on mental visualization

[Ryan Ricks]

hi all,

many times throughout the day i will think about and mentally visualize techniques i've learned in recent training sessions. i find this pretty useful to sort of mentally "practice" when i can't pick up the waster, like during my commute, etc.

while this might not help me perform the technique better, i think it's useful to think about it, that way i don't forget what i 've learned.

does anyone else do this kind of thing? does anyone find it helpful?

ryan

[Randall Pleasant]

Ryan

Yes, I do the same thing and yes, I do find it very helpful. Another form of mental visualization that I do is something that John Clements told me that he did/does, when just walking around other people I judge my distance with them. For example, as I walk past a person I try to recognize the moment when they come into range and the moment they move out of range. When standing around in a group of people I often ask myself, who would be in range to strike me? Another form of mental visualization that I think is very useful is during sparring attempting to visualize your sparring partner's sword/spear/dagger as a sharp, treat his/her sparring weapon as a real threat to your health and life. In my limited sparring experience I have seen people willingly take a hit just so they could "get in their blows too". Of course, this is totally unrealistic. Finally, when I take a hit during sparring (which happens quite often <img src="/forum/images/icons/crazy.gif" alt="" /> ) I try to visualize the type of injury I would have received.

[JeffGentry]

Hey Ryan

I can't quote the name of researcher's or anything, i do know that studies have been done on athlete's that does indicate that visualization's does work to improve actual performance.

Gary Lefew ( i don' know if i spelled that right) is a former world champion bullrider and advocate of visualization, i do alot of visualization, when i'm at work i just kind of go through movement's in my head and alot of time's i will do it two or three time's sometime's i do the step i'm picturing in my head not on purpose it just happen's and alway's look around to see if anyone was watching feeling a little ridculous.

Anyway you can actualy increase or decrease your heart rate unintentionaly when you are lost in thought (visualization).

There are many book's that deal with the subject of how mental state effect's performance and how to improve it two off the top of my heaed are The Flow and Body Mind and Sport's, these deal with the whole connection between how your mental state effect's performance and how to improve the intergration of mental training into physical training in sport's, it somewhat come's from the eastern philosphy though.

To me visualization is just another way to train, I do use it alot i use it for whitewater kayaking also and did it when i rode bull's, and i think it does help.

[Ryan Ricks]

hey that's really interesting, i never would have thought of that. the technique i've been visualizing the most lately is the elbow push followed by a neat little throw shane showed me. i ended up dreaming about that one the other night, this person in my dream came after me with a switch blade, and i was able to execute the technique and save my skin.

anyway, i'll have to try the range thing.

ryan

[Jamie Fellrath]

Ryan,

I think that visualization is a very necessary part of any physical activity. I've not done Ran's exercise but I think I'm going to start - that's a great idea. I personally use visualization a lot when I'm training on my own - trying to imagine the opponent in front of me or using a memory of a previous training session with the guys as a guide to performing a technique correctly.

I also use it a lot when I'm watching video - ARMA videos, certainly, but also when I'm watching soccer on TV. My wife will look at me as I'm watching and my legs are twitching around, and she'll ask me how much caffeine I've had that day. And actually I'm putting myself into the game and mentally reacting to it.

I personally love watching the skiers and lugers in the Winter Olympics - before their runs, you'll see them standing or sitting with their eyes closed, imagining the run ahead of them and what moves they'll make to complete it.

[James_Knowles]

This IMHO is a critical tool in your arsenal.

I think it's pretty rare to find anybody at the top of their field that does NOT do visualization to some degree or another. I've read material from sports to sales to soldiers to science.

There's a lot of material written about it, but I'll leave off the bibliography. <img src="/forum/images/icons/wink.gif" alt="" />

[Brian Hunt]

Visulization is a strong part of my life. I use it for a wide variety of things including my martial arts. It is a great way to create scenarios and come up with potential responces, as such it allows you to have already decided what you will do in a particular situation so that if you encounter that, you have already chosen how to handle it and do not get caught with a deer in the headlights look. <img src="/forum/images/icons/smile.gif" alt="" />

Of course one shouldn't use it to just shuffle the "what-if" deck, IMHO.

I use visualization when I am studying a manual and I do not have a partner readily availible to try and work out different ways in which the techniques I am reading about could be properly done so that when I get with a partner the physical application seems to take a much shorter amount of time. I also use it for correcting problems I may have had while sparring, etc. Visualization is a very useful technique for Martial arts and life in general.

just my 2 cents worth.

Brian Hunt
GFS

[Ryan Pynenberg]

I too, find myself constantly trying to visualize the techniques I am learning. In fact, I have been calling my training partner daily to talk to him about it. I think he is starting to get annoyed!

I am very intrigued by the idea of always judging the range when encountering others. I am going to start doing that myself.


Ryan Pynenberg
ARMA - Appleton

[Joe Fults]

The idea on judging space sounds very nifty. Wonder if it can apply to timing too?

I've been getting better at visualizing while I'm drilling alone and at times it seems to be very effective. Sometimes exhausting when I get really focussed.

[Jeffrey Hull]

Yes definitely, time &amp; space go together, as physics tells us.
<img src="/forum/images/icons/wink.gif" alt="" />
JH