I know my thread is a bit late, gimmie a break. Basic Principles Humans are predators, essentially meaning the way our bodies work and evolve is based on the premise that we are hunting. Thus humans have two eyes in the front of their head meaning we can focus on one target and percieve depth. However outside of our normal vision 'corridor' we have a periphery with which to identify potential threats to either side. Every wondered why a widescreen TV is widescreen? It is because that is a humans natural ratio of vision in terms of length and breadth, making the screen easier to focus on. Peripheral vision doesn't allow you to focus or zero-in on a target however it is much more accute to movement than your normal corridor of focus. So pretty much when you train it you are aspiring to make it an early warning system so you can switch your focus. How to do it? Well, peripheral vision is very much a concept in the mind as much as anything else. Everyones peripheral vision is very much the same and works in the same way... similarly the way you train it is the same. Keeping a clear uncluttered mind is pretty essential while fighting or while scrying a potential fight. Being at peak awareness is equally as essential. If people like Randy Couture started considering and contemplating while in the ring, they would make mistakes and undoubtedly you would make decidedly bigger mistakes doing the same. So, the first step to train your peripheral vision is to train yourself to cut out distraction and keep your mind entirely focused on the situation at hand. Next, is very simple. Just do it. While you wander along the road to the shop maybe or to meet a friend, keep looking straight ahead of you. However look at the lamposts on either side. Acknowledge that they are there however without entirely loosing your focus on where you are going. When you walk into a bar/pub/shopping centre etc, anywhere with people, take in all the people you see around you. Again without switching the course of your eyes acknowledge that people are there and keep going. You are training this to be a natural habit to the point that you do it subconciously and 'just know' something is there. Training, Next Level Now that you are getting into a natural habit of taking in your surroundings, make use of it. The way my karate class did this was we used to spar in a big open hall with parteners and move about at will. Nobody bumped into anyone else because everyone was using their periphy to identify other pairs and avoid them. Simple things like this improves how instinctively you do this and then of course as has been suggested before, you apply it to multiple people situations. The key thing is to not tell the person who is defending where they are coming from. And just a bit further Repeat using your hearing. As you wander to the shops etc hear cars, judge the distance and direction. Try to switch between close and far away cars, try to identify cars coming toward you. Pitfalls - Identifying movement can be tricky - Becoming demi-paranoid if you take it too seriously - Not reading body language correctly and identifying a non-threat as a threat. Flooring your best mate after he is trying to break someone off you in a bar-fight isn't a good thing to do!! You can repeat the sparring exercise conciously using both ears and vision, combined it really is rather exceptional. Any further questions feel free to ask.
Hey thanks for bringing this idea to another thread though it seems that peripheral vison is not a hot topic. Taken for granted as usual But thats a lot of good advice and points thanks
Nice post=TheCount. This has a tenddency to happen in Karate classes. It is because you lineup. So, you develop hearing, and peripheral vision. In kung fu they do not line up so something else is intrinsic to the training.
A good method to try is a lot of soft chi kung excercises, increasing the sensitivity of your energy field so you can sense any movement around you. Caz
For people with a grip on reality simply developing an instinctive reaction to people being near you works quite fine. You can't be ignorant of your surroundings in a fight basically.
Something I'll do soon is spend much more time at a nearby forest. I used to take walks there to relax, think, remember the old times, make life-changing decisions, connect a bit more with nature, etc.. It's pretty neat. Took a walk almost daily. Sharpened my senses a lot, and I mean a lot. Oh, my field of vision was pretty much 180 degrees around
