Stress

[sensei8]

Congrats, David Miller; a well deserved 1st place.

[bushido_man96]

Congrats!

[Alan Armstrong]

Well done David!

[JR 137]

Congratulations. As Col. Hannibal used to say, "I love it when a plan comes together."

[Shizentai]

Hello everyone,

I have my tournament next month and I feel really nervous and stressed out just by thinking of it. I had a tournament 3 months ago and it did not go well at all as I was really nervous. I was so nervous I could not even lift my leg up to kick (in kata). Is there any technique or exercises that I can do to not get nervous, I mean whenever I search on google this, the only thing that they say is to not think of the tournament that much, which never really worked for me. How can WKF Karate-ka's do kata in front of 100 thousand people?? I would appreciate if someone tells me what to do to not get nervous (except for "don't think of the tournament" technique cause that never works for me).

Thanks.

I can relate. I've been known to blank on kata in front of everyone. There's something about the people looking at me that just makes me go still and lose every thought that was in my head, kata order, proper execution, everything. For a long time I thought this was something I had to overcome, this uncertainty and fear. I think now as an adult with a rather intense job, I am realizing that this blanking and panicked feeling is actually a great gift. If I practice my kata enough, then I don't need to think about the order. I don't need to think about each move. I just think about that blank feeling, that ultimate calm of giving in. I think more than being okay with the people or the place, it was being okay with my own mind as it inevitably changes in that setting.

How to get okay with that feeling? Well, honestly, it might be a little embarrassing, but I started doing kata in public spaces: parks, on the beach, in my front yard, etc. The more I trained in those places, the more I encountered people watching, and that feeling. I had to learn to embrace the calmness that was there, even if I didn't recognize it at first.

One of the things I found while doing that, was that each sequence in a kata is it's own unit, having its own timing, and beginning with its own tachi-ai. When I blank and forget what I'm doing, personally, I noticed it's often between such kata 'phrases.' Although at first I tried to rush through this feeling, now I let it wash over me, and don't move until the moment feels right.

[Shizentai]

Oh my god, I just finished my tournament and I got 1st place. I did not do the breathing exercises but instead, i tried to breathe deeply whenever I had that sense of stress. I still can't believe the fact that I did not get nervous one single bit, and by one single bit I mean it. I did 3 rounds and won all of them. From the bottom of my heart, i thank all of you guys for helping me do these exercises and techniques, it's gonna help me for the rest of my life. Thank you, I love you guys!!

Nice job!

[MatsuShinshii]

Oh my god, I just finished my tournament and I got 1st place. I did not do the breathing exercises but instead, i tried to breathe deeply whenever I had that sense of stress. I still can't believe the fact that I did not get nervous one single bit, and by one single bit I mean it. I did 3 rounds and won all of them. From the bottom of my heart, i thank all of you guys for helping me do these exercises and techniques, it's gonna help me for the rest of my life. Thank you, I love you guys!!

Congrats. Well done!

[Patrick]

That's amazing, David! Congrats.

Patrick