Tournament Anxiety

Recently we ran a survey asking people to describe their feelings about tournaments. We had an overwhelming response, with almost three hundred respondents! We finished analyzing the data and have come to some really interesting conclusions.

What Does The Data Say?

First, let’s get this out of the way: No matter how good of a fighter you are, or how long you’ve been playing, or how many tournaments you participate in you’re never going to be completely comfortable with tournaments. And that’s totally normal and okay. Let’s look at a random sampling of 16 respondents each from the Above Average (black), Average (grey), and Below Average (light grey) skill levels.

The black group indicates how known good fighters feel about tournaments, the grey group represents fighters pushing into the top tier, and the light grey column represents mid-tier and below fighters. You can see that there is some preference towards good fighters being slightly more comfortable than other fighters, but it’s pretty slight. A flat numerical average bears this out as well. The average comfort level for the lowest rank of fighters is a 15 on a 30 point scale, while the top tier of fighters is only an 18 on a 30 point scale.

It turns out the largest indicator for comfort with tournaments is just… Doing a lot of tournaments. This means doing a lot of tournaments over many years in the game, but also doing a lot of tournaments each year. Here’s a couple of shiny graphs that make it pretty obvious.

If you keep fighting and stick with it, you’re going to get better at fighting in tournaments. There may be dips in confidence as indicated by the charts. You may actually go through a period where you are more uncomfortable with tournaments than you were previously… And that’s perfectly natural. What happens is you get into the tournament scene with high expectations, then you realize it’s harder than you thought and it becomes more stressful. After resetting your expectations you start to get more comfortable with it again.

The big takeaway from the data is to keep pushing, keep trying, keep working, and it will get easier.

What Can We Do About It?

So with that in mind, what are some things we can do to help speed up the process? As it turns out there are a number of techniques you can use to make yourself more comfortable and successful in tournaments.

Think of the Fight, Not the Tournament

If you’re focused on the tournament, you’re not going to be focused on the fight you’re in. Stay in the moment and aware of what you’re doing right now. You can think about the tournament itself between rounds if you want, but during a fight you need to be considering your plan, what you’re going to do, and considering your opponent’s possible actions.  While you’re in the match, be in the match. Don’t be anywhere else.

Own the Fight

You can’t win a fight you aren’t in control of. If you are concerned that your opponent is faster, stronger, or more experienced than you then you aren’t going to be in the proper mindset to win the fight. You need to be aware of your opponent’s strengths, but keep sight of the fact that the fight can’t be won by thinking about what your opponent does, but about what you can do. You need to create a plan and take charge of the fight. What are you going to do and how are you going to do it? You make a plan, you take the initiative, you win the fight.

Each Fight Stands Alone

Don’t get caught up in your current standings in the tournament or whether you won or lost the previous fight. This fight, the one you’re in right now, is the only fight that matters. You win this fight, you move on. Don’t let a loss in a previous fight carry over into your expectations for this fight. Each fight is a new chance to do it right and win.

Think Relaxed, Be Relaxed

If you think of a peaceful time or place your body will respond physically to that mental image. Your breathing will slow down and regulate, your heart rate will drop, your adrenaline will calm down, you will burn less energy. You will be able to think straighter and plan better. Create a mental place for rest and centering that you can visit between rounds in a tournament. It will help you feel more comfortable in the tournament, which in turn will help you perform much better in the tournament.