Assessing performance and correcting errors are important internal skills for the martial arts student to develop. But how does one develop this skill? To do so, the martial arts instructor needs to consciously teach skill just as he or she teaches proper execution of a side kick or using faking techniques during sparring. However, teaching the development of using internal sources of information for feedback may be something many martial arts instructors were not taught themselves. So often when we teach skills, our response to the student’s performance involves correcting errors or giving general praise, neither of which are conducive to teaching the student how to self-correct errors. In fact, these responses tend to create excessive dependence upon the instructor’s feedback and presence.  (Click to Continue).

 Although martial arts derive from the eastern philosophical thinking which focuses on the importance of the combined interaction of the mind and body, many western martial artists tend to ignore the mental aspects of the art and only focus on the physical aspects.

Interestingly, other sports that were not so grounded in the metaphysical traditions seem to have more easily accepted the precepts of sport psychology and embraced the development of mental skills. It seems that more and more frequently, whenever a sporting event is on television, references are made to sport psychologists assisting the athletes. Top athletes in most sports are turning to sport psychologists to enhance their performance because the development of the mental skills has been shown to give an edge to those athletes.

It is true that elite martial artists do develop the necessary mental skills required to be competitive; they achieve these skills mainly through trial and error. However, this is a very inefficient way to develop a skill.  (Click to Continue).

The manner in which instructors provide feedback to athletes can have significant impact upon an athlete's self-efficacy which in turn affects the ability to learn a skill and the overall performance.  Self-efficacy is the athlete's personal belief that he or she has the capability to learn and perform a specific skill or activity.  The results of an interesting study by Amparo Escarti and Jose Guzman in 1999 indicated that performance feedback which focuses on providing feedback regarding technique rather than evaluating outcome was related to increased self-efficacy, a higher level of performance, and the tendency to choose more difficult tasks.  Other research has shown that a higher level of self-efficacy improves performance.  Thus, research shows us that how a coach provides feedback to athletes is critical in the development of the athlete.

 
Training “smart” is more important than the amount of daily practice.  Too often an athlete believes that the more he or she practices, the more proficient he/she will become.  However, this plan is not only ineffective, but it can also be detrimental to achieving the desired outcome.  An athlete who practices frequently and hard without an overall plan will be more likely to suffer the effects of overtraining such as burn-out, exhaustion, and increased injuries rather than actually improving performance.  By developing a set of specific goals and a plan for reaching those goals, athletes can more effectively use their practice time and even reduce the time required in practice to attain their goals.  Obviously, this does not mean that the martial artist can achieve rank or win tournaments with little practice; it means that the athlete does not need to waste time through ineffective practice and through the harmful effects of overtraining.

            Setting performance goals is beneficial for a number of reasons.  In addition to improving the quality of practice, it reduces boredom and increases motivation.  When the martial artist is able to observe progress towards a goal on a daily or weekly bais, he or she is more likely to remain interested in achieving that goal.  If instead, he/she engages in routine practice towards a belt rank that is six months away, it is easier to become discouraged.  In addition, goal setting helps the athlete know what is expected which allows for greater attention to a particular skill that needs to be developed.  Thus, practice becomes more focused and efficient.  Finally, setting realistic, achievable goals increases the athlete’s self-confidence which is crucial to the ultimate outcome of success.  Self-confidence increases because his/her attitude regarding success becomes more positive as goals are accomplished.  (Click to Continue).

Using Sports Psychology Skills to Improve Martial Arts Training

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One concept that I will revisit frequently in these articles is the importance of our cognitions, or thought process, to performance. The thought process can make or break an athlete no matter how capable he or she is physically. This article will focus on the perfectionistic thinking style and how it affects performance. Our culture tends to cultivate perfectionistic thinking. This, in itself, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It depends on the specific nature of the self-talk. 

Researchers make a distinction between a perfectionistic demand and a perfectionistic desire. The difference between these two concepts is not in the behavior but in the thinking; in particular, the thinking regarding negative outcomes. For instance, two individuals could have high expectations of success and attempt to achieve a task as perfectly as possible. However, the individual with the perfectionistic demand would feel like a failure. He or she would mentally berate himself and feel incompetent and worthless. Whereas, the individual with the perfectionistic desire would assess the situation differently: “I tried my best and can feel good about my performance. I will learn from this experience and improve in the future.” 

A person with perfectionistic demands hates failure of any type. They will often avoid challenge that they determine as too difficult rather than take the chance of failing.  (Click to Continue).