WrestlingGear.com Newsletter April 18, 2003 - Mental Skills, Combat Speed
Update, And More
April 18, 2003
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As we start the "off season"/freestyle/greco/summer folkstyle in almost
every state in the nation, its important to think about where you want to be
at the end of next wrestling season. There are still plenty of opportunities
to wrestle on the weekends even if you play other sports.
Have the goal in mind and divide it into chunks of time. Like 12 months
before, 10 months, before and divide each unit up into a week or two and
then identify what you can be doing to achieve your goals each day.
This also works for your academic goals as well. You will feel
overwhelmed to learn 6 or 8 weeks of information a day or two before
your test, cut the information into chunks and focus on studying each day
instead of cramming. This works well whether you are in grade school,
high school, or college.
We are always looking to add more links to our sites with wrestling sites.
If you have a website, let's trade links. All we ask is that it relate to
wrestling and contain nothing controversial or adult orientated. Send me
an email via our contact form on the site or respond to this email and we
can add links to http://www.wrestlinggear.com or
http://www.wrestlingshoes.com or http://www.highschoolwrestling.info or
http://www.illinoiswrestling.com
SPECIAL OFFER:
For the rest of April, order a pair of shoes or spend $65 with us and we
will pay the shipping up to $10 for your order. You must ask for the
special offer as we are only offering this to list members. You must
mention it at the time of placing the order.
FEEDBACK REQUESTED:
We are looking to add a login feature to our site. Do you think it would
benefit you to have the ability to look up the status of your order?
Currently we email you the tracking number and that seems to be working
well, but we want to give you what you want and need.
Also, if there is a certain product that you would like to have us add to the
site, let us know. We are looking to add Asics Wrestling shoes to the site.
What do you think about that? We will need to prove that our
current and prospective customers would like to buy Asics Wrestling
Shoes from us…keep in touch let us know how your shopping experience
was with us and if you have any positive or negative feedback.
Combat Speed - Back For 2003
Available again for the 2003 – 2004 season is the Combat Speed from
Adidas. Pre-order them now to be shipped October 15th! Don't wait
order now and we will upgrade standard shipping to 3 day select at our cost.
Combat Speeds will be as they look on the site. Adidas has listened to you
and has decided to keep the original design without the lace guard. There
will be no lace guard system to allow you to tape your shoes.
Click here for more info!
"Wrestle To Win" by Beasey Hendrix
Here is an excerpt from Beasey Hendrix's "Wrestle To Win" available
now on WrestlingGear.com!
This from an article called “Activation, Focus, and Self-talk”
Focus: Nervous, you talk to yourself, thinking about the match. You
feel your excitement build. You often use focus, self-talk, and
activation, you just don’t know it.
Many things can affect a wrestler’s performance. Physical concerns
such as conditioning, health, weight control, technical skill
level, and even the amount of practice time contribute to a
performance. Knowing how to mentally prepare for a match can be a
tricky process. It involves several concepts that are easy to
understand, but are rarely formally taught by coaches.
Goldilocks and the three bears
The first major concept that we need to understand is activation,
sometimes called arousal. Many sport psychologists and coaches use
the terms “activated” and “aroused” when discussing how excited a
wrestler is before a match, but what do these terms actually mean?
Performance theory proposes that an athlete has an optimum or
“best” level of nervousness or excitement. If he is too relaxed
(mentally too cold), he responds slowly and his performance levels
dip. If he is too nervous (mentally too hot), he becomes jittery
and overloaded with worries. He can lose focus, and his performance
may suffer.
We have all heard of the athlete who was “dead” before a match, or
of one who “choked”, but what do these terms mean, and what do
wrestlers need to know to understand the process of preparing for
competition? The easiest way to explain this concept is to recall
the story of Goldilocks and The Three Bears. Just like Goldie and
her porridge, wrestlers must find that point where their arousal is
“just right”.
Two Mental Skills
The first Skill is called “focus”. Focus is the ability to
concentrate or think about the important topics, while blocking out
or ignoring unneeded thoughts. We use this skill daily, and it
allows us to compete in a complicated environment. At a match, good
focus allows a wrestler to shift attention from the crowd, to an
opponent. It also helps the athlete to ignore a battle that is
taking place on a nearby mat, or a public address announcement that
occurs during his match. Without focus the world would offer too
much stimulation; we could never stay on task.
Unfortunately some individuals suffer from poor, or
inappropriate focus, and this can caused added anxiety and a resulting
over-arousal. They tend to focus on the negative aspects of the
competition and look at the problems they perceive.
There are some ways to improve focus. First, realize what you are
thinking about. Will it help prepare you for your match? You should
try and focus on topics that will aid you in planning or
performing. Then relax and wait, or plan your strategies, focusing
on whatever you feel will enhance your mental state.
The second skill is called “Self-talk”. Self-talk is the discussion
that athletes have with themselves. It can affect how you feel and
how you wrestle. Self-talk can be positive (I’m going to kill
him.), negative (Man, is he huge.) or neutral (I need this takedown
to win.) Work towards positive comments that you believe or neutral
statements that focus on a specific task.
Conclusions
Wrestlers can be too relaxed or too nervous. They must work to find
the proper middle ground. They can learn to control emotional
energy by understanding the concept of focus, and by directing
their attention to appropriate topics. An effort should also be
made to control self-talk, keeping it positive or neutral.
To read more, click here to buy “Wrestle To Win”
Adidas Response Singlet Available Now!
You can now get the Adidas Response singlet at WrestlingGear.com!
We offer this great singlet in Red, Black, and Royal Blue. Stop by
WrestlingGear.com today and pick one up!
We also have other reversible freestyle singlets in stock ready to ship. We
keep the site updated so what we have showing on the site is in stock
ready to ship.
Click here to order the Adidas Response
"Wrestle Your Perfect Match" by Beasey Hendrix
Today we highlight a section on Sleep Induction and how to overcome
it.
Many athletes tell me that they have trouble sleeping on the days
before competitions. This is a normal thing that annoys a lot of
athletes. We call this probably insomnia- the inability to achieve
restful sleep. Fortunately there are ways that you can learn to
control this problem.
A weird fact is that often the athlete starts to worry about not
sleeping. This in turn keeps him awake. The actual worrying about
worrying begins to compound and bring about the very problem he is
trying to avoid!
What causes this problem? There are several complicated reasons,
but as far as athletes are concerned the most common problem is
overactive thinking. The athlete begins to focus on the future and
“thinks” himself awake.
How does this affect athletes? The missed sleep reduces quality
recovery time for athletes and also can leave a wrestler tired. Not
sleeping compounds the physical tension and also allows the athlete
to build a tremendous negative dialogue.
How Can You Overcome Insomnia?
Trick your brain! There are some little mental tricks you can use
that will help you get to sleep. Counting is a good one. Counting
sheep or takedowns removes your line of thinking from a problem to
a task.
The next idea is a good one for people who have been really tired
and can remember that situation and feeling. We can this anchoring:
When you have a specific feeling or thought about a past event.
Some of my athletes have had success in using a sleep tape we have
made.
Script For Sleep
Several of my athletes have experienced success with developing
scripts that assists them in getting to sleep. Try this one. It is
one I often use with my wrestlers. First, lie down. Get
comfortable. Loosen any tight clothing. Take a deep breath and then
blow it out, slowly. Focus on feeling the air rush from your body.
Feel the heat of the air as it takes away the stress and tension
from deep within your body. Feel that heat in your throat. Feel
your chest go up, and then follow it as it collapses, down, down,
down into your body.
Good! Now focus on your body. Feel the weight of your body on the
floor. Relax and let your body spread out like an ice cube on warm
pavement. Search for the feeling. You can actually feel your body
relax and spread out.
To read more on this and other techniques to help you prepare for
your “Perfect Match” visit WrestlingGear.com and order “Wrestle
Your Perfect Match” Today!
Click here to order Wrestle Your Perfect Match
John Smith: How Low Can You Go
Learn the low single Smith style. Perfect the finishes and set-ups
that'll make this move one of the most aggressive offensive moves
at any level.
Pick this video up today!
Click here to order How Low Can You Go
IN CLOSING
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they mention it in the special instructions when ordering.
As always, let us know what you are up to or if you have something
you would like us to highlight on our web site...
Good luck - remember to set your goals and work hard to achieve
them...
-Jeff Pape
Owner/President - WrestlingGear.Com, LTD
http://www.wrestlinggear.com
http://www.illinoiswrestling.com
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