Anxiety when playing in a serious setting
Mental Preparation
Marlon Blaschek Asked 6 years ago
Hello Alois, Jeff and the PingSkills community first in for all thank you for your videos and providing us your knowledge of the game.
I started playing tabletennis again in my school in the 45minutes break and emerged from being on the same skill level with my friends to a win Streak of 14 Games against 5 different opponents/playing styles without dropping one game.
Im playing with my best friend and practice partner at a club and managed to impress the old and skilled players with my dedication and adapability to the game and my learning curve even playing with a handycap of my footwork because I have ligament rupture.
I want to take this sport to the next level in tournaments/competition as part of my competetive nature.
How do I make the jump from playing regularly in my club to someone who is experienced in the stress bad feeling when participating in a tournament.
I'm scared of anxiety and a bad gut feeling when under tournament circumstances.
How do the professionals deal with the high stress in these situations.
How to Identify my opponent If there is only a limited set of games and when I lose I drop out.
I have alot of questions about this topic which surely is posted in the right forum here.
I dont have the mindset to become the next Ma Long even though my name is quite similar, I just want to test out my boundaries and expand my skill curve.
Alois Rosario Answered 6 years ago
Hi Marlon,
Glad you are liking the site.
I think everyone has some anxiety when playing in a bigger event. It is a matter of how you can deal with it.
I heard some good advice today on the radio where someone talked about first accepting the situation, then acting. Accepting... the situation like you created it yourself...
So accept that you are feeling anxious and it feels like a big event for you. Then accept it like you created the situation for yourself to test yourself out. Then act by playing to the best of your ability in that situation that you have created. If nothing else by entering into these events you will learn more about yourself.
In our Sports Psychology section we also have some good ideas to share with you. Look first at the tutorial on how to Recognise Your Feelings.
Thoughts on this question
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Nigel C Posted 6 years ago
Marlon,
One suggestion given to me was to practice the stressful situations (I also suffer from nerves on vital points). I think it is not easy though to genuinely feel stress in a practice match. You can start at say 9 - 9 and try to imagine it is a final in a tournament. Maybe though it is the other way round and we should be relaxed in a match as we are in practice - hopefully without losing the competitive edge. I find that a good thing to do on vital points is....smile. Somehow it helps me relax and my opponent starts to worry that I may have secret weapon that I am about to unleash for the first time.
Sports psychology is fascinating and it is worth finding articles and books that can be of great help (as well as the section on ping skills of course).
Good luck.
Rohan Keogh Posted 6 years ago
LOL. I love that idea Nigel. I'll try smiling a cheeky, I-have-a-secret, smile next time I'm at 10-10 and see what affect it has on me, and my opponent.