The Right Mental Attitude

Discussion in 'Techniques / Training' started by pcll99, Nov 20, 2012.

  1. pcll99

    pcll99 Regular Member

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    i know i am supposed to do my best for every point. but if i do my best and lose the point, it doesn't feel good.

    so should i try my best to win every point? is that the right mental attitude?
     
  2. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    Knowing when in the game to push yourself is important. A game ebbs and flows.
     
  3. Wingu

    Wingu Regular Member

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    As Cheung pointed out, just like with any sport one has one's ups and downs, just like the opponent has.
    Badminton is as much a psychcological game as it is a physical. Once you get to a certain point skill-wise, mentality starts to play a bigger role. But that is also something each player has to work with.
    When I lose a point, I always think that I have to reset my mind and start afresh as each point has the potential to be mine to claim just as much as his.
     
  4. R20190

    R20190 Regular Member

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    I'm no expert in this area, in fact I struggle sometimes myself but from what I've found over the years is that I tend to play my best badminton when I'm actually genuinely enjoying the game and not caring about winning. My thinking is far clearer, I see the shuttle like it was a football and when I'm in that "zone", for some reason, shots seems to happen slower. It's as if they've been slowed down a few frames/sec and so I seem to be able to return the most power smashes with relative ease.

    It doesn't happen often, but when it does, you don't want it to stop.
     
  5. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    As mentioned, there are up days and then there are down days. But most important is to have a fun day. After all, we're not pros with our careers on the line; we're just recreational players playing for fun and exercise. So keep that in mind when playing and you'll have less pressure to win. Win is good but having fun is even better. :D
     
  6. pcll99

    pcll99 Regular Member

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    thanks.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)
     
  7. MSeeley

    MSeeley Regular Member

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    I know all too well what you mean. There is an important difference to distinguish between trying your hardest to win a point, and expecting to win a point. You should try your hardest at all times to win the point - you should perform as well as you possibly can. If this is not good enough, then you need to improve. This is a fact, and shouldn't make you unhappy - everyone needs to improve at something!

    If you expect to perform better just because you are trying, or expect to win the point because you tried, that is not necessarily helpful.

    Sometimes trying harder doesn't help you perform better. As others have said, sometimes you have off days, other times you put in no effort and play amazingly well. This is life - try hard, but don't expect everything to work. See whats working, see whats not, and make decisions about how to play based on that, and how to improve afterwards!

    Expecting to win is a mistake in my opinion. Nobody can really predict the future, and so when it doesn't go that way, you will feel disappointed and dejected. If it does go the way you want, you may not even be pleased - you expected it to happen and it did. Big deal. Try to avoid thinking about the outcome. Just enjoy the process :D

    Good luck!
     
  8. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Thanx! Very interesting article . After reading it, I can say that for me, the addiction of badminton is that I'm always trying to get to the next high from being in the flow or in the zone. :D
     
  9. vinod81

    vinod81 Regular Member

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    Basically follow the eastern philosophy, "Do your duty and Never Expect the Result ."
     
  10. pcll99

    pcll99 Regular Member

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    Yes, that's indeed a common eastern philosophy. But I disagree with the philosophy. Flow theory says the following.

    "Flow theory postulates three conditions that have to be met to achieve a flow state:


    1. One must be involved in an activity with a clear set of goals. This adds direction and structure to the task.[SUP][11][/SUP]
    2. The task at hand must have clear and immediate feedback. This helps the person negotiate any changing demands and allows him or her to adjust his or her performance to maintain the flow state.[SUP][11][/SUP]
    3. One must have a good balance between the perceived challenges of the task at hand and his or her own perceived skills. One must have confidence that he or she is capable to do the task at hand.[SUP][11][/SUP]
    However, it was argued that the antecedent factors of flow are interrelated, as a perceived balance between challenges and skills requires that one knows what he or she has to do (clear goals) and how successful he or she is in doing it (immediate feedback). Thus, a perceived fit of skills and task demands can be identified as the central precondition of flow experiences."

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)#Conditions_for_flow
     
  11. vinod81

    vinod81 Regular Member

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    i do not see any contradiction between the flow theory and the eastern philopsphy. you just focus on doing the best to win the point being played (flow theory). do not worry about the final score (eatern philosohy).
     
  12. pcll99

    pcll99 Regular Member

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    interesting. you may be right.

    "An autotelic person needs few material possessions and little entertainment, comfort, power, or fame because so much of what he or she does is already rewarding. Because such persons experience flow in work, in family life, when interacting with people, when eating, even when alone with nothing to do, they are less dependent on the external rewards that keep others motivated to go on with a life composed of routines. They are more autonomous and independent because they cannot be as easily manipulated with threats or rewards from the outside. At the same time, they are more involved with everything around them because they are fully immersed in the current of life."

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autotelic
     
  13. pcll99

    pcll99 Regular Member

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    How to achieve these? I don't understand the second one.


    1. intense and focused concentration on the present moment
    2. merging of action and awareness
    3. a loss of reflective self-consciousness
    4. a sense of personal control over the situation or activity
    5. a distortion of temporal experience, one's subjective experience of time is altered
    6. experience of the activity as intrinsically rewarding, also referred to as autotelic experience
     
  14. raymond

    raymond Regular Member

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    The little sports psychology I know says that there are controllable and uncontrollable factors. Your preparation before the matches are under your control (controllable). Your focus during the match is under your control. Winning ironically is not completely under your control (uncontrollable). Your opponent may also want to win.

    One should focus on the controllable, and disregard the other. In other words, don't think about winning or losing. Don't try too hard. Let your training take over your body (under your reflexes you developed).
     
  15. pcll99

    pcll99 Regular Member

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  16. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Vizualization of the shot:

    I find this one thing for me really helps to get myself out of the way and into the zone by visualising the shot I'm about to make just before I do it. When I remember or have time to do this, my shots go exactly where I want them to, whether it's a drop that touches the tape, or drive that just clears the tape, or smash that aims down the middle or racket hip. Anyone one else with similar experience or has other methods to strengthen our mental game?
     
  17. amleto

    amleto Regular Member

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    visualisation... I'd consider it a mental aspect of technique rather than 'attitude'.
     
  18. pcll99

    pcll99 Regular Member

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    i just discovered there is a recent article about Tang XH (ie, Lin Dan's former mentor). Tang XH is, i think, the embodiment of autotelic.

    http://sports.sina.com.cn/o/2012-11-19/12546301943.shtml
     

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