A Blind Eye-for-Detail

A few days ago at open training I got some feedback from some of the people who were my sparring partners, "you're leaving your face wide open" "your whole left side under your guard is completely open" and I thought really? I hadn't noticed at all, you'd think I would have some inkling that I have neon signs flashing at where I have targets wide open on my body... but I guess not 

Looking back you'd think a glaring hole in my defenses would be pretty easy to feel but I wasn't aware at all until my partner pointed it out to me (thank you Shira!) 

I'm realizing that I have a long way to go in developing my eye for detail in sparring. That passive eye-for-detail that is always listening underneath every form, technique, or stance, waiting to sound the alarm once I feel something is not quite right, is almost completely absent as soon as I put in my mouthguard. Everything happens so quickly and often I am so focused on the other persons body, looking for openings in their guards that I'm forgetting my own. I am sometimes preoccupied with things that I want to do, trying to set up combinations that will draw their guards, that I'm not realizing that its happening to me too. I'm wondering if this is because maybe I am mostly sparring with muscle memory or instinct rather than making conscious choices? And since I try not to do most of my other techniques not using muscle memory (i.e. I try to be aware as much as I can rather than relying on muscle memory) my eye-for-detail doesn't know how to operate in a space predominated by instinct?

I'm not really sure how specifically I'm going to work on developing this, because I still want to spar with some momentum and speed, but I think sparring with the intent of trying to be more aware of what I'm doing could be a start? Seeing if I'm even able to use my eye for detail while in the middle of a round or if it will evaporate as soon as all the other variables that need to be juggled during sparring pop up (in which case I'll need to figure out another way to go about it, but I'll try being more mindful of it first! Seems like a good place to start)



Comments

  1. Jeff BrinkerJanuary 22, 2024 at 6:59 AM

    Sparring strategy can be broken down to two main categories: Initiating and Reacting. I find that the less experienced the fighter, the more they focus on initiating. They are always looking for an opening to strike or create. This focus can stagnate development of an eye for detail because we tend to forget to defend ourselves when we are so narrowly focused on attacking. Reacting on the other hand tends to include an eye for detail. If you are reacting to your opponent's initiation, there will always be a defensive component to your strategy while your attacking becomes more counter attacking - which requires an eye for detail.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kayley BurkeJanuary 23, 2024 at 8:37 PM

    Thank you Sifu!

    ReplyDelete

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