# Changing eye dominance



## huckduck (Nov 24, 2014)

i was strongly right eye dominant until i was about 25. now i'm almost cross. *shrug*


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## Moebow (Jul 8, 2010)

Yes, you will find that kids can and do change eye dominance as they mature/grow. That is the main reason (as I understand it) that USA Archery suggests starting young kids out with hand dominance rather than eye dominance. You kind of have to "go with the flow." You can train eye dominance, or switch hands. In an ideal world, we wouldn't have cross dominance and all would be well, but...

Arne


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## RickBac (Sep 18, 2011)

Yes, eye dominance can change. She is a little old for it but not completely out of the question.

Odds on during the off season she was doing something that being right eye dominate helped her so her brain made the switch


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## jakeeib (Jan 8, 2008)

RickBac said:


> Yes, eye dominance can change. She is a little old for it but not completely out of the question.
> 
> Odds on during the off season she was doing something that being right eye dominate helped her so her brain made the switch


Rick, 
That is interesting and something I didn't think of, she played softball during the off season and being right handed that could sure lead to a right eye transition 


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## theminoritydude (Feb 11, 2013)

The Eye Dominance test that was employed, may be flawed.

Because most eye dominance tests rely solely on the subject executing it correctly to get the true results, often, getting a child to do that test, comes up with the wrong results, which probably led the child to being initially identified as cross dominant, when she was not, and evidently, is not.

With no obvious trigger for her eye dominance to switch, I tend to believe that she was right eye dominant all along, and it has gotten more dominant.

I'm cross dominant in certain situations. Depending on the subject being observed, and it's distance, I may be left or right dominant.


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## zal (May 1, 2007)

I'm cross dominant, right dominates at greater distances, left dominates close focus. Makes aiming with anything else than ring a real hassle. Something I've only learned after 10+ years of shooting. I'm also slightly ambidextrous, most things I do with rh but there are stuff I'm more comfortable doing lh, ie I can write with either, also something I've only found out at later age, at school we were forced to write right-handed.

My opinion over years has evolved to think that it would probably be best way to start everyone with right eye and right-handed bow as it makes coaching and equipment selection easier. After all that's how Koreans do it. I know plenty of great archers who are left handed and/or left eye dominant, shooting rh bows with right eye.


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## jakeeib (Jan 8, 2008)

theminoritydude said:


> The Eye Dominance test that was employed, may be flawed.
> 
> Because most eye dominance tests rely solely on the subject executing it correctly to get the true results, often, getting a child to do that test, comes up with the wrong results, which probably led the child to being initially identified as cross dominant, when she was not, and evidently, is not.
> 
> ...


Can you expand on your comments about the eye dominance test being done incorrectly? How would get true results? 


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## Dano50 (Dec 12, 2012)

Changing eye dominance can and does happen at virtually any age. I have worn glasses since very young due t astigmatism. I am generally right eye dominant, the left eye requiring significant correction. A couple years back during indoor league suddenly I could not hit paper. Closing my left eye corrected the issue. The eye doctor found that almost overnight my right eye had changed drastically....my left eye had assumed dominance briefly.

Once corrections in my prescription was made, I now am right eye dominant

Moral, even adults mayseechaanges

Though I'd share


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## Dano50 (Dec 12, 2012)

Changing eye dominance can and does happen at virtually any age. I have worn glasses since very young due to astigmatism. I am generally right eye dominant, the left eye requiring significant correction. A couple years back during indoor league suddenly I could not hit p aper. Closing my left eye corrected the issue. The eye doctor found that almost overnight my right eye had changed drastically....my left eye had assumed dominance briefly.

Once corrections in my prescription was made, I now am right eye dominant

Moral, even adults may see changes

Thought I'd share


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## theminoritydude (Feb 11, 2013)

jakeeib said:


> Can you expand on your comments about the eye dominance test being done incorrectly? How would get true results?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



I have seen eye dominance tests that were conducted like this: the child was told to have his palms face forwards with his arm outstretched, hands coming together to form a small hole. Then the child was told to look at a point of light then bring his hands up to reveal the light through the hole. Then he is asked to close his right eye. And if the light disappeared, he is deemed right eye dominant.

This testing method is open to all manner of bias. Some kids will consciously move the hole to the right, negating the effectiveness of the test.

Unfortunately the most reliable way to find eye dominance is still to let the kid shoot first, and have the kid figure out that he or she has trouble aiming, thereby concluding he or she is cross dominant or not.


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## zal (May 1, 2007)

Dano50 said:


> Changing eye dominance can and does happen at virtually any age. I have worn glasses since very young due t astigmatism. I am generally right eye dominant, the left eye requiring significant correction. A couple years back during indoor league suddenly I could not hit paper. Closing my left eye corrected the issue. The eye doctor found that almost overnight my right eye had changed drastically....my left eye had assumed dominance briefly.
> 
> Once corrections in my prescription was made, I now am right eye dominant
> 
> ...


That's pretty much what I've experienced too. I've worn glasses since about 7, these days my left eye prescription if almost perfect, but right eye can't get quite that near, so if I look at ie. small print from close up, it will focus with left, and has changed my dominance over time. If I get tired, aiming becomes a problem and I have to close left eye sometimes to get a right picture. It's so deeply ingrained that even not wearing glasses makes little difference.


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## RickBac (Sep 18, 2011)

If you think the child is moving their hands while doing the eye dominance test, have them do another version of it.
We keep a cardboard tube. We ask the child to look at the object on the wall and we hand them the tube and tell them to look through it.
99.9% of the time they will put the tube to their dominant eye


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## sprinke (Jul 9, 2015)

Brains are amazing. I have severe myopia and my left eye is much worse than my right. Uncorrected, I am right-eye dominant, simply because my left eye pretty much cannot see anything in focus that is less than a foot away. With corrected vision, I'm strongly left-eye dominant. However, I shoot right-eyed because it's much more comfortable physically, and I've trained my eyes to see the sight with the right eye (literally and figuratively).


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## jakeeib (Jan 8, 2008)

Parents had her eyes checked and no issues there. I believe it was her 2 new activities picked up during the off season.
1- softball
2- Band. She took up the tuba and again plays right handed. The sheet music sits on her right side and is read with her right eye a lot more than her left


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## Bruiser8464 (Jan 19, 2019)

jakeeib said:


> I have an archer that has been part of my 4H group for 2 years, she is 11. When we fit her for equipment she was right hand left eye dominant. When we fit equipment we check 2 ways and by two coaches then compare so I have no doubts. Last year she won a state indoor and outdoor tournament in her age group. Needless to say she is progressing very well and has the drive to go as far as she wants to in this sport. Anyway we took the fall off and have started back up a couple weeks ago, her dad asked me today why he can't get her sight far enough to the right, she had started missing the target by 2 feet.
> So I worked with her a little and quickly determined she was shooting right eye dominant. I pulled her off the line and ran a couple checks and everything is coming back as right eye dominant now.
> Anybody come across this? Isn't she a little old to have here eye dominance switch?
> 
> ...


That eye dominance is a tough thing. If you can get someone switched young I’d do it sooner than later. Tough to teach an old dog new tricks.


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## fugu58 (Nov 1, 2020)

Right handed, 100% right eye dominant, and have to use a blinder for my left eye. My sight lands in the zone where my nearsightedness drops off


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