Belt Grinder and Operator Orientation

[Panik]

I've posted here before, primarily in the gas forge section, but mainly stick to reading through the wealth of information shared on this forum. I have what I would consider a fundamentals question for which I would very much appreciate the input of those more experienced than I. 

I'm very much still in the infancy of playing around with knife making. Made several knives using a Gough jig and in the process gave myself decent case of trigger thumb. (Probably shouldn't be typing right now without a brace in fact) I very quickly realized that while hand filing a knife can produce some amazing results, at least for me, it comes at a cost of time I don't really have, as well as wear and tear on my body.

As a result, and because I am still trying to figure out how far I want to take this hobby, I invested in a cheap 1x30 and several of the easy upgrades so that it can be an approximation of serviceable for making a couple knives. (I am very much aware of the limitations of that piece of equipment and if I pursue this further will likely be upgrading to something more appropriate if funds are available. With respect I also am not sure that the short comings of 1x30's are germane to my question)

In any case, I've also spent a fair amount of time in bed with a beverage in hand watching people shape knives on a wide variety of belt grinding machines. I have watched 1x30's being used such that they are orientated so that they are laying on their back. I have seen folks use much higher quality grinders placed in a way such that the belt runs horizontal to the ground. I've also watched all manner of tool, wheel and platen swaps so that equipment can be used to its fullest abilities. 

The one thing that I do not believe I have ever watched is an operator address a belt grinder such that the individual is orientated in plane with the width of the belt and length of the tool rest. I have taken the concept of using a belt grinder face-on as a matter of course, and until yesterday evening in the shop had never given it any thought. I am a very visual learner and while I can rely on tactile feeding back, I generally do better when I can have a full picture of what is transpiring. As a result, one of the issues I have had in switching from files to a power grinder is developing a sense of what is transpiring at the point in space where the knife meets the running belt. This is because I can't really see what's going on until after I have made a pass. 

On a whim last night, I turned my 1x30 90 degrees and used it such that I was looking down the width of the belt and drawing the knife towards me, across the belt. In doing so I could see much better how the knife was moving in relationship to where it was contacting the belt. It was very much an "Ah Hah!" moment and the consistency of my grinds immediately improved because I had the visual feedback I needed to make corrections on the fly. 

Like I said, I'm new at all this, and while this appears to be a big step forward for me, I am not trying to Imply that I have made some amazing discovery. Rather, I do know that there are years of experience on this forum from an incredibly diverse array of personal and professional backgrounds. I'd be grateful is someone would be willing to share their thoughts as to why belt grinders seem to be designed to be used face on... Or alternately if what I am perceiving in terms of use is observer bias. Is there some fundamental aspect I might be missing for changing the orientation of how I use a grinder?