Return Game & Effect of Dominant Eye

[SystemicAnomaly]

Originally Posted by jeefreak

well based on the window test it looks like my left eye is dominant. i have a stigmatism in both of my eyes, but my left eye is much worse. does that make sense? my forehands are great and my backhands are crap.

Yes, it is very possible for your dominant-eye vision to be worse than the vision in your non-dom eye. Such is the case for my own eyes. I sustained an injury to my dominant eye some years back. My distance vision recovered in my dominant eye but my near vision has gotten pretty bad in the dominant eye.

Eye dominance is probably established when we are very young. Newborn babies do not see very well at all. We must "learn" to see and make sense of the visual images that we are bombarded with as babies. My guess is that as we learn to make sense of these visual images, the view from one of our eyes becomes the one that our brain choses to be the dominant view. It may be the image from the chosen eye that has some optical superiority or it may be 'cuz of some other physical trait within the optice nerve or within the brain. It could be that muscles associated with 1 eye develops quicker than the other or it can even be largely arbitrary as to which eye is chosen as dominant.

The problems with your backhand may be more as a result with your astigmatism rather than your eye dominance. Or it could be that your backhand problem has less to do with eyesight than it does with stroke mechanics or your stroke timing on the Bh side.

Originally Posted by C_Urala

I just managed to see the 3-d flower. Only, I needed a pensil to help to properly converge my eyes.

BTW it's possible to see the a 3-D image in the picture with rings both far-converged and close-converged. Only in the latter case, the image is not prominent , but bulged-in or stamped and it's less in size.

The use of the pencil is a great idea to force your eyes to close-converge. I was going to suggest using your index finger, but the tip of a pencil sounds like a better idea.

For other that have problems with the "flower" pix, the idea is to get your eyes close-converge on the tip of the pencil. Hold the pencil approx 1/2 way between your nose and the stereo images. Focus & converge your eyes on the tip of the pencil (with the images in the background). You may have to move the pencil closer or further to get your eyes to generate a 3rd image. Keep your eyes converged on the pencil while trying to bring the new image into focus. (Even tho' your eyes remain converged on the pencil tip, the pencil will no longer be in focus if you are doing this properly).

Some ppl will have more difficulty with close-convergence (cross-eyed View) images than with the other type of images (such as the 1st 2 stereograms that I posted). This may or may not be as a result of convergence insufficiency (or some other vergence problem). Best to consult a professional about this.

Some years before 3D stereograms became popular, I sought the aid of a sports vision optometrist for some moderate visual shortcomings. One thing that he found was convergence insufficiency. One of the devices that he used to aid me with my convergence prob was the Brock string. (For a closer look at the device click here). Another convergence aid was the use of 2 pairs of card with the following images:



Figure 1

For figure 1, the eyes are supposed to converge in the distance (so that the eye vergence is almost parallel). If done properly, a 3-D effect will be observed such that the inner (green) circle appears closer than the larger (red) circle. For more on this check out this link.



Figure 2

For figure 2, the eyes should close-converge (use the pencil trick, if needed, to get your eyes to cross). This time the inner (green) circle should appear further (in the background) than the larger (red) circle.
For more about both types of figures check this link.


For an added challenge, try to switch back and forth between parallel viewing & cross-viewing (note that the images above can actually be seen using either vergence method). Try to keep the 3-D effect intact while moving your head left & right for each type. Try moving further & nearer to the screen while keeping the derived image from getting doubled or distorted.

For a a more advanced challenge, print out 1 or both of the above images (make them a little larger if your prefer). Cut each of the printed figures up the middle. You can now physically very the distance between the left eye circles and the right eye circles. For a given seperation, first get your eyes to generate the proper 3D image. Once you've got the 3D image locked, vary the seperation while continuing to maintain that 3D image.

See if you can get your hands on a Brock string so that you can perform some focus & vergence eye training on your own. With the 3 beads at various distances try to jump quickly from 1 to another. With each jump, converge & focus on the new bead a cleanly (& quickly) as possible.

For more stereograms also check out the links mentioned previously as well as EyeTricks. Also google on "stereograms" for more. For other types of visual exercises take a look at post #2 and post #12 (coming soon) on my Improving RT & Visual skills thread.

[Kilco]

I was talking about this in my club the other day. 80% of the public are right hand right eye dominant or left hand left eye. 20% of the population are cross dominant. In certain sports cross eye dominance helps such as baseball. I am from Ireland where an Irish sport known as hurling is very popular which is basically like hocky however the ball can be caught and hit in the air. It is played on a field. If you want you can fins a clip on youtube. A study was done on a county team which found that all 30 players in the squad were cross eye dominant. This is like all batters on a baseball team being croos eye dominant. In tennis it helps to be cross eye dominant for the serve and forehand. However, interestingly for me my backhand is the better of my shots. Also, a player may actually change in their dominance over time. If a player is constantly playing a certain sport it is training cross eye dominance and so a persons dominance can change.

[Kilco]

I can't see the interlocking rings...What am I meant to do with my eyes?? How do you converge your eyes far away? Can anyone help me with how I am meant to see it, and what does it mean if I can't?

[SystemicAnomaly]

^ You are talking about the first image in post #33, correct? Were you successful with the 2 figures in post #41? The technique used for Figure 1 (post #41) would be the same as the interlocking rings in post #33. How about some of the other images (in posts #29 and 33)?

Normally when we look at an object our eyes should naturally focus and converge at the same distance. If we the eyes do not converge at the proper distance, then the object of interest would produce a double image. The images in posts #29, 33 & 41 require us to converge the eyes at a different distance than they are focused. This is not a normal/natural task for our eyes/vision.

Sometimes when we cross our eyes or when we stare off into space, we may be altering our normal convergence point. If you cannot see the interlocking rings it might just mean that you are having difficulty focusing and converging independently. Have you looked at the suggestions in the following links?

http://www.vision3d.com/3views.html
http://www.vision3d.com/sgdraw.html

[TheCheese]

Almost everyone has a better forehand than backhand. You don't think it has to do with the forehand being the more natural stroke?

[SystemicAnomaly]

Originally Posted by TheCheese

Almost everyone has a better forehand than backhand. You don't think it has to do with the forehand being the more natural stroke?

An argument can be made that the BH is the more natural stroke. Most people learn to throw a frisbee with backhand before they learn it forehanded. When dealing cards, we normally employ a BH motion. Baseball batting swings, cricket bat swings, golf swings -- BH or FH swings? Not certain.

[parasailing]

For those who are right eye dominant and right handed, would it be better to position your feet in a more open stance so you can see the ball earlier and hit out in the front for the forehand?

I find that I am always late with the forehand but have not issues when I am hitting my two handed backhand or one handed backhand slice.

Any suggestions on how to hit earlier in a neutral stance on the forehand side?

[Shroud]

based on the tests in this thread, my left eye is dominant and I am right handed. But I have a better backhand and have focused entirely on improving my forehand for years. The backhand is a more penetrating and versatile shot.

I think it has to do with all the frisbee I played as a kid. I was pretty good and lots of backhand practice. Come to think of it that explains the "bending at the elbow" I have had in the backhand.

So IMHO this dominant eye thing is not applicable....but I DO have astigmatism so maybe that changes things?

Still think it is the hours on hours of frisbee.

[Ash_Smith]

I remember a study that suggested that the vast majority of elite tennis player and golfers were right hand, right foot and left eye dominant. This might however also be reflected in the general population, I don't know those stats.

cheers

[Fuji]

Originally Posted by Ash_Smith

I remember a study that suggested that the vast majority of elite tennis player and golfers were right hand, right foot and left eye dominant. This might however also be reflected in the general population, I don't know those stats.

cheers

No wonder I'm so good at tennis and golf!

-Fuji

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by parasailing

For those who are right eye dominant and right handed, would it be better to position your feet in a more open stance so you can see the ball earlier and hit out in the front for the forehand?

I find that I am always late with the forehand but have not issues when I am hitting my two handed backhand or one handed backhand slice.

Any suggestions on how to hit earlier in a neutral stance on the forehand side?

I would think you are correct. Being left eye dominant, I find that an open stance is NOT good for me. When I close my forehand stance, I tend to hit my forehands much cleaner.

[GoudX]

On a slightly related note: one of the members at my club is missing an eye, it causes him huge problems when playing in strong winds or against players with a lot of spin.

However he is still one of the best doubles players in the club, because he has some of the best movement and anticipation I have come across, and he always closes in to the net to hit a volley winner, which he gets 9 times out of 10.