Extremely Nervous When Competing

[Tournament Problems]

Hey everyone, I desperately need some advice.

I have been competing for about four years now and have done extremely well at most tournaments. However, about 15 months ago I was graded to my Shodan Black Belt, and ever since then I've been terribly nervous when competing.

I'll find that I'll be up all night in bed, unable to get to sleep. When I get up in the morning I'll either still be very nervous or just dead tired, sometimes both. I also know that it's good to have a big breakfast before competing, as it has to get you through the day, but when I'm nervous I just can't eat anything.

I've asked my Sensei for advice, and he always says that at a tournament it's all about me. I'm competing against myself, not the other competitors. Which is great advice, but doesn't help calm my nerves at all.

The worst part about the whole situation is that I feel that I should win my divisions (Traditional Kata and Traditional Bo). I've always placed either 3rd or 2nd in both divisions after attaining my Black Belt. I've seen videos of me competing and videos of me performing my tournament katas at the club, and I'm far, far cleaner, sharper etc... when I'm at the club.

I know that I can win if I conquer my nervousness, but I just can't.

I'd really appreciate advice from anyone willing to help.

[DWx]

Welcome to the forums .

First of all, nerves are a thing everyone has to deal with. Some people deal with them better than others and some people don't show them at all, but guarenteed everyone will have some degree of anxiety when it comes to standing in front of a crowd and putting yourself forward for critique.

I'm guessing these nerves have something to do with getting your blackbelt. Maybe if you could work out why then you'd be able to address the issue. Has it got something to do with the level of skill demanded from a blackbelt? Or maybe its that everyone is watching you because you are in the blackbelt division? I think before you even try to find a solution to the nerves you have to see what has changed and why you now feel nervous about performing at a tournament.

[Tiger1962]

Hi there

First of all, know that you are not alone in being nervous performing at tournaments.  Even masters and instructors get nervous.  I used to get extremely nervous but I think I have learned how to tone down my nervousness over the past couple of years and have done a lot of thinking about it.

I don't know how your school operates but in my school, tournaments are optional. It is not mandatory to compete in a tournament.  If you do it, it's because YOU want to. Secondly, how important is it to you to WIN at a tournament?  To me, if I win fine, if not, that's fine too.  How much pressure do you put on yourself to win first place? Are you nervous about the actual competition and doing well, or is your nervousness more of a stage fright thing where you are self conscious about performing in front of people? If you are competing, I'm assuming you practiced your kata enough times to visualize yourself doing it in your head. So, you are well-prepared. Cross that worry off your list.

My answers to these questions for MYSELF were: I enjoy the sport of competing. Meaning, if I win 1st, 2nd or 3rd place, that is great and a boost for my self esteem for that day. If I don't win anything, I don't drive home sad, angry or depressed. Why? Because for me, I am doing it for the FUN of it. Of course, everyone wants to do well and win. But look at it this way, if you don't, it's still a win-win situation because it takes GUTS to go out there and perform in front of judges and all your peers. There are a lot of people who don't compete because they are too timid or not confident enough. You have guts, so commend yourself on that.

I think once you start putting the focus on having FUN instead of winning, you will find that your nerves relax gradually. You are there because YOU want to be, not because you MUST.   You can turn around and walk out anytime you want to.  At least, that's how it is in my case and I've noticed that I am not as nervous as I used to be.  In my case, it was stage fright more so than anything. I've been to tournaments where I've done very well and ones that I've done not so well. In both cases, I was happy and felt like I accomplished something. I had fun, I learned from my mistakes, picked up techniques from the higher ups and enjoyed watching the other competitors. In the situations where I did very well, I felt very fortunate.  My instructor doesn't seem to care one way or another if I win or not either. If you don't, you just chalk it up as a learning experience for next time.

The only thing that makes me angry about tournament is when they are not run fairly or if the judges appear to be biased. When or if that happens, it doesn't matter how good or not you are, the decision is already there.  Take it with a grain of salt because remember, trophies do not validate you or mean you are a great martial artist. 

Don't be so hard on yourself or put so much pressure on yourself. Make it about having fun not about a perfect score and you'll see you will relax more.

[Ozpunker]

I've only just started competing in tournaments. When some people have asked me if it was such a good idea to start competing so early I just said that the worst that can happen is that I can lose the comp. It's not the end of the world and no one in the tournament thinks any less of you for not winning...

Once you start thinking that the worst thing that can happen is not bad at all, you can start enjoying yourself more.

[Tiger1962]

Exactly, Ozpunker!

[The BB of C]

Hey everyone, I desperately need some advice.

I have been competing for about four years now and have done extremely well at most tournaments. However, about 15 months ago I was graded to my Shodan Black Belt, and ever since then I've been terribly nervous when competing.

I'll find that I'll be up all night in bed, unable to get to sleep. When I get up in the morning I'll either still be very nervous or just dead tired, sometimes both. I also know that it's good to have a big breakfast before competing, as it has to get you through the day, but when I'm nervous I just can't eat anything.

I've asked my Sensei for advice, and he always says that at a tournament it's all about me. I'm competing against myself, not the other competitors. Which is great advice, but doesn't help calm my nerves at all.

The worst part about the whole situation is that I feel that I should win my divisions (Traditional Kata and Traditional Bo). I've always placed either 3rd or 2nd in both divisions after attaining my Black Belt. I've seen videos of me competing and videos of me performing my tournament katas at the club, and I'm far, far cleaner, sharper etc... when I'm at the club.

I know that I can win if I conquer my nervousness, but I just can't.

I'd really appreciate advice from anyone willing to help.

Something that helps me clear out nervouness. Before competitions, I tell my friends who are good fighters to attack me full force. We even full contact fight with weapons sometimes. I make the simulation as heated and realistic as possible. Then when I go into the competition, I find it's not nearly as bad as what I was training.

[tallgeese]

Hey and welcome to the group.

My competitive experiance was different from yours but I have found a few things that tend to work across the board.

First off, get a good warm up in prior to competition. I mean really break a bit of a sweat. If it's forms, run thru a few. Heck, even get some mitts out and work a few rounds to loosen up. This gives your body an outlet for the nervous energy that's building up. If it's a while from your time on site till the competition, you might think about doing less intese warm ups ealier a couple of times prior to your final big warm up. The movement also keeps your mind active on movement and not competining.

Second, try some breathing exercises. I'm a fan of what Grossman and Sidell call "tactical breathing". You inhale for about 4 count, hold for a 4 count, then exhale for a 4 count. The same kind off thing is out there in several different forms, and sometimes the count numbers vary, but the idea is the same. This type of breathing has been shown to dramatically reduce the heart rate, which once past a certain level, will dramatically decrease performance. Try to fall into this between your warm up and the actual competition. I've found that it helps dramatically. This decrese in heart rate will allow you access to your fine and complex motor skills for longer.

So, that'st the two biggies I use. Don't be afraid to use them the night before as well. I wouldn't use contact in any drills the night before, or push to exhaustion in anything else, but a good warm up prior to a shower and cool down, coupled with some breathing might get you to sleep quicker.

DOn't worry about a big breakfast either. Try something light that you can get down. Then rely on smaller snacks thru the day. It will keep you lighter and more prepared.

As others have said, it's something thats affected most everyone at one time or another. Myself included. If it takes a while for the new rank to become old hat that's not abnormal at all. Lastly, if you really want to compete, just do it. Lots of it. That will decrese the time it takes for you to become so familiar and comfortable that it will barely even register. Remeber, it it's forms you're doing no one is going to go home with your head in a bag if you have an off day, just enjoy doiing what you do.

[bushido_man96]

I still have problems with nerves, too. Some people get through them ok, and some take time to get over them.

One thing that might help is some pre-tourney visualization. Try to see yourself performing the way you do in class, and make sure you see yourself not nervous. It helps some people, so what the heck?

[JAKEHE3078]

This will sound redundant but you need to train more training partners, preferably some around or better than your skill level. You need to train so hard that at a competition is like a day off.

[KarateEd]

The worst part about the whole situation is that I feel that I should win my divisions (Traditional Kata and Traditional Bo). I've always placed either 3rd or 2nd in both divisions after attaining my Black Belt. I've seen videos of me competing and videos of me performing my tournament katas at the club, and I'm far, far cleaner, sharper etc... when I'm at the club.

I know that I can win if I conquer my nervousness, but I just can't.

I'd really appreciate advice from anyone willing to help.

Perhaps you are focused too much on the idea that you should be winning your division. As others have said, if you just enjoy the tournament for what it is (a learning experience) then maybe you won't be so nervous, and, like you said yourself, you will probably start to win those competitions.