από το: Keith Code - A Twist Of The Wrist Volume II
Wide Screen Review
How about a quick review of the wide screen vision drill?
Drill One:
1. Pick a spot or an area on the wall or space in front of you to look
at. Stare at the area but do it in a relaxed mode, not glaring*
intently*.
2. Without moving your eyes, become aware of the whole field of
your vision so that each object in front of you can be identified, (a
chair, a lamp, the door. etc.). without looking directly at the
individual objects.
3. Still looking at your original spot, move your awareness
(attention), not your eyes, from object-to-object in front of you.
4. That's wide screen. Do it some more.
Drill Two:
1. With your eyes, find one object about 45 degrees to the right of
your field of vision and one 45 degrees to the left.
2. Shift your focus from object-to-object as fast as you can, getting
a sense of how long it takes to do so.
3. Go back to staring at the original spot in front of you (from drill
one).
4. This time, move your attention (awareness) back-and-forth on
the two objects (on your right and left), getting a sense of how long
it takes to do so.
Which method, moving your eyes or moving your attention, is the
quickest? How much quicker is it? Obviously, flicking your
attention/awareness around in your field of vision is far quicker: It moves
with the speed of thought.
Moving your awareness
around in your field of view
without moving the eyes
gives a broad, continuous
visual understanding of
your surroundings.
Loss Of Concentration
When we see how well the wide screen view works and think of
the idea of losing concentration it seems odd because concentration
means to focus down on something. That's exactly what we don't want! Do
one more experiment for me.
1. Pick four spots in front of you, one a few feet in front and to the
right of you, one a bit farther away to the left and two on the wall,
one on the right and one on the left, in your normal field of vision,
as if you were looking at the road and had four RP's.
2. Move your eyes as rapidly as possible from one to the next,
stopping as briefly as possible to focus on each before moving to
the next.
3. Do this for about 30 seconds.
4. How do you feel?
Almost everyone gets at least some slight feeling of disorientation if
not outright dizziness from doing this. Disorientation is one of the direct
effects of SRs #3 and #4. This is the primary cause of mental fatigue
while riding a motorcycle, especially when riding fast. It is a bad thing.
One more experiment, if you will.
1. Pick the same four spots as above.
2. This time, while moving your eyes from one to the other, keep
your field of attention wide, so you can be aware of the rest of the
area where you are sitting, while shifting your focus from one point
to the other.
3. Is that easier on you?
4. Finally, just to make you feel better, "stare" at your farthest point
and shift your awareness, not your eyes, from each one of the four
points to the next.
5. Better? It should be. (Give me a call if it isn't.)
Controlled View
The ability to get a wide screen view is clearly under your control,
when you remember to do it. If you look around the room now, it is
practically impossible to see it any other way but wide. When you ride, this
isn't the case. SRs close down your view of space when triggered; it's a
reaction to something. If your chair were suddenly moving at 70 mph
through the room, would that trigger SRs?
Mechanically speaking, the eye doesn't actually narrow down what
can be seen, you simply aren't aware of all you can see when your
attention is captured or directed elsewhere. When you remember to do
it, the width of your awareness is totally controlled by the mind. Can
you train yourself to remember? Will practice help put you more in control
than you are now? I say it can, but you have to decide for yourself, by
practice. Is your attention wide right now? Could it always be "held out"
that wide?
Street Traffic
I'll tell you my secret. I discovered this whole thing one Sunday
morning in 1974 while riding to Griffith Park to street race with my friends. I
had a vicious tequila hangover. My field of view was about two feet wide
and I knew this wasn't going to work; I felt lost on my own street! I suppose
out of necessity, my attention popped out wide and I could "see" again; it
even made most of my "condition" disappear. From then on. when I left my
house, I would usually remember to push my attention out wide. The most
amazing thing happened as a result. I never again had any trouble in
traffic with surprise lane changes or sudden critical situations involving
four-wheeled motorists, (By the way, live in Los Angeles). Let me know
how it works for you.
Your Attention can be
distracted by anything. I
crashed ones because I was
on a tighter line getting
around a backmarker but had
the same speed as last lap.
My $10 was on him not the
speed.
In faster stuff you can look to
the farthest point ahead to
judge the distance.
When you do this it opens up
your thinking.
_______________________________________
This works anytime, driving in your car, anytime. I've been doing it since
Keith showed me in 1981 and it has kept me safe as well as fast on the
track. Pick a happy medium for your field of vision: not too far or too close.
D.G.