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Have you ever thought of meditation? Working on breathing and focus? I know as a martial artist it was one of the biggest things we worked on in preparation for a tournament. I often still use the techniques to keep myself calm and collected. I get that you wouldn't have the money, but have you ever thought about checking out good calming techniques online? I was just curious because I agree that you're a very smart player, but I've felt your biggest weakness just from the videos I've seen have a lot to do with mentality than physical ability. Plus with all of your training you seem to be in great shape and your shots look stronger. I hope you'll consider it because it'd be great to see you go for the gold and that I actually have written to you
Good luck with training!
I had to add this and you can take it as you'd like, but I used to teach meditation in my self defense classes and I just want to explain it. Maybe you could try to fit it in.
A lot of people think that meditation is about drowning out everything so that you can be one with yourself, I've always had the opposite philosophy from my instructors and father who were all talented black belt and master black belts. Typically the amount of time you want to meditate is all up to how much time you have available. I recommend starting out at 1 minute at the beginning of your day and 1 minute at the end of your day. You want to find a room that is secluded from distractions, but not sounds. A full on 60 second session involves focusing on breathing.
Take the breath fully into your diaphragm and lungs through the nose. Hold for a moment and concentrate on how the oxygen fills your body. Then exhale from the mouth and again focus on the air leaving your diaphragm and lungs. Listen intently toward every sound. Pick out the the sound of your breathing, the footsteps from people around you, the air from the vents, the train or cars passing on the road outside. Focus on all the sounds and let your mind rest. By focusing on the sounds and feeling your muscles contract and release from breathing you can release a lot of tension from your mind and body. The breathing can become second nature and allow you to focus on the ball easier as well as your opponents movements.
If you want to practice it try to increase the amount of time by 1 minute a day until you are at your maximum allowed time. Whether it's 15 minutes or 60 minutes it helps to focus everything in competition.
For me it was Martial Arts and it helped me to focus on my opponents movements. Every step they took every adjustment in body weight helped me to read their kicks and punches. It allowed me to sense them getting ready to throw me for a take down or dive in for a double leg tackle.
I hope this helps you a lot William.
Good luck with training!
I had to add this and you can take it as you'd like, but I used to teach meditation in my self defense classes and I just want to explain it. Maybe you could try to fit it in.
A lot of people think that meditation is about drowning out everything so that you can be one with yourself, I've always had the opposite philosophy from my instructors and father who were all talented black belt and master black belts. Typically the amount of time you want to meditate is all up to how much time you have available. I recommend starting out at 1 minute at the beginning of your day and 1 minute at the end of your day. You want to find a room that is secluded from distractions, but not sounds. A full on 60 second session involves focusing on breathing.
Take the breath fully into your diaphragm and lungs through the nose. Hold for a moment and concentrate on how the oxygen fills your body. Then exhale from the mouth and again focus on the air leaving your diaphragm and lungs. Listen intently toward every sound. Pick out the the sound of your breathing, the footsteps from people around you, the air from the vents, the train or cars passing on the road outside. Focus on all the sounds and let your mind rest. By focusing on the sounds and feeling your muscles contract and release from breathing you can release a lot of tension from your mind and body. The breathing can become second nature and allow you to focus on the ball easier as well as your opponents movements.
If you want to practice it try to increase the amount of time by 1 minute a day until you are at your maximum allowed time. Whether it's 15 minutes or 60 minutes it helps to focus everything in competition.
For me it was Martial Arts and it helped me to focus on my opponents movements. Every step they took every adjustment in body weight helped me to read their kicks and punches. It allowed me to sense them getting ready to throw me for a take down or dive in for a double leg tackle.
I hope this helps you a lot William.
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