Executing a form with your eyes closed

[Gemini]

Anyone else practice this? We had a black belt test today and the participants were required to do 3 poomses with their eyes closed. I understand (having had to do them myself from time to time) the reasoning behind it, but I thought 3 was a bit over the top. Anyone else require your students to do them?

 

[Flying Crane]

Yes, I used to do this with the simpler forms from kenpo. They start and finish at the same place, so it was interesting to see how close you could finish with your eyes closed. Good exercise. Thanks for reminding me of this!

 

[Aqua4ever]

We do it rarely, and only for fun.
I do know some members of our club do it on their own out of class time, but it is not a requirement
Aqua

 

[bignick]

I saw someone test for third dan that had to do their form on top of stool blindfolded. It's required from time to time, just whenever the testing instructor wants to see it. Without the sight you really need to have it ingrained into your muscles...otherwise you get all confuzzled...

 

[TigerWoman]

Yes, and backwards too. We have a blind woman student who does pretty well. TW

 

[Henderson]

We'll experiment every once in a while with doing a kata in Mirror-image. I tried it with seiunchin just this past Thursday night. It wasn't pretty!

 

[FearlessFreep]

I've done it before as an exercise, mostly in not getting too focused on your orientation within the place you do your form.

 

[Kacey]

Yes, I do this with my students, to make sure that they know the pattern itself, and not just which wall to face; for the same reason, I turn them around in the room periodically. The funny thing is, some of my students are better with their eyes closed than they are if they turn around - which means we need to turn around more; with their eyes closed, they can see the walls they usually face.

We also have blindfold patterns at some of our tournaments, as an extra event. The funniest rendition of blindfold patterns I ever saw at a tournament involved a BB who got drunk the night before - he said he didn't have a hangover, but the second he put the blindfold on, he lost his balance.

 

[tkd_jen]

My last test there were 3 of testing for red senior. When it got to the pattern portion of the test, I heard our instructor tell one of the Black belts to get 3 blindfolds. I kinda figured we had that coming. Anyway, they blindfolded all of us and then one at a time they brought us out on the floor somewhere and spun us around so we had no idea where we were. Then we had to do Pal-gwe Pal-chung. After we all did Pal-chung blindfolded, they took off our blindfolds and positioned us in a triangle facing each other. Then we did Pal-Gwe Chil Chung. It was harder for me doing Chil-chung facing each other and moving towards each other than pal-chung blindfolded and dizzy. The last part of pattern testing we started with sam-chung, part way through our instructor had us stop and continue with a different pattern (eg. start on move 9 of oh-chung). We did the rest of the patterrns in this mixed up way. That was pretty cool, talk about having to know the patterns inside and out. The mixed up patterns were probably the hardest, but most satisfying because we nailed them!

 

[stickarts]

Yes, I have practiced this way, especially before tournaments or tests, and I have my students do this every so often. It helps you get to feel a form instead of see the form (if you look in the mirror all of the time or get used to always face the same direction)

 

[IcemanSK]

I've practiced forms this way, but I'm not sure I've ever benn tested being blindfolded. It certainly keeps folks on their toes. But I wouldn't want to make it the ONLY way I saw someone's form during a test.

 

[crushing]

My instructor has had us do forms a few times with eyes closed. Along with putting as much power as possible into each movement and slowly being as technically perfect as possible. We even had a class where we went down to Lake Michigan to do forms in the water. The resistance of the water really made the forms a good workout.

 

[terryl965]

Yes all the time and we also do it backwards as well, being able to do it forwrd and then trace back your form backwards give you a whole new experience about your Poomse.
terry

 

[Miles]

I have 1st dans testing for 2nd dans do Koryo with their helmuts on backwards over their eyes. I got this idea from one of my instructors.


My regular tests are conducted with the students facing the back of the dojang when they do their poomsae so they can't rely on "monuments." I think I'm being tricky, but they prove me wrong by still performing well.

Miles

 

[FearlessFreep]

their helmuts on backwards over their eyes. I got this idea from one of my instructors.

Obi-Wan Kenobi?

 

[karatekid1975]

In Tang Soo Do, my instructor made us do forms eyes closed (regaurdless of rank), and at different directions. If he found us cheating (open our eyes) he'd make us do horse stance for 10 minutes or more (or push ups for however long he liked ... I liked horse stance better ... I have bad wrists).

When I came into this TKD dojang, they wouldn't know what to do when Master K said "Face the back and do Taegeuk so and so" and they couldn't do it. I didn't understand. But I know different dojangs do diffferent things. To each their own, I guess. maybe Ilike the "old style" training better. Who knows.

 

[coldsteel87]

My instructor has us face different walls so we arent used to remembering which wall of the dojo to face. He had us face a corner once..............That was surprisingly very very hard.

 

[DuneViking]

Yep, eyes closed, sometimes staggering by columns, or in groups of 4 each facing a different direction, outside on grass, in sand at the beach, and in the water chest high, or waist high in the waves-lots of different ways!

 

[Gemini]

and in the water chest high, or waist high in the waves

I've done them in chest high water, but never in waves. Depending on the size of the waves, I would imagination that can be quite difficult.

 

[Miles]

their helmuts on backwards over their eyes. I got this idea from one of my instructors.

Obi-Wan Kenobi?

No, Master Tate. Was that in the Star Wars movies? Did they do Koryo?

Miles