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cguzik
29th September 2003, 22:40
For those who normally require corrective lenses, what do you do while training? I know some people who wear contacts, and others who abhore the idea of wearing contacts while working out. Do you wear specially-designed sports glasses, your normal specs, or just go without and hope you can see what is happening around you?

I have worn glasses for the last twenty years or so, and have chosen not to wear glasses or contacts on the mat for safety (I can still see pretty well without them). However, I see lots of people who do wear glasses and wonder what challenges they face.

I practice primarily aikido, so the concerns that I have in mind revolve around having them not fall off my face when taking falls, not smashing them into the mat while receiving pins/immobilizations, and not having them broken by bokuto...

I have been thinking about trying to find a pair of ultra-flexible titanium alloy frames, the kind that bend right back into shape if they are contorted. However, they are probably expensive and I don't know how well they would hold up.

Chris

StanLee
30th September 2003, 08:10
I can't remember who said this. It was either O sensei or Inaba sensei (my teacher's sensei), that if one ususlly wears glasses, they should be removed during training.

Hope this helps. Why not try to suggest this to others and get them to train without them and see what the results are?:)

Rogier
30th September 2003, 08:28
i can only speak for my girlfriend, she wears her soft contact lenses during practice.

She used to wear hard lenses and had some problems with those during practice... since she switched to soft ones... no problems...

MarkF
30th September 2003, 14:08
Hi, Rogier,
You list three different types of training (well, two actually) so it would probably be helpful to know in what style your girlfriend trains. If it is karate, I can understand. Grappling may be a different problem.

I'm farsighted and getting more so every year. The problems almost mirror Phil's but I'm betting his are worse, as I have many nearsighted friends and students. The general rule, after I've tried many things is to have them wear them, if necessary, to watch a demo of any technique we will be drilling that night, but to take them off when grappling, standing or otherwise. Those with hearing problems can be a concern, but ultimately, they will have to take off any devices during randori or drills, eg, ukemi.

Contact lenses is a choice, though, but ultimately most who wear them take them out and eventually remember to bring in a pair of glasses which come off anyway.


That's why I ask whether you are talking about karate or any of the grappling arts you do, or rather your girlfriend. I know near-sighted people who are tournament junkies (in karate) but are so near-sighted they just can't see it coming. However, there is always kata competition.


Mark

j-lane
30th September 2003, 15:11
I have never been able to wear contacts- my eyes are too dry and after a short while, even with eye drops, wearing them becomes sheer torture. (btw- I am nearsighted, about -5 in both eyes).

I tried Aikido for a few months before switching to Karate. I had to wear some sort of eye correction during Aikido, otherwise I could not see the technique being demonstrated by the instructor. I saw one or two people wearing eyeglasses during Aikido, but they were quite experienced and could perform beautiful ukemi. I was sure that my glasses would get squashed if I tried that. So, I put up with contacts for a while during the hour or two of training- it was very uncomfortable and distracted me from class. The class moved too quickly for me to just take my glasses on and off throughout training.

When I first started Karate, I could wear my glasses without any problems, since I was not sparring. Now that I am beginning to spar, this is again becoming a problem. I usually just take my glasses off for sparring- this limits my ability to some degree. Some people would argue that taking off glasses is better training for reflexes and self-defense. Perhaps at later stages this is true, but as a beginner I feel it is more improtant for me to see clearly in order to learn proper distance, timing, etc. I'm thinking about getting sports goggles, as dorky as they look. :)

Rogier
30th September 2003, 15:43
actually my girlfriend wears them both during karate and grappling arts. Now as I said the hard lenses did cause problems.. things like dust getting under the lens, the lens falling out and you always had the risk of the lens breaking in the eye (should there be contact)

Now with the soft lenses those problems have been solved.

What she does on occasion when her eyes are irritated or something like that she'll wear glasses all day and put the lenses in with some fluid just before training starts..

kage110
30th September 2003, 15:58
I wear glasses (have done for nearly 20 years) and am short-sighted. I used to wear soft contact lenses until my eye got too dry and I never had any problems grappling with those in my eyes.

I now wear my glasses for the 'technical' part of a class when we are drilling kata but when things get a but more exciting (throwing, grappling, sparring) I take my glasses off. I am fortunate that I am not too short sighted (-3ish in both eyes) so I can see pretty well for close range work. I can also see objects the size of a tennis ball thrown from any range. I need my glasses primarily to see what the instructor is demonstrating. I also do training in low light/darkness so good vision is less important then...

A point to bear in mind, if you are ever in a real fight/attack you are very likely to have your glasses knocked off in the first round so get used to fighting without them.

tracey fuller
1st October 2003, 11:35
I am very short sighted and always wear my glasses. I took them off once during randori and got smacked in the face because I couldn't see the blow coming. I am thinking of getting some bendy glasses but although the frames can be quite cheap the lenses are usually expensive, especially if you are as blind as a bat like me.
Regards Tracey

Rogier
1st October 2003, 11:43
I've seen some people in judo classes wear the bendy type glasses in which the glass itself was unbreakable...

Rogier
1st October 2003, 12:10
Originally posted by Sharp Phil
If you are heavily dependent on your glasses (I know I am), you must train without them. The very first thing that's going to happen in a real altercation is that you're going to face at least the strong possibility of having them knocked from (or through) your face.

even if you can hardly see anything without the glasses?? That does not seem very safe during training..

Jeff Tibbetts
4th October 2003, 00:29
I wear my glasses in Aikido classes. I almost never have problems with them. Once in a while during a front roll they'll slip off but I can always catch them as I roll up to my feet. One thing I did notice is that I'm getting little dents pressed into the skin behind my ear where the glasses are from having my face down on the side in pins... It doesn't hurt unless I press the glasses hard into my head, but I do wonder if that's bad for me. Anyone else experience this?

Gene Williams
4th October 2003, 00:54
Sharp Phil, The next step for you is a dog, isn't it?:D :D

Gene Williams
4th October 2003, 00:56
Originally posted by Jeff Tibbetts
[I wear my glasses in Aikido classes.] I almost never have problems with them. Once in a while during a front roll they'll slip off but I can always catch them as I roll up to my feet. One thing I did notice is that I'm getting little dents pressed into the skin behind my ear where the glasses are from having my face down on the side in pins... It doesn't hurt unless I press the glasses hard into my head, but I do wonder if that's bad for me. Anyone else experience this?

I wear my glasses
In aikido classes,
But I falls down
And bustez my asses!:D

Steve Williams
5th October 2003, 01:06
Its so dependant on the style you practice.

Anything that involves grappling then its best not to wear glasses, but contacts are OK (in my experience)

Anything that is "karate like" i.e. not primarily a grappling style, then glasses are not a problem, but better not to wear them for randori/sparring......

larsen_huw
6th October 2003, 11:46
I had a pair of Flexon frames.

They broke.

I got my money back.

I now have 3 pairs of cheap glasses, which together cost less than 1/2 the price of the Flexon frames, none of which have broken yet.

Read into that what you will.

the Khazar Kid
6th October 2004, 05:50
Up until recently I never wore glasses when practicing martial art, even though I wear thick glasses in everyday life, such as while typing this. Just recently, Sah Bom Nim suggested I wear my glasses when forms are being practiced or new techniques demonstrated in class. Now that I'm a 1st gup (in Tang Soo Do/Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan if you're wondering what style) technical standards are getting higher. So now classes are more confusing with running back and forth to lockers to put glasses on for forms and take them off for exercises or sparring, keeps me on my toes! I don't want to just put my glasses down on the ground where they will be stepped on.

Interestingly enough my choice in glasses design is deeply informed by martial thought. While my friends and family often think I should get smaller glasses like John Lennon, and eye doctors say if they were smaller they wouldn't have to be as thick, I want big glasses like Mas Ayoob or Mike Janich so I'll have some peripheral vision, it could be the difference between life and death.

Jesse Peters

cguzik
6th October 2004, 17:07
I bought a pair of the Flexon frames to give them a try. What I found is that the flexibility of the frames doesn't really help that much. I've now gone back to wearing contacts (disposables, in case I lose one) most of the time when training. That helps with the peripheral vision issue as well.

tracey fuller
6th October 2004, 21:40
When I used to wear contact lenses I found they were great for the peripheral vision. However I found them less tolerable when tired and my vision became blurred so they wouldn't be much use for training which is in the evening when I'm always tired. So I stick with standard glasses which I always wear otherwise I can't see the techniques or the blows aimed in my direction.
Regards

Chrono
7th October 2004, 19:27
Originally posted by StanLee
I can't remember who said this. It was either O sensei or Inaba sensei (my teacher's sensei), that if one ususlly wears glasses, they should be removed during training.

I'd try and I did when I took Aikido, but now in Tang Soo Do I don't really see a point. I need to be able to see the instructor when he demonstrates technqiues. I'm so nearsighted I doubt I can do that.

MarkF
9th October 2004, 16:34
I pretty much have to wear glasses all the time, now, but when I do any kind of randori or demonstrate I have to take them off. Luckily, I can today feel the technique.

The last few seminars, however, it was a real pain, to put them on, take them off, put them on, et.

I do not know whether it was Uyeshiba sensei who said that, but that is usually the only way you can play hard in any form of taijutsu. I can understand such hard forms (karate, Shorinji Kempo, etc.) how necessary they would be. Some athletes today wear special googles that blow the mind when you see them. Amazingly, basketball players are unaffected when on the court with those things. Some also have prescriptions ground into them.

But as for contact lenses, back in the 1950s, I saw my friend's mother putting in her contacts, her eyes tearing and red when she finally got them to sit correctly. To this day, I feel claustrophobic when I note anyone wearing them. Putting foreign matter in ones' eyes gives me the rigors.

My little brother would forget to take them out when he took a nap, and he couldn't keep his eyes open after the nap, so he took another one to let his eyes rest. Today, in his late forties, he is wearing glasses again.


Mark

Dan Weber
12th October 2004, 19:55
I just finished reading these posts with some interest as I wear glasses and contacts myself for martial arts (iaido and kendo) and I am also an eye doctor. A lot of posts described people having dryness/discomfort with their lenses and being unable to wear them for significant amount of time. This is definitely a problem for many CL patients, however there are a number of solutions to this problem besides wearing glasses, although there is no "perfect" solution to these issues that will take care of every patient. For instance, there are a number of lens materials with a variety of wearing options that help address the issue of dryness and CL wear. Personally, and in my practice, I use lenses such as ProClear, O2 Optix, and Focus Night and Day to help patients (and myself for that matter!) with reducing dryness while wearing CL's, increasing both wear time and comfort, while maintaining low risk to ocular health and keeping the patient with good vision. These can work well for both near and farsighted patients as well as those with small amounts of astigmatism. For patients with higher amounts of astigmatism there are several options coming out next year that with use CL materials that resist dryness and allow high amounts of oxygen to penetrate through to the cornea much like the Night and day and the O2 Optix lens do now.
As mentioned in other posts, glasses do break,and peripheral vision may be comprimised to some degree, so I recommend CL wear for those people who are good candidates; if you are currently having problems I recommend talking to your eye doctor to see if you might be a candidate for CL wear in some of the newer lens options. Things like LASIK etc, may be viable options for many people as well.
Well, I hope this helps a little in terms of providing everyone with a little information that that they can talk to their own doctors about. The best source of information is the doctor that you have been seeing for your current eyeglasses/contacts/surgery and any problems that require immediate attention such as but not limited to pain, redness, sudden blurriness, discharge etc, should definitely be addressed by your doctor immediately and not on the boards:D
Hope this helps!

jalan
16th October 2004, 06:31
I, myself, have always worn soft contacts. My instructor, on the other hand, has always worn glasses. I think it depends on what you are most comfortable with. I have decided to opt for laser corrective surgery this winter, so I do not have to worry about it any more.

MarkF
16th October 2004, 11:02
Originally posted by jalan
I, myself, have always worn soft contacts. My instructor, on the other hand, has always worn glasses. I think it depends on what you are most comfortable with. I have decided to opt for laser corrective surgery this winter, so I do not have to worry about it any more.


Yes, you are correct, it is ultimately comfort and ease of use which makes the ultimate decision for much of what we do.

BTW: If you are myopic and are having LASIK surgery, you will have to have surgery in the future. Usually, this is not a "lifetime" fix, but it is probably the only way to fix the problem of "to wear or not to wear."


Mark

EldritchKnight
16th October 2004, 23:01
I'm myopic and have a specific eye condition that prevents me from having LASIK done, wearing contacts, or even getting rimless glasses, so I'm stuck with two choices: glasses, or really bad vision. When I do non-grappling arts, I'll usually keep them on, but the moment we start sparring or practicing throws, etc. they come straight off. Same deal when I practice kendo. When we're not wearing bogu, or doing suburi, I'll keep them on - I need it, after all, to check my form. When we get into bogu, though, they come off. I know that there are specialty glasses that can be fitted into the men, but don't find the need, since I can still judge maai using my shinai, and can still make out my aite.