# Martial Arts and Glasses



## KungLE

Hi, 

I've trained in various martial arts in the past and have had little trouble with wearing glasses during training, aside from them being knocked off once or twice.  However I've been wondering if they would pose a real problem if you studied a martial art that involved a lot more ground work, such as BJJ or Judo.  

If not what is your opinion of self defense and glasses, if you get your glasses knocked off during a real fight are you in big trouble.  I'm guessing no, but at the same time, I have really bad vision and feel that I would be at somewhat of a disadvantage.  Has anybody every experienced this?

Are contacts a better way to go? or is training without glasses or contacts better? or should it not matter in any way?

Thanks


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## Xue Sheng

I have glasses and bad vision and if it is hard training where they might be a problem I take them off. If they got knocked of in a real fight I would need to know how to fight without them anyway.

But way back when I trained Jujutsu I never took them off and I did not have any real problems other than when they got knocked off and I later had to find them


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## terryl965

My wife wears hers she just takes them off to fight at tournament, she says as long as she can see the outline she knows where to hit.


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## Andy Moynihan

Simply take them off any time sparring or "real" drills occur and you'll still know how to move without them come crunch time.


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## Ceicei

If your eyes can handle them, try contacts.  I usually wear contacts while training so I don't have to worry about glasses that may break (I've had them stomped).  I can see and understand better when learning new things.   However, I do make sure I put in practice time without glasses/contacts--in a real live confrontation, the situation is real that I may have to defend myself without them.

I suggest you become familiar with your style and practice as often as you can without wearing your glasses or contacts.  With Judo/BJJ/Jujitsu, these styles work really well... you usually remain in physical contact anyway and can do locks, throws, takedowns, and submissions without depending upon your sight.

- Ceicei


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## 7starmarc

I go without my glasses most of the time for workouts. I don't really miss them. In my style (Seven Star Praying Mantis), we emphasize a lot of awareness without relying on visual cues, so I guess it works out better than some other styles would.


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## Sukerkin

It all depends on how easily you can adapt to fighting and moving without your glasses.  In part this will in turn depend upon when you first needed to wear them.  

For me, I was nine when I started wearing glasses and had in fact been very short-sighted (clear focus range of six inches) since I had measles when I was four.

Because of the early age at which I 'lost' my 20/20 and the years I spent without lenses, even now, when I take my glasses off, I can still recognise people at a distance despite their being just a coloured, multi-overlapped, blob.

In Lau, I used to train wearing my old National Health glasses as it didn't matter if they got broken.  Nowadays you can get very damage-resistant glasses that you can 'tie-on', so that may be an option.  However, if one of the reasons you're training in martial arts is a genuine requirement for self-defence then I'd suggest training without your specs.  If you ever lose them in a fight and you aren't prepared for it then you're done for - so prepare for the worst.

You never know, if your eye-sight is as terrible as mine, you might get to enjoy the world that only you can 'see' without your 'bins'.


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## fireman00

I wear glasses and always take them off during class for: a) safety of me and my fellow students and b) they were expensive.

I haven't found any problems with targeting/ distancing while sparring. 

If in a real life situation where I felt threatened I would take them off as "casually" as possible so as not to make like I was getting ready for fight.  Again for my safety ... not so much for theirs :>)


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## Brian R. VanCise

Glasses and grappling just do not go together.  You would be better off with contacts.  As for myself I wear glasses for driving but other than that they are off.  Still in contact oriented or grappling oriented martial arts glasses are a pain and will be broken.  You could go with contacts or goggles.  Still in BJJ/Grappling goggles are a hinderance as well.


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## MA-Caver

I wear glasses all the time and have had them knocked off during fights and (what informal) training I've had. I can see well enough at close range to ensure of my targets and what movements are made towards me. 
Ground fighting you shouldn't have to worry too much about seeing. Your opponent/attacker is already in close contact and all you need to to be able to feel your way around their bodies and limbs to know what techniques to apply. 

If you're really worried about it try this... practice... often... blindfolded. Think about this for a moment. How much time are you going to have to turn on the lights if there's an intruder in your home and would you WANT to turn on the lights? thus evening the odds of the intruder? You may end up temporarily blinded by something, a bright light, flash or something thrown in your eyes. Still knowing how to defend using your other senses will go a long way to ensure you're going to make your next appointment with the optometrist's.


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## Kacey

I wore glasses from the time I was 9 until I had LASIK 7 years ago, when I was 34.  I started TKD when I was 20 - so I spent 14 years wearing glasses before, after, and occasionally during class.  I tried wearing them during class when I first started (I was near-sighted - anything outside arm range got fuzzy) - but they got sweaty and fell off, they had plastic frames (which I had broken in the past), and I couldn't wear them for sparring anyway (that's when they got the sweatiest - and the first time your glasses fall off while sparring, and you nearly step on them... well, you get the idea).  So I decided to go without them - which worked a lot better.

If you really don't want to go without, you can get sport goggles with prescription lenses in them - I considered that at one point, but I was really broke at the time, and later I was used to not wearing my glasses in class.


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## Grenadier

Any kind of eyewear is going to get knocked off or askew, during a randori.  It's not the same as a karate sparring session, where you could get away with using sporting goggles.  

For grappling martial arts, I'd recommend soft contact lenses.  Whether you want to use disposable ones, or long-term ones, is your choice.  

Soft contact lenses aren't that expensive at all.  If you have your prescription from your eye doctor, you can order them online at any number of reputable places.  I use Durasoft 2 lenses (daily wear, not disposable), and get them for about 20 bucks each.


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## arnisador

KungLE said:


> I've trained in various martial arts in the past and have had little trouble with wearing glasses during training, aside from them being knocked off once or twice.  However I've been wondering if they would pose a real problem if you studied a martial art that involved a lot more ground work, such as BJJ or Judo.



I take them off for BJJ, and wear special prescription sports glasses for other things. They're an aggravation--they fog, slip, etc.--but they beat the alternatives (not seeing or replacing my regular glasses all the time).



> If not what is your opinion of self defense and glasses, if you get your glasses knocked off during a real fight are you in big trouble.



That's happened to me, and it's a problem. Contacts or RK surgery are obvious answers if viable. I practice without them some of the time so at least I know what I'd be facing.


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## kidswarrior

Wear my glasses during life, so why would I train without them?

Do take them off when I know we're going to do stand-up grappling, but in a real situation would just have to grapple anyway.

Love what one master said (not to say _I'm_ that good) when asked if he'd take his glasses off for a fight: _By the time I took them off, the fight would be over._


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## Andrew Green

You'll be fine without them for grappling.  There are even a few completely blind wrestlers / grapplers around.  

We occasionally do a drill where we roll blindfolded, not a big deal.


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## bookworm_cn317

I wear glasses in class(it helps to see what my instructor is doing & what we should be doing)because--hey, I wear 'em all the time! The only time I DON'T have them on in class is when we're sparring. I can see adequately enough, I guess, everything's just REALLY blurry!


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## halfnote19

I have really bad vision but I can use contacts so this doesn't really affect me. 

Although my husband on the other hand has a really bad astigmatism and can not wear contacts. He will wear his glasses to see what the lesson is and then take them off during any close sparring sessions wear they might get in the way. He does not wear them during sparring because it would be a bummer if the glasses fell off and accidentally got broken.


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## IcemanSK

Years ago, a friend wore sports glasses that wrapped around his head with a strap (like Kareem Abdul Jabbar wore to play basketball) during sparring. They weren't attractive, but he could see without fear of breaking his glasses. I imagine they still make them.


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## Ceicei

IcemanSK said:


> Years ago, a friend wore sports glasses that wrapped around his head with a strap (like Kareem Abdul Jabbar wore to play basketball) during sparring. They weren't attractive, but he could see without fear of breaking his glasses. I imagine they still make them.



You mean like these in the link below? Quote is taken from the website:



> If you see better, you will play better.  Our high performance goggles with *prescription lenses* will take your game to the next level.



http://www.goodglasses.com/index.cf...rentcat/8899?gclid=CNngwvjrx5ECFQy1PAodOz1KEA

- Ceicei


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## kidswarrior

Ceicei said:


> You mean like these in the link below? Quote:
> If you see better, you will play better.  Our high performance goggles with *prescription lenses* will take your game to the next level.
> 
> - Ceicei


Does this mean that with these goggles I'll be able to run up and down the  bb court again, even  on _these _knees? 

J/K. Good find, Ceicei.


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## Thomas

It all depends on how you train, KungLE, but in my oppinion glasses and grappling arts don't mix - at least not during sparring. Sooner or later your glasses will be crushed beyond recognition under you and your opponent. Furthermore - if you train full contact using head gear you need to have a special helmet that allows you to wear glasses. 

In regard to your question if you are in trouble if you get your glasses knocked off during a real fight - I know I am. I have a really poor eyesight and many times I have tried sparring without any glasses or contact lenses. I have noticed that I am in really big trouble when fighting from the distance (even against people with very little martial arts experience). I have noticed that I get hyper sensitive because everything is just a blur. If my opponent fakes a blow or kick I always fall for it. I don't have any feel for the distance between me and my opponent(s) and I can't time my attacks or my defense. My only chance is to close the distance and get within "hugging-distance" - that way I stand a better chance of protecting myself as well as striking back using fists, elbows or knees or to take the fight to the ground. The problem is of course that I risk being hit on the way in because I can't see properly. Something I have noticed is that when in in-fight I have a hard time using head butts when I'm not wearing glasses. We always use helmets so there is no risk of injury but my brain often refuses because my eye sight is so poor. Very annoying.

So - if you plan to take up a martial art that involved grappling or full contact sparring then I would advice you to get some contacts. Never the less - No matter what martial art you practise I advice you to try to fight without your glasses numerous times. At least until you get a feeling for what kind of problems you might have.

Best regards
Thomas


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## rabbit

I would hope you wear you glasses/contacts while out on the street so you can see the enemy approaching you and you can run.


By enemy i mean the guy whose girlfriend you stole or some drunk guy that wants to beat you up


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## Sanchin-J

A nice alternative that I've used in the past are prescription sports goggles, assuming your not completely blind without your glasses, you can usually get a pair for a fair price.  In the event that you don't want to use goggles, there are several companies that make a flex type frame for glasses so they won't be damaged easily and you could always use a glasses strap to keep them on your head while training.


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## K Williams

Has anyone here tried Rec Specs? I've had my glasses fly off many times while training. I've been considering buying a pair of Rec Specs sport glasses.


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## Bill Mattocks

http://www.clearlylenz.com/

http://www.clearlylenz.com/search/Prescription.Sports.Goggles/Prescription.Sports.Goggles_219/

I've had 'em for a year now, they work great.  All I needed was my eyeglass prescription and my PD (pupillary distance), which you can measure yourself or get from your eye doctor.  They work great.  Don't fog up, I spar in 'em and no problem when I get smacked wearing them.  I recommend 100%.


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## Blade96

i train without mine


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## WC_lun

I have pretty bad vision and wear glasses as well.  I have worn soft contacts, and that worked out very well.  

Now I take off my glasses when anything other than light contact is going to happen.  I do this for two reason.  First, even though the glasses are made to resist contact with special lens and flexable frames, the little screws in the corners are not.  Replacing them isn't expensive, but it is a pain when one breaks.  Second, in a fight, I may not be able to keep my glasses on my face.  I need to be able to work without them.  I have found that for me, it is actually easier to fight without my glasses.  Not sure why that is.  My instructor says that sometimes seeing is a hindrance, rather than a help.  Of course, his instructor was almost completly blind, so that was probably impressed upon him in a rather painful way


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## Bill Mattocks

I wear glasses when I spar because I need them to see.  I've been told that I need to 'learn to get along without them because you may not have them in a real self-defense situation' and I totally get that.  But their eyes are not my eyes.  I wear them when I spar because I need them to see AT ALL.

SO I wear the Raquetteball glasses I linked to; they work fine.  I'm not sure why people who have 'bad eyes' but not MY bad eyes think they know what I can see and what I can't.


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## Yoshin9

Train without them, if you get into a fight you can not guarantee that your glasses won't get knocked off. Learn how to fight without glasses now or pay for it when you really need to use your skills minus glasses.


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## RoninGirl82

It's a scientific fact that when one sense is impaired the other senses become much more keen. Ya know Radar from MASH? Bad eyes, so his hearing took up the slack. That is a well-documented phenomenon.

Knowing that my glasses will be the first thing destroyed or lost during a street encounter, I SPAR without them, but train techniques with them on, just because its VERY hard to see without them. I've found that by fighting so long without my specs, judging distances and reach without them comes naturally. Also, I can "sense" when something is going to happen and react in time (unless I'm fighting my brother; there IS no moving out of the way in time with him, even when you know exactly what's coming!). I've trained to NOT rely on my eyesight during a fight, but to read other cues such as smell, hearing, touch, and even just noticing small movements.

Its taken years of training, but I am just as comfortable fighting without my glasses as I am wearing them when I'm not fighting. And yes, my eyesight is VERY bad...colors, shapes, outlines, and blobs are all I see past 3 feet.


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## Bill Mattocks

Yoshin9 said:


> Train without them, if you get into a fight you can not guarantee that your glasses won't get knocked off. Learn how to fight without glasses now or pay for it when you really need to use your skills minus glasses.



Yes, I know if I get into a fight 'for real' my glasses will get knocked off.  However, if I cannot see without my glasses, I cannot spar, so I cannot learn.  Duh.  First I must learn to spar and defend myself.  If I take my glasses off, I cannot see a fist coming at me, so I can't learn to block it.

People who can see without their glasses always give this advice.  It's wrong, IMHO.  First learn to defend yourself, including wearing sparring glasses if that's what you need to be able to see.  Then worry about learning to fight without being able to see clearly.


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## Bill Mattocks

RoninGirl82 said:


> It's a scientific fact that when one sense is impaired the other senses become much more keen. Ya know Radar from MASH? Bad eyes, so his hearing took up the slack. That is a well-documented phenomenon.
> 
> Knowing that my glasses will be the first thing destroyed or lost during a street encounter, I SPAR without them, but train techniques with them on, just because its VERY hard to see without them. I've found that by fighting so long without my specs, judging distances and reach without them comes naturally. Also, I can "sense" when something is going to happen and react in time (unless I'm fighting my brother; there IS no moving out of the way in time with him, even when you know exactly what's coming!). I've trained to NOT rely on my eyesight during a fight, but to read other cues such as smell, hearing, touch, and even just noticing small movements.
> 
> Its taken years of training, but I am just as comfortable fighting without my glasses as I am wearing them when I'm not fighting. And yes, my eyesight is VERY bad...colors, shapes, outlines, and blobs are all I see past 3 feet.



My eyes are bad like yours.  It always angers me a bit when people who have normal vision or only slightly impaired offer advice on what people like you and I should do.  Walk a mile in our moccasins, amigo, I suggest to them.

I train and spar with my prescription racquetball glasses.  They are cheap and they work.  They don't fog up and they don't get broken; I've been smacked in them many times now.  I saved money by not getting the bifocal portion since I don't need to read in the dojo, and I went without the fancy coatings and so on.  Don't need them indoors.

I think it is important to be able to see clearly when sparring too.  Yes, I agree with the naysayers that if you ever have to defend yourself for real, you'll get your glasses knocked off.  True.  However, if you've never learned how to properly see punches coming and block them, etc, you won't have good training.  This ain't a Kung Fu TV episode.  Use the tools that are available.  That's my advice.


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## Aikikitty

I wore glasses most of my life and just so happened to get soft contact lenses a few months before starting Aikido.  I definitely recommend contacts and I always wear them during the majority of my day.  The few times I had to wear glasses in class, they kept falling off from sweat or rolling around.  My sensei used a sport band to hold his on and that worked pretty well.  Another student has been using prescription sport goggles for years (same or similar Bill recommended) and those work very well for him with what we do.  

I'm very, very near-sighted and training without contacts or glasses for me is laughable.  If I can't even see what sensei is doing...  By the way, my depth perception changes going from contacts to glasses, not a lot, but it makes a difference, especially driving at night.  If you get contacts, I suggest keeping a spare set or a pair of glasses in your car or bag in case you get hit in the head and lose a contact.

Robyn


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## jks9199

Bill Mattocks said:


> My eyes are bad like yours.  It always angers me a bit when people who have normal vision or only slightly impaired offer advice on what people like you and I should do.  Walk a mile in our moccasins, amigo, I suggest to them.
> 
> I train and spar with my prescription racquetball glasses.  They are cheap and they work.  They don't fog up and they don't get broken; I've been smacked in them many times now.  I saved money by not getting the bifocal portion since I don't need to read in the dojo, and I went without the fancy coatings and so on.  Don't need them indoors.
> 
> I think it is important to be able to see clearly when sparring too.  Yes, I agree with the naysayers that if you ever have to defend yourself for real, you'll get your glasses knocked off.  True.  However, if you've never learned how to properly see punches coming and block them, etc, you won't have good training.  This ain't a Kung Fu TV episode.  Use the tools that are available.  That's my advice.


I don't know.  I'm blessed with good to excellent vision, so far.  I've always told my students to TRY without their glasses, and encouraged sport glasses and/or contacts if they felt they couldn't train without them.

That said -- I'd still encourage y'all to do one-steps and other similar exercises without your glasses to understand what things look like if you HAVE to fight without them.


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## Bill Mattocks

jks9199 said:


> That said -- I'd still encourage y'all to do one-steps and other similar exercises without your glasses to understand what things look like if you HAVE to fight without them.



Your point is well-made.  However, bear in mind that when I started training and didn't yet have these glasses, I could not even see what Sensei was demonstrating in front of the class.  If I wore my street glasses, they got bashed.  If I didn't, I was not able to see what was wrong with my feet, hand position, etc, etc.  I really need to be able to see to be able to train.  I think there is a vague suspicion on the part of many normal-sighted people that if we just _'tried harder'_ we could see better without our glasses.  Like getting mad at deaf people, as if they're doing it on purpose.


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## Sukerkin

I can only re-iterate what I said back in post#7 of this thread.


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## jks9199

Bill Mattocks said:


> Your point is well-made.  However, bear in mind that when I started training and didn't yet have these glasses, I could not even see what Sensei was demonstrating in front of the class.  If I wore my street glasses, they got bashed.  If I didn't, I was not able to see what was wrong with my feet, hand position, etc, etc.  I really need to be able to see to be able to train.  I think there is a vague suspicion on the part of many normal-sighted people that if we just _'tried harder'_ we could see better without our glasses.  Like getting mad at deaf people, as if they're doing it on purpose.


Sorry; I wasn't as clear as I thought I was.  Absolutely, I think you should wear your glasses to train as a general rule.  But, occasionally, you should train without them.  Free sparring is not a good exercise for this; that's why I said one-steps or similar controlled extercises.  

In the same vein, most of your training will be in the dojo or a similar environment, wearing a uniform and with a good warm up.  Occasionally... move out of that comfort.  Wear old, "normal" clothes.  Train outside.  Skip the warm up and see what happens....  Of course, if all your after is some fun or a sport to do, you can skip this stuff, since it's only really relevant to self defense.


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## seasoned

The Opal Dragon said:


> I wore glasses most of my life and just so happened to get soft contact lenses a few months before starting Aikido. I definitely recommend contacts and I always wear them during the majority of my day. The few times I had to wear glasses in class, they kept falling off from sweat or rolling around. My sensei used a sport band to hold his on and that worked pretty well. Another student has been using prescription sport goggles for years (same or similar Bill recommended) and those work very well for him with what we do.
> 
> I'm very, very near-sighted and training without contacts or glasses for me is laughable. If I can't even see what sensei is doing... By the way, my depth perception changes going from contacts to glasses, not a lot, but it makes a difference, especially driving at night. If you get contacts, I suggest keeping a spare set or a pair of glasses in your car or bag in case you get hit in the head and lose a contact.
> 
> Robyn


I started wearing soft contact lenses about a year ago. It took months to get use to putting them in. Even though I have my glasses for back up, I will never give up my contacts.


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## Sukerkin

Just don't ride a motorbike without a full-face visor .  The first time I did that in contacts I ended up having to pull over to the curb in short-order and try to firk the lenses out the corners of my eyes where the air-pressure had slid them :lol:.


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## Bill Mattocks

seasoned said:


> I started wearing soft contact lenses about a year ago. It took months to get use to putting them in. Even though I have my glasses for back up, I will never give up my contacts.



Unfortunately, not everyone is a candidate.  I'm not.  I could - maybe - wear hard contacts with the 'weighted bottoms' for my astigmatism, but I tried a long time ago, and no, ever again.  I wear glasses, I'm OK with glasses, and I train with glasses built to take abuse.  I don't see it as an issue.


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## Bill Mattocks

jks9199 said:


> Sorry; I wasn't as clear as I thought I was.  Absolutely, I think you should wear your glasses to train as a general rule.  But, occasionally, you should train without them.  Free sparring is not a good exercise for this; that's why I said one-steps or similar controlled extercises.
> 
> In the same vein, most of your training will be in the dojo or a similar environment, wearing a uniform and with a good warm up.  Occasionally... move out of that comfort.  Wear old, "normal" clothes.  Train outside.  Skip the warm up and see what happens....  Of course, if all your after is some fun or a sport to do, you can skip this stuff, since it's only really relevant to self defense.



I hear you and agree.  I have been thinking a lot about doing SD exercises, even kata, in street clothes and shoes outside on uneven terrain.  I think it's a terrific idea.


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## seasoned

Bill Mattocks said:


> Unfortunately, not everyone is a candidate. I'm not. I could - maybe - wear hard contacts with the 'weighted bottoms' for my astigmatism, but I tried a long time ago, and no, ever again. I wear glasses, I'm OK with glasses, and I train with glasses built to take abuse. I don't see it as an issue.


 
I am not a good candidate, because I also have astigmatism. Mine are a soft lens with a weighted bottom to help keep them in position. They are not 100% because I still need reading glasses, but for the most part I can see otherwise. I do have some special circumstances, "part time job", that requires me to not have to deal with fogging up, or the occasional scuffle I may find myself in. So, as it stands, so far so good....


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## Yondanchris

If you truly need glasses than contacts are the way to go! 

I train with my glasses on (although I only need them driving at night!) 

If I am going to grapple or spar I take them off! 

You could look into sports glasses such as the ones basketball players wear. 

Just some Ideas!


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## Bill Mattocks

Sandanchris said:


> If you truly need glasses than contacts are the way to go!



With respect, not everyone can wear contacts.  I cannot.  Fact.  Trust me, I've been through this with my ophthalmologist.  I cannot wear contacts.  Strong astigmatism in both eyes is just one reason - and yes, I am aware they make contacts for astigmatism now.  I'm still not a candidate; my eye doctor whom I trust says so and I agree.  And there are plenty of people like me.



> I train with my glasses on (although I only need them driving at night!)



I train with my glasses on - the racquetball glasses I bought to use for martial arts training.  Had them for over a year now; they work great.

I don't train without them because I cannot see Sensei without them.



> If I am going to grapple or spar I take them off!



I took mine off during my recent (and first!) sparring competition, only because my head protection was squeezing my head too tightly for me to keep them on; I need a larger size and will have it by the next time I spar in competition.  I really can't see what I'm doing without my glasses.



> You could look into sports glasses such as the ones basketball players wear.
> 
> Just some Ideas!



I agree.  That's why I keep recommending the glasses I bought; but I keep getting told oh, they fog up - by people who don't wear them (they don't fog up) or oh, buy contacts instead - by people who can wear contacts and assume everyone can - or my comments just get ignored.  I'm really not sure why people ask for advice and then dismiss it.

Seriously - these glasses I've got, designed for racquetball players, have take direct shots by my training partners to the head; the most that's happened is they've gotten knocked to one side and I have to put them back on the bridge of my nose.  The strap keeps them from falling off; they don't fog up; they are very comfortable due to massive soft padding; and they're easy to take care of; not to mention CHEAP.  I don't get what's not to like about them, except of course they look dorky and GOD we can't have that; the style-conscious martial artist must always look like Bruce freaking Lee.


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