The more I look, the less I see....

I've noticed a strange phenomenon occurring when I have a lesson off Coach Andy these days. Whenever I look at the target I want to hit I miss it but whenever I don't look at it I hit it. This is particularly prevalent in epee lessons when I am asked to stop hit to the wrist when attacked. If I look at Andy's hand I miss it completely but 9 times out of 10 when I vaguely focus somewhere near his right shoulder I hit the wrist plum on. I'm not even really focussing on anything specific but just trying to cultivate a general awareness of movement and tempo. It feels like my point of focus is actually behind him. I can't really put forward any specific reason for this but it does seem to generally relax me and allow me to mentally take in the big picture. The use of the eyes and what to look at has been discussed by Musashi, Takuan Soho and Yagyu Munenori with many metaphors that I have already covered elsewhere on this blog (see Feb 2009 archive) but sometimes it's interesting to experience a phenomenon yourself as that is when it really starts to make sense. It's also nice to feel that I am on a path that has been walked upon by greater antecedents than I!