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Attitude The state of the athlete's mind as he faces his event determines the degree of excess tension he will carry into the event. The athlete free from excess tension as he awaits his performance is typically self-confident. He has what is commonly known as "a winning attitude." He sees himself as a master of the athletic situation confronting him. To many athletes, being a champion is a matter of "psychological necessity." Fed by previous successes and having completely rationalized previous failure, he feels himself a Triton among minnows. As an event approaches, the athletes often notices a feeling of a weakness in his midsection (butterflies in his stomach), feels nauseated and may vomit; his heart pounds, he may experience pain in his lower back. The experienced athlete recognizes these sensations not as an inner weakness, but as an inner surplus. These signs indicate a preparedness for a violent activity. In fact, the athlete who expresses a feeling of euphoria before an event is probably in a poor state of readiness. Many athletes call it an "adrenal rush", a condition affected by adrenomedullary activity, augmented by the stimulating effect of the competitive situation. If emotional control is not well-learned, critical moments in the fight when the emotional tension is highest will result in loss of skill by the fighter. His muscles suddenly must work against his own over-tense antagonistic muscles. He becomes stiff and clumsy in his movements. Expose yourself to various conditions and learn. Experience shows that an athlete who forces himself to the limit can keep going as long as necessary. This means that ordinary effort will not tap or release the tremendous store of reserve power latent in the human body. Extraordinary effort, highly emotionalized conditions or a true determination to win at all costs will release this extra energy. Therefore, an athlete is actually as tired as he feels and, if he is determined to win, he can keep on almost indefinitely to achieve his objective. The attitude, "You can win if you want to badly enough," means that the will to win is constant. No amount of punishment, no amount of effort, no conditions too "tough" to take in order to win. Such an attitude can be developed only if winning is closely tied to the practitioner's ideals and dreams. A practitioner must learn to perform at top speed all the time, not to coast with the idea that he can "open up" when the time comes. The real competitor is the one who gives all he has, all the time. The result is that he works close to his capacity at all times and in so doing, forms an attitude of giving all he has. In order to create such an attitude of giving all he has. In order to create such an attitude, the practitioner must be driven longer, harder and faster than normally would be required. Use attitude to create:
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