Issue 096
December 2012
Manage the hardest hitter
You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life.” A lifelong lesson from Mr Rocky Balboa that all fighters should take stock of.
Joe Bell
Sport psychologist
Joe Bell is a chartered sport psychologist and one of few leading mental performance coaches in the world specializing in combat sport psychology.
The roots of many combat-specific mental barriers – specifically performance anxieties such as fear of losing, under performing, low self-confidence – largely stem from overloaded life stressors. These are outside of the fighting but manage to bleed through into the ring. They can cause you to take your eye off the ball and that’s is a dangerous place to be. Your focus should be solely fixated on the man hunting you down.
Many fighters approach sport psychologists expecting to be taught secrets that will create super robust and focused psyches, or techniques that enhance confidence levels. Let me save you the $100-an-hour fee. Psychologists fundamentally teach you how to empower yourself by taking life by the balls and managing the day-to-day crap it throws at you. The knock-on effect is it can infuse confidence assertiveness, focus and strengthen willpower – which shows in the cage.
In sport psychology, we use the following formula. Lifestyle stress (e.g. debts, lack of sleep), plus emotional stress (e.g. relationships), plus training stress (e.g. holes in your game), plus competition stress (e.g. pre-fight nerves) equals ‘total stress load.’
Experienced and conditioned fighters can usually withstand more stress than the average man, because they train to perform under the extreme stress MMA presents. However, no human being is entirely exempt. Having knowledge of the ‘total stress load’ concept can help fighters maintain balance in their lives. One way to take the bull by the horns and gain more control is to take an aerial view snapshot of your life using the ‘octagon life chart’ (above, right) which is a powerful visual map that can offer perspective.
You can see an example of an unbalanced octagon life chart. It is clear to see which dimensions require attention to restore equilibrium.
Why don’t you use the blank octagon life chart on the right by shading the blank segments. The higher and balanced the scores are in all corners the better.
The idea is for you to shade in the different criteria based on the degree to which you feel you have control in that portion. For example, if you feel you have high or good control in your finances, fill all five segments. If you have low or poor control, shade one box. The less the shaded area the more attention is required to bring balance to the chart.
Once shaded, it’s time to implement a plan of action, starting with neglected areas. What do you need to do to regain balance and what areas are sapping energy and time?
Each area that you illuminate can naturally be broken down further where more attention is needed. Don’t be limited by the areas offered, define your own that relate to your life.
Remember that moderate stress is actually good for us; it keeps us on our toes. But mixed martial artists are unique athletes, and the stakes in MMA are the highest of all competitive sports. It’s imperative you don’t add to stress. When your neck is literally on the line you must control these types of stressors the best you can to fight the best you can.
The key player is emotional stress. This is the gatekeeper for success in any sporting discipline. We might not always be able to control emotional stress, but we must be flexible enough to adapt so we can disperse the total stress load whenever it presents itself.
The key to tackling life’s challenges is to break them down into manageable chunks rathaer than look at them as a whole. It takes a strong man to face his problems head-on, but a stronger man does something about them.
