Target fixation

[Back Fire]

Is there any kind of exercises, games etc that I can do to help with target fixation problems while riding???

[WRT]

Is there any kind of exercises, games etc that I can do to help with target fixation problems while riding???

I spy?

(something begining with "o" . . . obsticle? obstruction? orgasm! Wa-hey hey - *crunch* . . . )

You could try clocking up some time on MotoGP, that way if you crash practicing it dont hurt so much!

I did read in the twist of the wrist series some exercises to help improve your periphial vision, to do with sitting down and focusing on a spot on the wall and then trying to identify items around it. Anyone know the exact method they recommend?

[onearmedbandit]

Mental alertness works for me. Don't daydream (easy to do) while riding, just actively search where you want to be as far as position exiting the corner.

[Motu]

Off road riding.

Full lock low speed turns,like a trials bike.Check out ''Total control'' He has guys doing full lock trials type turns on everything - it's stand on the outside peg and full lock on the bars,and full lock on the neck.You can only turn that tight by looking really well into the turn,and with a full lock turn that means looking almost backwards.

[The Stranger:Me]

Is there any kind of exercises, games etc that I can do to help with target fixation problems while riding???

ALLWAYS focus on your vanishing point wherever that may be, the crest of a hill, the end of a strait, the point where the 2 road edges meet on a curve.

You will still be only too aware of the road right in front of you, only moments ago is was the subject of your focus and is now in your periferal vision.

[enigma51]

Did anyone watch the second wsbk race where chris vermuelen slides sideways into the corner before tipping it in and not sideways as in the back is coming past him more like the bike is pointing straight and moving to the right. They were talking about how its a normal reaction to go as close to the apex as possible even though its not the best line (If you ask me chris was leading so it could not have been to bad align). So dont be to hung up about it as the top guys must suffer from it as well. Its all about confidence and that takes time to build up

[TwoSeven]

Did anyone watch the second wsbk race where chris vermuelen slides sideways into the corner before tipping it in and not sideways as in the back is coming past him more like the bike is pointing straight and moving to the right. They were talking about how its a normal reaction to go as close to the apex as possible even though its not the best line (If you ask me chris was leading so it could not have been to bad align). So dont be to hung up about it as the top guys must suffer from it as well. Its all about confidence and that takes time to build up

Yeah, was watching that. is a pretty easy thing to do, just thought it was odd he was doing it there. Its a rather odd defensive technique .


Anyhow, as far as am aware, you're not supposed to look at anything for too long. If you are target fixing it means you dont have a visualisation pattern working.

[Back Fire]

sweet as, thanks you guys I try my best!!

[SlowHand]

ha! Ive just been concentrating on this today, along with all the other stuff. Altho being a kid to all this, to do it properly requires me to ride a lot slower.

Anyone recommend fixating the eyes to the vanishing point/corner exit etc? Or scan the road furiously and then fix eyes, while extending the attention vision?

[cowpoos]

turn your head...not your eyes

your eyes will want to instictivly keep centering...

[Back Fire]

you people are legends!! can't get this kind of help anywhere else

[sAsLEX]

you people are legends!! can't get this kind of help anywhere else

go up the motor way when its quite and change lanes lots and start looking at the gaps in the cats eyes to hit the gaps then try not looking at the cats eyes eventually you can miss them either way

[babyB]

this may help

It is insufficient to simply post the advise that you should avoid target fixation. Saying "don't fixate" is all very well, but once it starts, you need a positive technique to get yourself out in one piece. So once you are in trouble, use target fixation to save your skin.

Don't look at the oncoming truck/tree/pothole; figure out where you would rather be and fixate on that instead. In fact, "target fixation" is an excellent way to control skids - fixate on a point dead ahead on the horizon, and you'll be well on the way towards automatically correcting most skids.

===========================================
The idea that your motorcycle will go where you're looking is merely a shorthand way of thinking about a phenomenon that virtually all drivers (of any kind of vehicle) have experienced before: that if you turn your head you tend to STEER in the direction you're looking. In fact, it might be clearer to simply acknowledge that it is HARD to steer in any direction other than the one you are looking at. ALL of your prior experience has taught you how to steer your vehicle where you want it to go. So, if you look where you want to go, you kick in all that prior experience and AUTOMATICALLY steer in that direction.

There is no magic here nor is there a hidden law of physics involved. Your bike (or automobile) TENDS to go in the direction you are looking because, via experience, you have taught yourself to steer, more or less subconsciously.

To take advantage of that phenomenon you merely need to actively look in the direction you want to go - away from danger. The rest is virtually subconscious reaction. Of course it takes more than a turn of your eyes or even your head. You still need to steer away from danger. Since it is HARD to steer away from what you're looking at, and easy (almost automatic) to steer in the direction you are looking, surely it makes sense to look where you want to go.

But, you say, there are many times when you look in directions other than the one you want to go. After all, one of the most important safety practices you engage in is to actively scan all around you looking out for hazards. Why is it that your motorcycle does not wander all over the road while you are scanning if it's true that it tends to go where you're looking? (More often than not, it does!)

The answer to that question is that when you are scanning or looking in a direction other than the one you want to go in you tell yourself to keep going in the direction you want - you turn OFF your 'autopilot'. If you don't believe me, next time you're out on the road and it is safe to do so, point your bike in the direction you want to go and look in any other direction. Notice how a part of your mind is CONSTANTLY VERIFYING that you are still on course. You do not normally have to do that - that's what your autopilot does for you.

[Keeping to the airplane analogy, we have been talking about how your eyes tend to control your ailerons (roll or lateral controls). A moving motorcycle does not have the equivalent of rudder or elevator controls.]

But we have also been well advised to keep our head and eyes 'up' and pointed at the horizon. Surely looking down will not cause a motorcycle to go down, or will it?

Well, not directly. If you are in a skid, however, and look down the odds are overwhelming that you will go down. That, because you will have failed to actively steer the bike in such a way as to try to keep it upright. But that's only one reason why you should keep your head up and eyes looking at the horizon. The other is that only by doing so can you actively scan for hazards or know, for sure, if your bike is vertical.

this came from MSF. the Motorcycle Safty Foundation is the internationaly recognized developer of the comprehensive, research based, Rider Education and Training System

[The Stranger:Me]

How would you define horizon please?

[Hoon]

Look where you want to go! Its easier said than done, piece of piss practicing it while you are coasting down the motorway but when you are running wide towards a lamppost or coming around a blind turn on a race track and seeing bike parts/riders tumbling everywhere its a different story and takes some practice.

Unfortunately its these times of panic that provide the most effective training so next time that puddle of water freaks you out, or a cat runs across the road, or that crash barrier starts getting mighty close....get a grip and force yourself look where you want to go and use your peripheral vision to watch the area of concern.

When I'm riding on the road or track and get into trouble I often have to go "MUST...NOT...LOOK!!!!!..........MUST....NOT....LOO K!!!!!" and believe me sometimes it takes every ounce of willpower but it ends up turning a potential disaster into a non-event.