How to eliminate the mental pressure before tourna

[Luka]

Do you have any special preparations the day before tournament?

[Nanashi]

nope, i get nervous all the time.... my coach tells me to mainly just take lots of deep breaths and just remember that it's not the end of the world if i lose and to go out there and do my best...


i'd like to know some ways to get rid of mental pressure myself..

[Josh]

same here, i always get that mantal pressure! I hate it. I can't play good at all. I think that it's just because whenever you play someone new, you don't know their playing style and you don't know if they are better or worse. It's just plain annoying, I know...

[jayes]

I don't think you can totally eliminate the mental pressure. However, you can reduce and cope better to mental pressure as you play more tournaments.

One advice is to rest the day before the tournament. It may be very hard since the pressure can be overwhelming and you may not sleep a wink.

Another way is to use the pressure to your advantage, make that the reason for you to win, eventually you will forget the pressure when you are on court competing. Different person has different personality - some strive on pressure and others don't.

Another suggestion is when you are preparing for tournaments (months before), try to simulate as closely as possible to the tournament environment. Here, the help of a coach would be beneficial.

Cheers. :)

[May]

i dun eliminate it, i coz it.

[marshall]

So the first step to eliminate mental pressure is to avoid May before and during the tournament? :)

Seriously, I had a terrible attack of nerves in my first match at a big tournament abt 2 yrs ago. 1) my singles serve wasn't working right and I didn't take the time to practice enough in the 2 or 3 hrs before the match. 2) when the match began my heart was pounding, I was breathing fast, and was in too much of a hurry. so 3) my first serve went waaayyyy out, and I got more nervous. 4) as the game went on my muscles tensed up and I had no idea how I was going to hit the serve the few times I got serve. In fact the only points I got were because some of my wild serves landed in and my opponent couldn't guess where the shuttle was going any more than I could.

After the singles a former Thomas Cup player told me to slow down my breathing when the panic started, give myself a pep talk, and do all of that well before I have to go on court. I do it, and I have one more rule: when you see something wrong with your technique, FIX IT RIGHT NOW, DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE MATCH STARTS! One more thing, since then I learned qi gong breathing, and do that before a match.

Now, when I first notice the panic symptoms, I know what's going on and that I can get through it.

Good Luck

[marshall]

I forgot to say the Thomas Cup guy told me he got real nervous before every tournament, which made me feel a bit better. That's why I mentioned the Thomas Cup in the first place.

[VINCENT]

Pity you!!!!
The more you play in the tournament, the more you will get used to it. So, do not worry if you feel nervous.
We play badminton for exercise and for fun. When you go down in the court for torunament, just enjoy the game the same way as when you practice. Nothing is serious about the game. So enjoy the tournament is the best way to get rid of all the pressure.

[jafryin]

I normally imagine myself as Tony Gunawan when I play double and Taufik Hidayat when I play single. It sounds funny but it seems work for me. I watched them play on recorded VCR almost everyday and I can see that their hands are also shivering esp at the beginning of the game.