The Super Mental Training Book (34 page)

Elsewhere in the article, DeMile lists six steps his students follow when practicing self-hypnosis. These six steps are fairly standard. Most people succeed in entering and coming out of

the self-hypnotic state by following them:

1. Get comfortable, relax, clear your mind of any outside thoughts, and suggest to yourself that you will soon enter a pleasant state without any resistance.

2. Perform a predetermined action (known as your "key"), which signifies that you are now entering a hypnotic state.

3. Relax every muscle and nerve in your body. Go deeper and deeper. Concentrating only on your own thoughts, count backward from 10 to zero as you go into a deep hypnotic state.

4. Lock yourself into this deep trance. Do not arise from this state until you awaken yourself. You will not fall asleep or lose control of the trance. Prepare to give yourself positive suggestions.

5. Give suggestions or lock into DeMile's suggestions.

6. Prepare to awake yourself, feeling refreshed and alert without any mental or physical discomforts. All the positive suggestions given will be followed. Using a count of one to five, slowly awaken. At the count of five, you will be wide awake, feeling very pleasant throughout the mind and body.

Adhering to these six steps takes a little more time than what other self-hypnosis induction procedures involve. But, a patient approach is never a bad idea.

As should be evident, DeMile presents his teaching philosophy and knowledge of self-hypnosis most authoritatively; in fact, his comments constitute a real tour de force. Especially if you area beginner in the martial arts, try to obtain his Blackbelt article for reference.[32]

In general, the martial arts stress the importance of developing the total person. Oriental thinking holds that one's mind, spirit, and character require as much strengthening and conditioning as the body. This holistic philosophy makes a lot of sense. After all, an athlete lacking self-discipline, one who is experiencing personal problems, or one who is dishonest with himself will not succeed for long in his sport. He will cut corners, perhaps cause dissension on the team, and not make the necessary sacrifices essential to being a top athlete.

One of the best examples of how the Eastern way of strengthening the mind, spirit, and character can lead to improved athletic performance is found in Eugen HerrigePs classic book, Zen in the Art of Archery. Herrigel, while living in Japan for seven years, was intent on discovering the essence of Zen. Having been told to take up one of the "arts" to help him in his quest, he chose the art of archery. Archery in Japan is considered an art, rather than a sport, though Japanese Master archers perform feats with the bow and arrow that Olympic archery champions would be hard-pressed to match. The Eastern versus Western approach to archery can be summarized in this diagram:

East — art (archery) ==> Zen

West — sport (archery) ==> ?

Taking up archery in Japan is therefore simply a means to a greater end.

Herrigel, under the guidance of a Master archer, first encountered difficulty in drawing the bow. The Master, never losing his patience, kept encouraging Herrigel in his efforts, telling him to "Relax! Relax!" Weeks went by and Herrigel still could not get it right. He relates what eventuated:

The day came when it was I who lost patience and brought myself to admit that I absolutely could not draw the bow in the manner prescribed.

"You cannot do it," explained the Master, "because you do not breathe right. Press your breath down gently after breathing in, so that the abdominal wall is tightly stretched, and hold it there for a while. Then breathe out as slowly and evenly as possible, and, after a short pause, draw a quick breath of air again—out and in continually, in a rhythm that will gradually settle itself. If it is done properly, you will feel the shooting becoming easier every day. For through this breathing you will not only discover the source of all spiritual strength but will also cause this source to flow more abundantly, and to pour more easily through your limbs the more relaxed you are."[33]

The Master's suggestion worked, leading Herrigel to ask his friend, Mr. Komachiya, why the Master had not told him to breathe correctly in the first place. Explained Mr. Komachiya:

A great Master must also be a great teacher. With us the two things go hand in hand. Had he begun the lessons with breathing exercises, he would never have been able to convince you that you owe them anything decisive. You had to suffer shipwreck through your own efforts before you were ready to seize the lifebelt he threw you. [34]

Other difficulties presented themselves to Herrigel. One major roadblock occurred when he worried about his arrows not hitting the target. Because he worried about where his arrows landed his progress came to a standstill. But, a remarkable demonstration by the Master—wherein the Master in total darkness shot a bull's eye, and then splintered the first arrow with a second— helped Herrigel overcome the psychological barrier of worry. Weeks, then months of diligent practice ensued, leading to the critical breakthrough:

One day the Master cried out the moment my shot was loosed: "It is there! Bow down to the goal!" Later, when I glanced towards the target—unfortunately I couldn't help myself—I saw that the arrow had only grazed the edge. "That was a right shot," said the Master decisively, "and so it must begin. But enough for today, otherwise you will take special pains for the next shot and spoil the good beginning." Occasionally several of these right shots came off in close succession and hit the target, besides of course the many that failed. But if ever the least flicker of satisfaction showed in my face the Master turned on me with unwonted fierceness. "What are you thinking of?" he would cry. "You know already that you should not grieve over bad shots; learn now not to rejoice over the good ones. You must free yourself from the buffetings of pleasure and pain, and learn to rise above them in easy equanimity, to rejoice as though not you but another had shot well. This, too, you must practice unceasingly—you cannot conceive how important it is."[35]

In all Herrigel spent five years in becoming a Master archer, and in the process lost "the last traces of any preoccupation with myself." He reached the point where "bow, arrow, goal and ego, all melt into one another, so that I can no longer separate them. And even the need to separate them has gone." He also attained his goal of realizing the essence of Zen, fully understanding the meaning of this mystical contention of the Master:

"He who can shoot with the horn of the hare and the hair of the tortoise, and can hit the center without bow (horn) and arrow (hair), he alone is Master in the highest sense of the word—Master of the artless art. Indeed, he is the artless art itself and thus Master and No-Master in one. At this point archery, considered as the unmoved movement, the undanced dance, passes over to Zen."[36]

Most Western athletes strive to improve their performance immediately. This relative impatience leads them in the direction of relying on external solutions to problems. For example, one typical way a Western athlete will try to conquer a problem is by purchasing a new piece of equipment, instead of analyzing his mental attitude and by changing it for the better. But, if the new

piece of equipment does not help, then what? The athlete unaccustomed to considering internal solutions (i.e., working on his mental attitude, concentration, etc.) is lost. It took Herrigel five years to become a Master archer, which is how long it took him to completely change over from Western to Eastern thinking. Patience and perseverance found their reward. Undeniably, adopting Eastern thinking, through the practice of martial and other arts, is only one way to improve one's self-discipline, mental outlook, concentration, and by consequence, athletic performance; however, as Herrigel's experience demonstrates, Western athletes would be wise to investigate this internally-oriented approach further.

Preparing yourself mentally for competition, by using the mental training strategy of your choice, can lead to extraordinary performances. The athletes featured in this chapter found this out. Many of them also discovered that learning and applying mental rehearsal techniques can be accomplished for free, with time comprising the only expenditure. There is no reason why you cannot follow the path of these athletes. Read books and articles on mental disciplines, listen to tapes or watch videos on the subject, and then regularly practice the mental rehearsal technique that appeals to you. The results you will then experience in your athletic performance should prove most gratifying.

FOOTNOTES

1. Bob Lochner, "Stock Becomes Blue Chip as Austrian Wins Downhill," Los Angeles Times, February 15, 1980, Part III,

P . i.

2. Corky Fowler and Christopher Smith, The Hidden Skier, (Chicago, Illinois: Contemporary Books, 1977), p. 20.

3. Ibid., pp. 73-74.

4. Ibid., pp. 90-91.

5. Refer to the study in the Soviet Athlete chapter about the 1980 Soviet Winter Olympic athletes who spent varying amounts of time on physical training and mental training. Note that Group IV, which allocated 75% of their time to mental training and only 25% to physical training, outperformed the other three groups, who spent more time on physical training. Zurbriggen's training regimen, after his knee injury, probably resembled Group IVs.

6. Richard M. Suinn, "Body Thinking: Psychology for Olympic Champs," Psychology Today, July, 1976, p. 41.

7. Ibid., p. 43.

8. Dr. Suinn also discusses in his article his work with U.S. pentathlon athletes who were preparing for the 1976 Summer Olympics. How much these athletes benefitted from using visualization is very difficult to ascertain because none of the people Suinn specifically named made the 3-man U.S. Olympic Pentathlon squad. Those that did make the team— and they may or may not have worked with Dr. Suinn—finished individually in 6th, 16th, and 26th place, which translated into a fifth place finish overall for the U.S. Pentathlon team.

9. Suinn, op. cit.

10. Ibid., p. 38.

11. Ibid., p. 43.

12. Chris Cobbs, "As Skating Finals Go, U.S. Men's Comes Close to a 6.0," Los Angeles Times, February 9, 1981, Part III, p. 6.

13. Santee apparently did not develop this psych-up procedure on his own. While experiencing problems with his confidence prior to the 1980 Winter Olympics, Santee visited sports psychologist Dr. Bruce Ogilvie (see "The Eastern Bloc Comes Into L.A. With a Head Start," Los Angeles Times, January 25, 1984). Dr. Ogilvie taught Santee to recite to himself before taking the ice: "David, you are now ready. This is your crowd. Go do it." Only in form does this message differ from the "it's your time now" one; the themes of both are practically the same.

14. Jack Heise, How You Can Play Better Golf Using Self-Hypnosis, (North Hollywood, California: Wilshire Book Company, 1961), pp. 123-124.

15. This was not easy because Heise did not say what year the incident occurred. Still, the anecdote contained enough information for a good investigative effort to be launched.

16. Dr. Grimm, a physician, assumed the role of problem-solver, which is what most physicians are trained to be— problem-solvers, rather than problem-preventers. As noted in our chapter on Professional Athletes, many sports psychologists are trying to emphasize to coaches and athletes the problem-prevention benefits of mental training. They advocate a year-round or season-long mental rehearsal training program, preferably under the guidance of a sports psychologist, for college and professional teams. If Mills had had such guidance, using mental rehearsal techniques the entire season, he probably would never have developed the tendency to "freeze" in the first place; so say the sports psychologists.

17. "Hypnotized Cager Almost Beat Gaels," San Francisco Chronicle, December 31, 1959, p. 1H.

18. Eugene F. Gauron, Mental Training for Peak Performance, (Lansing, New York: SportScience Associates, 1984), p. iv.

19. Pro-mental training testimonials made by others involved in amateur athletics appear in Dr. Gauron's book. For example, Robert Leverence, a pommel horse specialist on the Iowa Gymnastics team (1980-1984), and Tom Dunn, the Iowa Gymnastics Head Coach, volunteer extensive remarks on mental training's usefulness.

20. Gauron, op. cit., p. 147.

21. James G. Bennett and James E. Pravitz, The Miracle of Sports Psychology, (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1982), p. 80.

22. Bennett and Pravitz observe that Triple Imagery, like most other mental disciplines, "can be used on site, just a few minutes before actual competition; but, it must be mastered first, to be effective."

23. Bennett and Pravitz, op. cit., pp. 85-86.

24. John Syer and Christopher Connolly, Sporting Body Sporting Mind, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984), pp. 14-15.

25. Ibid.

26. I myself have used self-hypnosis in racquetball with success. In one tournament held in August, 1978 at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California, I gave myself low-key general autosuggestions before the competition. The main autosuggestion I employed was to "go out there and just do the job." This general autosuggestion worked very well for me. I played perhaps the best racquetball of my life, and came away with a trophy (I only lost to the first seed, Jeff Martindale, in three close games).

27. For more information on this videotape, contact: Director of Golf, The Dominion Country Club, 12042 Blanco Road, San Antonio, Texas 78216.

28. David Taylor, "The Search for Power in the Martial Arts," Blackbelt, April, 1979, pp. 58-60.

29. Robert E. Stewart, "Zazen and the Martial Arts," Blackbelt, April, 1978, p. 25.

30. Ibid., p. 26.

31. Eugene H. Ho, "Hypnotism in Self-Defense," Blackbelt, October, 1973, pp. 28-34.

32. Blackbelt sells back issues, so you may wish to write to them at: Rainbow Publications, 1813 Victory PL, Burbank, CA 91504.

33. Eugen Herrigel, Zen in the Art of Archery, (New York: Random House, 1971; originally published 1953).