Developing Fighting Technique Through Visualization.

   Osu! You have a knockdown fight coming up? I have used visualization in my tournaments and masters and sub-masters competition in competitive running in the Bay area and California. I have tons of gold, silver, bronze medals, made it into Runner's world magazine, we made the front cover 1982 and ESPN

  I fought professional one time for $1500 with Joe Lewis, Jeff Smith in the same ring with me. The rest is history. Sorry non-contact tournaments does not give you street credos with me non-contact proves nothing. I have used visualization and it works, today its called "mental rehearsal".

  The blood and guts of training and conditioning are essential for a fighter's success, to be sure. No fighter ever lost a bout because he was too strong or fit. Still, the lower levels of competition are replete with competitors whose prodigious physical talents are undone by their lack of mental preparation. Elite Mixed Martial Arts (MA) combatants now that the mind possess the determine factors in most tough fights, and, so, it is in mastering the mind that a fighter allows himself the greatest Chance of achieving peak performance.

  How many of us can salivate of the thought of a certain pie, cake, ice cream, food, drink, the chemistry of countless cells within your body in response to what you imagine. True! You need to take time for yourself as you would time to meditate, use your breathing, relax the body, once you have achieved the state mizu no kokoro visualize a past performance (a successful one) I use to visualize my powerful round house knocking opponents down when fighting heavy-super weight. One of my matches in Manhattan I knocked out Dan Lamatina with such a powerful roundhouse to his rib cage, Tadashi and Soshu was right there he was  one of their top fighters along wit Oliver, Charles, Willie, Claude Battle. So it works.

  When fighters describe their mental preparation for fights, you will often hear the term "visualization". Visualization, also referred to as imagery, involves using all the senses to create or re-create an experience in the mind. The fighter imagines himself competition at his maximum potential ; or he re-creates a past a successful, razor-sharp performance, recalling in vivid detail what he saw, felt, thought, heard, and even smelled. Properly used, visualization can aid in development a fighter's technical, tactical, and emotional skills.

 My personal experience (Shihan John) whether its National, Local competition the meet is going to be held in a gym or outdoor track. The only thing that changes is location. If you have to travel this needs planning as flying or riding to your bout brings on fatigue. Staying up all night and fighting the next day is no fun. Myself I can close my eyes, I see the high school gym, smell the sweat, see the layout of the gym, mats, tables, competitors, excitement, fear, anxiety, all part of the atmosphere. Concerning track and field I would visualize the stadium, UCLA, Stanford, San Jose City college, Los Gators etc. I would see the track one quarter mile, I would have to run 200 of that at full speed, 1/4 mile I would have to run with strategy, this requires skill as a quarter miler. I ran a 55 quarter at age 45, beat that, I have beaten National Masters champs.

  Whether kicking, punching, passing the baton, at high speeds you need precision, the added benefit about visualization, you can mentally rehearse practically any time or place without any additional wear and tear on the body. Mental rehearsal works for me always has, essentially because the mind doesn't distinguish between what is real and what is imagined. Note: Journal Of Asian Martial Arts Volume 17.Timonthy M. Lajcik, BA

  Find a quiet room, or moment, relax, belly breathe, imagine yourself at your best peaked form, fighting,  running, how you felt, time slowed, openings occurred, sweat, fear, anger, coaches yelling, your Friends screaming for you, but then something might happen, all extraneous sounds blocked, as I round the curve at Stanford running my fastest leg, everything slowed, knees high. arms swinging, loose, fluid, the night lights were a blur, I had no one next to me, where was I, that sweat spot of time, flowing and running like a stallion across the plains.....I only saw this 6'7'' giant of a man in front of me and lost sense of all time, fear was a driving force a primeval instinct that took total control of me, it flashes across my mind, my doctor talking to me "John you have a reptilian brain" it can be bad and good for you. I suggest you use its full powers now.......so be it. I can remember many details about fights, that this primordial brain cannot forget, nor will I because its lurking below in me and some day I may call upon it again to save my life. Good Luck To you and "fight".

"I always believed in being a good animal first" Shihan John