The Keys to Mentally Preparing For A Grappling Competition

So you have a competition coming up? Here are some important points on preparing yourself mentally for victory.

One of the first pieces of advice that I give people that I'm training is to address what they will do when their in trouble. This isn't thinking negatively but taking care of a negative situation before it happens, and focusing on turning it into a positive one.

When you get in trouble and are put in a bad position during sparring what is your initial reaction and how do you cope with the pressure?

By bringing this out in the open and honestly looking for the mental and emotional weaknesses in yourself you can set up solutions for better coping with negative situations and bad positions to help keep yourself in a resourceful state of mind instead of losing your focus, getting frazzled and giving up.

Once you understand where you are most likely to panic or fall apart mentally, then you are in a better position to put yourself there on purpose during sparring and remind yourself to breathe, relax, and stay focused. The more you practice the new reaction to the stress, the more you will develop the confidence to get yourself out of the bad situation both mentally and physically. Push yourself to new levels of drive and focus on what you need to do when in trouble and you will be able to move past your negative emotions. Remember to ask your instructor for help in order to get options for getting out of the bad situations that cause you to think negatively.

Another very important piece of advice I offer is to enter the competition with the mindset of performing well on a moment to moment basis, not winning. When you goal and mindset is to win, you will feel more pressure if you get stuck in a bad situation, because you will feel further away from your goal of winning. But by focusing on performing well in the moment you then stay focused when things are going bad and are much more likely to turn things around, escape the bad position and end up winning the match.

Decide to enjoy the competition beforehand and have fun no matter what. By not deciding to have fun you can easily slip into too much of a nervous state come competition day and fall apart mentally. Although being a little nervous is a good thing, you don't need to worry about this some nervousness is normal come game day when you stand before spectators and your opponent. You'll want to go to the competition thinking about how much fun you'll have grappling and competing and what a great learning opportunity this will be.

Ultimately by treating the competition as a learning experience you can help alleviate some pressure and develop a more solid focus which is critical to performing at your best.

     By Kosta Megas 

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