Fighting with bad vision

[Higus]

I have very bad near sighted vision and I wear contacts to correct my vision. I wear contacts during practice but sometimes they get knocked out of place during spars, especially if I get hit on or near the eyes. In my first amateur fight, I took a punch in the eye and I couldn't see out of it for about 10 seconds while I was waiting for it to float back into place. A lot of commissions won't let you fight with contacts in but I worry that I will be too blind to be able to see punches coming or properly gauge distance with strikes to fight without them.
I'm wondering if anyone here has similar problems with vision and if they are able to get used to sparring without contacts to the point where they didn't need them. Also, I was wondering if there are cases of professional boxers or fighters who have bad vision but are able to fight effectively nonetheless.
For reference, my vision is, like, 20/400. I would have to be about a foot away from my monitor to clearly read this text at this font size without glasses or contacts.

 

[Payak]

to fight you have to do a medical,
if you pass good,if not to bad.
boxer juliane jackson had worse eyesight.

 

[Wolveswithkeys]

What's the problem if you're nearsighted? That means you can see things close better than things that are far right?

 

[Wolveswithkeys]

Normally, but my near sightedness is so bad that I can't see things clearly unless they are really close. For example, I can't read a book unless is about a foot in front of my face when I don't wear glasses or contacts. I'm worried that I won't be able to see small movements like shoulder drops that would normally let me know a punch is coming.

Oh I see. Well that's not good haha. I'm nearsighted as well but it's not nearly that bad.

 

[Higus]

to fight you have to do a medical,
if you pass good,if not to bad.
boxer juliane jackson had worse eyesight.

I did some research and it's true that Jackson suffered from a detached retina but had it operated on. He had bad vision before that, but I wasn't able to find out just how bad it was. He was a very hard puncher and worked more from the mid to close range rather than countering from the outside. I could probably learn a thing or two from him.
As far as medicals go, in my amateur experience, the doctors only check for detached retinas and they don't have any vision requirements. There is nothing medically wrong with my eyes that could keep me from fighting, but I don't like the idea of losing a contact during a match and freaking out and I don't like the idea of trying to fight without them.

 

[MMAFan232]

I have a rare eye disease which resulted in the progressive loss of central vision so my sight is also around 20/400 with contacts to correct the near sightedness I also have.I don't train or compete in any striking discipline, but I can imagine it would be pretty tough against skilled opponents. I've sparred with my friends before, but I'm bigger, faster, and stronger than all of them and none of them train either.It was also with 14 oz gloves that are easier to spot coming with my peripheral vision than mma gloves would. If I look straight at a punch coming though by chance, it would get covered up by a green blurry blob and Id eat it without seeing it coming at all. Its all about shapes and outlines for me unless i'm up close to something. Even then I need to use magnification to read or see shit.

 

[MMAFan232]

double

 

[Sinister]

PRK surgery. The problem with some laser surgeries and strong Commissions like Nevada is that when an incision is made, the healed tissue could still tentatively become damaged or detached at the point of the incision. So Nevada often will not License people who have even had laser corrective surgery.

PRK surgery does not have this problem, and is the one most commonly used here in Nevada for Fighters who need improved visual acuity in general.

Some places don't even require eye exams at all (Washington), but usually with stronger Commissions most of the lesser States will follow-suit.

 

[ambertch]

yeah like Sinister said, get PRK and not LASIK. As told to me by an optometrist, lasik apparently weakens the eye so a big impact could burst it (obviously BAD, lol).

Problem though is PRK takes weeks to recover from whereas LASIK you can just walk out on your own, and prk is more expensive too.

But people like soldiers, firefighters/cops, athletes - they all get prk instead of lasik.

 

[Chris H]

A buddy of mine fights MMA and is completely blind in one eye(born with a degenerative disease). He can't fight in some states as a result(Nevada).

If you're serious about fighting and want to make it a career surgery would be the way to go imo.

 

[YmBSnakeEye]

Bas Rutten used to wear contacts when he fought. I remember him talking about it once.

You have to realize this about your eye sight. Seeing the guy infront of you is important... but using your peripheral vision is the name of the game. Your peripheral vision is in black and white and can respond to movement much quicker then your direct line of sight. Start learning to use your peripheral vision and just wear your contacts... but stare him in the eyes the whole time. Then when your contacts do fall out you will be able to rely on your peripheral.