Week no. 3
Date: 7th April
Aim of Week: Building Self-Confidence using Imagery
Hi Lee, looking at the tests results from the various question tests I set for you, i found that overall your Confidence was one of your weaker points when it comes to performing, so this week i thought that i would set imagery as a technique that you can actually use to help build your Self-Confidence.
My overall aim here is to help you use imagery to enchance your own self-confidence.
The main question is why do we use imagery? Looking on the internet and from information that i have gathered; i have found that using imagery, performers like yourself can actually create/recreate situations where you have previously done well in a sporting activity/competition, and by doing this you can then apply this confidence from your previous expereince and use it in your current experience/situation to create confidence.
There are various things that performers do to create this self-confidence feeling, for example;
-Using imagery in warm ups in preperation for what you are going to do next.
-Using imagery to recall previous experiences where you have been successful, making you realise that you can do it and how good the feeling is.
-Using imagery to image various situations to see how you can cope with them.
-Image of a role-model coping with situations that are new.
-Use imagery to rerun and correct difficult expereinces.
Hopefully when i have given you your programme for the week you will have been able to help develop your imagery skills and devise your own imagery scripts to increase your self-confidence.
Exercise 1: Introducing yourself to Imagery
Before you begin this exercise Lee make sure you read through the instructions a few times so you get an understanding of what you have to do. This exercise is used to visualise your sports vicinity, so that you can use imagery in your own practice to improve yourself and your confidence.
1. Make yourself comforable in a chair/in the bath/in bed/in a quiet location.
2. Take in a long slow breath, hold the breath for a silent count of three, relax and then breathe out slowly, repeat this process and then close your eyes.
3. Think of your training area, try to picture exerything about it, the floor, the training mats that we use, the walls, the clock on the wall, other coaches and other people training in the building, your Ju-jitsu Gi (uniform), the typical sounds that you hear from the club, for example people talking, the sound of people throwing others, the sound of fighting in the club, the sound of the clock etc.
4. Try to feel things, for example the feel of your Ju-jitsu Gi, the feel of the ground under your feet, the feel of any equipment etc.
5. Run the image through your mind until your concentration wavers.
6. Count from one to three and then open your eyes.
This works best when you're relaxed, after the imagery exercise and when you have got used to introducing yourself to it try to actually use this technique to help yourself use image to concentrate on your competitions and fighting; for example image a fight that has previously happened in preperation for an upcoming fight.
After using the exercise, use the box below to fill in how effective this technique is and if it has actually helped you build your confidence in Ju-jitsu or not.
Imagery Report Form (please circle or underline answers)
1. How vividly were you able to experience the event? Very / Somewhat / Not very / Not at all
2. Which senses were you able to evoke? Sight / Sound / Feel & Touch / Smell
3. Did you experience the event as if you were there? Seeing/feeling etc? Yes / No
4. Did you experience the events as if you were watching a film or video? Yes / No
5. Were you able to image any previous fights where you have won? Yes / No
6. Does this technique help you feel any more confident before a fight? Yes / No
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Another technique that can be used is actually viewing one of your training sessions, and letting you observe everything that acompaines a successful action, for example in a Ju-jitsu situation a good throw, or a good finish or a good kick/strike. This can be anything from body position, or body language, focus or thoughts during the situation.
After you have spotted and observed everything that acompanies a successful action, you must then try and image this for future events, this will help boost self-confidence a lot. When you have observed what acompainies a successful action, i'd like you to fill in this table so that I myself know what helps you perform better and boosts your confidence, what you image during your performance.
Action (Technique / movement)
I saw
·
·
·
I heard
·
·
·
I felt
·
·
·
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I hope using both of these techniques helps you use imagery more prior to training and prior to competitions so that your overall confidence will be boosted, please keep me posted on whether these techniques work or not and if there was anything i can improve on to improve my techniques for future testing, it will also help your overall performance.
08/04/14
Lee: Hi Joseph, again lovely blog! Got your text and read through it and I think you're right that i could improve my confidence using imagery, i've known other competitors do the same thing to improve themselves through various fights and competitions, and i think you should take a note out of your own page and do the same thing for one of your next fights! haha. Anyway, I did the first programme earlier today and filled in the first table you sent me, haven't got round to doing the second one yet but i will send you another email when i have done that one aswell. Here are my results. Since you sent me the table on the computer i underlined my own answers using Word since I couldn't print it out! Hope this is useful enough for you.
Imagery Report Form (please circle or underline answers)
1. How vividly were you able to experience the event? Very / Somewhat / Not very / Not at all
2. Which senses were you able to evoke? Sight / Sound / Feel & Touch / Smell
3. Did you experience the event as if you were there? Seeing/feeling etc? Yes / No
4. Did you experience the events as if you were watching a film or video? Yes / No
5. Were you able to image any previous fights where you have won? Yes / No
6. Does this technique help you feel any more confident before a fight? Yes / No
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This programme actualy worked really well Joe, got to say that I could actually vision one of my previous fight scenarious really well after following the steps, i could mentally image the sights, the sounds and the feel and touch of the fight, although i couldn't image the smell, not sure if that's possible for a fighting scenario, although one thing you could have done to help me with this would be to give me techniques you could find online on how to smell the scenario, whether that would have helped or not i don't know. I experienced the fight like one of my favourite films although i was the main character! haha. And being completely honest the technique really did help boost my confidence before a training sparring session, so i have to thank you for that Joe. Hope this helps for your coursework, will send the next email in a day or two when i get chance to complete the second programme. Lee.
10/04/14
Lee: Hi again Joe, sorry for my late email but i have also completed the second programme, meaning that during training i really concentrated on what made my moves/throws/locks successful, helping make me more successful, and wrote them all down on the Action notes page that you also emailed me previously, i have attached this to the email so you can put it on your blog for your teacher to see, and again i have to admit this really did work! I found out all the things that help make me more successful during various techniques, which hopefully when it comes to actually getting into a competition i will be able to use this to help me win!
Action (Technique / movement)
I saw
· Myself previously doing this throw and how I did it well
· The way I blocked before I threw my opponent
· The opening before I initiated the throw, opportunity
I heard
· The sound of the block
· The sound of the strike when I hit my opponent
· The sound of my opponent hitting the mat
I felt
· The block strength and positioning
· The tightness of the grip during the throw
· Confidence
· Speed
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From my data it seems that during the practice that i visioned myself doing the throw, how i blocked and the opening opportunity i got before initiating the throw, i could hear the sound of my block, i could hear the sound of my strike and the sound of my opponent hitting the mat, i could also feel my block strength, my positioning, my grip tightness, and also my speed. These are my key feelings that i can image to create success in future practice and in competition, as i know that this is what helps me be successful during my fights. Now that i know that this is what initiates my success i can easily use imagery to see, hear and feel situations before they take place, which will benefit me before fights. Thanks a lot Joe, can't wait for next weeks post, see you at Ju-jitsu. Lee.
