Developing Your Judo #18
Tbilisi (part 2)
In 1975, I experienced what I would consider a peak
performance, a state of consciousness where the
mind and body work effortlessly together to produce an optimal
performance.
This special state escapes many athletes and most
of the time, it occurs by chance and is very hard to
replicate. However, optimal performance is not limited to
competitions. It can occur when setting a personal best, at
training clinics or during a morning workout.
However, the feelings that emanate from an optimal experience are some of the most intense and memorable that we can experience as
athletes. They remain engraved in our minds, and can provide the means to return this state. In my case, I was able to overcome my
debilitating case of nerves. I was optimistic that I would do
well, but at the same time, I was not concerned about the outcome. Here's a quote from a 2000 Olympics gold medalist in swimming:
"For some reason at the Olympics, I said, OK,
I'm not going to try to control this. I'm going to
allow it to happen. So I walked in there and just
relaxed, and said OK, I can do this... things would just
happen naturally." In Tbilisi, that's exactly what
happened.
By: Rainer Fischer (Canadian Olympian)
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