"Do yo think that's air you're breathing now?"

[Lotan]

If you will allow me a moment of athletic mysticism, how, pray tell, do you get "The Zone"? I ask with the hope of comparing various methods in order to settle a wager that I made with maestro (never make a bet with an Italian...).

[Lotan]

Clarification: never make a bet with an Italian foilist .

[Lotan]

Edit: OK bets are fine, but be prepared to pay. In footwork.

[Peach]

Work and train like h**l all year long, enjoy yourself, and do your best no matter where you go. Once in a while you will be in the Zone, and besides you'll win a heck of a lot more often even when you're not.

[Lotan]

hmmmm... (strokes unshaven chin pensively) sounds good to me.

footwork + bladework + treadmill= enlightenment

[Iwant2bafencer]

Not only work but you have to want it. You have to clear everything from your mind except whatever it is you're doing, and concentrate. If you hate what you're doing it's generally harder to 'get in the zone' than it would be if you like what you're doing.

[Max]

This sounds odd, but meditate while you're fencing- (I gave away my big secret!) Imagine a picture in your mind, any picture, and focus on that. This is not something you decide to do in the middle of a tournament, btw. By meditating, when done correctly, you bring your conscious mind out of the bout. Have any of you ever seen Major League 2? The one catcher can only throw when he thinks of other things- like playboy articles he's memorized. It's the same idea- It brings out inner instinct and reflexes without having to go through the process- do this, and this. Oh no! Dodge! You also are given better control. It's difficult, but when mastered, makes you like a Jedi.

[Inquartata]

Well, basically you need to consume protein and carbohydrates in certain combinations, with proportions of 25-50% protein to 75-50% carbs. Of course, a pasta-loving Italian will be aghast at the very prospect, one imagines.

[grotto]

for me "the zone" is a state of mind. when I can hand over the fencing tasks to the reactive part of the brain and not "think" about my executing. Not to get too Zen but there is a definite disconnect between what I am doing, and what I am thinking about. It is as if I was watching myself fence, seeing an opening and capitalizing on it.

[Rogue]

Have any of you ever seen Major League 2? The one catcher can only throw when he thinks of other things- like playboy articles he's memorized.

I believe you are referring to the movie Bull Duram.
ML II may also have this plot, all I remember is that it paled to ML I
The Zone is a very Zen thing. One knows it when one is in it.
But, one would have to be crazy to believe there is some mystic, unseeable, unknowable, non-objectifiable state of being.

[dunastor]

But, one would have to be crazy to believe there is some mystic, unseeable, unknowable, non-objectifiable state of being.

Such as "alive"?

[mollusk]

I've only been in the "zone" a few times in my life. The first time was playing basketball and I swear the basket looked 5 ft across. I was playing pick-up ball at the University of Illinois back in the 1970's with a bunch of former college (Division I) players and everything I threw up when in dead center. After my first few shots swished the guys on my team made sure I got the ball every trip down the court. I must have shot 10 for 11 or so and everything from 17 ft on out. The only reason I was playing was that they needed a tenth guy to run a full-court game. Everyone else in the game was a lot better player than me, but somehow I rose to the ocassion and had a great day. Lucky for me I never had to play with them again and live up to a reputation earned on a very unusual day.

The next time was also on the basketball court but this time playing 1-on-1. I was making turn-around 23 ft jump shots with a hand in my face and simply could not miss. I think I hit about fifteen long (20 ft and longer), contested shots in a row. Once again the basket looked to be the size of a bathtub. I've had a few other "in the zone" days playing basketball, but those two were the most memorable.

I've only been in the "zone" for extensive times fencing twice, but I've only been fencing a few years. It was VERY cool. Everything was in slow motion. Also I could see the face of my opponents almost as clearly as if they weren't wearing a mask. I was able to see their eyes and discern their complete mental state. It was like I knew what they were going to do before they did.
I had a brief flash of the zone this past year where it suddenly popped in my head to flick attack the lame clip of my opponent and I hit it dead on. Trust me, my everyday point control is nowhere near that good.

I wish I could put this "zone" stuff in a bottle. There have been lots of times out on the piste where I have been absolutely clueless!

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

I got in the zone once.... it was wierd, but I loved it. It was like everything was in bullet time like in the matrix, for me, but not for them, and I could have just sat there all day thinking about what to do next. Several times I saw a blade coming toward my hand, and I just moved it out of the way, took a breather, and flicked them on the forearm. The only think I can recall about that day is that I wasnt very fired up about fencing, I was supposed to lose the next match (he was a B) and I was kind of depressed about it all, cause I hadnt won a bout in that entire pool. However, before the bout, I listened to break stuff by limp bizkit, and it got me sort of pumped up for the bout. I think it was the depressedness and getting pumped for the fight that put me right between on the graph between relaxed and excited, which triggers some kind of brain response that puts you in the zone.
I think its when your not expecting anything about yourself that you do the best, when your crush isnt watching, and you dont know anybody there, and your weapons are working, but you aint concerned with whats going on off the strip. Its like there is nothing off the strip, the only thing in the world is you, your opponent, and the sweet bliss of the blade.

I want to learn how to turn the zone on and off. Would be great to get rid of my stutter.

[Soldier]

Turn your mind off. When I used to fence, I remember I started actually doing really well when I reached the state where I simply didn't have any conscious thoughts. There was the desire for the kill (so that I would concentrate on driving the point home, not pulling off at the end of the attack), and then my senses and reflexes. Nothing else. I remember several times fending off extremely complicated combined attacks from my instructor, then somehow working my blade back in through his defenses in some kind of blade take/disengage/I don't know what else. His reaction after the touch was, "Wow...what the hell did you just do?" I didn't know. My hand just did its own thing. So basically, just...stop thinking.

[Rogue]

While fencing ponder this:
What if C-A-T spelled dog?

[grotto]

I think it was the depressedness and getting pumped for the fight that put me right between on the graph between relaxed and excited, which triggers some kind of brain response that puts you in the zone.

DFP, I think you just nailed it exactly.

[Epee_Pox]

The Zone is a state of total attention. You are aware of almost everything, can anticipate almost everything, and can react to almost everything.

This is a state that most people find by accident, here and there. Perhaps they're sick, or tired, or psyched up, and it all just happens to click that time. The reason it all just clicks is because they don't really have any attention to spare for anything else, so what they're doing gets all of their attention. (The problem with that is when all of a sudden something happens demanding more attention, and they can't spare any, and things go wrong. Lots of car accidents happen this way, when folks can't process the new info that is about to smack into them.)

However, some people can get there often. Some can even get in the zone at will, whenever they want. Snipers and competitive marksmen self-hypnotize, but that's different. The folks who can do it all the time are... the ones who do it all the time. In other words, the more often you make yourself concentrate and focus your attention, the easier it gets and the oftener you can do it. Fighter pilots, Formula1/motorcycle racers, and that amazing video gamer kid down your block are examples of people who get in the zone on a regular basis.

Some folks try to get there by "emptying their minds." They sort of get the point, and are trying to get rid of all the distractions whizzing around their brains so they can focus on that one thing. But emptying your mind is in reality as difficult as holding back the tide with a teaspoon. Instead of practicing emptying your mind, practice concentrating on what you're doing. Start small with basic activities, and once you can get in the zone with them, move on to things demanding more of your available concentration. In time, you too may be entering the Zone at will, and the rest of us will groan with dismay upon seeing that you're up against us in the first round of the DE.

[Soldier]

The folks who can do it all the time are... the ones who do it all the time.

::Salutes Captain Obvious::

[Epee_Pox]

::Returns the salute::


CO, Department of Redundancy Department

[Epee_Pox]

What I meant, of course, was practice makes perfect.