You'll never believe this weird trick for making delicious smoothies

I like to make smoothies.

Last night when I made myself a smoothie, I discovered this incredible trick for making them taste good.

Usually I put in strawberries, bananas, almonds, chia seeds, some leafy greens, and maybe something else random, like some sweet peas—after all, pea protein is the big thing these days.

Last night, I left most of that stuff out, just including strawberries, bananas, almond butter, and peanut butter, and a little water. The result was a lovely smoothie I was excited to drink.

So here’s the trick: if you want your smoothie to be delicious, only put delicious stuff in it.

You might not be as shocked as I was at this revelation. You might be saying “wait Corwin, hold up a sec—that’s super obvious” and if you are, you’re right.

But you see, I always wanted to get MORE out of my smoothies. More nutrition, more energy, more of stuff I thought was good in some way, and I ended up creating an experience that really wasn’t all that great for myself—despite fundamentally wanting smoothies that I was excited to drink.

So, how does this relate to mental training?

I think often as we’re preparing for competitions, we lose sight of what we really want, and add in a bunch of extraneous stuff that doesn’t help—I know I have many times in the past.

For example doing extra workouts the week before, staying up late packing every last possible thing we might need, or figuring out the perfect packing arrangement (a big one for me) — one way or another, trying so hard to prepare well that we stress ourselves out.

What I want when I go into a competition is to feel relaxed, happy, energetic, and confident. If I do, the rest of the stuff will usually work itself out. (Assuming I’ve trained, my equipment’s in order, etc.—you do gotta be prepared on a baseline level)

When I fixate on stuff I think I have to do before a tournament in order to feel ‘ready’ I often stress myself out, and miss the central thing I’m going for. (kind of like putting sweet peas in a smoothie for an extra 1g of protein)

So, if you’re doing something to prepare for competitions that’s making you more stressed—don’t do it. Do the things that help you feel good, relaxed, and supported, and leave it at that.

And enjoy a delicious smoothie.

P.S.

If you’re not sure what to focus on when you’re getting ready for a tournament, be sure to download the Perform PERFECT Checklist as a guide

If you’d still like some help, I have current openings for 1-on-1 coaching—click here to see more or schedule a consult and we can talk.

The worst run of my life

Yesterday I went on the worst run of my life.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t the worst of my life, but it’s the worst I’ve been on in a long time—and I think, when you’re near a certain threshold of pain, that pain always feels like the worst.

If you can take it in, accept it, move beyond it, you can increase that threshold, and rise to another level.

But I haven’t run hard in a long time, and yesterday . . . Well, there were a few factors. First of all, like I said, I haven’t been running hard, or training hard at anything. Second, I don’t think I’ve been eating enough, and I didn’t have enough water with me (or any salt {electrolytes}). Third, yesterday was a really hot day in New York, and a lot of my run was in direct sunlight . . . I felt like I was cooking.

I had decided the night before it would be a good day to go for a run, and despite not having run in a while, I was going to push myself on the distance, try to go farther than usual for me. I’d done this particular run once before without training—around the circumference of Randall’s Island—and it was grueling, but manageable.

Something was different this time.

Before I’d finished the run I would end up lost, miserable, and desperate for water.

I was feeling good for the first part of the run, the first quarter or so of my target distance of eight miles. Even so, I noticed I was fatiguing faster than I expected, and I knew the remainder of the run would be tough.

Going into mile 3 I was pushing, and as I was working on mile 4 I was struggling. I was also running low on water, with just a few sips in the small 16oz nalgene I’d brought.

(It’s such a cute little bottle, it fits perfectly in my hand . . . it seemed like a great idea to take that, instead of a larger bottle. Maybe on a cooler day, but not when it’s pushing 90 I guess)

It should be easy enough to follow the perimeter of the island, or so I thought, but close to the end of my fifth mile, I realized I was lost. The path I’d been following was closed, my sense of direction was shot, and I gave up—I couldn’t keep running.

I finished that mile, found some bathrooms, and refilled my water bottle—walked a while, got my bearings, and even started running again after a while, to get up to 6 miles total (the idea of doing 8 was long gone by that time).

But this story isn’t about the moment of giving in to the pain and giving my body the rest it needed. It’s about the last two miles I ran, and how I kept going.

What I found as I was running along, committed to finishing the run I started, and making it around the island, was that I couldn’t think about anything outside the moment. I could, I mean, but then my suffering would increase, my running would get sloppy and inefficient, and I would start to lose my will to run.

I had to find something to focus on, something that would keep me going, step by step.

Almost without realizing it, I found myself falling into the patterns of breathing I teach—two breaths in, one longer breath out. When I couldn’t do that, I would simply keep my attention fixed on my breath, the way I’d practiced for many years in meditation.

I know this from many past experiences, but this was such a clear illustration of the importance of mental training.

I had to stay in the moment to keep running.

I had to focus on my breath to stay in the moment.

I had to practice that focus for years to be able to use it in that moment of intensity—and that moment of intensity gave me another opportunity to practice.

Many people, when talking about mental training

will stress the importance of staying in the moment. We know it’s important to do, but the practice remains elusive, hard to grasp. I have practiced this for many hours by focusing on my breathing through all other distractions, and I coach each of my clients on this at the very beginning of our work together.

But we need these moments of intensity, these moments where being present is THE ONLY OPTION to hone this skill.

Response to a client's question: how do you clear your mind?

“I was wondering if you know a way for me to completely clear my brain. I’ve noticed some of my best bouts have been ones where I’m sort of blacked out. My worst bouts tend to be the ones where I overthink. Do you know a way or exercise to clear my head completely?”

A former client recently texted to ask the following question, and my response was so brilliant I had to share it with all of you.

Just kidding! My answer was a normal amount of smart, but I did think some folks might have the same question, and would want to see the answer. Here’s what I said:

Clearing the mind completely is difficult to do, period. The mind wants to respond to all the things that could be important—to keep you safe from any perceived danger, to have a little more control over what happens next, or to even predict the next few minutes / days / seconds more accurately. So, in general, the mind always wants to be working.

The more things you're thinking about that seem important, either to your conscious mind or to your unconscious mind (the amygdala, a.k.a. the 'lizard brain' for example) the harder your brain is trying to respond to all the different things, and the more difficult it is to get it to calm down and shut up.

So, when you're faced with the myriad stresses and pressures of a fencing competition, it's easy for the mind to go racing off in all different directions. On top of that there's the tendency most of us have to avoid discomfort, so when we get anxious, nervous, or scared, the mind often avoids that by fixating on something else, often trying to control something we can't actually control.

Essentially all of our work together was to help get to that point where you can clear your mind, and have it be empty as you're fencing. Even after months of training, though, it's often impossible to simply clear the mind at will, so we use some aids to get us there. 

Focusing on the process is a great example of this—when we pick one specific thing we *do* want to focus on, it helps displace some of the more distracting and unhelpful thoughts. When we can be confident in the things we *can* control, it helps the mind relax and release thoughts of everything we *can't* control.

Practicing mindfulness is another piece of this. The mind being full and cluttered is a result of it constantly reacting to whatever stimulus it receives, so when we become skilled at observing a stimulus without responding to it, we help the mind practice being clear and quiet—and it becomes easier to return to that state, even when we're upset.

Even the breathing we do, from the activation breathing to amp up, to the box breathing to even out, to the five-second resets to clear the mind for a moment, are all ways of taking one strong predominant focus (the breath) and using that to push out all the distracting BS you have running through your mind at any given time.

Beyond mindfulness and breathing, I find it important for myself to make sure I have, as much as I can, everything else off my mind when I'm going into a competition. If I have something important to get done the week before a competition, getting that done in plenty of time is more important than training for me, so I can release that metaphorical load of bricks from my backpack.

With all of that said—there are gonna be times you just can't clear your mind, even for a moment. When you've had a major upheaval in your life, (even if you don't think it was that major, sometimes it is and you don't realize) or if you're short on sleep, food, water, etc., or if something is weighing on your mind, those can all be reasons why your brain doesn't do what you want it to, and no amount of pushing it will get it to, until the underlying barrier is resolved.

I hope that was helpful, at least in understanding how this stuff works, even though it may not have given you a perfect way to clear your mind.

Wins and updates and the best email I’ve ever gotten

Some recent medals from SharperMind Training athletes:

Regional:

  • Capitol Clash RYC, Y10 — 2nd

  • Winter Thrust RJCC, Cadet — 1st!

  • Winter Thrust RYC, Y10 — 2nd

  • Badawi RJCC, Y14 — 2nd, 6th

  • Rocky Mountain RYC, Y14 — 3rd

  • Excalibur Fencing CDK, Philippines, Y12 — 1st

National:

  • Canada Cup January, Veterans — 1st!

  • Canada Cup January, Junior — 3rd

  • Canada Cup January, Senior — 6th

International

  • Junior World Cup, December — 3rd

  • Junior World Cup, February — 42nd

But that’s not all

I love to see SharperMind Training athletes killing it on the strip, but it’s even more meaningful to me when they’re able to take the skills we’ve been working on and apply them in some other aspect of life.

This snippet from a client email is my new favorite example of mental toughness training going beyond the sport:

“[client] almost had a panic attack today at his pediatrician’s office. He has a huge phobia of needles, and he had to be held down by three of us the last time he had to get an injection. 

This time, before he fully spiraled out of control, he was able to do the breathing that he has learned with you and to take control of the situation (asking for ice to numb his arm first). He calmed himself down and bravely sat still for three vaccines. No one else has ever been able to inspire him to take control of his anxiety in the same way. Fencing is where the emotional regulation starts, but it certainly isn’t where it ends.”

So far, this is my favorite email I’ve gotten from a client (to be honest I started crying when I first got it, and I still tear up any time I re-read it—like when I was coping it into this post)

I believe no one comes to SharperMind Training out of fear—they come to us out of bravery. If you’re considering mental training, it’s because you’ve already been scared, and decided to find new ways to push through that fear.

I have nothing but respect for that.

In other news—Waitlist is open!

After graduating some amazing athletes who felt they got what they needed for the time being, I’ve been taking on new clients, and I’m once again scheduling consultations with anyone interested in working with me.

So, if JO’s doesn’t go how you hope, and you’re looking for a bit of mental training—hit that button below to schedule a call!

**Please note there is still a wait of a few weeks**

 
 

P.S. — Good luck to all the athletes headed to JO’s this weekend! Remember to take your time between touches and use your 5-second resets (that goes for you parents too)

Interview with National Armorer Alex at San Jose NAC

At the San Jose NAC I got into a conversation with Alex, one of the national armorers, and learned that she'd worked with a sport psychologist in the past. I asked if she'd be willing to share her experience with me in an interview, and she was happy to oblige. So, we stepped out to the one quiet spot we could find—the awards area—and had a great conversation about the value of sport psychology / mental training, how it helped her, and why it's important to work with someone who understands fencing. More interviews coming soon!

Support for Palestine, updates, and the team is growing!

Support for Palestine

It’s been hard for me to know how to respond to what’s happening in Palestine right now.

I could rant endlessly in this blog post, but I know my dollars can do more.

I am committing to donate 50% of SMT’s revenue for January directly to Middle East Children’s Alliance, an organization providing aid for the Palestinian people.

If you’d like to donate directly, you can click here.

Reminder: SharperMind Training 1-1 coaching rates are increasing

February 1 2024 rates are going up to $1,800 for the 8 week package, or $4,800 for the full program / 24 week package (scholarships / sliding scale pricing available if needed)

Don’t want to pay the higher rates? You can buy a package now to use later

If you love the idea of working with me but hate paying more than you have to, no fear! Anytime between now and January 31st you can buy a package to use in the future.

Please note—I currently have a wait for new clients; if you get a package now it could be 6+ months before we can get started

If you’d like to get a package, simply email corwin@sharpermindtraining.com and confirm that you understand there is a wait, and I’ll send you a payment link for whichever package you prefer!

We are growing!

The SMT team is growing!

As you saw in my last newsletter, things are getting busy over here, which I couldn’t be more grateful for. That said, I want to ensure I can keep my focus on the reason I started doing this work—helping fencers.

To help with everything else, I’ve brought on a project manager/executive assistant, Sarah. You may get emails from her as well as me, and she will also be on the backend helping my clients with whatever they may need.

Look for more growth coming soon!

I broke my cardinal rule

The October NAC did not go well for me.

I warmed up (mental and physical), ignored everyone, and ate honey, along with doing most of what I intended overall—in short, I followed my process.

But there’s one cardinal rule I believe in that I completely neglected to follow in this case.

If you’ve been following me you may know that I don’t consider results the most important part of any given competition—or the priority at competitions in general.

In fact, I have maybe a controversial take on fencing for results. My cardinal rule is this:

If you cannot enter a competition and be completely okay with whatever outcome you get—don’t enter that competition.

The point of this sport for me isn’t to cause unmanageable stress, to get a college scholarship, to win the respect of peers, or get approval from my coach. I’m not fencing for a living, or to protect myself in duels.

I’m doing it because it’s fun. And if competing stops being fun, it loses its most essential underlying purpose.

There are other reasons I fence, and compete—to challenge myself, to expose areas where I need to grow, as an excuse to travel, to have a goal to work towards.

But none of those reasons are worth really, truly upsetting myself over, and at that competition I walked away from the strip deeply upset, and stayed that way for hours.

For my next competition, the Division I NAC in December, I’ll be taking a big step back and truly focusing on just fencing, with a large helping of enjoying myself on the side—and no pressure at all.

3 things I'm going to do at the NAC

 
 
 
 

Here’s a few things I’m going to be doing at the NAC this weekend, and generally will always be doing at national competitions and world cups.

  • 1. Warm up

This one might seem obvious—and it should be—but I’ll be a bit more specific. I’m going to do the exact same physical warm up I always do at practice, combined with a mental warm up routine I’ve been practicing (if you’ve been working with me one-on-one for 8 weeks or longer, you know the one I’m talking about)

The physical warm up is necessary both to get the body ready, and to help my mind shift into a competitive mindset. It’s important that I challenge myself a bit during this part, without getting too tired. I also want to stick to something familiar, since familiarity is comforting and will help me feel relaxed and confident.

I also want to eliminate decisions and uncertainty wherever possible—another reason for keeping my warm up exactly the same as it is in practice.

  • 2. Ignore you

Well, you and everyone else. I don’t mean to be rude, that’s just how I stay focused.

When I’m competing I like to avoid any possible distraction until I’m out. That means casual conversations, notifications on my phone, social media, texts—pretty much any communication or stimulation outside of fencing (or logic / puzzle games—Minesweeper, anyone?) In fact I’ll usually have my phone on airplane mode for most of the day, only turning that off when I need to check Fencing Time Live.

If you’re supporting a fencer, and they seem distant or standoffish—don’t be offended; they might be feeling nervous, and are just doing their best to keep their head in the game.

  • Eat honey

And whatever else I can between bouts or during the break.

I’ve found eating during competitions is absolutely essential for me to have energy for later rounds, or even for my last couple pool bouts. As I get farther into the competition, though, it’s harder and harder to digest real food, so I turn to honey as a quick source of energy.

It’s not the most balanced meal, but a good squeeze of honey right out of the bottle (probably 1-2 tsp. or so) helps me get through a DE like nothing else I’ve tried.

If your energy is flagging, give it a shot—just be sure to have some water handy to wash it down, or you may not be able to swallow.

If you’re going to be at the NAC, I’d love to say hello—just not until after I finish with Div I on Friday ;-)

And if you’re competing yourself—good luck, and remember to do your 5-second resets!

The Biggest Challenge in Youth Fencing

In this video I discuss the greatest challenge or setback that can occur for youth fencers—the challenge of winning. I talk about why winning competitions at a young age can be such a barrier to future success in and enjoyment of fencing, and share the insights we can gain from a classic study on motivation and reward conducted at Stanford University in 1973.

Let me know what you think!

When to stop training

I’m grieving today. I’m grieving a relationship that ended over a year ago, that I didn’t process at the time, because processing feelings is hard and uncomfortable.

Now those feelings are coming back up and it’s hard and uncomfortable this time around too, and I’m not loving it—but I am looking forward to going to practice later and fencing. Fencing has always been a way to take my mind off hard things in my life—almost always, I should say.

There have been a few times it wasn’t—instead it became the hard thing, the stressor, the thing I needed a break from. It wasn’t based on the amount I was training, or the level I was competing at, or how much I was traveling. It was those times when I was putting pressure on myself to do more, to train harder, to get better results.

Whenever I started treating fencing as a job I *had* to do instead of a way to challenge myself, grow, and find joy in movement—that was when my love of the sport evaporated like water in the desert.

And, it didn’t work. Putting pressure on myself to train more never got me better results. I loved fencing—I was always training as much as I could. As soon as I had the thought “I should do more” it meant I was about to stretch myself too thin, and lose the energy, the fire, that helped me to achieve the great results I enjoyed at times.

So, train lots, fence hard, throw yourself into it with a passion . . . but watch out for that voice saying ‘do more’—in my experience, it’s the worst kind of lie.

Written August 4, 2023

P.S.

Unrelated to the above, I have a YouTube channel and I’m posting bad videos (almost) every day! The only rule is, they have to be bad.

So, if you’re looking for good content . . . I dunno if I can help you; but if you want to see my random thoughts (usually pertaining to mental training) then absolutely subscribe.

Keep sharp!

YouTube Channel! Daily Videos!

Hey everyone!

I have a YouTube Channel, and I’m posting (almost) daily bad videos!

Subscribe now—you don’t want to miss ‘em. As I mention above, the only rule for these videos is they have to be bad. Don’t expect any high production quality, good content, or, well, anything else; this is an as-is situation.

For those of you who have completed some coaching with me, this is me taking a process-oriented approach to making videos—focused on the how (daily) not the what (good quality, viewership, etc.)

If you know, you know.

Hiking, Heights, and How NOT to Miss Your Wins

I went on a hike a few days ago with some friends. 

It was great—and it was awful.

I’m terrified of heights, and this hike had a lot of them — there were many amazing views, wonderful vistas, and places where I could see, if you took one step wrong you’d plunge to some unclear but imagined horrible fate.

I’m not just scared when I’m up high — I’m also terrified when I see other people close to an edge.

Of the two friends I was hiking with, one of them had no evident fear of heights and the other was challenging his, meaning that when we got to the first cliff, they both went over to look over it.

I felt my body lock up, my muscles get tense. I was truly paralyzed by fear, barely able to speak or think, overwhelmed by a nameless sense of terror and a physical reaction I couldn’t control.

I focused on noticing what was happening without judging it, accepting my experience. It still felt pretty intense, but after some time, my reaction eased up a bit.

There were more cliffs throughout the hike, and I had more opportunities to push that particular ‘edge.’ Each time, there was the familiar tightening in my body, the feeling of my mind figuratively clenching up, creativity and relaxed thinking disappearing like mist in the sunlight.

I’ve had this experience of terror of heights, and of seeing other people close to them, for as long as I can remember. It bums me out because there are experiences I’d like to have that involve being up high—rock climbing, rope courses, being the hero who climbs a skyscraper in an action movie, and other totally realistic possibilities—and it feels like my fear of heights makes that impossible (of course my fear of heights is the only thing stopping me, in each of those examples)

I never defined this as a goal, or said out loud where I want to get to with this fear, but the image in my head is something like what I see other people do, who have no fear of heights—to walk right up to the edge without worry, to see other people in a high place and have no reaction of distress.

What I realized a couple hours into this hike was that over the course of leaning into this fear, I got much calmer about it. I was more comfortable going close to the edge myself, and I was less overwhelmingly horrified when other people did that—but because I hadn’t attained my unnamed goal of ‘perfect’ I almost didn’t recognize how far I’d come.

In fact, it didn’t even feel like progress, until I really thought about it—it just seemed like what I was doing wasn’t as hard. These cliffs weren’t as scary, or I wasn’t watching as much when my friends got close.

I think the same thing often happens for athletes around managing the pressure of competions. 

As we get better at handling stress, we interpret situations as less stressful—and immediately move the mental goalpost for how well we are supposed to handle it. I myself often fall into the trap of wanting to respond perfectly in a situation that feels just as stressful as whatever happened before, not realizing that responding better means that the situation won’t feel as intense—and I’m chasing a will-o-the-wisp.

This is why I focus on goal-setting with all of my clients before getting into a personalized mental training plan. Getting our objectives clear means we can easily see if we’re making progress—and eliminates the frustration of constantly-moving and never-attainable goal posts.

My suggestion:

Take a moment right now and pick some area you’ve been working on—it could be handling stress, a fear of heights, or something completely different. Think about and recognize the progress you’ve made, even if it’s not perfect. If you can, make a note of where you started, and write down 2-3 signs of progress. And remember—the most important thing is that you’re working on it. Some things you can’t rush, but if you’re trying, you’re doing good work.

P.S.

If you’re working toward a goal (in your mental training or otherwise) and you always seem to move the goalposts without realizing it, schedule a consult and we can talk it over—maybe I can help.

P.P.S.

I’m now scheduling clients for the fall, if you’d like to improve your mental game this season, now’s the time to get in touch! Click here to set up a consultation.

Don't Lose Your $#*! — Handling Loss Calmly and Coming Back Stronger

This was the second presentation I gave at the Summer Nationals in Phoenix. This presentation includes:

  • What riding horses (or failing to) taught me about losing in fencing

  • Why learning to lose is one of the most important things to master in fencing

  • An essential quote from a former president—and why it matters

  • And of course, actionable mental training skills you can use right away!

If you already know how to lose gracefully, and learn from the experience—fantastic!

On the other hand if you or a fencer you support is having a tough time with losing at tournaments, getting caught up in negative self-talk, and struggling with staying focused on the next bout ahead, let’s find a time to talk and see if I might be able to help.

You can click here or use the button below to schedule a consultation. In this call you’ll tell me what’s going on now, and I’ll share some background on my coaching philosophy, the structure of my mental training program, and how I might be able to help.

Bringing Your A Game: Fencing As Well in Competitions As You Do at Practice

A presentation on how to perform consistently regardless of the setting or circumstances, with 3 actionable mental training skills.

Presentation 1 of 2 — stay tuned for the next one!

If you’re struggling to fence as well in competitions as you do in practice, hopefully the suggestions in this video will help you.

If that’s not enough though, one-on-one coaching may be the next step.

Click here (or the button below) to schedule a consultation and we can talk through what’s going on to see if I can help.

Phoenix Recap — SharperMind Training at Summer Nationals

The heat of the desert sun, the chill of the desert air conditioning, and the new experience of manning a booth for eight days straight were all notable parts of my Phoenix experience — but all of that paled in comparison to seeing so many SharperMind Training athletes competing, with amazing results.

Some of those results were obvious — SharperMind Training fencers brought home:

  • Gold in Y10

  • Silver in Cadet

  • Bronze in Y14

  • Top 8 medals in Division I and Vet-60

And I love to see it!

Less obvious, but even more important to me were the moments when I saw the fencers I’ve worked with overcome personal challenges, putting new tools into practice and finding a new way to engage with competitions.

Some of the most notable to me were:

  • The Y10 fencer stepping up to Y12, facing loss against athletes twice his size — and handling that loss gracefully and with composure

  • A Y14 fencer who, after losing 3 pool bouts 5-4 went on to win two consecutive DEs in overtime (and aaaaaalmost won the third!) showing incredible patience in each of those bouts

  • The parent who told me “His attitude has improved so much!” and that recognition that results are only a fraction of this sport

  • The fencer who came to my second presentation, followed that up with a 1-on-1 session, and then immediately put the skills we practiced into use the next day

And so much more than I can list here.

Aside from any results or accomplishments, it was truly wonderful to see so many of my clients fencing, and meet many of them in person for the first time.

(For those I still haven’t met, I’m probably taller than you think—you just can’t tell over zoom)

Finally, it was wonderful to meet so many new people excited about mental training, and have such great attendance at the two presentations I gave on mental training.

(If you were in one of those audiences, thank you for your participation! We had great energy in the room for both, and I super appreciate that)

If you didn’t make it to the presentations—fear not! I will be sending out each of them shortly, so keep your eyes peeled for my next couple emails.

Keep Sharp!

Corwin

How to Guarantee Success at Summer Nationals

Focus on the process.

For many years my performance at competitions had huge swings—from winning national championships to barely making it out of pools, feeling unstoppable one day to feeling like I never actually got started the next.

This was frustrating, to say the least.

It was also confusing—I was the same guy from one day to the next, I was training the same way, why was my fencing so different?

There are a million variables that go into athletic performance, and many of them we can’t control. It’s natural for there to be some variation—but this was more than that.

After many years of this up and down I realized that, even though I knew the most important things I could do to help my performance, I wasn’t doing them every time.

I was fixated on the outcome I wanted and focused on things I couldn’t control, instead of taking ownership over the things I could.

The change

This past season I committed to an idea I’d been toying with for years, but had never fully invested in: defining my success by my process, not the outcome.

This meant really and truly letting go of the results––fully accepting any outcome—regardless of whether I liked it.

This was my resolution:

If I followed my process, that was success.

I knew that by improving my process (even to the point of making that the sole focus) my results would eventually improve, and more importantly in the moment, it meant I knew exactly what I had to do to be “successful” and it was fully in my own hands.

What happens when you do this?

You can determine your own success—and know that you can be successful.

Because of that feeling of control, you are more confident going into the competition.

That confidence translates into more relaxed fencing and better decisions.

This in turn leads to better results, and a better experience along the way.

And finally, when you finish your day of fencing, you can see your wins (even if you didn’t get the result you were hoping for) and leave with a feeling of accomplishment instead of frustration

So, if you want to guarantee success at summer nationals this year—

Focus on the process.

Here’s how to do that:

Pick 3 things within your control that you think will help your performance.

(they cannot depend on anything your opponent does, or any other outside factors—they need to be things you can guarantee through your own actions)

Commit to the idea that if you do those things, the competition is a success—no ifs, ands, or buts; a complete and unmitigated success.

Focus on those 3 things above all else.

Trust yourself that you have chosen well, and let go of the rest.

If you’re not sure how to do this, I can help—there’s still time to schedule a 1-1 coaching session before nationals.

CLICK HERE TO SCHEDULE

Oh, and don’t forget to take a copy of the Perform PERFECT Checklist—a quick way to clear your mind before you compete.

P.S.

You might also be wondering how it turned out for me when I made that switch . . .

The first competition I truly committed to a process orientation and let go of my results, I prepared better, felt relaxed going into the competition, stayed focused, and felt great.

But what about results?

I got 3rd in that competition a Div I NAC—my best result in over a decade—and qualified for the world cup travel team, my goal for the season.

What I mean to say is—it worked.

The Fatal Thought

The Fatal Thought

Or, How to Lose a Lead at a World Cup

 

I felt good. I hadn’t had time to warm up properly after pools, but I hadn’t had time to get cold either – but I’d eaten which I knew was important for me. Despite the time difference, disrupted sleep, and a mediocre pool, I was feeling confident.

I was at the Budapest Grand Prix world cup on Friday, March 10th (which also happens to be my birthday, not that it matters to the story) going into my first DE, fencing some Estonian kid I’d never heard of.

The bout started well—I was moving a lot as I intended, staying calm, and preparing my actions the way I’d worked on with my coach. Pretty quickly I got up a few touches, 6-2 I think. I couldn’t even say what I was doing, but it was working.

And then it happened.

I noticed a teammate from my club walk up to the strip (presumably to offer support) and I had the fatal thought:

“What if I win by a lot and people are impressed, and they talk about it?”

After that, I lost focus. My opponent got three foot touches in quick succession . . . I felt like I was in a daze.

I tried to reset—as I teach people to do in moments like that—and got a bit better, but it wasn’t enough. I stopped letting him get so many foot touches, but still let too many get through. 

And all of it happened much too fast.

After stumbling my way through the rest of the bout, not quite sure how it was happening, I lost 15-13 on a double touch.

I’m okay with losing my first DE at a world cup. I wasn’t at the top of my form, and world cups are hard. But I was deeply frustrated that I let myself lose focus the way I did, and succumbed to what I know from experience is the worst thought I can have when fencing.

See, I spent a lot of my adolescence feeling constant social rejection, and came to use fencing as a way to gain acceptance—specifically, being good at fencing. That worked to a degree, but left an underlying insecurity around social acceptance. 

When I came back to fencing after a break of several years, and then moved to the most competitive environment in the country, it was to find that I’d gotten much worse, and younger fencers I used to beat easily had gotten better . . . . and I could no longer rely on the people around me being impressed by my fencing.

Even having been on the team for worlds, and won national championships (twice and three times, respectively—but who’s counting) that insecurity came back. I found my love of fencing being pushed aside by the desire to earn the respect of my teammates and feel secure in my social status in the club.

It didn’t matter how much respect I actually had, my own knowledge and skill, I still found myself stuck trying to gain a feeling of security through my results (Spoiler—that doesn’t work so good)

Unfortunately, what I’ve learned about myself as a fencer and as an athlete is that I cannot be doing it for anybody else. When I focus on what other people think of me, I lose my integrity, coming not from a place of security and strength, but from insecurity and weakness. If I try to show off in any way in my fencing . . . . Well, I lose a 6-2 lead, stop preparing my actions, and lose control of the bout.

In short, when I let my mind dwell on others’ opinions of me, I’m at my worst.

I’m glad to say I found some positives—I had some good pool bouts, was focused going into my DE, and followed the process I intended for the most part.

And, I have some thoughts on how I’m going to address that fatal thought, next time it comes up . . . . I’ll be writing about that next week, stay tuned!

P.S. Clinics coming soon near you!

I’m excited to say I’m scheduling in-person clinics for May and June—Locations include New York, NY (Fencers Club, Inc.) Rockland, NY (Rockland Fencing Center) and Virginia (Fencing Sports Academy)

Keep an eye out for more information including more clinics to be added—and let me know if you’d like to have one at your club!