Welcome to the fifth chapter of the Brain and Combat series, in which we focus on the most effective medium and short-term mental preparation techniques to navigate the tournament environment. It’s common for on-the-spot self-regulation to be mistakenly associated with mental preparation in general. As you have learned from earlier chapters, mental preparation is a long-term strategy that involves methods that run much deeper than immediate regulation. The long term methods in Chapter 4 will address your combativeness, motivation, game strategy, and preparation routine. These medium and short-term techniques are designed to help with temporary adjustments to stay in stable, fight-ready condition.
1. Days (weeks) before the tournament
1.1 Train with mental rehearsal
The main difference between training and competing is the mental state and altered physiology that it creates. Simulating this aspect is quite challenging. Training happens in a familiar environment (unlike the competition), with people whose game you know (unlike in competition), who try not to cripple you because they have to show up the next day too (unlike in competition), fighting without a drive to win a medal, fame, money (unlike in competition). These differences are what make competition a very different beast.
While you can practice your tournament-specific technique set at the club, the familiar environment and low-stakes bouts are unlikely to induce the same physiological conditions as a tournament. In order to develop resilience, a smaller, manageable amount of similar conditions needs to be simulated regularly to try out your self-regulation practices. That is when mental rehearsal can be useful. Rehearsing an event vividly can activate the same pathways in the brain and trigger the same physiological changes in the body as the live event. Extended reality techniques (AR/VR) actively utilize this in phobia treatment. But you don’t actually need any gadgets for this practice. You can use your imagination. A bit more demanding process, but the picture is sharper, the scenarios are richer, and you can jump in and out of the scenes just by blinking your eye.
You also can use a video recording to put yourself into the environment. What it cannot provide though is reminders and notes to scan your body and notice the changes (contextual mindfulness discussed in Chapter 4) and to regulate (buffering emptions discussed in Chapter 4, muscle relaxation discussed below), so you need to actively remind yourself.
To replicate these physiological changes the practice requires active emotional involvement (associated rehearsal), really putting yourself into the situation. Emotional involvement is usually evident from how reluctant you are to do it, as it’s just as uncomfortable and daunting as the actual competition day. The good news is that the intensity is still lower and you can pause at any time. To help build your visualisation scenario, feel free to use the following guidelines:
Imagine 1:
- You arrive at the building, you can hear the muffled noise of the crowd which becomes more distinct as you get closer. Do check what changes you might feel in your chest, fist, legs, face, etc. Do you look around, scope the place? Do you check the players around, their warmup, and their gear? Does any of them induce a particular feeling in you? Do you check the audience separately? Does it do anything to you?
Imagine 2:
- You find a place to camp and start changing your clothes. You search for your first match and make sure your schedule is on track. You’ll be on in about an hour or so. In what way does it impact your condition? Are you watching others’ game? Do you experience ups and downs when doing so? Do you relocate during the event to improve your comfort? Does it have an impact on you, what your clubmates are doing in the event? Are the attention and support you receive adequate?
Imagine 3:
- Your fight is coming up. You will be called in for weighting, ID checks, etc. While you walk there, you can check your physical condition by clenching your fist. Does it feel like it’s at full power or inhibited? Shaking your limbs a bit. Do they feel at ease or are there any tensions? Do you take a look at the players around? What effect does that have on you? Do you have any specific thoughts about them or yourself?
Imagine 4:
- You’re on. As you walk towards your bout, messages start to come from a deeper place. What are they saying? Are they supportive or doubtful? Do you start questioning your life choices like this: ‘I coulda been a fisherman. Fishermen, they get up, they fish, they sell fish, they smelt fish. Reminds me of this girl I used to go with, Yvonne, she smelled like fish. ‘ – Ford Fairlane. Notice whatever you hear, are they yours at all or do they sound like an old teacher of yours, or a parent? Take a mental note on them for later for the thought process practices introduced in Chapter 4 and 6), they’re likely part of the belief system and needs to be seen in order to change.
Imagine 5:
- You’re standing at the edge of the map, waiting for the referee to call you in. You took a look at the opponent, perhaps even nod. You Amigdala immediately size him up, feedback comes right after. What do you hear? Does it say it will be a tough one or just go for it? Do you want to turn away and leave or looking forward to move? By that time, the condition you need to fight with is already present in your body. Check your agility with a couple of jumps. Is there any stiffness? Is the speed as it needs to be? Check your fist again. Have you lost any power? You have an estimated 30 seconds to 2 minutes to adjust before you’re called onto the mat. This is your window to adjust, and the methods will be listed later down in this chapter.
For those who have social anxiety or stage fright to deal with on top of combat stress itself, the first step is to watch competition recordings without stepping into it emotionally (disassociated rehearsal). Making the place familiar and have an image of the expected crowd, the layout of the location, specifically, the entrances, exits, restrooms, the pace, and noise of the events, etc. These help to decrease the anxiety derived from the circumstances themselves.
Note: Shifting into daydreaming can happen when mentally rehearsing because it requires less mental effort so the brain tends to go there for a break. So for example, if you visualise walking toward your bracket and you see yourself high-fiving everyone you walk past, you likely shifted into daydreaming, as in reality, that’s not likely what you would do.
Next: 1.2 Decrease the weight of the fight
