I started competing nationally when I was 13. For years, I went to competitions hoping to do well, but my results were hit-or-miss. Even if I was physically prepared and well-rested–I routinely took 3-4 days off of training before a competition–I didn’t know the best way to prepare myself to be mentally present.
I don’t just mean I didn’t know the best techniques to use, etc. – I mean, of all the things I was doing, I didn’t know which ones were actually helping me.
Over the years I eventually learned some things that I knew would help me. I found that listening to music helps me stay engaged with something but stay focused. I learned that it’s really important to eat during and after pools, or I run out of energy real quick in DEs. And maybe the biggest thing – I learned I better not go around talking to my friends when I’m trying to fence, or I’ll lose focus completely.
Now, that list is for me, personally, and it will be different for each person reading this. But what’s important is that I started to recognize what helps me succeed, and what gets in the way.
It’s a pretty simple process, and really boils down to asking myself three questions:
What mindset do I want to be in during the competition?
What can I do that will help me get to that mindset?
What can I do to support myself in staying in that mindset?
Once I have answers to those three questions, I know what I can do to prepare myself for the tournament.
I can’t always do everything on my list - but when I lay out the steps I need to take to prepare, it helps me choose my priorities, so I can focus on the things that will make the biggest difference for me.
For example, for me it’s very important to make sure my equipment is working reliably before I leave for the competition, so by planning ahead I can take time the weekend before and get everything in order.
Another advantage of doing this is that even if something doesn’t work out the way I wanted, I feel more prepared to handle it when I have a plan in place.
Sometimes I’m wrong about the best way to prepare - and when that happens, because I have approached the process intentionally, I can learn from that and adjust for the next time.
Sometimes things come up that I don’t expect - but because I know I’m as prepared as I can be, it doesn’t throw me off; I just find a way to adapt and move on.
The process I go through personally is a little more in-depth than what I outlined here - if you’d like a full list of the questions I go over before competitions and an example of a post-competition report I wrote out for myself, just email me and let me know and I’ll send those right over to you!