Warriors don’t stare. As a general rule, we aren’t supposed to stare into our opponent’s eyes. Long ago, it was thought that if we stared into our opponent’s eyes too long then they could hypnotize us, put us into some sort of trance and then attack us. Today, we realize that this hypnotic trance was really just physiology. When we stare, our eyes become fixed and we consciously try to not blink, but blinking is how we re-wet the lens of our eyes. So, when we consciously stare, we unconsciously blink. The unconscious blink is actually a mixture of eye roll and blink. When that happens our minds also reset, and we are in a momentary entranced which our opponent reads and capitalizes upon. Generally, we are supposed to narrow our eyes and look across the shoulder line. Another method to counteract the mental pause is to slightly turn our heads which exposes the rods/cones in the outer eye which are supposedly better at picking up movement which can help us to increase our reaction times. Miyamoto Musashi said, “Adopt a stance with the head erect, neither hanging down, nor looking up, nor twisted. Your forehead and the space between your eyes should not be wrinkled. Do not roll your eyes nor allow them to blink, but slightly narrow them.” Regardless of what method we adopt, we should not stare too long into our opponent’s eye. Our teachers have advocated against staring and likewise our parents told us that it is not polite to stare. The only time we should look directly into someone’s eyes is when we need to show our courage or our intent. Looking directly into the eyes of adversity allows us to be powerful and show adversity that we are ready for whatever is to come. Staring can be rude, but it can also accidentally lead to our downfall and so warriors don’t stare.
Today’s goal: Don’t be afraid to look adversity directly in the eyes, but don’t stare.