training while blindfolded

[Uechi Kid]

When I first started training my Sensei would on occasion turn out the lights when we did kata. He said that it was to help us see how well we knew our katas. Not having the visual stimulus to help guide us.

You might also try doing your katas starting at different angles. Start facing 90 degrees from where you normally start or 180 degrees. You might be surprised how the visual stimulus can affect you.

[boxeador]

As long as you don't except to be beating up people with your eyes closed it'll be cool.

[tsdtony]

A kata is memory no matter in the dark or light.Doing katas in the dark is weak your body is already programed for that movement so it should come natural.Thats just my thoughts.

[Kaminari]

I think I'm gonna try this sometime. Sounds interesting, and I'd like to see how well I do without my eyes.

[TangSooGuy]

I've done a lot of blindfolded/ sightless training

I think a good place to start is your forms/kata. A lot less risk of injuring anyone or injuring yourself.

It will help you understand how much control you have over your own body, and will help you undertand how much you rely on your eyes to be in tune with your surroundings.

From there I'd suggest moving on to a heavy bag. Start at a maximum of half speed/ half power and work up from there until you have a general idea of where the bag is and can hit it with the force you want to and with the technique you want to most of the time.

After that, try sparring, but again a maximum of half speed/ half power to start. Generally, you being blindfolded, are more likely to hurt someone else at this stage than they are to hurt you.

Work with different scnearios, see how well you can defend yourself from strikes, grabs, takedowns, etc. while blindfolded.

Once you get comfortable with all that, add a second attacker.

For my 3rd Dan pretest, I had to spar with two other people while blindfolded, and break with a jump spinning kick while blindfolded.

Between 3rd and 4th Dan, I spen a lot more time working on that, because atthe time I remember it being very difficult. You have to use your ears and touch to get a full picture in your mind of where the attackers are, how they are standing, what they are doing, etc.

If you do breaking, I suggest saving blindfolded breaking until you've done a lot of other blindfolded training. You can hurt yourself and holders if you aren't prepared. It is a good feeling to be able to hit a target with full power without having to see it, though.

[Uechi Kid]

A kata is memory no matter in the dark or light.Doing katas in the dark is weak your body is already programed for that movement so it should come natural.Thats just my thoughts.

Try starting your kata 90 or 180 degrees from the direction that you normally do. You might be surprised how much visual stimulus affects your memory.

[TangSooGuy]

A kata is memory no matter in the dark or light.Doing katas in the dark is weak your body is already programed for that movement so it should come natural.Thats just my thoughts.

Try starting your kata 90 or 180 degrees from the direction that you normally do. You might be surprised how much visual stimulus affects your memory.

Too true...I do this with my students, and I am amazed how much they tend to rely on visuals to determine where their technique should go.

Better yet, stand in a room and face a corner, practice your form, and see if you still do it right.

Taking your eyes away affects a lot. Much of it is psychological, but some is physical as well. Doinga form with your eyes closed is a LOT harder than with your eyes open, at least at first.

[aefibird]

We train in kata with our eyes closed and it is difficult at first. It is amazing how much your body relies on seeing certain 'landmarks' in order to be able to remember a kata. Changing direction or performing a mirror kata can work well too. it gets you thinking a bit more and stops you just going through the motions of a kata.

We've done some eyes closed excercises at Wing Chun too. Sifu encourages us to try and do Chi Sau (sticking hands) with our eyes closed to improve sensitivity training.

I like it and think it is a good idea.

[ranger1100ky]

Okay... I'm all for blindfolded training...

Doing forms blindfolded... bagwork... one steps... sparring... breaking... the works...

But... it goes without saying... safety is a primary isue.

I would recommend highly, that no 'unsupervised' blindfolded training take place... (But I'm sure most of you already KNOW enough to put THAT kind of safety first. )

When I was a firefighter... we also did 'blind' training... for several purposes.

We'd 'search' a room on hands and knees while blindfolded (had a cover over our air-mask) to simulate 'heavy smoke conditons'...

We'd also do the 'eyes closed' thing when tying basic knots we'd use in the field... since in a fire, you may have only one chance, to tie the knot right, and you may NOT be able to SEE what you're doing... so you have to know how to do it blindly.

It helped a lot... and believe it or not... it's not just about heightening your senses...

It's ALSO about GETTING CONFIDENCE in yourself...

If you can do a form blindfolded, and end up right where you started, and do it all 'comfortably' with good technique...

Then doing that form with your eyes open should be a snap...

Confidence in yourself, is a wonderful attribute to bring to the table, in ANY performance of martial art.

[TeaL]

Hmmm, im planning on doing some training with a blindfold to help me advance my other senses. Anyone got any ideas or experiences with it

i blieve the originial use was in sparing, to be force prediction in your partners moves...

of corse i could be wrong