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Eye dominance and mixed handedness

Discussion in 'Beginners' started by juhn, Nov 6, 2019.

  1. juhn

    juhn n00b

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2017
    Location:
    NorfCal
    Growing up, I always did specific tasks with a specific hand. For example, writing/drawing and using scissors has to be on my left hand. While throwing a ball and swinging a hammer is reserved just for my right hand. When i started to dabble with kendama in 2011, i assumed this was a left hand thing cause its technical. Never really progressed much so i put it down until a couple years ago. Been making considerable progress, considering i couldn't spike then, and im barely getting comfortable with KWC 2014 lvl 4 tricks. Yesterday i was curious what eye was my dominant eye, so i looked up how to tell. Counting the rotations with my left eye is blurry and hard. So i strung a dama for right hand and started zooming passed things i couldn't do with my left....
    I did a similar thing with chopsticks when i was 10. And now i can use both simultaneously. For me, I think some tasks just ended up on the wrong side for some time.

    Are any of you ambidextrous/mixed-handed? Or is anyone's eye opposite to their play hand stronger? Does any of this hinder, or heighten your ability to play?
    SORRY for the long post:oops: I'd love to hear your thoughts.
     
    Nov 6, 2019
  2. goenKendama

    goenKendama Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2016
    Location:
    Metro Manila, Philippines
    Cool thread topic. I'm right handed, right eye dominant but had to play left handed after surgery a few years ago. I still play left and 2 handed just to keep in practice but what I notice is that sometimes playing weak hand fixes problems with my strong hand. I'll be having a terrible day with a particular trick right handed but I'll switch to the same trick lefty and then go back to right it very often "fixes" my right hand and I can start hitting the trick that was giving me problems.
     
    Nov 7, 2019
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  3. halidan

    halidan n00b

    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2018
    Location:
    Minnesota
    I am also left-handed for writing, and for eating (I think... I switch back and forth for a few things). I am also left-eye dominant. I tend to play sports right-handed, though. Using my right hand for dribbling a basketball or throwing a baseball has always just felt more natural to me. I also play kendama right-handed, and that feels the most natural to me, even with my left-eye dominance.

    I had to double check on scissors. I think I switch back and forth, but I tend to use them more with my right hand. My in-laws actually got me some left-handed scissors as a gift (along with some other left-handed stuff), and they feel super weird for me to use (so I don't use them), probably because I am used to only having right-handed ones available.

    I still consider myself a beginner kendama player, so I'm not sure if my mixed-handedness helps or hurts. But it is interesting to think about. I'm gonna have to mess around with using my left hand for kendama more.
     
    Nov 7, 2019
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  4. juhn

    juhn n00b

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2017
    Location:
    NorfCal
    All lefties must dual wield damas from now on haha. Since I like to flow totally outside of my right eye's vision, it was getting too blurry to count for doubles and triples on the hand side. Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to play with others at or above my level, so learning "the right way" is at a turtles pace. Finding the better hand for all the technical tricks is gonna be a journey.
     
    Nov 7, 2019
    halidan likes this.