Vision during sparring

[Azulx]

Where do you look at when you are sparring?

 

[drop bear]

Depends where i am.

To be really awesome you cut off a whole heap of attacks with good positioning and then just look at the threats that are left.

Mostly i settle for looking at them.

 

[kuniggety]

Into my opponent's soul.

 

[Transk53]

Frontal and sometimes my line of sight was on the chin.

 

[Buka]

It really doesn't matter where you look, as long as you don't switch your point of focus. When you switch, you get nailed during the switch.

 

[Jason Smith]

I aways look at the opponents chest. There are several reasons for this:
While looking at the chest you easily spot movement in both shoulders or the hips. This will help you pick up on even subtle telegraphs, spotting the first movement in an opponents body. Not to mention spotting both hand an leg techniques.
The other benefit of looking at the chest is that it helps to avoid being distracted or deceived. Firstly if you eyes move to look at what ever is moving happening you will be faked out and sucker punched just as "Buka" said above. Starring at the chest ensures you don't give overdue attention to any incoming technique. Secondly you will be less distracted by ploys like opponents who look low then strike high and other dirty tricks. Third it counters people who are trying to win a psychological game with their eyes or facial expression. If you look at their chest you just see a body and therefore you are less emotionally involved.

 

[mograph]

I always look at the opponents chest.

Do you use your peripheral vision to alert you to movements of arms & legs?

 

[Ironbear24]

Wow I thought everyone looked at the eyes.

 

[Azulx]

Wow I thought everyone looked at the eyes.

you see my instructor tells me to be looking for openings while I spar. This is in TKD. Then I worked out with aguy who did boxing for a few years and he said he always looked at his opponent in the eyes. So when we were doing boxing drills I tried to do that. Honestly I look around the chest and stomach area the most and look for openings. Our school doesn't allow face punches so I don't really look at the chin area too much. But I will occasionally bait my opponents hands down to connect soem head kicks.

 

[Ironbear24]

The logic behind looking at the eyes is because when people go to attack they tend to "squint" or tense the eyes. When they are going to defend or when caught of gaurd they tend to raise the brows.

Think of it kind of like poker, the face gives a lot away about what the opponent is thinking.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Wow I thought everyone looked at the eyes.

Looking at the eyes limits how well you will be able to see footwork and kicks. It also makes you somewhat more susceptible to things like head fakes. Keeping the eyes closer to the center of mass helps with those issues, in my experience.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Looking at the eyes is a great way to get smacked upside the head. Or kicked.

It's a cone aimed at center mass. Not quite center of chest, not quite as low as the hara. Somewhere just under the zyphoid process. You see the legs, the hands, and body shifting movements.

But by all means, look in my eyes when we spar. I would enjoy that.

 

[drop bear]

The logic behind looking at the eyes is because when people go to attack they tend to "squint" or tense the eyes. When they are going to defend or when caught of gaurd they tend to raise the brows.

Think of it kind of like poker, the face gives a lot away about what the opponent is thinking.

It is one of those things. If you are avoiding punche. Keep doing that. If you are eating punches change the method.

 

[JowGaWolf]

The logic behind looking at the eyes is because when people go to attack they tend to "squint" or tense the eyes. When they are going to defend or when caught of gaurd they tend to raise the brows.

Think of it kind of like poker, the face gives a lot away about what the opponent is thinking.

Eyes don't punch nor do they kick. Some people stare where they want to attack which is why some people say to look at the eyes. This doesn't work against trained fighters. If I catch you looking at my eyes then I'll stare at your feet and punch you in the face.

 

[JowGaWolf]

I don't look at my opponent when I spar.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Where do you look at when you are sparring?

I look at my opponent's leading leg. My opponent has to put weight on his leading leg before he can attack me. The moment that I can see his weight shifting onto his leading leg, the moment that my back leg will "sweep" at his leading leg. I truly don't care whether I can sweep my opponent down or not. As long as I can sweep his leg off the ground, he can't kick me at that moment. If I can push on his leading arm to jam his back arm, I can move in safely, attack him, and do whatever that I have to do.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

I love it when I see someone looking at my eyes. I feint one way and hit them from another direction. Always works!

So, I look center of their body so that I can pick up what their hips and shoulders and doing. Those are very slow so by doing this I can pick up their movement easily!

 

[JowGaWolf]

When it comes to where to look at your opponent you'll want to take into consideration the range of vision. If you look at the eyes then you'll have a large blind spot covering everything waist down. This means that you won't see any of the kicks, knees, or uppercuts coming.

I highly recommend reading some science documents about the human eye and the range of vision. Then you should try to understand the limits to your range of vision. If you haven't sat down and studied your own range of vision and the limits of it, in terms of blindspots, then I would highly recommend that you do it.

 

[paitingman]

After almost two decades of training and fighting and sparring I haven't the slightest clue where I look.

I just look at them.

(and if I'm not things are not going well for me haha)
((shoot they might not be going well even if I can see them))

 

[Buka]

Last place I'll ever look is the eyes. The eyes lie.