BCman
Level 6 Valued Member
I remember reading some where that the mind is the most powerful component for learning anything that you want to perfect physically. In this study they took three groups of people and they were all tested at basket ball free throws. Then group one never practiced again until next time they tested. Group two practiced every day for some specific amount of time. And group three only practice for the same amount of time as group two, but only in their mind.(imagination) When they retested the three groups, group one never improved at all. No surprise! Group two improved of course. But group three that only practiced in their minds also improved. Not quite as much as group two, but definitely a significant amount!
I also heard a story of a POW in Vietnam, that practice playing several rounds of golf, in his mind every day, while being held prisoner for several years. When he eventually got back to the States, He went and played golf and was far better then he was before going to war.
That is why shadow boxing, forms or kata, hitting the heavy bag, and things like that actually work at improving your abilities at fighting.
When you're young, spar as much as you can. But when you get older, or life just gets in the way, you can still hold onto your abilities and still actually improve just through using your mind.
When people that compete at different strength events, go to do their lift, they (the best anyway)first visualize themselves completing the lift first. But if they're really smart, they will be visualizing themselves completing those lifts many times every day, before that completion day even arrives.
Al
I also heard a story of a POW in Vietnam, that practice playing several rounds of golf, in his mind every day, while being held prisoner for several years. When he eventually got back to the States, He went and played golf and was far better then he was before going to war.
That is why shadow boxing, forms or kata, hitting the heavy bag, and things like that actually work at improving your abilities at fighting.
When you're young, spar as much as you can. But when you get older, or life just gets in the way, you can still hold onto your abilities and still actually improve just through using your mind.
When people that compete at different strength events, go to do their lift, they (the best anyway)first visualize themselves completing the lift first. But if they're really smart, they will be visualizing themselves completing those lifts many times every day, before that completion day even arrives.
Al