Eye contact is a tool that humans and other species use to absorb and relay information. For example, staring contests are one way that animals establish dominance and hierarchies. Humans also interpret steady eye contact as a sign of confidence, interest, and, sometimes, aggression. These fun facts hold true; even in the practice of martial arts.

We’ve all seen the staring contests that are part of the weigh-in ceremony at high-profile boxing matches. The macho eye contact is more than simple entertainment. Each boxer does their best to psyche out their opponent before getting into the ring. The idea is to inject tension, anxiety, and unnecessary caution into the psyche of the opposition.

Maintaining eye contact goes even further to become a major factor as two fighters go at it. For this reason, we find out the different ways that eye contact influences the outcome of a fight.

How Fighters Use Their Eyes To Gain An Advantage In A Bout

Being a successful martial artist requires coordination of the eyes, mind, and body. The eyes need to pick up as much information as they can in a split second. The mind needs to interpret input from the eyes, make split-second decisions, and cause the body to execute these decisions. This means that the eyes need to pick up multiple cues at the same time.

Some of the ways that a fighter makes full use of their eyes and mind:

• Scan an opponent’s shoulders to anticipate the type of strike they will throw next.
• Keep an eye on the chest for cues that point to what an opponent plans to do next.
• Keep tabs on hip and foot movements.

It’s worth mentioning that monitoring your opponent for visual cues requires constant scanning on your part. This is in addition to maintaining near-constant eye contact with the person you’re fighting. The good news is that watching the eyes is just as useful as scanning the rest of the body.

The Psychological Applications Of Eye Contact In Martial Arts

We’ve already talked about how boxers use staring contests to try and affect each other’s psyches. With this approach, a fighter can telegraph confidence, fearlessness, determination, and sometimes, aggression with solid eye contact. The tactic only works if a fighter manages to intimidate an opponent who is less confident.

Maintaining eye contact is also useful in reading an opponent’s mental state. You can use eye contact to detect or induce anxiety in an opponent. Looking into a person’s eyes can also reveal an iron will and steely resolve, which is useful information. Knowing that you have a determined opponent prepares your mind for a challenging fight.

It’s worth noting that experience allows you to differentiate between a fighter who is actually fierce and one who’s hiding anxiety behind a veneer of bravado.

The Strategic Uses Of Eye Contact In Martial Arts

An opponent’s eyes can clue you in on the moves that they’re most likely to execute. They may focus their eyes on the exact spot that they plan to strike next. This information is useful because it helps you anticipate and counter an attack.

A watchful eye may also catch an opponent as they track your movements. You can use this information to execute a split-second misdirection that works to your advantage.

How Eye Contact Enhances Peripheral Vision

There’s a link between maintaining eye contact and improving your peripheral vision. You forge this link with practice, and a good martial arts teacher will show you the necessary drills.

An essential part of martial arts is training the mind to be still and alert at the same time. You practice this skill by fixing the eyes on a singular point of focus. At the same time, you engage your mind to observe the objects and movement in your peripheral vision.

Use your training partner‘s eyes as a point of focus as you spar. Make their eyes the central point in your 270-degree peripheral vision. The sections that come next go into more detail as they describe the tactical uses of eye contact.

Drills That Improve Peripheral Vision Also Improve Other Senses

Drills that help you to maintain eye contact and develop your peripheral vision have additional uses. For one, the same drills allow you to sharpen the senses of hearing and touch. You may find yourself perceiving movement with hearing, or by sensing a displacement of the air around you. This is a useful skill that does plenty to raise your chances of winning a fight.

Tactical Uses Of Eye Contact In Martial Arts

You may surprise your opponent by focusing on their eyes while using your peripheral vision. “How exactly does that work,” you ask? Consistent eye contact may mislead an opponent into believing you’re unaware of their shoulder, arm, and chest movements. There are other ways to use eye contact to gain a tactical advantage, which we touch on below.

Look Without Looking

By now, you’ve probably learned that maintaining eye contact involves more than winning a staring contest.

Keep contact by looking at an opponent’s eyes without fixating on them. Instead, use their eyes as a focus point, like the crosshairs on the telescopic sight of a long-range rifle.

Your opponent’s eyes become a point of reference for the location of their hands, shoulders, and chest. Just like a rifle’s crosshairs track a moving target, your opponent’s eyes remain a point of reference as they move. This means that you can use the eyes of your sparring partner to track the movement of their shoulders, chest, arms, and hands.

Lastly, looking without fixating denies your opponent the chance to intimidate you or inspire fear.

How To Use Eye Contact For Maximum Effect

Hold your opponent’s gaze with your own calm and (seemingly) unfocused gaze. Ideally, your eyes should have a faraway, meditative look that’s lacking in emotion and intensity. At minimum, an opponent will be unable to read your eyes or figure out your next move. At best, your deadpan look will throw your opponent off their game.

You may wonder how a deadpan look can destabilize or psyche out an opponent. Most fighters have experience with staring contests that seek to establish dominance. Far fewer fighters know how to react to a flat, faraway stare that looks past and through them.

It’s worth repeating that this type of eye contact allows you to make full use of your peripheral vision.

Give Yourself An Edge Against Anyone With Eye Contact

There are levels to the way fighters use their eyes and minds in combat situations. A good fighter will use their eyes to catch the subtle movements that an opponent makes. With more training and practice, the fighter will process the subtle movements of their opponent to see openings for a strike.

In time, the fighter gains enough skill and experience to deal with whatever an opponent throws their way. At this level, the fighter can ‘lock’ into their opponent’s eyes with minimal downsides and plenty of competitive advantages.

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