This is an interesting topic, and I agree with a lot of it!
Going back to the flashlight analogy, a soft gaze is like changing the setting of the flashlight to a wider cast, even if it's less bright.
Lots of things can cause our flashlights/attention to hyperfocus - I think that's a natural biological tendency that is very much a survival adaptation. Even in cases where a fighter "chases the finish" to their own defeat, I think that chasing can be linked to some kind of attachment to survival - maybe they have something to prove (ego), maybe they are desperate for a win, etc.
If one were inclined to describe that kind of attachment as "desire", then one might get into Buddhism territory (desire as the root of all suffering). A Daoist might simply interpret it as getting disconnected from the natural flow of things.
That was a bit of a tangent but what I want to say is that something that you didn't mention is "emotional state" or "presence of mind", which is what I feel might most affects awareness (other than inexperience/knowledge gaps). To me, soft gaze awareness requires a dispassionate emotional state of observing, like in meditation - but that's of course a challenging balancing act in a combat sport where you're also trying to win ASAP.
Another interesting thought is that awareness is not only something we want to develop In ourselves, but also something we can manipulate and exploit in our opponents. Doing things that bother, annoy, intimidate, anger, or otherwise narrow our opponent's attention is super valuable - and at a high level might actually be the most consistent key to victory. I can perform all sorts of tactics and techniques to try to win, but I know if I can fluster or distract my opponent, victory is already at hand.
I think partly because I have no competitive aspirations in martial arts and have always done it for fun, I've noticed that I have bit of a natural affinity for this kind of "battle of mind", and I think being able to keep calm and sense and exploit my opponents' frustrations has given me an advantage over opponents who would otherwise be at my level technically/physically or even a level better.
i like presence of mind and also a sharpening of my analogy with the flashlight and backlight
i was a little conflicted because i think in general, you can widen the flashlight till it's almost the backlight, but there's also the ability to train those two separately - maybe it's the same - there is no backlight, just a flashlight, its intensity, and how wide it can get
w/ presence of mind and emotional state, i find that when i seek the submission or when im going harder because i "want" something, the results are usually worse. the best results come when i am steely-eyed and focused at solving the problem at hand, which might be my own cue for keeping an even emotional state. it's kind of like flowing with, not fighting against, which isn't necessarily distillable into advice for others
sometimes that emotional state teeters to passivity, but that's another problem
This is an interesting topic, and I agree with a lot of it!
Going back to the flashlight analogy, a soft gaze is like changing the setting of the flashlight to a wider cast, even if it's less bright.
Lots of things can cause our flashlights/attention to hyperfocus - I think that's a natural biological tendency that is very much a survival adaptation. Even in cases where a fighter "chases the finish" to their own defeat, I think that chasing can be linked to some kind of attachment to survival - maybe they have something to prove (ego), maybe they are desperate for a win, etc.
If one were inclined to describe that kind of attachment as "desire", then one might get into Buddhism territory (desire as the root of all suffering). A Daoist might simply interpret it as getting disconnected from the natural flow of things.
That was a bit of a tangent but what I want to say is that something that you didn't mention is "emotional state" or "presence of mind", which is what I feel might most affects awareness (other than inexperience/knowledge gaps). To me, soft gaze awareness requires a dispassionate emotional state of observing, like in meditation - but that's of course a challenging balancing act in a combat sport where you're also trying to win ASAP.
Another interesting thought is that awareness is not only something we want to develop In ourselves, but also something we can manipulate and exploit in our opponents. Doing things that bother, annoy, intimidate, anger, or otherwise narrow our opponent's attention is super valuable - and at a high level might actually be the most consistent key to victory. I can perform all sorts of tactics and techniques to try to win, but I know if I can fluster or distract my opponent, victory is already at hand.
I think partly because I have no competitive aspirations in martial arts and have always done it for fun, I've noticed that I have bit of a natural affinity for this kind of "battle of mind", and I think being able to keep calm and sense and exploit my opponents' frustrations has given me an advantage over opponents who would otherwise be at my level technically/physically or even a level better.
Fun to think about, thanks for the article!
i like presence of mind and also a sharpening of my analogy with the flashlight and backlight
i was a little conflicted because i think in general, you can widen the flashlight till it's almost the backlight, but there's also the ability to train those two separately - maybe it's the same - there is no backlight, just a flashlight, its intensity, and how wide it can get
w/ presence of mind and emotional state, i find that when i seek the submission or when im going harder because i "want" something, the results are usually worse. the best results come when i am steely-eyed and focused at solving the problem at hand, which might be my own cue for keeping an even emotional state. it's kind of like flowing with, not fighting against, which isn't necessarily distillable into advice for others
sometimes that emotional state teeters to passivity, but that's another problem