| Many of my students ask me "Why is Peripheral | | | | about are Direct Vision, Peripheral Vision, and Your |
| Vision important?" This is definitely one of the most | | | | Mind's Eye. |
| important questions a student can ask me. | | | | The first type of vision is direct vision. Direct vision is |
| From my own personal experience of years of | | | | what most people walk around during all their lives. |
| training in many different forms of martial arts, I | | | | This is a very sad thing to be stuck in only one mode |
| have come to notice that no matter how great a | | | | of vision. Most people walk around and miss most of |
| fighter you are or how fast you can deliver your | | | | what life has to offer them. People being stuck in |
| techniques, it doesn't matter if you don't know when | | | | one mode of vision seems to be getting worse |
| the attack is coming at you; or from where it is | | | | these days because of people staring at computers, |
| coming and from what direction. | | | | television, and video games for most of the day. |
| There are many schools of thought on this subject | | | | Direct vision is the vision that we use to study |
| and I can only answer from my own perspective. | | | | something like a picture or when reading a book. |
| But here is what I have noticed after being on the | | | | However, direct vision is not good for self protection |
| receiving end of many life and death encounters | | | | or self defense. Now don't get me wrong, it has its |
| while growing up in the Boston. I used to hang out in | | | | place in the martial arts. |
| the Chinatown district where I met my wife and was | | | | Like when a Sensei/Guro/Sifu teaches a new move |
| chased by different gangs while exploring the | | | | or new technique, you watch it with your direct |
| different neighborhoods back in the day. This area | | | | vision and take in all the information of new |
| was known as the Combat Zone in Boston. | | | | movement. Your eyes are soaking in everything like a |
| I have noticed that there are six basic types of | | | | sponge. Every posture, every hand and foot |
| vision. Actually there are more, but for now I will only | | | | movement, and your brain can lock it away in to |
| explore three of the visions. My reasons are due to | | | | your memory and it can be practiced later on. |
| time constraints and most importantly I would need | | | | Here is something interesting that I have stumbled |
| you to stand right in front of me to share the rest | | | | upon by performing my own experiments over the |
| of this inner knowledge of sight. Otherwise I feel | | | | years. When most of the test subjects used their |
| that you would think I am crazy and would not | | | | direct vision, their feet would freeze on them. Now |
| believe me if I wrote about it right now. | | | | remember, this is most of the test subjects and not |
| These other types of visions border on what we call | | | | all of them. When the attacker would go after them |
| in the martial arts 'the mystical side' of martial arts. In | | | | with real intentions to really do them bodily harm, |
| the science community, they may call this the | | | | most of the test subjects feet would became stuck |
| metaphysical side of nature. Either way it wouldn't be | | | | or frozen to the ground and they were always too |
| good to talk about this through writings. I feel things | | | | late to apply their martial art technique or self |
| like this should be experienced to help you believe | | | | defense move. This was a major problem that |
| that there is way more to this material world than | | | | needed to be solved quickly. |
| what you may believe, think or was taught to think. | | | | Please continue to Part 2 of this series to learn about |
| The three types of visions that I am going to talk | | | | Peripheral Vision. |