Ways to overcome stress and anxiety for a martial arts competition

Whilst not every martial art out there has a competitive scene, it’s also true that a lot do. For example, you’re not likely to find a local Aikido or Krav Maga competition anytime soon. However, the competition circuit for Karate, Taekwondo, BJJ, Judo, Kickboxing and many others is alive and well. Put simply, some martial arts will almost expect you to compete if you end up training them.

Although many people begin training to improve self defense, the reality is that they also end up competing anyway. Arguably, competition is the closest thing to a self defense scenario, especially when strikes are involved. This means that competition brings a different vibe compared to regular training which usually means more competition.

Some martial artists love this pressure, whereas others see it as overly intense. So, although you don’t need to compete – it is certainly something that many people go through. In this article, we shall go through ways of reducing stress and anxiety for any martial arts competition.

Understanding what type of competitor you are

When it comes to competition, there are two types of people. Those who want a complete war, and those who want to hide. If you’re the latter, then the chances are that you’ll be reading this article. Fight or flight is a natural response to a combat scenario and it doesn’t make you less of a martial artist. Basically, there are different ways to deal with your aggression levels.

For example, if you’re too hyped up then you may need calming down beforehand. There are numerous videos of competitors looking physically agitated beforehand, only to suffer an adrenaline dump during their bout and crash out due to poor cardio. On the other end of the spectrum, if you’re not aggressive enough then you may need hyping up. For example, if you don’t feel motivated then you may not perform optimally and lose as a result.

Before continuing with this article, it’s best to recognize what category you fall into. The first means that you need calming down, whereas the second means you need agitating. Ultimately, you’ll only know what group you fall into if you go and compete. We shall continue assuming you’re very nervous.

Self visualization

One of the best ways to get over competition is self visualization. This is an old school psychology trick that makes you imagine future events. So, instead of fearing the worst, you imagine the best scenario. In Judo, this would mean establishing dominant grips, creating kazushi and then throwing the opponent, resulting in Ippon. Although this is optimistic, it’s best to reinforce positive goals rather than negativity. Each time you feel anxious, try and self visualize exactly what you want to do and how to do it.

Having a game plan

On a similar note to self visualization, having a game plan certainly helps. If you know exactly what you want to do then you’ll naturally be more confident as a result. For instance, in a Karate competition, you may go in and start off with a certain stance or punch, then you’d move on to a roundhouse kick.

By having set moves and a structured plan, you should feel less nervous as you know exactly what you want to do. The point of having a direct plan is that you won’t hesitate or think of bad situations. Instead, you’ll try to do a pre-set routing. In effect, you’re thinking like a robot which takes away the ability to panic or have nervous thoughts. Of course, having a plan doesn’t guarantee success but it definitely gives you a clear idea on how to perform which should create confidence and less stress.

Breathe correctly

So far, we’ve offered long term, mental solutions to reducing competition stress. This example is a physical solution which should be done moments before the competition begins. Basically, you’ll want to control your breathing as much as possible. We won’t go into specific details, but you should be able to find breathing techniques online. If you listen to many top martial artists, then they’ll sometimes mention the importance of efficient breathing.

As mentioned earlier, some people panic and gas out. This is part mental but eventually spreads to the body. Here, some people almost hyperventilate and forget how to breathe properly. Ideally, you’ll breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. If you remember to do this moments before a match then you should reduce your chances of crashing during the bout. Learning how to breathe correctly will undoubtedly take a bit of practice.

Acclimatise with your surroundings

If you’ve ever trained in a different gym or setting then you may find yourself perform poorly compared to your usual standards. This is normal and there may be some science behind it. Supposedly, the theory is that when you enter a new environment, your brain may take up substantial energy taking in your surroundings. So, when it comes to competing you struggle as a result and feel lethargic and stiff.

To defeat this negativity, you may want to arrive at the competition venue ahead of schedule. This means you may use energy in the initial stages, only to later feel more at ease. Imagine driving a car to work but then one day doing the same distance but to an unknown location. Obviously, the new location will add an element of stress to your journey.

So, if you leave a bit earlier, you’ll have less anxiety due to giving yourself extra time to arrive and avoid any problems that may arrive. Although not the best analogy, it still shows that different routines can throw us off. To tackle this, try to get there earlier for your nerves to settle.

Warm up correctly

Returning to physical routines you can implement, one involves warming up correctly. Let’s imagine you’re full of negative energy and nerves. Now, imagine doing a good warm up where you sweat without exhausting yourself. This is ideal and will hopefully get your heart and breathing down to a normal rate. By the time you go and compete, you should hopefully feel less edgy and your body should feel loose and fluid, rather than rigid and tense.

This is a good way to reverse engineer nerves. If your mind affects your bodies performance, then here you’re basically using your body to affect your minds performance and so on. Even without anxiety at play, top athletes in any sport will have a solid warm up and get your body ready for competition.

Compete more

Perhaps the best way to reduce competition nerves is to compete more. It’s a cliché but is still very true and is a great way to become a more efficient competitor if you have the time and money to do so.

As many will agree on, competition and nerve management is a skill in itself. So, the more you do something, the more normalized it becomes. As mentioned earlier, the analogy of driving a car to a new location is also relevant here. Imagine constantly driving to new locations, compared to sticking to the same route. At some point, you’ll become so used to exploring new, uncharted territory that it becomes the norm.

This is the same for competition. In short, if you can compete more then all of the above will improve. Whether it’s improving your breathing, to learning to warm up properly, to visualizing your moves – everything will improve. Although not for everyone, you really can’t improve competition results more than competing as much as possible.

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