Where should I be looking when I spar?

[Ti]

I never know where to look and focus my attention on.

Where should I be looking?

[ovine king]

this is going to sound rubbish

but

look nowhere and everywhere.....

try to look at the other guy generally but not focusing on any one thing.

take in his whole body (or as much as you can).

taht way, you will notice general movements better.

if you focus, you'd tend to end up half a beat behind.

incidentally, i normally wear glasses and during kick-boxing i have to take them off.

i can't focus if i wanted to....

haven't decided of that's a benefit or not.

during other normal drills and sparring when i can wear my glasses, i usually place my eyes on their face area (if anything to keep my back straight).

[ladyj]

I was taught to look at the opponents face. If you look at someones face you can see the whole body, but you can read alot of fighters by their eyes. The best advice I have is to try looking at different areas and pay attention to what else you can see. For instance your peripheral vision may not allow you to see all of someone by looking at their face.... It takes practice like anything else you have learned. Don't get to caught up, wherever you are looking is not your focal point the sparring match should be where your focus is.

[vertigo]

this is going to sound rubbish

but

look nowhere and everywhere.....

that's exactly what I woulda said... it seems to work well (at least for me) when you sort of "look through"? your opponent... I don't know how to describe it specifically.

[Killer Miller]

You said the exact thing I was going to say, except I was going to say to look at Nothing and Everything. It's the feeling of the body being close to your oponent, yet the eyes being pulled back behind your head - but looking forward...

- Killer -

this is going to sound rubbish

but

look nowhere and everywhere.....

try to look at the other guy generally but not focusing on any one thing.

take in his whole body (or as much as you can).

taht way, you will notice general movements better.

if you focus, you'd tend to end up half a beat behind.

incidentally, i normally wear glasses and during kick-boxing i have to take them off.

i can't focus if i wanted to....

haven't decided of that's a benefit or not.

during other normal drills and sparring when i can wear my glasses, i usually place my eyes on their face area (if anything to keep my back straight).

[AnonymousOne]

Always keep an eye on your rear view mirrors. Some people sneak up behind you.

Haha

Seriously .... watch the face and your peripheral vision will pick everything else up

[Shorinryu Sensei]

You do NOT want to look at a persons eyes. Some people (my origional sensei was good at this) can psych you out that way. Also, by watching the eyes you will miss kicks because you are looking to high.

You also don't want to watch a persons feet for the same reason...you'll miss his punches.

Focus your eyes on the center of their chest. You can see everything that way and can't be psyched out by their looks.

[Bleeding Lion]

at the root of the neck there is a little dent just where pectorals start.

thats where you should be looking as it allows you to see the whole body well.

[Sandan]

This is an interesting question, I've been working on focusing on either the spot between the eyes at the top of the nose or the centre of the body at the base of the neck. As most people seem to move their shoulders first this worked very effectively with the majority of people. I could easily take in their legs, shoulders etc. with no great difficulty.

However, I faced a Japanese instructor and I have to say that I was totally flumoxed! Couldn't see anything coming...!

[goju8]

Use peripheral vision, witht the eyes pointed in the direction of the eyes, or maybe their chest.