sense training

[Atan'eveng]

my so called necropost brought this thread back to life 
there isn't any other similar thread, so I guess this one can't just die, right?

(I'll try not doing that again, sorry  )

[Ikranä mokri]

I was amazed when this popped back up ! i dissapeared and then suddenly re appeared.

and esmond that situation would be difficult one because it would mean putting yourself in harms way (which i do not suggest or endorse) and parkour is the thign you are looking for if you want co-ordination. but we dont want any more parkour threads. this is for things such as tracking where u have to notice teh slightest thing (which is sight), smells and hearing are others that i want to adress

[Esmond]

I don't mean to say put someone in such a situation. I'm just saying maybe we should prepare for such situations where we're required to flee.

[Ikranä mokri]

have you heard of the fight/flight instinct? if you choose flight then the adrenaline in you system is directed to the muscles that are going to be used (the body is an amazing thing) so you senses will be heightened and your strenght and stamina will increase as well

[sezawte]

have you heard of the fight/flight instinct? if you choose flight then the adrenaline in you system is directed to the muscles that are going to be used (the body is an amazing thing) so you senses will be heightened and your strenght and stamina will increase as well

There's actually a hormone called the flight/fight (or something similar) that works in conjunction with adrenaline, right?

[Tonbogiri]

You've gotta watch out for that fight/flight response.
While in the situation it is meant for (extreme physical danger) it can save your life, nowadays it can often have negative effects.

The biological model of this response is WAY too detailed for me to bother writing it down, but the basic thing is this:

As well as producing adrenalin, raising heart rate etc, there are other effects of the fight/flight response. Most are geared towards giving the body more energy, such as stopping digestion - but a major downside is an effect which involves the shutting down of the immune system (stands to reason, which are you more worried about, flu or the bear about to tear your head off!).
So keeping your body on edge can be good, but if the situation does not really require it, or you remain stressed for long periods of time, it can be extremely negative.

BTW Sezawte, the other chemical that works alongside adrenalin is known as adrenocorticotrophic hormone. You can see why I don't want to elaborate much more!

[Zalorticus]

I have read that people want to learn how to walk quieter. For me, all I doo is lift my foot right before it touches the ground. When I do this, my footfall is completely silent.

[bagget00]

As far as walking quieter, I already learned how when training to be a samurai, a little while ago.

Fight or flight also dilates your pupils for more light let in. But the main thing is, this all happens automatically without you thinking about it. By the time you notice you are in a situation, your body has been prepared for a while. It is the bodies response to the person not knowing about something dangerous. It is prepared so that when you do finally notice, you can react instantly, instead of having to wait a few crucial moments for the body to be ready.

And yes, it is also counter productive to some things in the modern world, but that is why you train your muscles to react of their own accord in certain situations. Known as muscle memory, or also as instincts, which is muscle memory that is not trained for but has been passed down. (in theory)

The body knows how to fight for itself, if you let it. Your brain just gets in the way at points if you are trying to think it out.

When driving a car for instance, sometimes, you feel as if you are going too fast, so you automatically let of the gas and don't realize it. This may however be a bad thing whilst on a motorcycle in a corner, because if you let off of the gas while in a corner leaned over, that will just make things worse.

[Zalorticus]

Or balance more on your back foot so that you can control how slow or fast you put your front foot down, thereby eliminating the sound if you do it slowly enough.
Oh, and walking digitigrade helps. (Handy-dandy pic explains it better. [Please disregard the labels the artist gave each of the legs. Although he can draw a damn good anthro leg, he clearly has no idea what he's talking about])

I usually walk on my toes to be quiet. I mix that and what I said before together. Depending on the situation, though, I may walk from the heel forward.

[Txontaw]

My general rule:

• If you're in shoes, heel->toe.


• If you're barefoot, toe->heel.

It's a bit more specific than that, but you get the idea.

Notice that you don't want to ever actually walk on tip-toes, as that isn't actually as quiet as toe->heel.

[sezawte]

Yeah I'd heard walking heel-toe was the best way to do it (it was assumed you'd be wearing shoes)

[Eywayä lì'u]

Barefoot FTW!!!!! or flip-flops...

[Tompa'Ivong]

I typically walk barefooted whenever possible, it teaches you to watch out or *feel* for hazards.  As for other senses, I am a cyclist myself, I have learned alot when it comes to timing, my visual acuity has improved over the years, I can pick out something in the distance and know how long I have to react.  I am riding at an average of 17-20 mph, so things are a blur.  I have learned how to execute pinpoint maneuvers rather flawlessly, and others that fall in (crash intervention techniques).  But the biggest thing in mind to anyone, Attention to Detail, Attention to Detail.  Stay Alert, Stay alive...

[N'wah]

I just saw this thread haha, but I know this trick that repairs/ slightly increase your vision.

http://visionimprovementcenter.com/article_palming.htm

I've been doing this for a while and I've noticed some positive results   .  It's not really that hard nor time consuming but it really does help  !  As for the owl eyes thing posted a little while back, there is a similar (if not the same?) type of vision that is used in Aikido.  The trick is to focus on the peripheries as well as use a heightened sense of spacial awarement to get a sort of "360 degree vision".  Training the eyes like this was explained earlier but it's really easy.  Stare at a point on the wall and focus on everything that you can see, not just the point on the wall.  For instance I can see into another room of my house even though it's on the far left hand side of my vision.  It takes a little while but this form of vision allows for quicker reactions as well as a relaxs you some more since it activates your parasympathetic nervous system. 

[Eywayä lì'u]

"parasympathetic"...

Long word.

[auroraglacialis]

peripheral vision - I love that. I didn't know it was called Owls eyes though. I used this when I was playing basketball sometimes and tried to train it back then (must be 10-15 years ago. I still like peripheral vision a lot. I cannot wear a integral helmet for riding on my scooter since it blocks my peripheral vision and actually increases the likelyhood of me having an accident as I rely on that to see if a car comes from the sides. One thing I could not manage with that is to see 3D though - when focussing on the whole field of vision, distances become a blur.

I started barefoot walking a lot this spring also, but not in the city.

[Ashi-taka]

Whoever said the thing about being outside when it starts to get dark, then being outside when it is dark, and being able to see well is quite right. I've been doing a nature run everyday in barefeet for the last while now, i have a few more details in another topic, but, when it comes to bringing back more feral abilities that our buried within us, nothing works nearly as well as perhaps the being in danger, and bringing about adrenalin. After you get that rush, all your senses heighten immensely.

[Tompa'Ivong]

quite true, adrenaline does wonders, but adrenaline also partly shuts down parts of the brain that arent necessary.  You can actively train the brain to work under a adrenaline response, although it is difficult.  It takes alot of focus to maintain a rational thinking pattern while under a fight or flight.

[Ashi-taka]

True, you just need to experience it enough so that it's controlled properly.

[Tompa'Ivong]

talk about that, I was riding my road bike home tonight, Im not a slow poke tho, 20 mph nearly all the way, 17-18 in more crowded areas, couple of drunk idiots on the left side of the road, I hear one guy say hey, get him, he foxtrots off, im doing about 22 mph, im like that guy just didnt try to tackle me cause he failed so miserably, by the time he crosses the street im almost 100 feet away...And you know what, all I did was nudge the bike slightly to the right.