Any competitive sport brings on strong emotions. In many martial arts, those emotions are compounded by the intense physicality of the sport and the fact that it puts us in positions and situations that are uncomfortable, if not painful. As competitors we no doubt have experienced a sense of self-doubt, a lack of confidence and a certain intimidation at performing in front of our teammates and coaches, and fighting an opponent we have maybe never faced before. We feel pressure to prepare adequately, to perform and to live up to our own expectations as well as those of our team. Nerves are normal, and managing competition nerves is important.
Nerves are part of the game, and they actually serve a purpose. The fact that we are nervous before competing tells us how important this is to us. Nerves communicate to us that this is serious and help us focus. Uncontrolled however, nerves can become detrimental to performance and can impact the way we feel mentally and physically.
It is important to learn how our nerves affect us and what tools and strategies work best for managing them. This is going to be different for everyone and it requires some experimenting to find the tactics that are more successful for you, as well as practice to become more adept at utilizing those tactics.
There are so many different ways you can work on managing nerves and anxiety and each will be more or less accessible depending on the person. It is important to try different techniques to figure out what works best for you. There are numerous other tools and skills that could feature on this list, however here are three ideas to try when learning to manage your competition nerves.
Mind Your Basics
When managing any aspect of our mental health, it is important to mind our basics. This means things like maintaining a proper diet, drinking enough water and getting an adequate amount of sleep. It also includes stretching before and after training and taking the time to recover from injuries.
Minding the basics of health and self-care helps give us a buffer against anxiety and difficult emotions. It is the pillar of how we care for ourselves and gives us a more stable baseline to then use tools and strategies to manage emotions like anxiety. We often forget about these things because they should go without saying, but it is important to prioritize them in order to be in the mental and physical place to take on the mental challenges we encounter.
Focus on Smaller Pieces
It can be overwhelming to look at the big picture and this can create anxiety. We start making assumptions, anticipating outcomes and predicting the future. We forget what steps have to lead us to the end results, and looking at that result alone can make us feel like we aren’t in control of it. The truth is, however, that result truly is within our control. Zooming in and breaking down the process into smaller steps helps us accomplish each of those steps with more success and helps us feel more in control.
When it comes to competition, take it one step at a time. For example, the night before, prep your bag and your uniform, have a good meal and focus on relaxation and having a good night’s sleep. On the day of, start with having the address on hand and knowing where you’re going, coordinating with team members and coaches, and any other logistics. Once you get there, get signed in, etc. and then focus on getting warmed up. Don’t think about your first match.
As you’re waiting for your first match, then focus on calming your mind and think about stepping on the mat – don’t think further ahead. Once you get called up to the mats, focus on how you want to engage. Just focus on that piece. So on and so forth. Focus on one step at a time. It doesn’t mean you can’t have game plan and train for it, it simply means not letting your mind make assumptions and anticipate worst case scenarios. This is very similar to the concept of mindfulness and being in the present moment.
Change Your Self-Talk
Self-talk can be vicious. We are our own worst critics. It is important to intentionally and actively make sure our self-talk is the same as the way we would talk to a loved one or teammate. This means being mindful of talking down to ourselves and beating ourselves up mentally. It’s important to visualize best outcomes and find confidence in our skills. It can be helpful to write down negative thoughts about ourselves and then physically cross them out and replace them with a more truthful and positive statement.
Reciting positive statements to ourselves may feel contrived at first, and it doesn’t necessarily have to look like affirmations to be effective. It can just be about changing the narrative in our heads. The skills and techniques we know and have practiced are only as effective and powerful as the conviction behind them.
Everyone experiences anxiety or nerves before competing to some degree. For some, managing nerves is difficult but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible. It’s important to find the tools that work for you. When it comes to competing, our mind can be a much more powerful asset than our body.
She began volunteering in the mental health field in 2013, hoping to help provide a service she wished she knew existed when she was in her darkest place. Dedicating herself to Distress Centre Durham, she started as a crisis helpline responder and became a mentor, trainer and supervisor. In 2017, DCD awarded her their Volunteer of the Year Award and in 2018, she won Distress and Crisis Ontario’s Spirit of Volunteerism Award.
Her involvement with DCD led her to seek out further education and training in mental health. She holds a diploma in Social Service Work from Humber College and has attended Ryerson University and University of Toronto as a psychology student. She has also completed countless certificates, such as the Applied Suicide Interventions Skills Training.
Valéry now delivers talks and workshops, raising awareness and equipping people with the tools and language to support others and manage their own mental health. In 2019, she delivered a TEDx talk on the stigma surrounding suicide. She has also written for organizations such as the National Alliance for Mental Illness and the International Bipolar Foundation.
- Managing Nerves for Competition - August 16, 2021
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