Jiu Jitsu in the dark?

[younwha]

Some of the best Judo players are blind. I've heard of a few schools starting to practice blind folded or in pitch black rooms. Anybody do this at your school? I can definitely see the advantages.

[Ghosted3]

My instructor talked about it a few times, and we had a blind student for awhile as well. He (the instructor) said that it really helps out the "feel" part of the game.

[Ari Bolden]

I haven't done this in a while but I use to do it with my guys. It builds kinetic awareness. I often will close my eyes when I roll for the same effect.

[rocknroll]

sometimes we practiced at ninjutsu with closed eyes too !

i think it helps at bjj too

[MatzeOne]

Practiced it in the past a lot.

At legends we used to grapple in Amir Rahnavardi's MMA class with closed eyes many times.

[flying gogo-plata]

i was screwing around once after class and tried to roll with my eyes closed starting in guard. it actually wasn't much harder than with the eyes open because ur maintaining contact with ur partner the whole time anyway.

[jasper_milktoast]

i close my eyes quite a bit while rolling, has really helped with my body awareness.

of course i lift in the dark as well. this is mostly due to my gym not having electricity. helped with my form though. i wouldn't recommend it to anyone though, it is dangerous with high weights.

[AJ]

When I'm trying to work something below my neck that I can't see anyways, I'll sometimes close my eyes so I can focus more closely on what I'm feeling.

Never trained like that though.

[Ryan]

I gained 2 children doing jits in the dark!

lol, In all seriousness, I think this would make an excellent training method. Out of curiosity, has anyone found that not seeing during the roll causes kicks to the face or some other non-intentional foul?

[flying gogo-plata]

I gained 2 children doing jits in the dark!

lol, In all seriousness, I think this would make an excellent training method. Out of curiosity, has anyone found that not seeing during the roll causes kicks to the face or some other non-intentional foul?

only thing i noticed, are some occasional fingers in the eye or mouth, but i only tried this once

[zaxonortesus]

I can see that being very useful. Anyone wanna try some MMA sparring blindfolded? That might be a fun 'feel' exersize.

[Acenes]

I haven't done this in a while but I use to do it with my guys. It builds kinetic awareness. I often will close my eyes when I roll for the same effect.

I still do that every now and then.

Ryan: it does not lead to more accidental elbows of knees in the face than when I keep my eyes open

[Tallsilkyslim]

I rolled blind folded a few times at my old BJJ gym. I really enjoyed it. It really forces you to feel what you are supposed to do rather than force stuff.

[dialupking]

I gained 2 children doing jits in the dark!

lol, In all seriousness, I think this would make an excellent training method. Out of curiosity, has anyone found that not seeing during the roll causes kicks to the face or some other non-intentional foul?

+1 for Humor!

I am just over half legally blind, but my Judo is still questionable. I like to close my eyes while having an opponent in guard, It lets me think of how to ways to make escapes or clinch a submission.

[NebS]

We did some stand up training with our eyes closed during last years Camp of Combat Arts...

It was different to say the least...I've never rolled with my eyes closed though, I usually got 100lbs weight difference to attend with so I wanna use everything - including sight - to my advantage!

[Ryan]

I still do that every now and then.

Ryan: it does not lead to more accidental elbows of knees in the face than when I keep my eyes open

Did you Bolden up "more" because you get a lot of accidental stuff even when eyes are open?

[Acenes]

Well, the only way to condition and train someone to not get hit in the face is by hitting them in the face (I still remember one of my yellow belt techniques(JJJ) way back then (Ari was working with me, I guess he had been watching for a while and I kept doing it wrong so he finally stepped in), I thought I did the technique perfectly, but I forgot to step back to get out of range of the follow-up attack, so after a while Ari just slaps me in the face and says "What are you forgetting to do?". Ever since then I have not once done this entire technique incorrectly. ... And I sometimes use the same teaching method for this very same technique when I help out lower belts now(though I certainly do not slap them nearly as hard as Ari slapped me, and it makes for a nice story that begins with "ok, I'm gonna do the same thing that helped me remember how to do this correctly, ... Ari showed me this ... ok, go ahead and do the same technique again ..." :p )

[younwha]

Awesome so it seems a lot of people have practiced this way, but nobody does it on a regular basis? Also just curious do you do it with all students just for fun or is it something that's seriously part of training for high ranks maybe?

[007jujitsu]

I haven't done this in a while but I use to do it with my guys. It builds kinetic awareness. I often will close my eyes when I roll for the same effect.

I remember when we used to do this! We should start again :)

[Otto]

"Blind training" is an interesting, and, if you'll forgive the expression, eye opening experience.
It works better rolling than it does in the striking arts, for grappling is a far more visceral experience.
Back in the early seventies, when we were all "suburban hippies" we used to do all sorts of vision impairment training. Our dojo had fluorescent light bulbs (the long ones). We bought a couple of fluorescent black lights and put them over the sparing area. One guy would wear a black gei, black headgear, black gloves and black safety kick. The other would wear a white gei, headgear with white tape all over it, white gloves and white safety kick. If you were in white, it was like fighting the invisible man. As you can imagine, it was a hell of a lot of fun no matter which color you were wearing.
As for rolling, and catching accidental kicks to the face etc, I guess it depends on who you're rolling with. If it's a partner you do a lot of work with, it's not too bad. I've found the biggest pain in the ass is fingers in the face (accidently) that wouldn't happen otherwise, and if you're wearing a gei, sometimes you get tangled more often than if your eyes were working.
One suggestion though, the biggest problems we've encountered when doing blind training is uneven weights, if you grapple blind with a much heavier/stronger partner, even if it's your best buddy, you tend to get yourself squished when you least expect it.
If you want a real hoot, fight (grapple or stand up) under strobe lighting with loud music playing. It really screws up your senses and makes the "feel" all the more important.
(Hey, I'm old, we've done some strange stuff over the years. None of it replaces good class work and basics, it's just fun)

[C-laire]

We do this on a regular basis at my school and I love it. Usually once a week, we'll finish with Blind Ronduri, where one person stands in the middle with their eyes closed and everyone else takes turns attacking(usually with grabs and chokes, not so much striking). It's helped my movement and ability to stay relaxed when attacked immensely. Sometimes when we're drilling, if I'm having trouble getting something, I'll go through it with my eyes closed, to let my body feel its way through. That sense of feel is always there, but shutting off the vision, allows me to pay closer attention to it.

Well, the only way to condition and train someone to not get hit in the face is by hitting them in the face (I still remember one of my yellow belt techniques(JJJ) way back then (Ari was working with me, I guess he had been watching for a while and I kept doing it wrong so he finally stepped in), I thought I did the technique perfectly, but I forgot to step back to get out of range of the follow-up attack, so after a while Ari just slaps me in the face and says "What are you forgetting to do?". Ever since then I have not once done this entire technique incorrectly. ... And I sometimes use the same teaching method for this very same technique when I help out lower belts now(though I certainly do not slap them nearly as hard as Ari slapped me, and it makes for a nice story that begins with "ok, I'm gonna do the same thing that helped me remember how to do this correctly, ... Ari showed me this ... ok, go ahead and do the same technique again ..." :p )

I can definitely relate to this. More than I care to admit.

[Tagg1080]

kinda of a similar thing, we practice our kata blindfolded.

helps to focus on your bodies movements, so you can make sure you are doing them perfectly.


we have done some rolling with our eyes closed, but it was very slow, and kind of weird, i found it a lot harder.

[Dave Bryan]

I naturally close my eyes when I roll, I have just always done it. And at my Judo club we have a group of Aikido guys come in and there main instructor is blind.

[Oneiros]

many a times did I roll in the dark ^^
And we do partner tai sabaki and defensive moves blindfolded...
rolling blindfolded is fun... if you keep your fingers closed that is...

The pinky of a partner of mine got stuck in my gi-sleeve once... one ebi later I (we) heard a distinct snapping noise...
gone (well... broken, not completely gone as in "removed" - ah you know what I mean) was the pinky

[summitcitysubmissions]

i tend to find myself not even looking at my opponent even if my eyes arent closed. When i do look at something its usually to bait them into thinking i am going to attack that area. It works well for me.

As for training blindfolded or in the dark i definetely think it is a worth while drill especially with new students. I find it gets them to relax and be more patient and feel the situation out a bit more.

[ESB Jiu JItsu]

I use to all ways find myself looking away and my eyes jsut blankly stairing at things while practicing jits. So decided i would start to roll blind folded and let me tell you there is no cooler of an experience then getting baked off some northern lights and sliding head gear with a blind fold under it and slow rolling and or just trying to defned. I find it to be a very eye opening experience...pun intended. I try to rely on feeling more then anything with my jits and rolling blindfolded will really test your jits "feelings" :).

[Dave Bryan]

It's weird, I never forced myself to close my eyes, I just always have done it naturally it's hard to keep them open.