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Old 11-30-2012, 11:45 PM   #7
R.A. Robertson
Dojo: Still Point Aikido Center
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 346
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Re: Eyes in the Martial Arts

I tell my students to keep returning their gaze toward the horizon line. Sort of like "keeping one-point" for the attention.

"Looking" involves taking in the peripheral vision as well as the center of vision (which may or may not be the same thing as "focus"). What would I have my students look at? Space. Emptiness. The openings and interstices and opportunities.

There is nothing even remotely mystical about this. You do it all the time when driving a car, or walking through crowds. You take in all the obstacles, you see where the problems are, but you go in between, and that's what to look for, and what to look at.

[Edit] Oh hey... check out Lynn Seiser's article this month. There ya go!

Last edited by R.A. Robertson : 11-30-2012 at 11:52 PM.
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