I think we need to teach our students to understand in competition that you are much more likely to lose than win. That losing in competition is the opportunity to go back on your training and reflect on what you wanted to do and if you achieved those goals. When I compete, I focus much more on my goals and what I want to achieve during the competition, rather than being so hellbent on winning. Winning is great of course, but I find it much more important to set short goals during the competition (my kicks need to be much sharper; my pivoting needs to be faster and more stable and still after completing technique) etc. You are more likely to win if you are more focused on achieving goals than stressing on whether you won or not. Students should be taught that losing is natural and you can't win all the time. It isn't the end of the world if you lose, but rather a positive. When going to competition, you should be confident that you have put in enough training and if it doesn't work, it happens. Give it another shot when you have improved your specific weaknesses and cultivated your strengths, setting new goals. At the end of the day, set goals during your competitions and focus more on achieving those goals rather than just being so focused on winning and have a good time doing it.
