B. The Limbic layer – The supreme leader
The limbic layer (often referred to as the emotional brain or mammalian brain) is where emotions, beliefs, and behavioural patterns (including muscle memory) are stored. Making it the most important layer in mental preparation for competitions. The limbic system is a collection of areas in the middle of the brain that act together to quickly grasp what’s happening around. It is designed to do one thing very well: keep you safe, and it’s called the early warning system.
The picture that the early warning system produces about what we’re dealing with is quick and dirty, and there is a very good evolutionary reason for that. It’s better to mistake a bush for a lion and run away than to stand there and conduct a proper evaluation, becoming lion fodder in the meantime.
The proper evaluation of the situation is done by the earlier discussed cognitive layer, from a safe place. If the cognitive layer concludes that a the quick judgement was incorrect, and that e.g. certain shade of bush colour is not a lion, the feedback is sent to the limbic system and is incorporated. This will decrease the intensity of the initial response in similar situations in the future. While, if the judgment turns out to be correct, the initial response becomes more ingrained, and we react even sooner the next time we see a similar object.
The role and impact of the limbic and cognitive layer can be best understood through the metaphor of building versus concierge. The limbic layer is the building, it’s responsible for managing most of the activities and interactions that occur in daily life. The cognitive layer is the concierge, it does not run the show nor it own the building. It has a relatively low impact on the operation as a whole. But it defines what/who comes in and what/who goes out. And with that, it can change the entire community within the building, and the fate of that community.
The limbic layer is responsible for most of the action-reaction you have to handle in a tournament. Quick and simple judgments are made about the opponent, your chances, the technique, and so forth. The proper evaluation will take place in the following days or weeks when the emotions have settled, and it will have an impact on the next tournament. But the current tournament is the battlefield of the limbic layer.
Limbic layer Component 1: Emotions
The most common emotions we experience during combat are fear, panic, anxiety, insecurity, empowerment, centredness, connectedness, compassion, and empathy. Not all of it is negative, as both positive and negative emotions are present during a tournament. But some positive emotions, such as compassion and empathy, may not be helpful in the context of a fight. In fact, they can be serious inhibitors to combat performance.
Of all the emotions, the single most common one is fear, the ‘F’ word of combat sports. If one takes an objective view of what a tournament is, this shouldn’t come as a shock. To put it simply, participating in a tournament exposes both your body to injuries and your personnel to social judgement. Physical and mental scars are a very common outcome.
If an upcoming fight doesn’t evoke fear, there may be underlying issues. A healthy mind fully understands the danger of the situation and responds with the appropriate emotions. For building a strategy, these present emotions need to be acknowledged. A self-talk that intends to suppress the effect is futile, as a thought generated in the cognitive layer (‘I have no fear’) has no impact on the chemicals being released by the limbic layer, already circulating in the body.
Note: Keeping your emotions private during tournaments is a safety approach. Therefore, playing it cool and telling others that you have no fear is a valid act.
Recognising emotions: the first step to gaining control
Recognising emotions, which leads to the ability of controlling them before the chemicals flood the body, is the single most useful life skill one can possibly have.
Anyone around you who wants to get something out of you will try to trigger emotions in order to get through.
This tactic is the foundation of everything from workplace exploitation to relationship dominance, all of which involve persuading you to give up things for their benefit, achieved by the emotions they evoke. The most commonly used emotions to hook you, are belonging (‘We are family, not just colleagues’). and its counterpart, shame (threatening to lose belonging: ‘You’re not a real bro if you don’t come’). Playing on others’ emotions is a common tactic in competitions because emotions dominate our mental state during combat, just like they do in most stress situations.
If you can’t control your emotions, others will.
In combat context, this means that the opponent can and will evoke emotions through their behaviour to lower your chances. One very common example is when the opponent plays angry and fakes higher assertiveness. Their goal is to provoke a greater stress response in you to make it easier for them to take you down. (More about this in Chapter 3.)
Another common strategy involves attempting to trigger empathy. Fighters may complain loudly about their pain and ask you to be considerate (e.g., ‘We’re all in the same game, bro.’) then use their full strength to attack. It’s a game that works. By the time you realise the opponent was playing on your otherwise positive emotions, they’ve already secured a dominant position.
The act to master: be comfortable with our emotions
Emotional literacy is a skill that can be acquired and refined throughout our lifespan, not an innate skill that is born with us. Toddlers are living proof, they are commonly the most violent members of a family. Those who were raised in an environment where suppressing emotions was the most effective method of fitting in and being accepted. They may have an underdeveloped skill in recognizing emotions, even having trouble recognizing basic physiological needs. Students throwing up during training are the outcome of ignoring the dozens of warning signs from their body that they stretched too far.
The higher your volatility score on the Big5 test, completed in Chapter 1 is, the stronger your conscious effort needs to be to get a grip on your emotional responses. For example, the sample student whose volatility was 8, need to strategically reduce the emotional response (with that the amount of stress chemicals released) in tournament environment, otherwise their competition results would be very poor.
One of the most effective tools out there for practicing emotional awareness is the Emotion-Need Map (based on the Nonviolent Communication Framework by Marshall Rosenberg).
Emotions are physiological responses to met or unmet needs.
Note: Humans are complex, and all of the needs listed are essential!
- When needs are unmet, negative emotions are evoked.
- When needs are unmet for a long time, the continuous negative emotions create disorders.
- When needs are met, positive emotions are evoked.
- When needs are met for the long run, happiness and contentment is experienced, the state we are all striving for.
Catching unmet needs when a negative emotion arises is the quickest way to grow emotional literacy. Using the Emotion-Need Map daily for defining emotions and their related needs is an incredibly strong practice with very quick, noticeable results. Within a few weeks, emotions will begin to make sense and volatility will begin to level off.
As an example, imagine that the bros booked a car to go to the tournament together without informing you. You might experience a mix of disappointment, embarrassment, sadness, insecurity, and other emotions. You check the map to identify the needs that haven’t been met, and you may find that it’s inclusion, consideration, shared reality, community, choice, etc. You’ll understand why you are responding and feeling the way you do. With that, you can address any unmet needs and find other ways to have them met. If, say, one of the unmet needs was consideration, you might bring the topic up with the people involved to discuss it. They likely confirm that your view matters. If not, new friends are needed. While if it was shared reality, you would seek out individuals to make plans with.
The ultimate independence lies in being capable of having your own needs met and regulating your emotions. This is how adulthood is defined. Also, this is your invincible armour in tournaments.
Next: Limbic layer component 2: The early warning system
