Concentration or Awareness

[Chip Quimby]

As Uechika, we are all well versed in numerous benefits of practicing Sanchin. Throughout my training, I have focused not only on maximizing these five cardinal elements…

[Namely, 1) Sanchin integrates all parts of a stance, 2) It corrects and develops breathing, 3) It develops penetrating eyes, 4) It cultivates spiritual concentration, and 5) It helps strengthens the body, as stated by Takamiyagi Sensei],

…but I have also sought to use Sanchin as a catalyst to develop and strengthen other areas. One area that I find particularly interesting is awareness cultivation (not to be confused with simply concentrating).

It's well known that Sanchin will not only help develop penetrating eyes, but also a sense of uninterrupted awareness, allowing the mind and body to focus on any possible area of attack.

With this in mind, how many times have you discovered yourself focusing so intently on melting a whole in either the front wall of the dojo or the head of the person lined-up directly in front of you, that you were completely oblivious to your other surroundings? I know I've been…many times.

Well OK, maybe you were focusing so hard, so earnestly, that the actual world that exists outside your dojo, actually cease to exist in your conscious mind. (Impressive?…I don't know) What about the movement of other students at the back of the room, or the instructor who is purposefully moving over the dojo floor, or the student directly next to (who happens to be in striking distance)? Did this information register at a conscious level without effecting your overall performance? If your say yes, how do you know? Would you be able to react or where you concentrating too hard?

When IS it the time to practice exercises that develop uninterrupted awareness and when is it time to practice intense levels of focus-in-action?

What's the cost/benefit of being unaware of our surrounds, whether it's in a dojo or in a real situation of violence? What does concentration mean in a philosophical kata like Sanchin and how does it apply to the street?

Can these two skills be practiced simultaneously without significantly compromising the goals of the other?

I'd love to hear what you all think about the role that concentration, focus and awareness play in our kata training and how to truly unite them during performance.

Regards,
Chip Quimby

[Chip Quimby]

Is anybody out there?

No one has any thoughts on this subject? I'm really interested to how others address this issue, as well as others similar to this in there Sanchin...or maybe they don't.

Does this exercise not warrent a place in our Sanchin? Why should or shouldn't it belong? Does it deserve a second thougth?

Just some questions to get the thoughts flowing...and hopefully some keyboards.

I'd love to know what you think.

Regards,
Chip

[gmattson]

Good question Chip. Personally, when I practice my Sanchin, I feel a hightened awareness. This comes about through what we call "mushin" or a clearing of the mind. Perhaps, if I hear you correctly, at some point of intensity, this process may exclude awareness.

Haven't been there, so can't comment.



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GEM

[Bill Glasheen]

Chip

Personally I wanted to sleep on this post before responding.

I personally believe it is a bad idea to develop singular focus in a fight that makes you oblivious to what is happening around you. This type of focus is great when you are reading a book, solving a problem, or engaging in a personal discussion. But I believe it is anathema to mushin, the state of mind where one is distracted by nothing but aware of everything.

In fact...I have heard anecdotes from police officers and weapons instructors that indicate this type of focus can get you killed. One story that comes to mind is one where an officer was reloading while a "bad guy" came up from behind. The officer's partner loudly warned him several times of the gun pointed at the back of his head, but the adrenaline-induced "tunnel vision" prevented him from hearing. He was executed like a cow at slaughter.

Singular focus is actually a natural byproduct of a stressful situation. But I personally believe it is a handicap - especially when facing multiple opponents or when having to deal with physical surroundings as part of the confrontation. Can the "glaring eyes" exist with mushin? I believe so. But the glare - I believe - is a unique one that appears to look through rather than at the opponent.

- Bill

[Ken Read]

Chip Quimby,

The "Uechi glare" was originally presented to me as "look far away" in order to engage the largest possible periferal vision, like a camera set to infinity in order to take a wide landscape shot. (Not that I know anything about photography, that's just how glare was first described to me.)

This version seems to line up with Glasheen Sensei's concept of looking "through rather than at", and I think implies the broad awareness you describe, as apposed to a narrowly focussed one.

[Chip Quimby]

Mattson Sensei

Thanks for the responce.

I too feel a heightened awareness while performing Sanchin, although I must admit, there are times where I've felt that my focus (as it relates to an active meditation) has been disproportionate with Mushien, or a general all-encompassing awareness. I think you and I are on the same page, but it's this "language" thing which complicates the matter. Ha ha. The whole topic certainly speaks to the infinite challenges that Sanchin, or any kata/bunkai/kumite present us, especially when there are numerous "distraction" variables involved in the exercise.

Glasheen Sensei

Thanks for joining in. Your story was an interesting one! Although, I'm curious as to how much the chemical cocktail effected the outcome of the officer compared to his single-minded focus towards his task at hand. No doubt though, I'm sure both played a major role.

I'm interested in your statement on singular-focus being the result of a stressed induced situation. How would that idea relate to certain types of meditation, where it is quite common to focus the mind in a singular dimension?

I like your point about looking through the opponent(s), although that characterization sometimes gets me into trouble, in that I'm giving to much attention to the opponent directly in front of me, and not to all the possible attackers. But the concept works! I personally like to compare my vision/view/perspective to one of blanket or sheet that has been thrown out into the air and "gently" settles down towards the ground. Similar to what one would imagine if they were at a picnic and where spreading out something to sit on. Visualizing my vision (hey a pun)in this manner allows me to more effectively focus on my entire peripheral, and not just what's most plainly in view relative to my position, i.e. what's in front of me).

I'm going to play with this one some more.

Thanks for the joining in.


Ken

Nice analogy about the camera, has it worked well for you. I'll have to try visualizing that sometime.


Regards,
Chip

[maurice richard libby]

Somebody once referred to "soft eyes" as opposed to "tiger eyes". The former are not focussed on anything in particular and therefore can see more (ie--they are not fixated on the center of vision and therefore perception of the periphery is enhanced). The latter are fierce and tightly focussed and are more a psychological weapon than a device for gathering information. In yet other words: if you focus closely on one thing you are diverting your perception from the things around it. By looking at nothing you see more.

In my pathetic tournament career, I know if I used soft eyes I could sense kicks coming faster that if I actually looked at anything.

just a thought,

maurice

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maurice richard libby
toronto/moose jaw
Ronin at large

[Bill Glasheen]

Chip

I'm not a meditation and state-of-mind expert, but I do have some knowledge of this.

I do know that there are different states of mind that one might wish to achieve when meditating, just as there are different states of mind that are necessary to perform various tasks. For instance, some meditation is done to achieve a type of creative, highly aware, and singularly focused state. But the state of mind that we associate with sanchin - mushin - is one where the mind is cleared of all "noise" and consequently made more sensitive to external "signals". Some associate this with the alpha state - a state defined on the EEG as being between 8 and 13 Hz (cycles per second). Bruce Lee describes this quite well in a more poetic fashion in his Tao of Jeet Kune Do. It's a bit of an enigma. One is both supercharged and yet free of prejudice for the task at hand.

The goal of sanchin and other kata with respect to mental state is to make certain functions so routine that they can be done in a non-thinking manner. One simultaneously works on making the fundamentals work while developing the mind that can act as if there is no need to focus on it. The problem with states of high stress - particularly that not managed well by the individual - is that sometimes even the simple becomes very difficult to do. The body then struggles with the mundane as if it were new. One focuses on these simple tasks as if one were reading a novel for the first time. As I have alluded to above, that kind of singular focus can get you in deep trouble. Ideally an officer should be able to reload in a nonthinking fashion just as you and I would do a sanchin thrust in a normal class after having done 10,000 sanchins. The reality can be very different.

I've had discussions with Van and others on this. Van often brings up extreme situations from anecdotes of life-and-death situations. In these he often speaks of literal and figurative "tunnel vision". We all know that we want to be able to defend ourselves in a nonthinking fashion using the best techniques available while being fully aware of all danger around us. The reality for each and every one of us varies based on the years of training, experience, perception of the danger at hand, and personal nature.

The "vision thing" is related to this concept. As I type this, I have just read Maurice's post. I agree that the tiger eyes - extremely pinpoint focused - is somewhat of an intimidation device. But that "empty glare" - where one is looking at you but not - can also be pretty intimidating. With proper matching facial expression, it can be like being scanned by a freak in Night of the Living Dead. The glare where you are not distracted by what is in the center of your field but rather open your vision perception to all that the eye captures is very different. One's eyes do not move with movement of the partner unless the opponent's body position changes significantly. So...you aren't really checking out what color the person's eyes are. Rather, you are taking it all in and reacting to what is important. A good way to practice this is in kotekitae. Look fiercely at the person's eyes with an unblinking stare, and yet hit the arm with pinpoint accuracy. You cannot do the latter if you are too focused on the former.

- Bill

[david]

Chip,

What you described is akin to a meditation practice. Before meditation is dismissed by some as having no relevance to martial arts, it should be noted that there are different types of meditation and varying objectives.

The intense focus you achieved where everything else is blocked out has a value. Its equivilent would be something like a meditation practice focused on a candle flame. Though I have never tried it, it has been said that such a practice takes extreme concentration and a corresponding drawing upon the will. The practitioner of such can eventually sustain a pinpoint focus for extended periods where everything including time, space and self desolves into the flame. This is not to be confused with daydreaming or retrospecting as one might do in staring into the flames of a warm log fire. One can imagine the will power and concentration that are being developed.

Another type of meditation is "stillness" or "insight." Here the objective is an awareness of the changing phenomena within and around us. Usually the breath is the starting point of the focus. One tries to truly feel the quality of the breath from exhalation to inhalation, without being distracted. In the initial stage, it is similar to staring into the candle flame. But the meditator then moves on to other points of focus be it sensations, sounds, feelings, or thoughts. Once noted (and thus dealt with) the meditator moves on. The trick is to not get caught by any of the phenomena longer than one has to. This is much harder than most who never tried will realize. Many will note a memory and subsequently be seized by it, reliving something from the past at the exclusion of being aware of what's happening in the present. A skillful insight meditator is rarely trapped by any phenomena. S/he notes and moves on to what arises next. This is a heightened as well as diffused awareness. This is what one would likely want in a street situation.

The likelihood is that these meditations are not exclusive and linear in their objectives. More likely, they are traveling a circular path and meeting together at some point. In other words the successful student of the respective meditation practices may initially develop a certain skill set over another set of skills. But over time, the practitioner will cross over and develop the skills set of the other type of practice. Such a practitioner will strengthen his/her will, concentration, discipline and awareness. (I will leave the spirituality piece aside.)

Sorry, if what I wrote reads too mystical or hocus pocus. If you are interested, I would recommend Dr. David Fontana's book, The Meditator's Handbook, and Takuan Soho's Book, The Unfettered Mind. The latter is really a compilation of letters between Takuan, a zen monk, and Grandmaster of the Skinkage Ryu and chosen sword instructor to the first Tokugawa Shogunate.

david

[This message has been edited by david (edited February 29, 2000).]

[SEAN C]

Just a couple things that come to mind. One is the so-called "thousand mile stare" that snipers and other veterans of combat are said to possess. Looking in the direction of someone, but seemingly right through them. Also, in Vladimir Vasiliev's Russian System guidebook, he talks about keeping the eyes directed upwards, I guess over the opponent's head, depending on the relative heights involved. For me, it would probably mean looking at the chin! This is said to aid in peripheral vision, and keep you from latching on to a certain limb or movement.

David,
The second type of meditation you mention sounds alot like some taoist standing meditations (chi kung). You don't focus on any one thing, but try to let thoughts and sensations just drift by, without comment. The breath and movement seem to help distract the mind just enough. I've been doing this stuff for about a year and I sometimes wonder if their ever will be a plateau (I hope not!)

Just some thoughts for the stew..

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sean

[david]

Sean,

I believe it is similar. The objective is "stilling" the mind. The breath and movement are part of the here and now. The distractions are from the intellectual and emotional self which lead away from awareness of what is REALLY happening in the present. I have on very rare occaisons been able to catch a thought, a feeling, or memory right at the onset, noted it, zapped it and went right back to what's in the present. At the higher levels, the emotional and intellectual self is totally "stilled", leaving the practitoner with total awareness of what's happening around him/her. There is no judgement of what's happening, just awareness. Hypothetically, in an "interactive" situation, one is tuned into the other, to what s/he is doing and perhaps their emotional/mental states as well and still be aware of other phenomena arising and changing.

On a subjective note, I believe the concentrated effort/will is a "hard" path whereas the "stilling" is a "soft" flowing one.

david


[This message has been edited by david (edited March 01, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by david (edited March 01, 2000).]

[Van Canna]

We have discussed many times on my forum that despite all the training that we do in attempts to program certain reactions/techniques, physical and mental, through our katas, sparring, meditation, Sanchin glare, stare, or what have you, the fact remains that once your sympathetic nervous system [SNS] becomes activated by the chemical cocktail, your body will respond mostly with “wired” response actions!

Take the discussion on “peripheral vision” for example!

Again I must refer you all to Siddle’s work!

To wit:

The SNS is activated anytime the brain perceives a threat. It is automatic and uncontrollable.

Cannon [1915] found that SNS excitement triggers pupil dilation, a function controlled by the tension of the ciliary muscle. This muscle maintains the convex shape of the lens which is necessary for clarity and focus. But the as the pupils dilate, the contour of the lenses change from convex to a flattened state losing depth perception! There is a decrease in blood flow to the periphery of the retina and the inability to use the dominant eye.

The result is loss of near vision, but strong focus on the threat ahead, collapse of peripheral vision, and Forced binocular vision!

___It is automatic and uncontrollable____ read that again!!!!


Perceptual narrowing [tunnel vision] in combat results in the visual field being the sole, dominant source of information about the threat.
The eyes are now in the grip of primal instincts, in automatic change to enhance survival!

Sports optometrist, DR. Hal Breedlove, states that tunnel vision will narrow your field of vision by 70%, with the SNS inhibiting monocular vision, forcing the individual to square the head on the threat and focus with binocular vision on the enemy or the weapon!

Now draw your own conclusions about all the exercises we do to increase or expand vision!
Sure they work in the dojo, but wait until the Chemical cocktail hits!


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Van Canna

[BILLY B]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Van Canna:

It is automatic and uncontrollable. . . .

The eyes are now in the grip of primal instincts, in automatic change to enhance survival!

Sports optometrist, DR. Hal Breedlove, states that tunnel vision will narrow your field of vision by 70%, with the SNS inhibiting monocular vision, forcing the individual to square the head on the threat and focus with binocular vision on the enemy or the weapon!
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Interesting to note that all predators in nature have both eyes positioned on the front of the head just like us humans.

Non-predators have an eye on each side of their head.

Humans are built to attack. Its a great defense!

[Bill Glasheen]

Van et al

Note I used the phrase tunnel vision in quotes in my post. It's more than just that.

Interesting stuff about the physiology of the eye with sympathetic stimulation. I agree with the part about blood distribution to the retina causing the tunnel vision. But the pupil dilation is a glass half full or half empty phenomenon. I'll exlplain.

You photography buffs know that when you widen the aperature, two different things happen. First of all, the depth of field goes down. This doesn't necessarily mean that you can't focus on the near; it just means that the range from near to far that is in focus (and you can still change that) is smaller. The up side is that the sensitivity to light goes way up. Now in photography, one goes for a wide-open aperature for several reasons. For most, it is because your light is low and the film sensitivity (ASA) is too low. But there is another good reason to do it - related to why the body would encourage this response. If you want to take a picture of someone in front of a distracting background, then you can widen the aperature (and adjust the shutterspeed accordingly) so that the subject is in focus and the background is not. Check out what they do on The Today Show. Sometimes they are doing an interview, and some idiot on the street in the window behind them is waving to mom (Wow, man, I'm on Tee Vee!). Well they adjust the aperature, sensitivity, and focus of the camera so that Katie or Matt are in focus and the waving fool is barely noticed.

This, then, is probably the reason for the dilated pupil response.

What I would also like to know (and is not mentioned) is if there is any change in the level of rhodopsin in the eye. Actually you can make an SLR camera more sensitive to light two different ways. One is to change the aperature, and the other is to change the film sensitivity. The eye works in a similar fashion. The aperature of the lens can be changed by how much the pupil dilates, and the sensitivity of the retina can be adjusted (several orders of magnitude) by the level of rhodopsion in the eye. Does this change significantly under severe stress??? If not...then light sensitivity probably has nothing to do with the "functional" nature of the response.

So now we know that there is a tendency for the depth and breadth of field to be reduced under sympathetic stimulation. But...what did I mean when I put tunnel vision in quotes? I was talking about a broader effect.

In the example I gave, the officer who was slaughtered had a partner right near him screaming at him about the danger behind him. He didn't respond to the screams. The "bad guy" apparently carefully and very deliberately aimed the gun right to his head before pulling the trigger. A response to the verbal cue may have changed the dynamics of the situation. So...I am suggesting that this pinpoint focus may involve more than one sense. Whether it happens at the periphery in all senses (as it does in the eye) or whether it is further complimented by central processing functions is the question.

In work done by Attinger et al, there is a suggestion that there is a tendency for the central autonomic nervous system to switch between a distributed and centralized control system depending on the level of stress. What Attinger did was measure a wide array of physiologic systems under control (normal) and stress (blood loss) in the dog. He used something called cluster analysis to look at the results. The results show that the brain switches from letting the various systems (heart rate, blood pressure, peripheral blood flow, respiration, etc) act independently to acting as if controlled by a single system when going from normal to shock conditions. So....that might suggest that even if there were no changes during stress going on in this officer's ears, his brain stem processes may have been involved in the filtering of information. Maybe...

Now to challenge the theories. Van wrote <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote

___It is automatic and uncontrollable____ read that again!!!!

And I respond by saying...that what people used to think. In the end, autonomic (sympathetic, parasympathetic control) usually but does not necessarily mean automatic. Let me explain.

First of all, this is not an all or nothing proposition. There are thousands of papers written on the sympathetic response. Several review papers I have read suggest that there is a variable scale response that happens at all levels of existence where the sympathetic and parasympathetic system are in dynamic tension with each other. Yes, an inexperienced and sensitive person is going to go off the charts in response (wet his/her pants, have problems breathing, have chest pains) in response to a life-threatening situation. But the actual response varies from subject to subject. If that were not the case, I could have gotten my dissertation after having done only one set of experiments on a single dog. And we could have saved a lot of doggy lives in the cardiology research lab. But...there is not only variability between treatment groups from stimulus to stimulus, there is also a variability among subjects given a single stimulus. This is why we need things like analysis of variance to do data analysis and make conclusions.

Second, there is quite a body of research now suggesting that one can control the autonomic nervous system given proper training. Back in the sixties, they were selling biofeedback devices that taught individuals how to raise their blood pressure (short term) to pathologic levels so that they would flunk the physical when going to the draft board. Yoga practitioners have been able to demonstrate an ability to raise and lower the heart rate, blood pressure, etc. And what do they call sanchin? Walking meditiation?? Research done by biomedical engineers in the air force show that experienced test pilots do not react as strongly to stressful situations as young rookies. This is a little bit of nature and a little bit of nurture. Yes, everyone responds. But the point is that not everybody responds to the same degree. Some have butteflies but perform quite nicely; others literally soil their britches. We know this to be true also for police officers, athletes, etc.

Finally...I would like to make the point that training - irrespective of an ability to control autonomic function - may be able to compensate for known responses in the field. For instance, I have read that they teach advancing infantry to intentionally scan the horizon in front of them by slowly turning their heads to the left and then to the right in a regular pattern. The eye may betray you with your field of vision, but you can still turn your neck! I have seen kata taught in my previous system where there are similar scanning motions done at crucial points. Maybe some of the old masters knew more than we give them credit for.

Respectfully,
Bill

[SEAN C]

Glasheen Sensei,

"maybe the old masters knew more than we give them credit for"

I think many times, that is the case. Sometimes when I hear or read about a modern, Western breakthrough in stress, psychology, breath control, etc. it just points out something that was already in the traditional exercises. Maybe just not understood by me yet.

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sean