Do you feel performance anxiety before belt tests and martial arts tournaments? You’re not the only one! Stress is completely natural, but that doesn’t mean you have to suffer from it.
Here are three tips on how to manage stress so that you can ace your next test and shine at your next tournament. Video and summary below.
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How to Beat Performance Anxiety
Martial arts can be stressful… and they should be! The point of training is to get better at managing that stress.
So, let’s break it down. If sparring is causing you anxiety, here’s some advice that might help. Click here for tips to face your fears during sparring. There’s also a video below.
If forgetting your kata is what freaks you out, click here for tips to help you remember your forms. Video also below.
Now, let’s talk about general anxiety. What can we do about those uncomfortable feelings that bubble up anytime you face a teacher, a panel of teachers, or a stadium full of screaming strangers?
Here are three tips to help you stand tall anytime you’re in the spotlight.
Tip #1: SHOUT IT OUT!
Some people think of letting out a “kiai” as a way to show spirit… but it’s also a way to BUILD spirit!
Imagine standing in a battlefield. You’re armed with a spear or a sword. An army of enemy tribes is attacking your village. It is time to fight or die.
Talk about stress!
Enter the battle cry. From the beginning of time, human beings have found the stomach to fight by simply screaming at the top of their lungs. Not just to scare the enemy, but to steel their courage and focus their minds.
Of course, at a belt test or tournament, it probably won’t be acceptable to smear your face with blood or wear an animal hide on your head, but you can still shout. So, when they call your name, let out a powerful, “Yes, sir!” or “Yes, ma’am!”
Let that shout shift your focus out of your head and into your throat and chest. Listen to the sound echo in the room and widen your awareness. Use your big voice and shout every chance you get, whether you’re performing a kata or sparring for points.
If you need a little boost before being called up, here’s a trick — fake a big sneeze or cough. You’ll not only wake up your body, you’ll force yourself to breathe, which always helps.
2 – GIVE YOURSELF A SQUEEZE
No, I don’t mean a big hug, although that’s always nice. I mean purposely tensing the big muscles of your body. Here’s why…
Anxiety doesn’t come from your bones or muscles–it comes from your brain. More specifically, your “monkey brain”. Your monkey brain is wired to find something to worry about. Which is why if you don’t distract it, you’re going to get stuck worrying about nothing.
I say nothing, because even thought the monkey means well, it is a liar! Need proof? Consider all the times in your life you spent worrying about something that never happened! Consider how many times you have felt fear or doubt, but made it through just fine.
The trick is to get out of your head and into your body. Instead of focusing on what you can’t control, focus on on what you can–your muscles.
Let this tip be a reminder also be reminder that fighting is not just a thinking problem… it’s a FEELING problem. As clever martial artists, it’s tempting to believe that we can think our way out of every problem, but that’s not true. We need to balance thinking with DOING. That means less “monkey brain” and more “monkey man”!
So, how do you wake up your monkey man? Clap your hands. Stomp your feet. Squeeze your fists, chest, belly, butt, and legs — everything! That simple action will shift your attention out of head and into your body.
Once again, you don’t have to wait until you’re called up to start squeezing. You can discreetly tense up your body while you’re sitting or standing on the sidelines waiting your turn. Prepare for battle without anyone knowing it!
3 – WHY?
Ask yourself — why are you doing this? Why are you putting yourself through the stress of public demonstration? Is this really what you expected to be doing when you signed up for martial arts in the first place?
Probably not!
When you signed up for classes, you were probably looking for fitness, confidence, and self-defense skills. Or maybe you just wanted to get out of the house and have some fun!
What happened? Suddenly, you’re expected to memorize hundreds of movements. Suddenly, you’re required to stand up on your own to demonstrate your skills. Suddenly, you’re being criticized and judged, maybe even failed in front of your family and friends. Yikes!
The problem is that your goals were replaced by your teacher’s goals. Instead of focusing on what you wanted from your teacher, you’re now focused on what your teacher wants from you! That’s backwards!
Your first concern in training should be to not disappoint yourself. And you’ll only disappoint yourself if you don’t achieve the goals that brought you to the school in the first place. Which is why you need to keep asking yourself — why am I doing this?
If you’re not getting what you want from your school, or if the way your school is offering what you want stresses you out, it might time to check out a different school or different training methodology. This doesn’t mean your school isn’t good… it’s just not good for you.
On the other hand, if you are getting what you want and performance anxiety is just a small part of your school experience, then I’d say stay where you are! I would also say it’s time to make a more personal connection to the material. Make sure the movements hold value for you personally, as opposed to just being something you have to do to pass a test.
Take kata or forms for example. Maybe you enjoy the aesthetics of the movements and derive pleasure from simply looking “cool”. Or maybe you feel confident and powerful visualizing yourself in battle, defeating one foe after another. Or maybe you relish the challenge of synchronizing your mind and body into a controlled unit. All good!
The point is to find a way to ENJOY your practice whether you’re working out alone, in front of your teacher, or in front of the world. This is accomplished by focusing inwards on what you’re doing, not outwards on what other people are thinking.
If you don’t create performance enjoyment facing yourself, then you’ll always suffer from performance anxiety facing a group.
ONE MORE THOUGHT…
At its best, martial arts training should be helping you to trust yourself more and worry about making mistakes less. If you feel stress walking into a belt test or tournament, that’s a clue that you might also feel stress in a real-life self-defense situation. That’s not cool!
So, if you are constantly battling with performance anxiety, turn a critical eye towards your training routine. Be sure that your practice time is helping you to not just reach your goals, but to become the kind of person you want to be. That won’t just be helpful in a self-defense situation, it will make you happier in every part of your life.
Happy training!
