Where do you look?

[Em MacIntosh]

Do you look your opponent in the eyes when sparring/fighting etc.? I haven't seen any other thread really touching on this. I prefer not to. It gives me no advantage, in fact, it gives my advantage away to my opponent. I find by not looking at the eyes the fight becomes more mechanical and less personal. It also allows me to keep an eye on all nine major weapons too. How about you?

 

[CuongNhuka]

"If you look at only one point, you will miss every thing. You must look past the mountain to see all of it" Master Ernie Cates. (founder of Neko Ryu Goshin Jitsu, and an honery Master in Cuong Nhu)
I think it's somthing like that.

 

[Mark L]

I don't generally fix my gaze on any one point, but tend towards the solar plexus area.

 

[Seeking Zen]

Many people have many views. I have read that you must watch your opponent’s eyes as they telegraph intent. Or watch the shoulders for movement. I suppose it is all important. I have sparred and fought opponents whose eyes definitively gave away the imminent attack. However, eyes do not tell you were it is coming from. So when sparring or during similar exercises I have managed to develop a focused calm, viewing my opponent and the whole scene on a sort of wide screen format in front of me. I don't know if it makes sense but it works for me it is almost a hyper-meditative state.

 

[Em MacIntosh]

(sparring) I also use periferal vision a lot. With my eyes and facing right or left (often with my stance) I look kind of low toward my feet. See them out of the corner of my eye. It gets me into a tranced state where I can check my adrenaline better and get hit in the face less (which is odd to me but that's the way it seems to go). Not too keen on trying it when it really counts though...

 

[Fang]

Shoulders,hips or feet depending on range... these are the axis points where all movement comes from.

 

[Hawke]

I use a soft gaze under the chin/top of the chest. This is a trick I picked up from boxing.

 

[tshadowchaser]

center chest.
only the most accomplished can move a part of their body with out moveing their center line.
But you must also be able to see every thing else at the same time

 

[kidswarrior]

center chest.
only the most accomplished can move a part of their body with out moveing their center line.
But you must also be able to see every thing else at the same time

All the posts here are good, but tshadowchaser comes closest to my own way. I 'look' midway between solar plexus and waist, where I can take in their whole body (don't want to get surprised by a low kick), then actually un-focus in order to 'look at nothing, see everything.' Also works for multiple attackers who try to put you in the middle: can un-focus and see shoulder to shoulder.

 

[Em MacIntosh]

All the posts here are good, but tshadowchaser comes closest to my own way. I 'look' midway between solar plexus and waist, where I can take in their whole body (don't want to get surprised by a low kick), then actually un-focus in order to 'look at nothing, see everything.' Also works for multiple attackers who try to put you in the middle: can un-focus and see shoulder to shoulder.

Aye. That's pretty much what I meant by a trance. I guess fewer people look at the eyes than I thought. I find many people tend to think you're gonna strike where you look. I think that's why they get confused when I don't look at them and just see them out of the corner of my eye. I always wanted to try blindfolded sparring, like the movies, but I feel that's just asking for a groin shot.

 

[BudoTiger]

i have a tendancy to look at the chin then zone out using periphial vision to catch movement of feet and hands. by "zoning out" like others have said you catch pretty much all movement without looking at anything really. the brain signals process faster. i read a book on how the brain processes things and i think it comes pretty close to the way your brain processes danger and sends the signals back to your body. where as if you are looking directly at something your brain registers it as a natural movement and it takes longer to send the signals. it was pretty interesting, but i have no idea where i got the book or what happened to it. it may even have been a magazine article.

 

[Langenschwert]

I look "past" my opponent, allowing him to become a little fuzzy. Physically, this allows the use of scotopic (?) vision which is more sentive to movement, allowing (in theory) faster reaction.

Best regards,

-Mark

 

[Kacey]

I look in front of the center of the chest; like others, I use my peripheral vision, which reacts to motion, rather than focusing on a particular point on my opponent or in space.

 

[bushidomartialarts]

All the posts here are good, but tshadowchaser comes closest to my own way. I 'look' midway between solar plexus and waist, where I can take in their whole body (don't want to get surprised by a low kick), then actually un-focus in order to 'look at nothing, see everything.' Also works for multiple attackers who try to put you in the middle: can un-focus and see shoulder to shoulder.

Exactly what I've been taught.

It's sort of like when you're driving...you're not looking at any one point, but sort of aware of everything in your vision.;

There are some very specific neurological reasons why this works best. We react faster to things observed in our peripheral vision than things we're focusing on. To fade out our vision and perceive everything in the peripheral mode means we're quicker.

 

[jks9199]

I use a soft gaze under the chin/top of the chest. This is a trick I picked up from boxing.

That's similar to what I do, and it's how I was taught. I don't look in an opponent's eyes; I look somewhere towards their chest. They "have no face." The biggest thing is not to get bogged down in "was that movement or not?" 'cause that's when you stand still and get clocked.

I make one slight modification for the real world; I do pay more attention - but not exclusive! - to hands when I'm dealing with people in the real world. There's a very simple reason for this; hands are typically where the threat is. People hold guns, knives, etc. in their hands; it's not common for them to use a knife in their foot, etc. Again -- it's an extra focus or an extra check, not an exclusive attention. To use the driving analogy someone else used -- it's like making that extra check left before you pull out.

 

[donna]

I look in front of the center of the chest; like others, I use my peripheral vision, which reacts to motion, rather than focusing on a particular point on my opponent or in space.

I have to take my glasses off for sparring (short sighted) so everything is already fuzzy. I tend to look to the chest/waist area and use my peripheral vision to detect movement.

 

[qi-tah]

Like many other ppl here, i try to widen my focus to take in the whole trunk, particualy the hips and shoulders. I do have to watch that my gaze doesn't drop too much though, as it tends to take my hands with them, exposing me to head shots.
Interestingly enough, i find that the type of attention i use during sparring is very similar to my focus when motorcycle riding in the city...

 

[Shotochem]

I use a soft gaze under the chin/top of the chest. This is a trick I picked up from boxing.

Same here. I find that you can detect the slightest tension in your opponents neck area before they strike. That takes care of the when.

The prerifriel (sp?) vision has to pick up the where.

-Marc-