Developing Self Discipline

Developing Self Discipline

In Martial Arts And Life

Daniel J.H. Rogers

1st Dan

October 7, 1995

In the three years that I have studied TaeKwonDo under Master Pak here at Iowa State University I have learned a lot. I believe that what I have learned has greatly influenced my life, and that it will continue to do so in the future. This learning includes a great deal of ?physical?martial arts techniques not only in TaeKwonDo, but also in the semester of Hapkido I took last spring. In addition, I have also learned a lot of what it means to learn mental discipline. This later construct of mental discipline is what I would like to share with you. Aspects of the mental training I have developed began long ago in the early years of school, athletics, and the upbringing from my parents. Although it has not been until recently that I have focused more on consciously improving my mental discipline. Primarily this has been in two areas; one which includes my study habits, and the other being the control of focus during athletic performance, in my current case, TaeKwonDo. Being a student in Psychology and approaching the completion of my Masters degree, I have learned a substantial amount vis-?vis the mental discipline of being studious. You may wonder how I could have put off the discipline to study effectively until recently. The answer to this is quite simple; previously I never had to. Although I have never been an `A' student, getting B's and C's has never been difficult. It was not until I became a graduate student that I learned that the coasting I had done up to then was a real disadvantage. Furthermore, I discovered through my advanced studies in sport psychology that these ideas I had discovered through my athletic experience over the past decade as an athlete are consistent with the research performed in the area. Mainly, that athletes need to be focused, or have mental discipline in order to perform to the best of their abilities. To live up to the fourth statement of our TaeKwonDo student creed, ?I will always strive to be the best I can be.?we need to develop our mental discipline.

As our second statement in our TaeKwonDo student creed states, ?I will develop self-discipline in order to bring out the best in myself and in others?and as the first tenet in TaeKwonDo also indicates, ?Self Control,?we see that mental discipline is regarded as a very important and integral part of advancement in the Martial Arts, in this case TaeKwonDo. To promote the development of mental discipline I have proceeded to explain how it is an important aspect of TaeKwonDo. We must practice and perfect mental disipline in order to become the best we can be. It may seem obvious to many of us what has to be done to develop mental discipline, but this is not the case for everyone.

Along with this concept of self discipline, self control, or mental discipline, is the concept of concentration. Concentration being defined as the ability of a person to focus on the relevant cues in the environment during a task. Although, being able to concentrate during any task a person is undertaking is similar, I am relating it to TaeKwonDo practice and performances. To perform at the best of our capabilities we need to be able to focus and concentrate on our bout from beginning to end. Lapses in our concentration usually result in decrements in our performances, and likely unsuccessful performances. This is true not only for sparring competition, but also for forms competition and even demonstrations and testing.

As most of us have experienced, it is often difficult to stay focused on our performance throughout the entire time we are involved, this is due to many distractions that are occurring during this time. Included among these are the spectators, coaches, teammates, and the sensations of our bodies. To be successful we need to learn to ignore these sensations throughout the event. Learning this mental discipline cannot happen by attempting to concentrate only during a performance situation such as testing or a tournament. To learn to focus we need to practice focusing on the task, in this case TaeKwonDo, throughout practice. Put simply, ?#060;b>Perfect practice makes perfect!?

Things to avoid thinking about during practice and contest situations which destroy mental focus include paying attention to too many factors in the environment. Examples include such things as the crowd, the judges or referees, ones own bodily sensations, and irrelevant thoughts. Another destroyer of mental concentration includes paying to much attention to past events from earlier stages of the event. Examples would include: dwelling on a point given up during a sparring bout to your opponent, or the minor mistake you made at the beginning of the form during a testing or competition. These types of thoughts are detrimental to the performance you are giving. Another thought to avoid during an event includes dwelling about the future. Examples would include asking yourself the following questions: What if I get kicked again?, What if I lose this round?, What if I get hurt?, etc. These types of thoughts will inhibit you from performing your best, and could result in these undesirable outcomes occurring due to your lack of attention to the current situation.

A method of improving ones' concentration or mental discipline includes practicing eye control. As stated earlier, being distracted by sights and sounds outside of the competition or testing area is a potential problem for maintaining mental focus. To help avoid this problem, you need to practice eye control. Watch your partner during practice; when doing kicks down the floor pick a spot on the wall to watch all the way down the floor. For many this may be difficult at first, but with practice you will be able to maintain your focus throughout the length of the dojang, or throughout the kicking exercise. While completing a form or a technique, pay attention to the technique you are in the process of doing, not on the previous technique, or the one that is to follow. You may say that you need to think ahead to remember a form, if this is so, then I would say that you do not know the form as well as you should. Practice it more making it an automatic sequence that requires little if any thought. The form should flow effortlessly. This will allow you to focus on what the movements represent, defending yourself from multiple attackers, and thereby improving your performance. In addition, if you have problems staying focused during a competition, but seem to have no problems during practice sessions, you may want to practice forms and other techniques in the presence of distractions instead of isolating yourself in the exercise hall or at home with no one around. Performing a form or technique alone is vastly different from performing it in front of an audience, or in front of a panel of black belts judges during testing.

Another factor to increase your ability to maintain mental focus includes developing and maintaining self confidence or high self esteem. This is especially true during the performance. Judging yourself during a performance or competition with thoughts such as ?That was stupid? Why didn't I block that kick, I must be terrible? and other judgmental thinking is only going to worsen your performance. Timing of kicks and counters will only degrade and slow if thoughts such as these are going through your mind. A martial artist must leave past mistakes in the past an continue to focus on the present.

A few other possible methods to increase mental discipline include imagery and routines. Imagery techniques involve visualizing yourself executing techniques perfectly. Routines involve preparing a certain sequence of activities to engage in just prior to competition. Performing the same activities during the final minutes prior to engaging in a bout can reduce the mental anxiety many people experience just prior to competing. Studies of sport situations have determined that for complex cognitive sports, defined as those which require a lot of decision making throughout the performance, that being overly anxious is detrimental to performance. When one prepares for a TaeKwonDo bout you should be relaxed, but warm and ready. Being overly anxious can result in avoidable mistakes.

These are some of the ideas I have been giving a great deal of thought and practice to the last several weeks as I prepare to attend Collegiate Nationals this year. I have been involved in athletics since the fifth grade, and in agreement with my studies in Psychology here at Iowa State University I believe that I could have experienced a greater level of success if I had been informed of some of these methods which potentially may reduce errors in performing. While I have learned under what conditions I experienced my best performances, I found it difficult to consistently replicate these conditions. I have done quite a bit of experimentation to determine my most effective preparation. Most of these ideas I discovered through my own experiences, and were reinforced through my studies; the remainder of the ideas where suggested through my studies but seem solid when reflecting upon my experiences. The techniques I have listed are ones that I personally have had success with, or believe to be a potentially successful technique. It should be noted however, that changes in performance through these methods cannot occur overnight. As with any technique, it needs to be practiced until mastery to reap the most benefit. In this regard I believe that as martial artists we need to practice mental discipline throughout our lives to become proficient not only in competition, but additionally in our daily lives.

Published in the "USTU Taekwondo Journal" Vol. 14(4) Page 22. (1995).

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