Nerves of steel /or mush!

[arcon]

[ 10-19-2001: Message edited by: arcon ]

[Peach]

I am sick to my stomach, weary, clumsy, and horribly cranky just before a tournament. The more I'm complaining, the better I know I'll probably fence.

I hate it.

[arcon]

[ 10-19-2001: Message edited by: arcon ]

[arcon]

[ 10-19-2001: Message edited by: arcon ]

[Peach]

Originally posted by arcon:
Damn Peach i feel for you! Any thing we can do or say?..............arcon the concerned

Awwwwww . . . <grin> I'm willing to live with it, but my friends may not be. I'm a pain in the butt at tournaments and I know it. Funny thing is, I enjoy competing despite all that.

Sigh.

[mangofever]

befriend your competition, but you have to really mean it. it doesn't mean you have to marry your competition, or conduct an affair with your competition, it means, smile, be nice, and talk about your nervousness. it defuses the whole thing.

[swordsen]

I've been doing this for long enough now that it doesn't bother me at all. Now before a big match or an opponent that I really like to fence I'll get eager. that's about it.


[This message has been edited by swordsen (edited 03-09-2001).]

[darius]

Hey, what if we *want* to conduct an affair with the competition?

darius

[MikeHarm]

The green guy was probably The Mask.

Theres a lot of stuff on the net on sports psychology that deals with this issue. One web page on it that I liked was at:
http://www.mindtools.com/page11.html

Check out their symptoms of stress, odds are you'll find everything you're talking about going through in this thread listed.

Knowing is half the battle right?

Mike

[This message has been edited by MikeHarm (edited 03-08-2001).]

[Purple Fencer]

The only time I really worry is during the mask check!

I really don't seem to feel any fear or anxiety. Perhaps that's 'cause I'm out there to have fun, more than anything else. There's a certain freeing effect there, as I don't feel the pressure to win uber alles, although it feels damn nice to do so.

It's only when I face an opponent who has no blade control and continually gives me sabre-type slashes (in foil!) that gets me worried, but I usuall try to kill them quickly to spare myself any more bruises.

------------------
Sam Signorelli -- I'll be mellow when I'm
DEAD!

[Lumberg]

I'm quite relaxed before a tournament. I get worried in the middle of a tournament if my game is off.

------------------
Lumberg.
"...ahhh, we have sort of a problem here... yeah, you apparently didn't put one of the new cover sheets on your TPS report"

[thebigriddle]

I try not to get too emotional about a tournament or fencing for that matter. Your feelings can be your worst enemy. You have to take everything you do with a grain of salt. When I was younger I use to get mad and upset. Not as much, I hate losing, but I can deal with it. I tell this to my fencers to do the same. Use your head and don't get frustrated, that is your opponent's job.