Sports Psychology and Martial Arts

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by kevinfoster, May 3, 2011.

  1. kevinfoster

    kevinfoster Valued Member

    Lets erase some of the myths surrounding sports psychology and explore some of the necessary goals and components to be attained to become a top-level Martial Artist or athlete. Mind power in the field of sport has been around for a long time. Mind power means that we first think in terms of success before we manifest success. All of a persons achievements begin with this though, so one needs to learn to develop a success consciousness which is the state of mind in which one cannot see them self as anything but a success. It is also helpful to keep in mind that you can also accomplish anything accomplished by another person. One must also know their objective or desire specifically to develop the proper mind set of I can and I will accomplish this goal. So basically being aware of the here and now with a success oriented mindset along with a sense of urgency is the whole idea behind sports psychology.

    Some people never learn to tune in to utilize their potential the average person uses only a fraction. Our potential is best described as a combination of our talent, information gathered, inner motivation, and emotions, which is a key element in utilizing our potential. The way one feels will restrict or facilitate the flow of their potential so we must reeducate ourselves to filter out negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones which allow your potential to flow spontaneously, freely, and easily.

    Self talk and the specific words said to ones self trigger positive or negative experiences or emotional response. This allows us to see the major importance of the self-image a person builds into their mental process. Its also important for one to say to self anything I can conceive or believe I can achieve.

    Taking this mentality fully into ones daily practice over time can change the persons self image completely. We must also realize success is achieved by action so one only attains this outcome by putting forth the effort to try.

    An attribute that successful Martial Artists and athletes possess is the way they utilize pressure as a positive productive force. In other words they do not become victimized by their fears but actually open themselves to the possibilities and maintain control of their emotions. Some would call this courage or maybe even bravery. It is the recognition of the fact that the individual creates their own pressure based off of their perceptions of a given situation. This leads us to the subject of tension. To much tension can lead to cloud the Martial Artist’s judgment and control while being overly relaxed can lead to insufficient energy and motivation in certain circumstances. So ideally the person needs to learn to control their arousal to find the optimum level for them to perform at their best.

    In conclusion we have seen that Martial Artists need to prepare mentally for the challenges they will be faced with. Martial Artists as well as Athletes need to take on a positive mental attitude and not allow outside influences or distractions to register within their mental focus. Most importantly we must know and understand that success is achieved first in the mind and the only limitations one has are the ones he or she mentally allows.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 3, 2011
  2. jilson

    jilson New Member

    cool article

    This is great! Very cool info.

    Thanks!:cool:
     
  3. Kyokushin Guy

    Kyokushin Guy Valued Member

    "success begins in the mind".

    Couldn't have said it better myself.
     
  4. Brixtonbodunwel

    Brixtonbodunwel Valued Member

    An excellent article thanks for doing it. I have a number of questions regarding para 2,
    Re the combination that makes up potential; what happens if the talent does not match either the aspiration or positive thoughts? There is only one Muhammed Ali although many boxers through the years have no doubt aspired to be as good as him.
    Also the combination, is it a cake mix for example 3ozs of this and 5 ozs of that or is it un quantifiable? Is their a ‘right’ combination? And if you lack one component can the difference be made up in the other component(s). Would be grateful for your views.
     
  5. Mangosteen

    Mangosteen Hold strong not

    good article.
    i like the stuff you dropped in about thought substitution and cognitive anxiety
     
  6. zachofalltrade

    zachofalltrade New Member

    surprisingly the first time i heard about mental power or visualizing success was in my first sales job, really it's a valuable skill for a wide variety of situations.
     
  7. johnleo

    johnleo Banned Banned

    Informative article. After studying your article, my understanding has improved substantially. Yes I totally agree with you..Martial arts evolved as a path to personal development, not principally as a technique-driven means to teach people to fight.
     
  8. Babin

    Babin New Member

    What a great article! Very informative and to the point. Martial Arts is a great way to accomplish a lot of things dealing with life scenarios.

    I've actually just created a blog on how Martial Arts builds confidence in children. If you could go check it out and leave me some feedback, that'd be great and much appreciated!

    I love reading informative topics like this and would love to see more of them from you and the rest of the community!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 20, 2014

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