Issue 086

March 2012

Controlling your thoughts is vital to improve performance

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. 

Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, Frankie Edgar, Junior Dos Santos, José Aldo, Dominick Cruz, however you rate them, there are reasons why these elite athletes are at the top of the pecking order: natural athleticism, tactical intelligence and the killer instinct to dispatch whoever stands in front of them.

But one key element that influences their capacity to offload their fighting flair, is they have the ability to be ‘mindful’; to remain in the present, centered and relaxed regardless of the emotional and physical bedlam that exists on either side of the Octagon wall.

Fighters by their very nature are perfectionists, and they place a tremendous amount of weight on self-expectation and outcome focus. Yet however noble these characteristics are they often get lost with uncontrolled thoughts which are allowed to roam free with no clear direction of where they are going.

From the what ifs to the premature, ‘Who will I fight next?’ or the, ‘Why are the crowd booing me?’ – these trains of thought are simply counterproductive to optimal performance as they draw attention away from the task at hand.

By possessing the skill to accept and reject thoughts and not dwell on every one that passes through your mind (mindfulness), you are one step closer to self-mastery. The mind is an infinitely powerful and useful instrument, but it should not be allowed to take over when it feels like it. We should be able to silence it at will.

When I introduce the concept of mindfulness to my fighters it is always received with an air of scepticism and even hostility. However, this is short lived because before long they find that by developing mindfulness through daily meditation, it teaches them to focus on the ‘here and now’ and not to get side-tracked by past mistakes or future results. In the heat of battle, this ‘present focus’ enables them to access their Dynamic Visual Acuity, which is the ability to accurately perceive objects in motion, specifically their opponents’ attack and defense patterns. Mindfulness in a nutshell clears the mind, improves nervous system function and blood flow, producing a relaxed physiological state that frees the body torform what it was trained to do. 

Meditate on This…

The following meditative walkthrough may seem like nonsense and it will take practice like any type of training, but results are rapid leaving you feeling empowered, chilled out and ultimately performing better. Set aside two sessions of five minutes a day and build from there.

Start by finding a quiet place (no music) and time where you can sit or stand comfortably and are unlikely to be disturbed. Keep your spine erect but not rigid. Close your eyes and focus on your breath.

Place your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Inhale through your nose for four seconds but do not allow your chest to expand, instead, have your lower abdomen extend. This allows you to fill the entire vacuum of your lungs with air. Then exhale, again through the nose, for eight seconds and draw your lower abdomen back towards your spine. Continue until you feel yourself relaxing. Then resume breathing at a normal steady rate. 

To keep your mind fully ‘in the moment’, focus on each breath. As thoughts (flashbacks, images, plans, conversations, fears, regrets, burdens or dilemmas) enter your mind like a reel of film, simply acknowledge them non-judgementally, and return your focus back to your breath and to the present. Thoughts are not good or bad. They are just mental events that you are observing. They are not necessarily true. They don’t always reflect reality and they shouldn’t define you. For example, if you find yourself thinking, ‘What if I lose or get knocked out?’ – it naturally registers, but you need to let it go and focus your attention back to your breath. Once you feel you are no longer reacting or getting caught up in your thoughts you have actually taken away their power to control you. Allow yourself now to begin listening to the sounds around you – even the sound of silence – again do not linger on judging them. Just listen. 

Next, when you are ready, open your eyes slowly and observe the room as if it was the first time seeing it. Allow your eyes to drift on a single spot or object and focus on it for 30 sec. Scrutinise it without thinking about or gauging it. Then move on to another object using the same system…then to another… all the time being fully aware of your breathing. When you are able to sense your environment without thinking about it and breath simultaneously you have entered the present or ‘the moment’.