The Eyes of a Warrior

I have read in several treatises that the feeling through the sword allows for faster reaction that that of sight but until those blades are in a bind you have to rely on your eyes. Additionally we all have fought opponents in which we recognize their personal tells. Be it a twitch of the ankle or a drop in one shoulder, it is a motion that signals their attack and allows you to seize the Vor and control the fight. Additionally I have seen while fighting in the SCA that some fighters attempt to distract your attention with a wave of the off hand or twitch of the sword. It seems that it is almost necessary to be able to see everywhere at one. Well, I am here to let you know that you CAN and I am going to tell you how to do it.

    The basis behind what I call 'Eagle Vision' (yes, like from Assassin's Creed, I know) is to relax your vision and allow yourself to take in everything in front of you in a half-sphere. Everything looses focus, becoming a little blurred but it makes your vision very acute to movement. Humans basically evolved as predators and being receptive to the twitch of a rabbit's ear or the flick of a deer's tail allows us, as humans, to be better hunters. We evolved this ability over countless generations but most nowadays have had it blotted ot buy modern-day living.
    I can't claim to have come up with this method, only that I am the first to consciously apply it in sword combat (at least I think I am the first). My father was a green beret and taught my sisters and I outdoor skills from a very young age. He has a book in his library I remember reading in high school authored by the outdoorsman Tom Brown; Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking. Mr. Brown seems a tad out there but I enjoyed the book, found it helpful and even own a reprinted copy for myself as a reference. In this book, Mr. Brown states he was taught how to stalk and track game by an elderly Apache named Stalking Wolf. One of these skills is what he refers to Splatter Vision; allowing you vision to unfocus and become more sensitive to movement.
    To start, have a seat on the ground outside where you have the whole world to look at. The first step it to relax. Try taking a few deep breaths. It may help to close your eyes when you readjust your vision between your normal sight and Eagle Vision. Open your eyes and stare at the horizon but don't focus on it. Instead try to 'adsorb' the entirety of your field of vision. Everything may be less focused but quite suddenly the whole world comes alive! You notice the clouds sliding overhead, the wave of the grasses in the breeze or perhaps the twitch of a bird upon a distant limb. You can 'see' these movements all at once and without focusing your eyes upon any of them.
    Next spread your hands wide, point your fingers forward and wiggle them. Inch your hand forward until you can perceive the movement at the far edges of you field of vision and take note of the angle it illustrates of your expanded sight. For many people it is nearly 180 degrees! Repeat this with your hands above your head and again take note the angle once you see them, vertical field of vision for many can reach 120 to 130 degrees. That is a huge area in which your eyes can perceive motion, infinitely larger than what they see when focused in.
    I explained this to my wife, a special education teacher, and she noted that it basically sounded like feeding one's ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). I had to agree with her but remembered reading in Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief that the Half Bloods didn't look at as ADD, it was combat reflexes.
    Once you practice a few times to get comfortable with it, try Eagle Vision while out for a walk.  With you eyes taking in movement, you will notice how everything moves in waves as you stride, the farther objective less so than those closer. You will begin to notice movement that contradicts the sway of everything else. It may be a bird flying across you vision or a car driving down a distant street. As you become more adept at picking out movements while moving yourself try picking up the pace. It become more difficult the faster you walk but as your eyes gradually adjust to Eagle Vision you will be able to register movement from a pretty far distance even while jogging.
     Once you have mastered that you are ready to use this new found skill while fighting. The trick is switching rapidly from Eagle Vision to normal sight and back rapidly. Your eyes will pick up the movement and if it needs closer scrutiny then focus your eyes on the movement, assess it and return to Eagle Vision.  With practice this can be dome very quickly in succession and I have found that if I am accustomed to fighting another person then most of the time I can stay in Eagle Vision and only switch back to normal sight when I register a movement I am not familiar with.
    It does work I assure you. I have bested opponents with my eyes trained on the wall behind them. It is also very handy should you find yourself in melees fighting multiple opponents, allowing you to track all their movements at once in your new enlarged field of vision.
    Not only during fighting does it have its uses. I have found it helpful while crossing streets or hiking through the woods. So many of us only focus on small points in our lives and fail to see the broader picture. I encourage you to try it, not only in your fighting, but in other ventures in you life and truly see how alive the world is around you.