Keeping composure during a tournament

[zxcvbnmnbvcxz]

I have a lot of mental trouble when I fence. I get really nervous before the tournament starts (I had to throw up in the bathroom once) and if I start to do bad, I get really frustrated (to the point where I'm about to throw my mask, but I stop myself). I'm sure both of these hurt my fencing.

I'm only 19 years old and I fence sabre for my university team in England. Help? Advice?

[Katman]

How long have you been fencing? The more tournaments I went to, the less stress I felt, though I never felt it to the level you're describing.

Are you there on some sort of fencing scholarship?

[AdamH]

Hello, sorry to hear about the nerves. Most people can feel a bit put upon in some situations, here are a few things specific to fencing tournaments that have helped me not just relax but also enjoy the experience and fence as well as might be expected.

I like to get to a venue a bit earlier than expected. Say hello to the staff wandering in, find the changing/toilet facilities and the big, empty fencing hall or halls. Wander about for a few minutes, get the lay of the land (my territory!), especially the hall itself. Then, find a good place to put bags and whatnot, lie down, get comfy and maybe have a nap while others arrive (say hello to the first few other arrivees is polite and friendly).

Eventually your team/clubmates will start making their appearance. Say hello, how was your accommodation, is there a good pub.

Sooner I'm changed into my fencing gear, sooner I can encourage others to help me get warmed up.

Oh come on, I need a warm up. Please, you do such a great preparation/counterattack/mask dropkick.

A prowl or two around the hall as other familiar faces (Oh hello, were you at tournament x? Oh ho, indeed you were, beat me 15-0 you scallywag. Well, good luck) might have arrived.

Poules get called, get along to the correct piste. First on the piste? Well buggeration, here we go.

Get clipped in, quick mental check to remind myself, yes, actually I've got a pretty damn decent quarte-riposte or what have you and remember Distance!

Weapons test, good luck. Salute. Mask down, maybe a little blues line a la Samuel L. Jackson in "The Long Kiss Goodnight"; "Got my foil and my feet, ba da da, ba da. Hitting you in tempo is sweet, ba da da, ba da".

Fence, breathe.

A little personal, ahem, 'warcry' on the obvious attacks, and certainly on the obvious feints never hurts. Shouting can be fun! (within reason, be considerate as you win and not a daftie as you lose).

Mask off, shake hands, "thank you" and check to make sure I remembered to use my better tactics (distance! timing!), if not, next bout better include them!

Otherwise, just enjoy the experience and fit myself into the fencing to the best of my abilities.

Hope this helps

I also smoke like a chimney and drink nothing but a concoction of powerade, orange juice and salt all day. This I naturally do not recommend to all.

[Durando]

Originally Posted by zxcvbnmnbvcxz

I have a lot of mental trouble when I fence. I get really nervous before the tournament starts (I had to throw up in the bathroom once)

Realize that your identity is not your fencing.

Oh... and...

Corn liquor can take the edge off.

[telkanuru]

It's something you get used to. The more tournaments you do the more familiar the event is to you the less worked up you tend to get.

[GuitarKid]

oh man sorry to hear about that i had the same problem, i just thougth about my other bouts and wentover what i did right and what i did wrong or just thought about something else... the same thing goes for if you are going on a date.

[RITFencing]

As was mentioned, experience helps.

So does distracting yourself from the fencing while you're not in a bout. Talk to your teammates, listen to music, whatever you have to do.

Do you have problems with other competitve activities? Have you ever competed before this? Is there a lot of pressure from your team?

[MyrddinsPrecint]

Yes, it gets better as you go on.

In the meantime, I bet you want something you can do--- my suggestion is the "mental toughness" type sports psychology type stuff. There have been a few decent threads (check the search function for those)

There isn't much in terms of fencing specific sport psychology, but it's pretty much all very similar---- grab tennis stuff, or just general stuff, it all has things that will help you--- you might have to alter it a bit, but it's pretty damn straightforward.

[RITFencing]

One other thing you can do: Train like crazy. If you get better, you'll have more confidence in yourself, so that when it's competition time, you have some more confidence to fall back on. It doesn't fix everything, but every little bit helps (and who couldn't use more practice?)

[Inquartata]

This is the "fight or flight" response in action. Your body is getting itself ready for a battle. We evolved thus because the response enhances our ability in combat. You may feel sure that it is harming your performance, and as far as technical skills and careful thinking it may well be...but it is also probably helping your physical performance. The adrenaline boosts muscle strength and reflex speed; the tunnel vision helps filter out distractions; etc.

In the end, though, you are NOT going into battle. Your life doesn't depend on the outcome of a touch. The weapons, aren't. You are quite safe, really. Remember this. ( My problem these days is that experience has made me take competitions too much in stride. I wish that I could recapture some of the nervous energy I used to get before a tournament, it might serve to keep me from running out of gas against the 16-year-old dervishes I have to fence sometimes. )


There are also a lot of mental relaxation techniques which can help calm you and forestall the worst of the adrenaline dump. Worth a try.

[sleepyweasle]

Do Remember - the reason that you are doing this is IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE FUN!!! As Inq said - you are NOT really going into battle. Yes it would be lovely to do really well BUT nothing earthshaking will happen if you don't.

Relax... take one touch at a time and remember to HAVE FUN. Enjoy the fencing. That's why you got into this in the first place, remember?

(This approach saved my daughter's sanity. )

[sabregrrrl]

I experienced the same thing last year (my first year of fencing). I wanted to get off to a good start, but that led to me demanding perfection from myself, which led to more nerves, and continued the cycle. This season I am focusing on letting myself relax and have fun. And....that has led to better results and much better fencing.

[Greg]

Just keep things in perspective. Fencing is great fun, but its still just a sport! Fencing doesn't cure cancer, solve the world's problems, etc. Relax and do you very best. Win or lose, its not the end of the world.

[lindajdunn]

Have you tried breathing exercises?

Breathe in through the nose. Hold. Exhale through the mouth. Repeat.

[Mike O]

There was a thread a few months ago called "pre-competition nervousness" that should offer you some good insights. Try running a search for it.

[PalmFrond]

Originally Posted by Inquartata

This is the "fight or flight" response in action. Your body is getting itself ready for a battle. We evolved thus because the response enhances our ability in combat. You may feel sure that it is harming your performance, and as far as technical skills and careful thinking it may well be...but it is also probably helping your physical performance. The adrenaline boosts muscle strength and reflex speed; the tunnel vision helps filter out distractions; etc.

I found that my problems with nerves were ameliorated when I learned the above. What helped me really get over my nerves however was making a conscious effort to enjoy them and the sensations which came with them: the energy, the speed and on a very good day, the feeling of being nearly invincible. It's natural to want to fight nerves, but try 'staying with' the feeling rather than ignoring it or wishing for it to go away.

Now I dread the competitions where I feel no nerves. It's a fairly reliable sign of being flat.

[jfarmer]

Originally Posted by zxcvbnmnbvcxz

I have a lot of mental trouble when I fence. I get really nervous before the tournament starts (I had to throw up in the bathroom once) and if I start to do bad, I get really frustrated (to the point where I'm about to throw my mask, but I stop myself). I'm sure both of these hurt my fencing.

I'm only 19 years old and I fence sabre for my university team in England. Help? Advice?

Yeah, in general, throwing your mask is bad. Tends to get you carded...

Do you get nervous before performances in other activities? Does the nervous feelings start well before you reach the venue?

It sounds like you have a couple of things going on here.

The first is dealing with the pre-performance anxiety. Several good suggestions have been mentioned. I would also suggest that you develop a preparation routine for getting to the venue, setting up your gear, dressing, and warming up. You don't want the "I can't fence because I put on my left sock first instead of my right..." routine, but you want to have something familar to allow your mind and body to both "warm up" for competition.

For the nerves and frustration during a bout, I would suggest the following:

First, remeber to focus on one touch, this touch. Don't carry feelings from the last touch to this one. Everyone gets touches scored against them.

Second, If you score a touch, see if you can discern why. (Don't chalk it up to luck!) If scored on, then how did your opponent do it?

Third, when you come on guard, relax your body and focus on your breathing. Don't tighten your focus to just your opponent, hold the strip and the referee in your vision. Don't think about how to get the touch, just breathe and think tactics, not actions.

There are a couple of books on the USFCA reading list that I've found helpful, both from a coaching prespective and as a fencer. The first is "One Touch at a Time: Psychological Processes in Fencing" by Aladar Kogler. The second is "The Inner Game of Tennis" by W. Timothy Gallwey. Both address some of the issues that come up both pre-performance anxiety and nerves and frustration during a bout(game).

John Farmer
Coach, Oak Ridge Fencers Club

[Piranha]

I still have problems with my nerves, and I have been fencing competitively over 10 years! If the standard exercises don't work for you, you might try finding a good sports psychologist (I just started with one).