Competition Mindset
I’m in a room with a couple dozen fighters and staff. On the other side of the double doors are more than 100 people eager to watch the finals of Longpoint 2017. Someone calls my name and I stage just on the other side of those doors, moments away from all those eyes.
What if I don’t do well?
My heart rate jumps up in anticipation of the fight. I look out, I step out, I look down.
Do I even deserve to be here?
I stand across the mat from my opponent. They announce us, but I barely hear it. I can’t make eye contact.
He trained more than me.
Negative thoughts race through my head, anxiety that I can’t uphold the standard of someone who has gotten this far, that everyone knows I shouldn’t even be on the mat, that if I don’t get these two points all the ones before are meaningless. I worry so much about doing well that when the fight starts I forget to DO.
I promptly get thrown. Read more