Kanzawa Tadashi & Byron Ferguson: The Beast Master and The Archer

My name is Tom Hunt. I'm a biologist, survivalist and all-round adventurer. I've always been fascinated by the limits of human capabilities. I don't know what's going on, this doesn't make sense. What people can achieve when they break from convention. So I'm setting out on a mission to find incredible people who claim to possess unique abilities. Powers that push the known limits of the mind. When you just see it happen in front of you, it's incredible. And body and defy the laws of conventional science. I'll get an insight into their worlds and witness their abilities firsthand. That's as far in as your ear, that's the middle of your skull. I'll use my own scientific knowledge and call in experts to discover what lies behind their skills. That was so incredible to watch. I want to find out just what it takes to become an extraordinary human. My search for extraordinary humans starts with people who claim to have incredible powers from the animal world. As a biologist, I've spent years studying the planet's most amazing animals and have always been in awe of their innate abilities. Animals have evolved with skills that enable them to hunt and survive in ways beyond normal human capabilities. But the people I'm on my way to meet claim to possess powers that it was thought only existed in the animal kingdom. I investigate a Japanese man who claims he can put any animal into a trance-like state without physical contact. When you just see it happen in front of you, it's incredible. Using only the power of chi. Then I track down an archer rumoured to have the kind of eyesight only normally found in the planet's deadliest predators. He's able to lock onto a moving target and successfully take it down just like an eagle. My search for extraordinary humans starts here in California. Kenzawa sensei says that he can put any animal into a trance-like state using only the power of his mind. I've heard rumours of Kenzawa seemingly putting to sleep all kinds of zoo animals, even as large as elephants. This just sounds crazy, so I want to see it for myself. I've brought him all the way from Japan to America to see if he can perform his skills on an iconic wild animal. I've arranged to meet him in the foothills of Yosemite National Park on a bison ranch owned and run by Rancher Bronze. Kenzawa sensei, pleased to meet you. I understand that you have the power to put any animal to sleep using only the power of your mind, is that correct? Yes, any animal. Wow, OK. And how do you do this? I use my hand, which I call the healing hand. Through the power of chi, I can put any animal to sleep. It basically heals them and makes them feel relaxed, making them go to sleep. Kenzawa's claim is a bold one, and I can't think of a better challenge than to see if he can put down this big, excitable dog into a trance. Bronze, you know Errol pretty well. He's more active than he is lethargic. What do you reckon to being able to put him to sleep in the next few minutes? You know, that'd be pretty remarkable. Does he know what kind of dog he's messing with? Kenzawa starts to use his healing hand. To begin with, I'm really not sure it's having any effect. Errol definitely doesn't seem too impressed. When he first lies down, I'm pretty sure it's just because we're all standing around. But then his eyes start to droop, and it's hard to deny that something seems to be happening. Could there be some truth in Kenzawa's claim? Wow, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but there's certainly been an effect. You know him best, though. What do you think? Is this normal behaviour? Yeah, Errol doesn't go to bed till dark. He doesn't lay around ever. Really? No, he's a very hyperactive dog. When we first came, he was very kind of active, moving around, wants to meet people, and then... Yeah, he's definitely been detrimented, I guess, or, you know, where there's softened. I'm kind of... there's a sceptic in me, but when you just see it happen in front of you, it's incredible. Sensei, his breathing changed as well. Like, he went down and became very soft breathing. He was panting a lot before. He's just very, very relaxed now. It's taking a bit longer because of all the people here. If you weren't here, he would be fast asleep by now. That was weird. I'm not sure I quite understand what I've just seen. Errol went from being an alert and active dog to looking like he was falling asleep. It's a shame I can't ask Errol to explain exactly how he felt. But how does Kinzawa claim to have this effect? 28 years ago, I was in my bed, fast asleep, in the middle of the night. All of a sudden, I felt an explosion go off in my head. That was when I realised something was going on. Kinzawa claims this is when he realised he had a gift. He was able to manipulate a natural energy known as chi. When I do it, there's nothing going on in my mind. Everything is in my healing hand. I feel a feedback, a connection with the animal through my hand. There's nothing going on in my mind. I just move my hand back and forth and then stop. And that's the whole process for the exchange of chi. Chi has been written about and studied for over 10,000 years. Often described as life breath, chi is believed to be the energy of life itself, existing in everything. Yet its meaning is ever-changing between cultures and over time, making it very hard to define. While it's the basis of many Eastern beliefs, it can often conflict with Western scientific sensibilities. Shaolin monks have developed techniques to tap into and channel this energy, allowing them to perform feats otherwise thought impossible for the human body. But Kinzawa sensei is the only person in the world who claims to use chi to put animals into a trance. Having seen his effect on the dog, I want to try and get a clearer picture of how his ability works. So I've asked Kinzawa to talk me through the process. Sensei, I'm really interested to try and get a little bit of understanding about what you think your connection with the dog was or what's actually happening. It's all about the flow of life energy. Firstly, let me explain it to you from a physiological level. Due to the amount of chi built up in myself and in others, there is a gravitation of life energy. This life energy can then flow. This flow can easily be conveyed to another being. Is that something that you can feel as well? Because I could clearly see something happening to the dog. With my healing hand, I feel the chi energy flow between me and the animal. I can feel this flow and its strength. And with this exchange, the inner body's energy state can be altered. I want to know if he has the same effect on humans. Would I be able to feel some exchange of power or feel some effect? Yes, it's possible. Let's give it a try. With the energy now apparently flowing out, Sensei wants me to experience the effect firsthand. So he turns his healing hand on me. Oh, I don't know what's going on right now. But I'm certainly feeling something quite incredible. My hands feel really heavy now. It's quite a sort of throbbing, not quite pins and needles, but wow, this is really peculiar. I've heard of hypnotists performing similar tricks, but Kanzawa insists he's manipulating our chi. OK, I've shut my eyes for a second now because I'm trying to remove the visual cue to see if I can still feel. It's quite difficult to explain. It's almost like when you push two magnets together and they want to force themselves apart, you can feel some sort of force. I know it sounds really strange. Even it sounds strange to me because I've got such a scientific brain. I'm struggling to kind of let this happen, but I'm kind of going with it and then we can ask more questions later. I'm beginning to understand what the dog might have been feeling. If I'm completely honest, I'm pretty gobsmacked. In fact, even now, I'm still feeling this strange sensation in my hands. I think there's a number of different tests that we can do, but just from the standpoint of, did something happen or did nothing happen? Something definitely just happened. That was incredible. However, tricks like this on humans are an age-old business. And domesticated dogs, it's not surprising that they could pick up on some subtle suggestions from us too. I think the real challenge to Kanzawa's claim will be to see how he fares against a much wilder animal. Kanzawa sensei has made quite an incredible claim that he can put any animal down into this kind of trance-like sleep. So far, we've tested that on the dog. Wow. I'm a scientist at heart, man. I wasn't expecting to see this. And then I personally had a go. Oh, I don't know what's going on right now. But I'm certainly feeling something quite incredible. I think if we're really going to challenge his powers, I want to see what it's like to put down a whole herd of bison. But first, I'm going to try and assess this scientifically. I know I felt something before, but I want to know if there were any tangible physiological effects. So I've got two bits of equipment here. The first piece of equipment I've got is just a standard blood pressure machine. And then I've got a pulse oximeter as well, which will measure the amount of oxygen that's in my blood. I get myself hooked up to a blood pressure machine first to check my normal readings. 132 over 84. Then I take a reading of my resting heart rate and oxygen saturation using a pulse oximeter. My resting heart rate is 68, and my oxygen saturation is around 96. The average blood pressure for an adult male is 140 over 90. The average resting heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute, and the average oxygen saturation level is between 94 and 98 percent. I'm ready, and Kunzau moves away to demonstrate that he doesn't need to be close to me to have an effect. He begins to use his healing hand. I'm just trying to be as open as possible at the moment. I'm sort of, I've got my hands in this position again like before, and kind of feeling that sort of tingling again. As Kunzau finishes up, it's time to see whether he's had an effect on me. I'm feeling sort of slightly unusual, actually. For the first few minutes, I wasn't sure if anything was happening, but then I've certainly felt an effect. It's time to see if the result's going to explain that. I test my blood pressure first. So that's almost identical to what it was before, the pressure. As I wait for the results of my heart rate, it dawns on me just how drained I'm feeling. 58, my heart rate's come down quite a bit. So my resting heart rate that I tested at lunch and before we started was about 69, and it's come down to 58. So they actually say that a healthy resting heart rate should be between 60 and 80, and I've actually just dropped below that. In terms of a subjective experience, I feel it's quite difficult to explain. Maybe not even relaxed karma, but I don't know, something... It's difficult for me to find my words, actually. A sense of peace, almost. Now it's time to see how Kanzawa's skills fare against a herd of wild bison. I've enlisted the help of ranch owner Brons to get this set up. Brons is an expert on bison. He said he'll teach me the basics. You know, bison have an invasion of space, a privacy barrier, just like any other animal. And can that be dangerous as well? Because, you know, we've got a decent distance here, but they're looking pretty big, and they've got some decent sized horns on them as well. Yeah, a bison is nothing more than a 1500 pound billy goat. They could run straight up a hillside, and they're built like a freight train. You've got quite large numbers on your ranch, but they're essentially wild, right? Exactly. Yeah, I'm assuming they're pretty dangerous. You know, a bison can outrun a horse. There's been stories told if you use horses to herd bison, they'll carry the horse and the rider, kill you both. Really? Yeah, they can carry a horse 100 yards with you on it. The bison is the largest mammal in North America. Polar bear might get 1400 pounds max. You might find a really big bull moose up about 2000 pounds. But a bison bull can stand seven feet at the shoulder, over 3000 pounds. 3000 pounds. Okay, so a Japanese guy that's probably never seen one of these before. What do you think his chances are of the claim that he makes? A Japanese fellow that's never seen a bison? In my opinion, he don't have much of a shot at all. Unless he's got superhuman powers. I think I've brought him to the right place. We'll find out for sure, won't we? Yeah. But in order for the sensei to safely demonstrate his ability on the bison, we first need to get the herd close to the ranch. After what I've just learned about the bison, I think this may take some time. As we track the bison herd, we're joined by animal behaviorist Jason Watter. I'm hoping Jason will help me assess the effect Kanzawa is able to have on these massive beasts. We've just arrived at a clearing. And we've got wild bison 40, 50 yards in front of us here. And if the sensei can put these down like he claims, then that's the true test. To push Kanzawa, we're doing this in the late afternoon. This is the perfect grazing time for bison and when they're at their most active. Through the trees, I can make out five in the group. While Bronze keeps a watchful eye on his safety, Kanzawa gets to work. It's not long until we start to see results. Kanzawa's been working now for a few minutes. Two of the bison have sat down. There's another one that's just... You know, the bison are actually supposed to be more active right now. Okay. Being that there's three of them laying down and he's been working for about four or five minutes on them. Yeah. There could be some effect here. Okay. Bronze knows these bison better than anyone. So if he thinks this is strange, then something must be happening. Kanzawa seems to be focusing in on the individuals still standing, trying to get the last few down. So there's the fifth bison has now sat down. We've got one more that's been up. Kanzawa's been working for about 10 or 15 minutes. What do you think, Jason? Like you can obviously see them, they're only 40 yards away. Would you describe this as a trance? I don't know that I know what a bison trance looks like. I would describe that as a one-one bison foraging, a few others lying down and ruminating. Okay. I would think that seeing five bison laying down at sunset is unusual, babe. It looks like Kanzawa is close to succeeding, but he doesn't want to give up just yet. So he moves in closer. Jason, if this last bison was to go down, would you be impressed? Would you be satisfied? Well, I think I came here to satisfy a sort of a scientific curiosity. And if all of these bison were to lay down, I think I would still have a lot of questions to understand just sort of what happened here. It looks like the last bison has laid down. Kanzawa heads back to the group. Amazingly, as soon as he walks away, the bison stand back up. Kanzawa, you certainly seem to have some effect on the bison. Did you feel it was successful? Did you feel an energy exchange between yourself and the bison? Yes, I felt when the energy was exchanging. I could feel it in my hand and I could sense especially when they were going down. Did you sense they were very calm? And I mean, from here, we couldn't quite see. Did you get very close to them? They were very relaxed, so they let me get closer. They weren't wary or scared. I think they could feel my energy, so they may have had a respect for me. When they were in the relaxed state, they weren't able to move from that. I'm satisfied that Kanzawa has achieved what he set out to. But I'm keen to know what Jason thinks. Although the sensei makes a claim about being able to put any animal into a trance, you know, I think that opens up more questions than it necessarily gives answers. Yes. But I think it's quite interesting at the same time that I sort of haven't seen him fail yet either over the last few days. So yeah, no, you haven't seen him fail. And that's definitely something to take away. Well, science is the process of trying to answer questions that aren't answered yet. And if something like this appears to be real, that would suggest that there is indeed some sort of trance-like state coming over these animals, then science presumably should say, how do we figure this out? We haven't asked this question before. Before I met Kanzawa sensei, I have to admit I was really sceptical about what he claimed to do. In terms of scientific methodology, we're always looking to be able to repeat results. And so it's undeniable that he can consistently have this effect. So although I'm unsure exactly how he does it, Kanzawa sensei has the most extraordinary powers. Next up, I encounter an eagle-eyed bow hunter with deadly accuracy. I employ some serious technology to help get to the bottom of his skills. That was incredible to watch. And finally, challenge him to hit moving targets. I'm back on the road in California, continuing my search to find humans with extraordinary abilities. Kanzawa sensei had the most incredible powers over animals. I'm a scientist at heart, man, I wasn't expecting to see this. And now I'm going to meet someone whose skills rival that of a predatory animal. This man is internationally renowned for never missing a target. His weapon of choice is the bow and arrow. Archery as a sport has become one of the most popular activities here in the US. It's precise discipline and need for accuracy is what drives people to compete. I've always enjoyed hunting. It's something I've done since I was young. I like the thought that as a hunter, you can develop and sharpen your senses with a bit of practice. Whilst my experience with the bow and arrow is limited, I've heard stories of a legend among archers, a man who has mastered the art of longbow shooting like no other. I'm Byron Ferguson and I'm what's known as an exhibition archer, commonly called trick shooter. At a young age, Byron became infatuated with the bow and arrow. He developed his style of shooting by sitting in a blackened out room and aiming for the flames of candles. It's here that he developed his legendary hawk-like accuracy. You have to have the ability to see the centre of the target because you're always shooting at the centre. Aim small, miss small. I'm eager to pick up on some hints and tips from such a master. So pleased to meet you. So how did you get into this? Well, I got into shooting bow and arrow when I was 10 years old. I don't mind telling you, I've been shooting a bow and arrow for 50 years. 50 years? Yeah. Wow, because there's something called the 10,000 hour rule. And if you're going to be an expert in anything, you have to practice for 10,000 hours. And I think you probably got that under your belt. And then some, yes. Yeah. And this is a traditional longbow? This is actually the American semi-longbow. The Brits have got the real longbow. So we copied it and made it a little shorter. This one's only 66 inches long. So it's a semi-longbow. This is a laminated bow. It's not a card out of a single piece of wood. It's several pieces of wood glued together with fibreglass on the back and belly. And what draw weight is that? This one is 70 pounds at 28 inches of draw. That's pretty powerful. Pretty heavy, yeah. Like the target shooters shoot around 30 pounds. Yeah. The reason I shoot 70 pounds is through the years I've learned that 70 pounds is the point of diminishing returns. In other words, I consistently gain in terms of performance, pounds pulled versus velocity on the arrow, to 70 pounds. After 70, not so much. I've seen some of the modern ones which have sights on, but you're relying entirely on your own eyesight and hand-eye coordination. Well, it's what we call form, archery form. And all form really means you're just doing it exactly the same way, shot after shot after shot. Because if something changes in the way you're drawing the bow or anchoring the arrow, then the shot placement will change. So you have to be very consistent in the way you shoot the arrow. Okay. I'm quite keen to see what you can do. Can you show me a few things? Well, let's see if we can pop a couple balloons for you first. Well, your reputation precedes you, so I'm expecting big things, all right? Well, maybe my reputation exceeds me. Byron has set four balloons up on targets at 30, 40, 50 and 60 yards. He claims he can pop each of these balloons without missing a shot. I can't wait to see this. He hits the first balloon dead centre, but it's not that hard of a shot. He swiftly moves on to the next, and it's getting tougher. With three down, there's only one left, and it's a staggering 60-yard shot. I've never hit anything from that distance before. It's a long way. That's the last one. It's a long, long way. That is 60 yards for the last one. Wow, that is very, very cool. That was quite a feat. He seemed to lock onto his target in a split second, barely hesitating before taking a shot. I'm keen to find out what enables him to do this. Can his eyesight really compare to that of an eagle? Eagles can see up to five times further than the average human. This is due to having two fovea, the part of the eye responsible for the central and sharpest vision, allowing their eyes to act like a telephoto lens. Their retinas are covered in a million light-sensitive cells per square millimetre, five times more than a human retina. I want to put Byron's accuracy to the test, this time on a much smaller target. Now, balloons are one thing, but I'm going to set up a serious challenge for Byron. I've just put a ring on there, and it's only half an inch across. I'm going to ask him to fire an arrow through the centre, and if he can achieve this, I'm going to be seriously impressed. The arrow he's firing is a regulation 9.5 millimetres in diameter, whilst the ring has a hole of just 15 millimetres wide. This gives Byron a margin of error of only 2.75 millimetres. From this distance of 30 feet, if Byron's shot is off by just 0.09 of a degree, he'll miss. It looks like he made it, but I've got to get a closer look. Wow, that is incredible. I'm amazed that Byron is able to hit a target just half an inch across from 30 feet and make it look easy. But is it incredible eyesight that lies behind his skill? Or is there another explanation? So on my journey through America so far, I'm trying to find the most extraordinary people, and I've come across this man called Byron Ferguson. In the small amount of time I've spent with Byron, I've been building up a picture of the man behind the arrow. He attributes his skill to years of dedicated practice and constant family support. I've seen Byron perform genuinely some of the most incredible things that I've ever seen, and when he makes the claim that he can fire an arrow through a ring and then you actually see it before your own eyes, it's incredible, and it really just opens up so many questions in my mind. I'm Wanda Ferguson. I've been Byron's wife for 42 years now. We have the two grandsons, which we adore. They both shoot bows, and their favorite thing to do is to shoot their bows with pop. Other archers that I have seen do not compare with Byron. I haven't seen any that shoot the traditional bow in the way that Byron does. I work at it, and being able to focus my concentration is where my talent lies. I really want to find out what makes this guy so different. Is it his sense of eyesight? Is it his hand-eye coordination? And so to start with, I've brought him along to an eye hospital, and we're going to get his eyesight tested and to see if we can find some answers. I want to find out what makes Byron so different. Is it his eyesight that sets him apart, or might he have another advantage? I've brought him here to meet Dr. Dante Paramici at the Santa Barbara Cottage Eye Hospital to try and get some answers. I've seen Byron perform some of the most incredible tricks. With an arrow, he's hitting targets that are absolutely tiny. There are a number of tests I think we can do to sort of get at how well does Byron see. Certainly we can test his visual acuity, which is testing reading or distance vision. But there are other factors I think that may play a role in archery, his peripheral vision, as well as how well his eyes track. I'll be undergoing the same tests as Byron so that I can see how we compare. Dr. Paramici and his team get things underway. After a standard visual acuity test, we're taken to a machine which assesses the scope of our visual field. This is the entire area that can be seen when the eyes are focused on a single point. A computer program measures our responses to lights that flash up in our field of view, then analyzes the speed of visual pathways to the brain. A scan is then taken of our retinas, which will tell us if there's anything anatomically different about Byron's eyes compared to mine. It's time for the results and I'm just hoping the doctor has some interesting news. All right guys, the tests are in. It turns out that you both did quite well on the visual acuity test. Byron, you were a little bit better and your visual acuity measured 20-15 in both eyes. Tom, you had 20-20 vision, so that's nothing to be ashamed of. I'm normal. You're normal. Most people are familiar with the term 20-20, but what does that actually mean? What it means is that you can see on the visual acuity chart at 20 feet, what a normal person can see at 20 feet. Gotcha. If it was 20 over 10, it means you see at 20 feet, but a normal person would need to be only 10 feet away. So at 20-15, Byron's vision is better than average, but not to an extraordinary degree, and Eagle's eyesight was still outclassing by far at 20-4. The next results we get are for our peripheral vision field tests, what we can see outside of our central focus. So it turns out that both of your visual fields are quite full and complete, so there was really no difference between you in visual acuity or your peripheral visual functioning. But my biggest question all along has been, are there any anatomical differences that set Byron apart? The results from our retina scans should hold the answer. If we look at this model of the eye here, you'll see that this is the front of the eye, the cornea. The light comes in through the cornea and then comes back onto the retina here. An initial processing of this image actually takes place in the retina. The image that we've obtained on the screen here is called an OCT. This is Byron's OCT image, and I can say that it looks quite good. I can see all the layers of the retina here. There's a dip in the center, which is normal. So the anatomy of your retina and optic nerve is quite healthy. Tom, I've got some bad news. No, I'm just kidding. Actually, your retina looks very healthy as well. If I looked at this anatomically, I couldn't tell that one was functioning better or worse than another. So it certainly helps in the archery to have the vision that Byron's got, but it's not necessarily the defining factor of what makes him so great. I think that the answer might lie in higher visual processing centers of the brain and coordination of the eye. Well, thank you very much for the results. The results so far have been really interesting, but they haven't unlocked the answer to what lies behind Byron's skill. I have a challenge set up that will require Byron to shoot moving targets, but first we're referred to Dr. Luke Workhoven. Tom, great to meet you. Wonderful. He's a specialist in eye tracking and has some pretty advanced kit. Infrared eye tracking cameras fitted inside goggles will record how our eyes move and feed the results back to a computer. Oh, wow. Well, it feels quite weird. Yes, they're pretty heavy. Futuristic. I feel kind of tron. You look like you're born. I'm quite excited, actually, about having a go at this. OK. We have to keep our eyes on an object as the doctor moves them across the screen. From a stick... to a beanbag... A nice, bright, easy to follow object. And finally, a coin. With my turn complete, it's time for Byron to have a go. Great. Despite how ridiculous we look, we do get some interesting results. So, Dr. Workhoven, now that we've got both sets of results from myself and Byron, what have you concluded from that? Yeah, I think the first thing that I see is very smooth and accurate my eye movements from both of you. The biggest difference I saw was both when we were testing how still or quiet you could keep your eyes on a non-moving target. It seemed like Byron's eyes were a little bit more locked in terms of the small drift that we saw in your eyes. Furthermore, the biggest difference on the moving target was when we had the vertical movement of the eyes. Both of you were tracking the beanbag up in the air. It seemed like you did more adjusting right and left to kind of find the target, where Byron had a little bit better prediction of where that target was going to be moving, and he moved his head and didn't move his eyes side to side as dramatically as you. Okay, so in your opinion, would this be part of the jigsaw of trying to find out the answer of what makes Byron so good? Absolutely. I think, you know, some of the pieces that we're trying to put together this puzzle is just the fact that when someone trains or when someone perfects a certain skill, the steps to build up to that skill all get improved along the way. So we can see some of those nuances here between a trained expert and someone who's maybe a novice. Excellent. Okay, well, that certainly gives me some answers. The tests at the eye hospital have definitely helped answer some of my questions. It seems Byron's ability is partly due to his above-average eyesight. Byron, you were a little bit better in your visual acuity measured 20-15 in both eyes, so that's considered better than normal. And years spent perfecting the skills needed to be a target shooter. But anatomically, he doesn't differ from you or I. After seeing Byron perform, and particularly with the accuracy of the ring trick, really, I was just trying to look for answers. What makes him so special? Doing the eye test today, I was really hoping to find something out. But if I'm honest, certainly anatomically, he doesn't seem that much different to normal people. What I did discover is that he has a heightened ability to lock onto and track a moving object with his eyes. But the ultimate challenge is going to be able to see if he can actually hit moving targets with an arrow. And I want to see exactly what happens with his eyes when he does. I've brought Byron to meet Joanna Fiedler, who specialises in the most advanced video eye-tracking technology in the world. So I'm interested for you to take us through some of the very specific technology you've got for us. So this is eye-tracking glasses. So you have a high-definition camera that takes a video of what's happening in front of the respondent or the person who's wearing them. And then there's eye-tracking technology built within the frames of these glasses that take 30 pictures per second of each of the eyes. Those are two cameras per eye. And they're the smallest eye-tracking cameras in the world, about one cubic millimetre. So super awesome. I'm desperate to see how it actually works. Can you give us a demonstration? Absolutely. So what I'm going to do, I'm going to put them on. And on this tablet in a live environment, you're going to be able to see where my eyes are actually looking. So let me put them on. You can just hold it right here. Do you see the red dot? Yeah. I'm looking at Tom's face. Yeah. Right now I'm looking at Byron's face. I'm looking at the basket. So this red dot that you're seeing in a real environment is showing you exactly where I'm looking, what am I fixating on. And that's your central focus because we did tests which were both a focus test, an acuity test, and also peripheral vision. So this manages to pick up exactly where you're pinpointing your stare. That's correct. This technology really allows you to understand exactly what you are focusing your gaze on, meaning we call it a fixation. And so what it is, is an area that you're actually cognitively processing as you are looking ahead or straight ahead, or if you're shooting bow and arrow, rather than focusing on the peripheral vision. Gotcha. Oh, I can't wait to get started now. Let's shoot some arrows. One of the interesting things about the human gaze is that there's so many things that a human being can actually focus on. But if you were really able to focus on and cognitively process every single thing that you look at, it would be very difficult for your brain to be able to process it all. We would literally go crazy. That's why one of the nice features of the human vision is the fact that, again, based on whatever is the task that you're trying to accomplish, you're able to focus your gaze specifically on those areas to be able to accomplish that task. Joanna kits me out with the eye-tracking glasses, and Byron gives me a few quick pointers. We've got to hit all three balloons while Joanna monitors our gaze through the tracking glasses. She'll then assess our results side by side. We ready, Byron? Good luck. I'm watching. There he goes. Oh, that was a good shot. Right, left balloon. Oh, two out of two. Pretty good. Third one. I'm beginning to think that Byron's skills have rubbed off on me. Oh, I missed that one. Or maybe not. Right, now it's the experts' go. Cool as expected, Byron takes aim... ...and hits every one. Nice. At first glance, that may have looked like an easy test, but I found it incredibly difficult. However, the same can't be said for Byron. It will be really interesting to see how we differ in the data. So I think the most important difference between you being a novice and you being an expert is the efficiency of your gaze, especially when it comes to locking in on the target and holding your gaze while you're shooting at the target. Also, the decision to lock in on that particular target was made much more quicker. What happened with you, for the first two shots, you're actually pretty efficient with your gaze as well compared to Byron. The last target that you were not actually able to shoot, what I noticed is that your gaze was actually all over the place. So you were not fixating on that target, you were actually looking at other things. And what happened was you missed the target. From your background, Byron, you grew up with that hunting instinct. You've got to that level where you're really comfortable with your form you've practiced so much and it's just an instinctual thing that you're just really like rattling it off and just going for it without thinking about it too much. Well, my philosophy on shooting archery has become the arrow. And what I'm doing, as I'm beginning to draw the string, I'm visualising the arrow in flight striking the target. Okay, that's really interesting. And this really falls into the idea of what we call brain chunking. So even though you're thinking that the decisions that Byron is making are instinctual, they're actually very educated, quick decisions that normal people like you and I, who are not super trained and who are not experts in this field, are just simply unable to make in such a quick split of a second. This is really exciting me now because we're starting to get some answers. I am quite interested, though, to kind of take it a little bit next level. Should we have a go with some moving targets? Absolutely. We need to get my wife to come in to throw for me. Fantastic. All right. Well, let's do it. I witnessed firsthand just how amazing Byron is at hitting static targets. But I'm yet to see if he can take on moving ones. If he can do what he claims he can, I'm going to be seriously impressed. That was something else, man. That was incredible. One of the things I was able to immediately see is the way that Byron was able to, in a very smooth way, to be able to follow the target and release the arrow exactly at the time when he was supposed to make the shot. It was really unbelievable. It's, again, one of those features of someone who's been training and doing it for such a long time. You made it look so simple, so easy. The speed at which you were doing it. You were half cocked, then there's the nod. It goes up and bang, straight. It was so quick. And they were exploding as well. It was so incredible to watch. One of the most amazing things that I noticed when Byron was shooting a moving target was his ability to really keep his gaze on the target as it was moving. It is actually something that I have not seen with a normal person, if you will, like myself. I would not be able to, in such an efficient fashion, pursue a target the way that Byron was able to do that. So this was one of the reasons, if not the main reason, why he is able to make a shot every single time. Again, the smooth pursuit of the target was something that was really extraordinary. I'm truly in awe of Byron's ability. Not only does his super sharp eyesight allow him to hit targets 60 yards away, but years of dedicated practice has finally honed his hunter sense, enabling him to track even the smallest moving targets, just like an eagle. When I think we're done, Byron claims he can do even better. Now, let's do something just for fun, without the goggles, just to have a little fun. What do you think? Okay, I'm interested. I'm looking forward to it. He says he can hit a mint right out of the air with his arrow. At only 20 millimeters wide, and from nearly five meters away, if Byron is off by just 0.25 degrees, he'll miss the target. On top of this, he'll need to calculate the lead he needs and release his arrow at just the right moment. I've got to see this. Great job. That was so awesome. So entertaining. No wonder you are the world's best archer, man. You've just plucked a mint out of the air and smashed it to pieces. That was just something else. On this leg of my search, I've met two amazing people. While I still can't explain the science behind Kanzawa sensei's skill, Oh, I don't know what's going on right now. I witnessed him have an undeniable effect on animals, as well as feeling the effects firsthand. It's difficult for me to find my words, actually. And then Byron Ferguson blew me away. I found out it wasn't just incredible eyesight that lay behind his skills, but a trained hunter's sense. It was the result of 50 years of longbow shooting. Join me next time, when my journey to find extraordinary humans continues.