Flowing Gaze – Nagashi Me

From Budotheory.ca . Excerpted from Budo Theory: Exploring Martial Arts Principles by Richard Rowell

Nagashi means letting the gaze flow from one object to another without stopping at any one thing. In scientific terminology it is referred to as saccadic eye movement, and eye tracking. Saccadic movement is the ability to move the eyes in short quick movements, and eye tracking is the ability to follow a moving object.

As an example of how letting the eyes flow correctly can affect your technique, I am reminded of a time when I was having trouble turning in the Dojo in Kumamoto (Rinten – 360 degree turns and Hanten – 180 degree turns). I was becoming frustrated by my inability to perform the movement correctly. Sensing my irritation, my Sensei simply said, "Your eyes are late."

When I gave him that deer in the headlights look, he relented and then explained briefly that my eye rotation lagged behind my body as I turned. I immediately discovered that getting the eyes around to acquire the opponent first allowed for a faster and more coordinated body movement. As a result of that little piece of information my turning speed increased noticeably and my balance improved.

Eye-hand coordination, or more realistically eye-body coordination, is another area where Nagashi Me can affect performance. The eyes lead the hands, not the other way around. Remember the OODA Loop? Observation, Orientation, Decision, Action. In daily life our eyes tend to look ahead of our actions. For example, when you reached to pick this book up you first looked at it then initiated movement with your hands. Even before the action was finished your gaze changed again and you checked the title, your watch or looked out the window. By the time you have picked up the book you are already looking elsewhere for more information, perhaps the back cover.

In combat, letting your eyes move instead of your head prevents head movement that can result in an unbalanced (Kyo) position. This is particularly important when dealing with multiple opponents.

Research into vision in sports has found some interesting information relating to eye movement and balance. Twenty percent, one fifth, of the nerve fibers that leave the eye go to areas of the brain concerned with balance instead of the visual cortex. Visual information is integrated with information from the inner ear. When the body is thrown off balance, the brain demands that the eyes contribute information to help get the body under control. When the head is moved excessively in order to see, we risk throwing the whole body out of balance.

Letting the eyes move without associated head movement assists accurate tracking of high speed targets and demands perfect bodily balance. Realizing that the head is a relatively heavy object making up about ten to fifteen percent of your body weight, Nagashi Me provides for better posture at the same time as increasing the eye's ability to follow movement of your opponent.

Swinging your head around unnecessarily runs the risk of throwing your body off balance. You can also understand why many techniques utilize elements of controlling your opponent’s head. This may sound like common sense, but there are many who do not grasp it.

My teachers whether in Karate, Kendo, or Iaido have always been insistent in eliminating unnecessary head movement. It took me a long time to figure out the connection between balance, turning, and how to use the eyes.

Another aspect of shifting the gaze is particularly noticeable under dark conditions. By shifting the eyes slightly away from the opponent you can actually see him better. The central portion of the retina is packed with more color receptors (cone cells) than black and white receptors (rod cells). Under low light conditions color is indiscernible, and it is up to the black and white receptors to produce an image. There are more rod cells in the peripheral region of the retina than in the central portion. It is possible to get a clearer image by shifting the focus of the eyes slightly away from the center of attention.

Study your Kata. There may be more in there than you realize; some are specifically designed for fighting under low light conditions. Next time you are in the Dojo, practice turning, but turn the head in a big movement before you turn and feel how it affects your performance. Better yet, practice your Kata doing this. Then change so that you move the eyes first before the head movement and see if this improves your balance.

Giving pause to consider how to efficiently move the eyes, track objects, how they affect balance, and how posture can affect this sensor is important. Letting the eyes flow naturally over your visual field and take in information is also the first step in higher level mental concepts that have to do with the mind stopping or becoming attached.

Letting the eyes flow (Nagashi me) is only one of an number of principles in using the eyes in combat. The technical application of vision concepts  (Ken - Observation) is only half of the equation. There is a big difference between observation and Insight (Kan), especially if you want to see into the heart of Duality (Kan Kyo-Jitsu).

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