Attending to Tension
July
2006
Shooting
Tip
by: Dan Schindler
Tournament
pressure is real but doesn’t have to be debilitating. Acknowledge
its presence first then understand that what you are feeling is
normal. These feelings are part of you and not the enemy.
An increase in heart rate when you step into the tournament box is
normal, not abnormal. It’s OK to experience this. Once you begin to accept
this is normal, you’ve considerably reduced the damaging affect it can have
on your performance. Some competitors actually use these feelings to
motivate themselves. They wisely turn a negative reaction into a positive
one, using it to their advantage. The increase in adrenaline flow, when
balanced with a reasonably calm mind, can be a real performance advantage. |
