The wisdom of Kyuzo Mifune, 10th Dan: “The mind, if slackened even a little, will cause defeat, the same as fearing the opponent will make you unable to use full strength.”
There are two schools of thought when it comes to mindset for combat. One is to go in with a plan and to prosecute your plan vigorously. This keeps the competitor focused and the opponent on the defensive. The other is the Mushashi concept of having a clear mind and taking the fight as it comes. Mushashi taught that if you focus on a single attack coming from one direction you may miss the attacks coming from several other directions. Therefore the clear mind was able to defend against all attacks. With juniors and novices we encourage them to have a plan and go after it aggressively.
The image in this slide is Kaori Matsumoto (JPN) U57 Olympic Champion and World Number 1, photographed by Gabriela Sabau, IJF Official Photographer
Slide from Mark Lonsdale’s PowerPoint presentations on sports psychology and mental preparation for competition.
Yes I agree for the beginners – have a plan and go for it aggressively and allow them to slowly learn to keep mind clear and take the fight as it comes!
Reblogged this on M I Initiatives and commented:
Hi Friends,
Good read for Coaches!