Psychology of training and competing?

Discussion in 'Techniques / Training' started by robc06, Jun 10, 2009.

  1. robc06

    robc06 Regular Member

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    So how do you go about getting yourself in the right frame of mind? The fear of losing or not being able to compete is always there. Have I done enough training, am I fit enough, what about the other competitors am I fitter than them?

    Something I struggle with, is closer to the date of a tournament. I start to get nervous, doubt creeps in, especially if I'm focused on one particular event.

    After having some time off from last year, first tournament is a week away and nerves and doubt fills my head. I havent trained enough, so all I want to do is train for the next week everyday to prepare myself, knowing it's the wrong thing to do.

    Mentally I beleive I am stronger than those I compete against in B Grade, my will to win is stronger than theirs.

    I'm a year older, injuries have healed so I should be at 100%. But the doubt and fear of losing almost makes me sick.

    How do you get over nerves, and the psychology of winner?
     
  2. bradmyster

    bradmyster Regular Member

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    lol mate wat does a loss matter??
    Concentrate on doing your best and nothing further.

    Think of these things 1. you have had time off
    2. you know your not as well prepared as you want to be or as the other competitors.

    So go into the matches with nothing to lose. Unless its nationals a win in a local tournament is just a bonus.
    And dont go into training everyday this week. Train up until 2 days before the tournament and then rest it off to give yourself a good enough recovery time.
     
  3. chewablemorphin

    chewablemorphin Regular Member

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    I really dislike the philosphy of "just do your best" this kind of mindset seems to give someone a lame excuse for losing. Some great man once said, in order to acheive your goal, you must set an unrealistic goal that goes far beyond the original goal. Or something along those lines.

    The biggest thing i find, is when you get on the court, all those nervous feelings go away. If you don't perform as you hoped, set another goal that will set you in the right direction. This is what I do, and i've had a lot of success with it.
     
  4. gingerphil79

    gingerphil79 Regular Member

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    I was like you at 1 stage when I 1st started playin competitions. I used to fear losing, fear I wud play crap, wud get very nervous & mess up few shots at the start etc but this is wot u ave to think: -

    Some1 has to win and some1 has to lose, thats jus the way it is. U cant allow doubt to creep in wit your game, dont get me wrong we al make mistakes but jus keep sayin into urself, I am the best & jus keep your focus on the shuttle and the game at hand.

    You ave to remember it doesnt reali matter how good we r compared to every1 else, it al depends how gud we r on the nit! U cud b playin brilliantly and ur opponent who cud be 1 of the best is hittin them out a lot etc. This happened to me.

    I was in a comp. I was playin a singles comp very wel but mayb a bit lackin in fitness. I beat every1 except 1 and I cudnt believe it. I was playin reali wel and the gud players werent mayb playin their best so I took advantage. I beat players id never beaten b4 so it al jus depends how u play on the nit and how they play on the nit. 1 game they cud play amazin, another game crap! so dont wori.

    They r under the same pressure as you, when it comes to match point etc, they have nerves, fears, doubts etc jus the same as you. Ive seen it plenty of times where gud players make easy mistakes when they come close to finishin line which gives u a chance to get back into the game

    Hope I avent babbled on too much lol and play as many tourneys as u can to get used to them and the pressure but use the nerves to ur advantages, it wil help u bounce on ur feet and make u want to reach the shuttle more so its a gud thing jus keep it under control!
     
  5. alexh

    alexh Regular Member

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    I don't seem to get nervous about badminton (maybe because I'm not that good at it, so the stakes are very low :) but I've been through these sorts of feelings with musical performance. A lot of people get performance anxiety for all sorts of things.

    It's an irrational process. Intellectually you know that nothing bad is going to happen, but your body still reacts in this unhelpful way. And comments from other people like "don't worry, just do your best" or "you don't need to feel afraid" won't help very much, because they're telling you stuff you already know.

    The thing that helped me most was mental rehearsal. That is, sitting down at home before the event and imagining what things are going to be like. You can say to yourself--I know I'm going to feel sick, nervous, shaky, whatever it is that happens to you--but I'm going to play anyway. Imagine what you're going to feel like standing on the court, and visualise yourself playing your normal game despite those feelings.

    Everyone has their own way of dealing with this (and it affects some people worse than others). Stick at it, it does get easier over time.
     
  6. chrisdude

    chrisdude New Member

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    in one of my class, i learned a trick called "Supermen mind set". it is the process that u trick your brain into thinking that you are the best of the best. how??? let me explain a little.
    at the important times. u think of things that u did which was great. ur best achievements. u keep doing this until u feel like u r invincible, that u are able to do anything.
    i'm sure u can fine much better instructions if u just google on the topic. good luck
     
  7. chewablemorphin

    chewablemorphin Regular Member

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    This certainly would be conveniant, however, this is only a distraction only try to fool yourself. In fact this could quite possibly detract from your overall game.
     
  8. kinoko

    kinoko Regular Member

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    force ur self to join as many competition as u can.. thats my only suggestion. i doubt that super dan won every single game since he started playing.
     

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