Just saw some Ilustrisimo guys do knife fight (blunted steel blades) and stick fight and sword fight (blunted steel blades) blindfolded. Have you seen or done anything like this?
Not so much blindfolded but I watched our grandmaster do a gumon (freestyle sparring) at a seminar while speaking toward the crowd, eventually disarming the other person. He was kind of explaining what he was doing and what Senkotiros is about and eventually he finds a space to disarm the other person. He went through the whole thing just by feeling, even critiquing the other person. That is as close to blindfolded as I've ever seen.
Keye Luke? We have trained some self-defense scenarios with very low to almost zero lighting. Total blindness maybe a tad over the top. I mean, if you are so used to having your sight, imagine the anxiety and panic setting in if you lost it completely so unexpectedly.
I've done plenty of Hubud, both empty handed and with sticks while blindfolded, but never used a bladed weapon.
I figure, it is extremely difficult to defend agianst a blade with sight, how can anyone really fair being blindfolded? Seems to be aggrandize
Sometimes you deny one attribute to work others harder. It's only aggrandizing if you do it in a public demo
I haven't. I've done sensitivity drills blindfolded. (Hubud, palakaw, etc.). Think I've also done sumbrada blindfolded, but I'm not honestly sure about that.
Blindfold work has its place, like people have already mentioned it helps develop some attributes. Low light work is useful too, alongside working on uneven ground or in restricted space
I have the fortune to be teaching at the local cricket club so when the weather is good we train out side till 10pm. The light starts to drop at the moment around 8;30 to 9pm and we train at the edge of the pitch which banks up to the club house and yes it heightens the senses and makes sure you have solid footwork and structure.
Though low light is a bit different to no vision (not sure why you need a blindfold outside of testing, I find closing my eyes less time consuming ). In low light you're learning to deal with hindered depth perception (monochrome street lights also). So it's still a visual thing, but learning to process that information differently. No vision is total body feel, obviously.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDGcCxFTCbI"]Idoit Abroad 2 Blindfolded Thai Boxing - YouTube[/ame]
I've not done anything blindfolded, martial arts wise at least , but one of the pretty impressive ones I saw was someone slicing a melon in half with a katana using a person the platform for the melon, precisely cut the melon in half without cutting the person below ^__^
The reason for blindfolding as opposed to closing your eyes is simple especially during pressure testing. It heightens other senses and when people are under pressure they will instinctively open their eyes as a self preservation reaction. The blindfold prevents this forcing the other senses to heighten.
If it's high intensity yeah, but I'd expect martial artists to have the control to keep their eyes closed in flow drills and lower intensity stuff.
I only use the blindfolds in high pressure training. But yes they should have control at lower intensity but it doesn't always work that way as some people still feel under pressure when one of the senses is taken away and can't help but look.
