Zodiac
Smash Master
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2005
- Messages
- 3,557
We've practiced our tech skill, studied our match ups and warmed up our hands, all in preparation for the biggest tournament of the year. but what about our minds? Are our minds ready for the competition? Will we get nervous? Get angry? Will we john? Well Im making this thread to share what I do to mentally prepare for a tournament, and if you would like to you can share your thoughts on being mentally prepared as well.
Mental preparation 1 - Setting realistic expectations, for a long time I expected way to much of myself and that in turn made me frustrated and angry when I lost matches, so the biggest mental preparation I make these days is making sure I have a realistic expectation of what I can achieve at a tournament. You can do this by seeing who is going to your tournament (In this case apex) and watching videos of them (If available) or looking at their placings. whichever way you do this just try and get as accurate of an idea as you can.
Mental preparation 2- Humility before the match, this is something you have to do before every single match, in my opinion it is one of the most important steps in mental preparation. Personally I go into every single match without thinking I am going to win, but I don't go in thinking im going to lose either. But assuming you can win before hand can make you over confident, which leads to arrogance, frustration if you are losing etc... And constantly through out the match I never think about how much better I am than the other player, I just think about the match. if I start thinking "I will **** this player cause they suck" or something along those lines I begin to become complacent and often times too relaxed and then I start giving the other player openings by accident. so in short, just maintaining humility through the match is very important to playing at your best.
(the interview with hugs is a good place to learn more about this aspect)
Mental preparation 3 - Remember you're playing because its fun, I sure as hell am not flying all the way to the east coast so I can lose a set and go sulk in the corner like a *****, Im going cause I think melee is hella fun. This one is short and simple, have fun! This is mostly for when I lose a set or get knocked out of a tournament, does it suck that I got knocked out? yea, but Im not gonna let it ruin the best smash event of the year!
Welp, those are my thoughts on mental preparation, what are yours?
Mental preparation 1 - Setting realistic expectations, for a long time I expected way to much of myself and that in turn made me frustrated and angry when I lost matches, so the biggest mental preparation I make these days is making sure I have a realistic expectation of what I can achieve at a tournament. You can do this by seeing who is going to your tournament (In this case apex) and watching videos of them (If available) or looking at their placings. whichever way you do this just try and get as accurate of an idea as you can.
Mental preparation 2- Humility before the match, this is something you have to do before every single match, in my opinion it is one of the most important steps in mental preparation. Personally I go into every single match without thinking I am going to win, but I don't go in thinking im going to lose either. But assuming you can win before hand can make you over confident, which leads to arrogance, frustration if you are losing etc... And constantly through out the match I never think about how much better I am than the other player, I just think about the match. if I start thinking "I will **** this player cause they suck" or something along those lines I begin to become complacent and often times too relaxed and then I start giving the other player openings by accident. so in short, just maintaining humility through the match is very important to playing at your best.
(the interview with hugs is a good place to learn more about this aspect)
Mental preparation 3 - Remember you're playing because its fun, I sure as hell am not flying all the way to the east coast so I can lose a set and go sulk in the corner like a *****, Im going cause I think melee is hella fun. This one is short and simple, have fun! This is mostly for when I lose a set or get knocked out of a tournament, does it suck that I got knocked out? yea, but Im not gonna let it ruin the best smash event of the year!
Welp, those are my thoughts on mental preparation, what are yours?