psychological and tactical development

[lemon__fresh]

I have definatley experienced the situation quoted below...

"Say for example that you are prepared physically and technically. You take an excellent lesson yet when it comes to the actual fencing bout it falls apart. You worry about losing, your actions become much larger, you cannot seem to pick up your opponent’s timing and before you can do anything about it, the bout is over and you can’t remember a thing except that you lost and you shouldn’t have! This fencer is not going to improve to any great extent by diligently training and following a physiological or a technical training program. However by spending time on psychological and tactical development this fencer will be addressing the inhibiting problems and will improve."

from the article: http://www.fencingonline.com/academy...%20fencing.htm

I try to maintane a positive outlook on the bout and keep my mind clear and calm in order to think clearly. Although there are times when frustration gets the best of me and the above situation results.

I was wondering in what ways you guys/gals address/develope your own "psychological and tactical development"? As it's an extremely important part of the sport

[MyrddinsPrecint]

I compete as often as is physically, financially, and academically possible. It's not enough to be at a club practicing fencing a lot-- that obviously helps, but if you have specific problems competing, as most people do, you have to do it more.

Figure out what your psychological difficulties are, and then find sports psychology ways to help.

You mentioned it's hard to clear your mind? The easiest way is to create a physical ritual that leads to clear thinking. The concept is simple-- you pick a simple physical ritual. You practice keeping your mind especially clear while you do it, during a non-stressful situation. You do that a lot, and then eventually you also do it under semi-stressful scenarios. Eventually you'll automatically do it during competition.

Tennis sports psych books (of which there are many) involve createing (sometimes very complex) rituals in between points. looking at your racket, touching it, whatever.

So you can create some sort of thing you do midbout (some people wipe their feet on their socks when it doesn't neeeeed to be done, some people straighten their already straight blades, some people walk to the warning zone and back to the en garde line). The trick is finding something that you won't start to tick off the director and look like delay of bout. It's also better if it's something you can practice when you don't have gear on. My recommendation (as suggested by a very smart lady) was to make self-cues with your back hand--- touch a thumb to a specific finger, or whatever you think will work. (try to be able to pick two cues, you may eventually want to have a calm yourself down AND a hype yourself up cue.)

If you're having problems learning to clear your mind, try to start instead on concentrating on ONE thing-- a word, a physical stimulus (the feel of your glove against your hand, whatev), and only think about the one thing.

There do exist one or two resources for psychological skills as directly relate to fencing (check other sports psych threads)--- but it's not that different from one sport to another. You can find ways to relate these things back. There are lots of tennis books, which is probably the closest in terms of easily available popular books.

[lemon__fresh]

wow, great points... always wondered about some of the things the pros usually are doing between touches

[Redblade]

You mentioned it's hard to clear your mind? The easiest way is to create a physical ritual that leads to clear thinking. The concept is simple -- you pick a simple physical ritual. You practice keeping your mind especially clear while you do it, during a non-stressful situation. You do that a lot, and then eventually you also do it under semi-stressful scenarios. Eventually you'll automatically do it during competition.

Tennis sports psych books (of which there are many) involve creating (sometimes very complex) rituals in between points. looking at your racket, touching it, whatever.

So you can create some sort of thing you do midbout (some people wipe their feet on their socks when it doesn't neeeeed to be done, some people straighten their already straight blades, some people walk to the warning zone and back to the en garde line). The trick is finding something that you won't start to tick off the director and look like delay of bout. ...

All good points. Very good.

Here's a simple example that can work: At the end of each touch, walk back to your line plus just a couple of steps beyond. Give a little wave of your hand (noticeable only to yourself) as though to suggest you're tossing something aside -- the negatives or tension remaining after the last touch. Take a deep breath. And then turn and step back to the line.

If you practice a sequence consistently during training, you can trigger the same emotional effect much more quickly with abbreviated steps during competitions -- step back, hand shake, breathe, turn. After all, as MP notes, you can't afford to bug the ref with too much elaboration. In my little example above, the actions actually only takes about a second and they're not very obvious to anyone who doesn't already know what you're doing.

The important thing, though, is that you've got to do it consistently and often during training. Repeatedly. Because it takes lots of positive reenforcement to establish a habit to the point where it becomes automatic and effective under actual stress conditions. Do not give up after just a few weeks, even if you don't think you see a difference. You've got to give yourself time.

[dramamine]

i agree with the above posters. my coach wants me to develop a relaxation/focus routine that i do in between every hit. for each person it's different but you can catch a lot of habits with certain fencers. i like to walk a few steps back, shrug my shoulders out and take a couple of deep breaths. it's not quite enough to warrant a judge saying something but it is enough to piss off some of the people i fence haha

[jfarmer]

I would suggest that you pick up a copy of Aladar Kogler's book "One Touch at a time" and read particularly section 2. The entire book is very useful, but Sect. 2 directly addresses these issues.

One thing to remember, the stress levels, and the types of stress are different during competing, taking a lesson, or free bouting around the club. As others have mentioned you need to develop the skills before you need them. So how to do this? One method would be go set up mini-tournaments during open floor time. The winner gets something small, for example, the winner gets dinner bought for him after practice. (losers pitch in to cover it.)

The key is that you want to be able to bring yourself to the optimum level
mentally to compete without taking your internal stress levels to far. That's part of what the "rituals" various fencers use to settle into a bout, and between touches are for. To help you connect your best mental state to the here and now.

John Farmer
Coach, Oak Ridge Fencers Club

[chefencer]

... touch a thumb to a specific finger, or whatever you think will work...

Kogler's suggestion in 'Clearing the Path to Victory' is similar - develop a cue during mental relaxation/concentration practice of pressing the thumb and forefinger of the weapon hand together - as you do when holding the weapon.

Edit: And props to MP for the thoughtful post. I can't rep you currently.