Eyesight

Eyesight is a very important element in Martial Arts. Sight in any kind of WU
SHU, especially in DIAN XUE, is of utmost importance. The main thing in
the common WU SHU is the mobility of eyes, it is comparatively easy to
attain. Besides, eyesight in DIAN XUE must be keen. One must succeed in
making out small objects in darkness. It is impossible to reach such a height
without hard labor. There are two training methods to acquire this skill.
The first method is as follows. Sit quietly without light each day at night. You
must close your eyes, relax and imagine the location of things in your room.
For instance, such and such object is in such and such place and another
object is in such and such place, and so on. Or, otherwise, you can imagine a
certain place in the room and fancy what things are available there. Then,
open your eyes and look. At first you will see nothing. But later on, you will
start to see more and more clearly. Over time you will see in darkness.
The essence of another method is as follows: use a lamp with a paper shade
and gradually decrease brightness of the light until the lamp fully goes out,
you have to distinguish things at that. In practice it is done so: make a shade
of light-green paper and put an oil lamp inside. Over time, change the color of
the paper for darker one and decrease the wick. Paper color is to be changed
from light-green to black and the wick from the size of a date pit to nil. This
method requires more time (compared with the first one) but it is more
convenient for training from methodical point of view.
The above two methods are designed to exercise “outer” GONG FU.
Although you can distinguish things in darkness, you are not able to see small
details yet. It is necessary to make progress, train oneself to acquire the
“inner” GONG FU. For that purpose at dawn, before sunrise, you must go to
an open place, it is still better to climb a hill or mountain. Face the east and
wait for the sunrise. When the sun just starts to appear on the horizon, calm
down breathing, concentrate attention and look right at the sun.
[ Warning:
one may look at the sun only during a few minutes when the sun disk has
just appeared above the line of the horizon; if you look at the risen sun
fixedly, you can lose the sight! ]
Some time later you will feel as if a flow of
hot air goes up to the eye-sockets. At that moment you must close your eyes
and move your eyeballs to the left and to the right 72 times. Make a small
pause, open your eyes and look at the sun again. After it move the eyeballs
again 36 times to the left and 36 times to the right. If you often do it, in a year
you will see even in darkness very well. Having such eyesight plus well-
trained arms, you will succeed in reaching one hundred percent hit.
The above training methods are three steps, or three stages, that make up
GONG FU of the second level.