Body follows the eyes

[I-mon]

Craig and I have finally started doing a bit more filming of some of our basic movement ideas.

[Ian]

I can't watch these right now, will watch them later.

Do you guys address the fact that you often have to have your head/body and eyes moving in different directions?

[I-mon]

Indeed we do, sir!

[NoSword]

I can't watch these right now, will watch them later.

Do you guys address the fact that you often have to have your head/body and eyes moving in different directions?

That same thought crossed my mind when I watched these. Obviously moving the head, body and eyes in one direction is the fundamental, gotta keep your eye on the ball. But you can get some very interesting skills when you isolate each one from the others.

Recently in sparring I have been working on deliberately striking at areas other than the ones I'm looking at with my eyes. This makes sparring partners VERY nervous and jumpy; one guy actually got pissed and requested that I not use "blind techniques" on him. Of course just because somewhere isn't in your direct line of sight doesn't mean you don't see it, and it definitely doesn't mean you aren't aware of it. But I obliged him and didn't talk back.

I recall hearing a bagua idiom to the effect that once you can feel your opponent, you're allowed to look away from him...perhaps I butchered it...source?

I went to a Butoh workshop last weekend. Lots of people moving around in close quarters, everyone in their own crazy internal world, all the while sharing in a larger, crazier space and having to be sensitive to one another. One big take-home point was learning how to keep my attention out while my gaze remained cast down, since direct eye contact could seem jarring and aggressive.

This skill also comes from practicing in any public space (apropos another thread a while back), you gotta learn how to fit in with your surroundings. Stanislavski called it the "small circle of attention."

AK

[Andy_S]

Ah, but does the body direction follow the direction of the beard?

I have to say, I-mon, that with all that facial furniture, you are looking wise as hell. Master guru...?

[I-mon]

Andy, thank you for highlighting another fundamental movement principle: body, eyes, and beard all traveling in separate directions simultaneously. To practice this, you could try rolling the eyes clockwise while keeping the beard pointing directly forwards, like a "laser". Progress onto rolling the beard-laser clockwise while keeping the eyes straight, rolling the eyes counter-clockwise with beard rolling clockwise, and rolling the eyes clockwise and beard counter-clockwise. Later on, you can go outside and try following two moving objects at the same time, keeping the eyes fixed on one and the beard-eyes fixed on the other.

Please get back to me with your results.

[Ian]

I can't grow a beard laser

[Andy_S]

SNIP
Please get back to me with your results.
SNIP

Er...for me to grow a chin shrub as luxuriant as yours, would take me about a decade. So, I will indeed report back faithfully - just don't hold your breath.

[GrahamB]

[Ralteria]

As Simon has most graciously pointed out, its not the size of your beard, its how you use it.

[windwalker]

Equilibrioception http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equilibrioception

The balance system works with the visual and skeletal systems (the muscles and joints and their sensors) to maintain orientation or balance. Visual signals sent to the brain about the body's position in relation to its surroundings are processed by the brain and compared to information from the vestibular, visual and skeletal systems.

other then possible improved sense of balance, can you talk a little more on the main idea behind the movements.

Recently in sparring I have been working on deliberately striking at areas other than the ones I'm looking at with my eyes. This makes sparring partners VERY nervous and jumpy; one guy actually got pissed and requested that I not use "blind techniques" on him. Of course just because somewhere isn't in your direct line of sight doesn't mean you don't see it, and it definitely doesn't mean you aren't aware of it. But I obliged him and didn't talk back.

Peripheral vision is good at detecting motion (a feature of rod cells).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peripheral_vision
while good at detecting motion not really good for the type of eye coordination that IMA uses IMO.
In one sense the guy was right, in that while you can see something, the intent is not really coordinated with the movement.
One can hit with the eyes, with the body following this. being able to understand, sense and use intent is very important for arts that use it as part of their method.

When Teacher Chengfu pushed hands and used his launching energy, his eyes would give a certain extremely stern and dark look that caused fright. The opponent then would feel stunning surprise and deep fear of loss of life or eminent death. This shows how the spirit and body can become one within a moment; how the whole body force can be mobilized, concentrated, focused and produced within an extremely short period of time. Because this happens within the briefest of moments with the quickness of a thought, so suddenly, the opponent is not able to make a defense. Besides that, there is no way to defend against this.

http://www.qi-journal.com/Taiji.asp?-to ... 20Skill%20

[RobP2]

Nice work. Hitting where you are not looking is very useful. In any case in a group you can't always hit where your see. Mad starey intention eyes is ok if people are intimidated by it. If you not you look like your straining one out

[I-mon]

other then possible improved sense of balance, can you talk a little more on the main idea behind the movements.

What I'm working on, which this stuff is part of, is complete freedom of movement, fast or slow, in any direction, from any position, into any other position, with full awareness of the space around me. The movements shown can be blended with "structure" or "rooting" or "posting" drills, in each of the positions, and with "emptying" or "yielding" drills. Obviously most of these are common movements in BJJ as well, or any system which uses a lot of movement to and from the ground. Modern humans tend to have a huge disconnect between the standing world and the ground-level world. These are some ways of re-familiarizing ourselves with all of the levels in between.

[dspyrido]

I-mon I really like these vids. I've seen classes start with "run around, now everyone forward roll, now backward roll, now head stand, arms springs, cartwheels, now handstand, now handstand & walk backwards ....". At this point 90% of the students are either standing back or slamming the sprung floors. It's one thing to snake, alligator, crab, gorilla or <insert species> walk. It's another to do serious tumbles, loose orientation & in the heat of a solid warm up while messing with a move that pushes your acrobatic limits mess things up.

So your vids are a nice - start easy, pay attention & build up. Get a bit better & play with direction & changes.

BTW - with that beard & toting an uncocked semi automatic finger you might get a visit from your local undercover agent. Keep a passport handy in case they detain you as an asylum seeker.

[Craig]

Spot on dspyrido, lets keep in mind that these are SUPER basic, not anything ultra advanced (and not the be all and end all), and open up a whole wide array of possibilities (some already mentioned by others in this thread!). Be keen to see if others have a play with this and come up with something cool/different!