Mental skills for athletes
As an aspiring Judo athlete, commonly you will do Judo training sessions and gym sessions. Running sessions will likely be included; but what about your mental preparation? Are you treating that with the same seriousness as your Judo, gym and running sessions.
The science
A recent review of research (Rossi, et al.) concluded that mood state (anger, tension, confusion, depression, fatigue, and vigor), anxiety, motivation, and mental toughness are factors that affect the result of Judo contests.
Which means that as an athlete you need to develop your skills in regard to mood, anxiety, motivation and toughness. To do this you will need to learn techniques and practice them just as you would a new throw.
If you have access to a sport psychologist via your club or national federation; take advantage of what they can offer.
Below are a few ideas to get you started, or to help you identify techniques that may benefit you.
Mood state
Establishing a ‘quick set’ routine as described by Andrew Hamilton in the Sports Performance Bulletin can help you set your mood state prior to competing. A large number of Judo athletes at IJF events were headphones and listen to music that they find settles them into the right mindset to compete.
Anxiety
Managing anxiety may be helped by positive self-talk, acknowledging that the anxiety is there and it’s a physical reaction to needing to perform. If the level is too high you may want to learn some relaxation techniques, such as meditation, or simply lying down closing your eyes and relaxing all the muscles in your body systematically.
Motivation
Roberts et al. highlight that motivation is perhaps the largest area in sport psychology. They also (very broadly) describe the two main theories on motivation which if you can identify in yourself and structure accordingly you may be able to sustain the optimal motivation.
Are you motivated by goals and achievement? Or by mastery of a skill?
If you can identify factors that motivate you. For example if you know you are achievement focused; arranging your training around targets like number of uchi komi, hours of training, etc. may work for you. Number of randori is a very popular tool here in the UK.
Alternatively, if mastery is more your thing. You may find video analysis useful.
Mental toughness
Dealing with the pain, the weight management, losing is hard. Judo athletes need to develop the toughness. Experience will help; as will be maintaining perspective on how each bruise, each lost contest is a step in the right direction.
Camberley Judo Club coach Luke Preston can be heard to say things like “another one in the bank”; which is a catchphrase for the deeper idea that every hard session builds towards the bigger goal. That the pain you feel (mental or physical) is temporary; that you will overcome.
Training for mental skills
As with other skills you need to develop; you will want to simulate the situations as close to the competition environment as possible.
For example, most athletes will have “test contests” prior to big events. Tough sessions in the club, with a referee, with a scoreboard, etc. You could take these to the next level and consider trying to get your mind into the same mental state that you experience at a competition.
You might request that a trusted friend talk you down (you’ll never win; shes stronger than you; they beat so and so easily) so that you can deal with negativity with them taking the place of your internal monologue.
Of course like all training, don’t go too far, too soon. You’d not start benchpressing 200kg without ever picking up a weight before. So the above example is potentially as likely to injure you and trying to benchpress 200kg.
Start with warmup (positive self talk, music etc) and then try and take small increments towards more and more realistic scenarios.
Use experts!
Talk to your personal coach, talk to your national coach. Reach out to the sport psychologists in your national setup, your university.
You won’t make it to the highest level without experts. You need to learn the mental skills that you need. They may be similar to those used by others; but just as with Judo throws, weights, etc. you will need to learn what works for you; and develop the skills over time.
Good luck, take it is small increments.
