The second event was in class when we were training in High Gear. The helmets are exactly what you spoke about with Halloween masks: they allow for good central vision, but they’re not as generous with peripherals. Not being able to see as far up or down was somewhat off-balancing, but that didn’t turn out to be much of an issue in practice. The issue was when my encounter went to the ground and I was trying to get away: the threat looked closer than it was, so I didn’t immediately take the opportunity to get away when I could. A tinge of fear had also hindered my vision; I couldn’t see what was there because I didn’t want to risk further attack.

To address the tunnel vision and the near-panic/fear that comes with adrenaline, I’ll continue training in scenarios that get the adrenaline pumping. These should help to inoculate me to adrenaline’s effects, as well as give me some great training experience overall.

Honing the other 4 senses is something else I hope to incorporate. Whenever I take the time to open my ears or my nose, I find that there’s a lot more going on than what I can see. Seems to me it would be a huge advantage in a fight or self-defense encounter if I had use of all 6 senses instead of just sight.

For the less physical aspect, I plan to incorporate sensing someone’s mood into my daily life; it’s useful not just for self-defense, but for simply interacting with others.

Thank you for the thought-provoking post and the suggestions for additional training.

–Kaitlin