Crumbling under pressure.

[KeepGoing]

Hey everyone,

To get straight to it: how does one stop themself from choking under the pressure of a tournament, or competition?
When I first started competing (I do karate) I wasn't bad, and would usually win golds and silvers. But now, things seem to have changed and I'm really struggling to do well. I shake during my kata, lose my balance, and sparring becomes a fight against my own defeatist attitude.
I really want to get out of this rut, I love competing.
How does one get used to the psychological side of competition? Is there some sort of required mentality?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I suspect it is different for everyone. I feel for you.

In my case, when I was competing, I was able to compete because I really did not care about the outcome. I don't know how a person adopts that attitude if they don't already have it, so that may or may not be possible for you. I do wish you the best of luck.

 

[yak sao]

First of all there is no substitute for preparation. Practice your forms over and over and over and over again.
As for the shaking, that's adrenaline, and that's a good thing. That is your body letting you know it's ready to go.
To get rid of some of the excess adrenaline you can do push ups bodyweight squats, some nice slow stretching , deep breathing ... any number of things
Bruce Lee used to say if he didn't feel butterflies before a fight he knew he wasn't ready. Yul Brynner, a very famous stage and screen actor used to have butterflies before going on stage and would spend a few minutes before going outon stage, doing isometric pushes against a wall. So I would say you're in pretty good company.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Sounds like you are too focus on trying to win and do well. If this is true then you need to change how you view the competition. Think of it more as showing the judges a kata instead of trying to win a medal. When I focus on what I'm doing then I tune everything else out. I don't think about winning or performing. I just think about doing.

 

[clfsean]

Prep the material, eat right before & during along with plenty of water, not give two cents about winning or loosing & have a grin on your face. Then afterwards, hang out with people you like, eat, drink & make merry ... it's martial arts. It's what we do!

 

[ks - learning to fly]

I compete for the experience - that's it

As for nerves - as mentioned - they're good because it means you
care about the end result

As for advice, I'll tell you what my Instructor always tells me -
"Do your best and the rest will take care of itself".

 

[Blindside]

I suspect it is different for everyone. I feel for you.

In my case, when I was competing, I was able to compete because I really did not care about the outcome. I don't know how a person adopts that attitude if they don't already have it, so that may or may not be possible for you. I do wish you the best of luck.

For me it is the opposite, I needed to care about the outcome to do better. If I didn't care and never got the nerves and never got that adrenaline spike then I wouldn't do as well.

Lamont

 

[Dinkydoo]

I've only fought in one tournament (and at a pretty low level at that) but I've had lots of gradings in different styles over the years and I think that the mental preperation is quite similar (especially to a forms/kata competition).

First off, the most important thing is to know your stuff really well - whether that's the sets you need to do, your basic combos...whatever. You don't want to have to be thinking too much about how to do x/y/z when it comes to it. Being well prepared helps to relax me, a bit.

In both set form demos and in fighting, being at times somewhat of an anxious person, I start trying to clear my mind around 30 minutes before hand (or whenever I start to feel the butterflies/that I'd rather be elsewhere) and try to replicate the breathing I'd do whilst doing qigong or standing meditation - I don't do much these days, but I haven't forgotten how to relax everything and just breath for a few seconds.

Finally, at around 5/10 minutes before I try to focus my mind positively (I have quite a lot of experience in this as a previous severe anxiety sufferer) - I keep my mind as clear as possible and occassionally allow myself to BELIEVE that I am going to win/do well. If it is a fight then when I touch gloves I look straight at my opponent and think for the final time "I am going to win".

This, being my own little mental ritual before potentially stressful events might not work entirely for you, but hopefully it will help you to develop your own coping mechanisms to allow you to put in the performance that you KNOW you can.

The key for me relaxing is having as clear a mind as possible and a positive mindset - without the latter your mind will just become cluttered again with negative, self defeating crap.


Cheers,

 

[JowGaWolf]

For me it is the opposite, I needed to care about the outcome to do better. If I didn't care and never got the nerves and never got that adrenaline spike then I wouldn't do as well.

Lamont

Do you get an adrenaline spike when you practice alone by yourself? Do you get nervous when you practice alone by yourself?

 

[Bill Mattocks]

For me it is the opposite, I needed to care about the outcome to do better. If I didn't care and never got the nerves and never got that adrenaline spike then I wouldn't do as well.

Lamont

But here's the point. I really don't care how well or poorly I do. I just do.

 

[kuniggety]

I'm not a big competition guy. Maybe I'll compete in Naga or something while I'm here in Hawaii or something. That being said, sparring is an everyday thing in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I go into it with the attitude that I have nothing to prove to anyone but myself. I'm there to learn and keep it playful. Did I lose? Maybe, but I still learned by doing it, so I don't feel like I lost.

 

[clfsean]

I'm not a big competition guy. Maybe I'll compete in Naga or something while I'm here in Hawaii or something. That being said, sparring is an everyday thing in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I go into it with the attitude that I have nothing to prove to anyone but myself. I'm there to learn and keep it playful. Did I lose? Maybe, but I still learned by doing it, so I don't feel like I lost.

True story ...

 

[clfsean]

Do you get an adrenaline spike when you practice alone by yourself? Do you get nervous when you practice alone by yourself?

So M will we be seeing y'all out this year? I forgot to ask J when I talked to him the other night. We'll be at multiple events so far this year ... The Arnold, CACMA, ICMAC, Kuoshou Fed in Baltimore, etc...

 

[JowGaWolf]

So M will we be seeing y'all out this year? I forgot to ask J when I talked to him the other night. We'll be at multiple events so far this year ... The Arnold, CACMA, ICMAC, Kuoshou Fed in Baltimore, etc...

I don't think so, we've been fairly busy outside of kung fu lately with life's challenges that pop up. We are currently trying to build up our membership to get some new blood into the group.

 

[clfsean]

We are too. But we're still hitting these places to get us out.

 

[Langenschwert]

It's an exposure thing for a lot of us. How many tournaments have you competed in? I didn't start to really get my tourney mind together until double digits. After a while, it becomes just another day at the office... if just "something you do", like going for a drive or whatever.

 

[Blindside]

Do you get an adrenaline spike when you practice alone by yourself? Do you get nervous when you practice alone by yourself?

No I don't. Now there may be two things going on, one I didn't practice as much because I didn't particularly care about the event or two, the adrenaline forced me to focus a little more and that gave me the edge. This is particularly true in kata, but also happened in the point fighting rings.

These days I only do full-contact stickfighting and I always care about the outcome of those events.

 

[KeepGoing]

Okay, thanks everyone. I wondered if maybe it was an exposure thing - the more I do, the better I can cope. I have done about 7 or 8 tournaments, I guess that's not enough.
I did start doing pretty well in academic exams when I stopped caring about the results so maybe its better for me to just go in with a more "casual" mindset.
Thanks again!!

 

[Dinkydoo]

If you have done something 7/8 times before yet you are still so nervous that you 'crumble under pressure', then I'd suggest your main issue is mindset related, rather than experience.

I've performed both astonishingly well and unbelievably badly under pressure (in many different types of scenario). Both outcomes are almost always as a result of my prior preparation, experience and mindset going into the situation. For instance, having a great mindset alone will not guarantee a great performance.

 

[JowGaWolf]

If you have done something 7/8 times before yet you are still so nervous that you 'crumble under pressure', then I'd suggest your main issue is mindset related, rather than experience.

I've performed both astonishingly well and unbelievably badly under pressure (in many different types of scenario). Both outcomes are almost always as a result of my prior preparation, experience and mindset going into the situation. For instance, having a great mindset alone will not guarantee a great performance.

The truth is, that if something else is going through one's mind while doing a form, then it means that the person isn't focused. I remember when I fell apart on a form during a New Year performance and it was all because there was a distinguished guest there. I was find right up until that point and then my mindset went from "showing the form" to "gotta make this form perfect with no mistakes" and that's when my mind went blank. My mind was focused on something other than me doing the form.