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Getting over the fear

Lucy
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Lucy Nong

Lucy

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This is probably a stupid question, but please I some advice.

I've been training for nearly a year and a few months ago I had my first interclub, and I just froze. The nerves got the better of me, fear creeped in, I panicked and anyone would of thought it was first time wearing gloves!

I've sparred many times, I've been hit harder at training and I've hit harder, but on the day, I just couldn't do it

I would really like to compete, but I just can't get back in the ring. I've been offered several more interclubs where I've lied and said I'm busy that day, I'm still sparring and I don't freeze up, but I'm worried if I go in to another interclub will i freeze again, and end up giving up on my dreams

Any tips on how to just get in there and do it?

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NewThai Nong

NewThai

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We all have to deal with nerves when we enter the ring, be it fear of injury, fear of underpeforming or embarrassing oneself. There are so many things we worry about in these situations. An interclub is one of the best places to deal with nerves as they are in most ways very much a real fight, but they don't count except for experience.

 

Talk to your coach and ask what they'd like to see you improve on in your next interclub. Concentrate on that in training, and then go have fun. There's nothing better than punching someone in the face and NOT having the police called. :P

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Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu Mentor

Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu

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This is probably a stupid question, but please I some advice.

I've been training for nearly a year and a few months ago I had my first interclub, and I just froze. The nerves got the better of me, fear creeped in, I panicked and anyone would of thought it was first time wearing gloves!

I've sparred many times, I've been hit harder at training and I've hit harder, but on the day, I just couldn't do it

I would really like to compete, but I just can't get back in the ring. I've been offered several more interclubs where I've lied and said I'm busy that day, I'm still sparring and I don't freeze up, but I'm worried if I go in to another interclub will i freeze again, and end up giving up on my dreams

Any tips on how to just get in there and do it?

 

First of all, don't even worry about feeling that you are alone in this. Sylvie has 150+ fights and still is working on elements of freezing, whether it just being "frozen" as in growing physically still, or its your mind not being able to focus on the things it already knows. It is really common to have there be a gap between how things feel when sparring, even when sparring hard, and "fighting".

Sylvie's away for two days, but hopefully she'll jump on here. But for now here are some of the things she's written on fear. As a close on-looker I can say that a lot of this has to do with building the proper mindset for fighting in advance, and getting acclimated to those unique pressures. This was a really interesting article by Sylvie which talks about the kind of impairments that happen under stress, as the heart rate starts to go up. Once your stress level starts reaching gray area there is just a very limited menu of things that your mind can choose from. This is really one of the biggest challenges that faces a fighter, how to perform under duress. The first thing though is to tell yourself: "It's okay that I froze, and it's okay if I freeze again" - stressing over freezing will just add to the stress that can make it happen. Realize that freezing like that is a natural response to elevated pressure. Its okay that it happens, just learn to recognize it and then work to bring yourself down out of condition grey or black. Things like tactical breathing before getting into the ring, or between rounds can help. And also developing more confidence in your defensive game, like improving your guard, or teeping, can give you extra space and time to recover from stressful moments.

Also know, first fights are never really good for anyone  they are a blur. You don't do much of anything you planned to do. The only good thing about a first fight is that it gets you to your second fight.

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Fighting Frog Nong

Fighting Frog

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Definitely don't give up! Just keep on practicing and enter the next interclub you're offered... after all, what's the worst thing that can happen? So maybe you will freeze again, but you probably won't.

Actually, Lucy, I notice you're in the UK - where are all these interclubs?! I can't seem to track down any!

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Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu Fellow Traveler

Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu

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Firstly, get back in the ring. Avoiding the pressure is not going to make it go away or relieve it, you have to face it. But it's all mental so you need to approach it that way. There are a few threads on here where we talk about training aggression and a lot of that applies to the nerves involved in freezing as well, which basically the short version of the advice is that you need to create an atmosphere in training that is akin to the pressure that you are feeling in the interclubs. It's really hard to simulate that pressure because gyms are generally pretty comfortable places, you know everyone, you work together all the time, you trust them, etc. So what you want to do is try to get the elements that aren't usually in training. At my gym we do "mock fights" where two kids are put in the ring to spar at pretty close to 100% power (take away power from knees, no elbows) and the rest of the gym plays the roles of a real fight as well: my coach is referee, some of the boys act as cornermen, and the rest of us are gamblers all shouting and making up the energy of a real audience. It's a way to acclimate the boys to the pressure and noise and distractions of a real fight, but still keeping a watchful eye so that it's a safe experience. See if you can get something like that going with your coach and teammates, to get used to the idea of an audience.

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Fighting Frog Nong

Fighting Frog

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Lucy: Thanks for that - I'm in the South West. At the moment I am hopelessly unfit (been off any significant exercise for about two months due to a foot injury) so I don't think I'd be ready for anything until the new year. Is there a website or something where I can find out about UK interclubs? If I had one I could aim for it would be great, and would certainly help the motivation to get fit again and lose that bit of weight!

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