughts.


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## foggymorning162 (Aug 23, 2008)

If you wear head gear to spar have you considered a full face sheild? I don't know if you could fit your glasses underneith but my son has to wear one because no matter how much I trim the mouth gaurds he still gags on them. Just a thought.


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