Psychology And Sports, Or That Accidents Are Not Accidental (notes Of A Psychologist)

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

One evening, at the end of the working day, a student of the 11th grade came to my office, while I was working as a psychologist in a private general education school. Having accepted my invitation to pass, my visitor, let's call him Andrei, sat down on opposite me and began a conversation, the essence of which was that tomorrow he was taking part in a Kyokushinkai competition and whether he won these competitions or not, it would depend on what he will come to school on Monday (will it be a white dress suit or he will put on all black).

After I asked what the real reason for his visit was (after all, it was obvious that a high school student would not visit a psychologist just to inform him about what would affect the choice of a suit on Monday), he asked: "Is it possible with the help of any psychotechnics to make me win these competitions or increase the chance of winning?" Having received an affirmative answer, he told me where and what time the competition would take place.

At the appointed time, I was in the gym, where the first fights were going on, Andrei was already in the dogi and was doing a warm-up. When he came up to me, I asked him to show those with whom he would fight. Andrey's first rival was, judging by his appearance, more resilient, but looking at his manner of walking, I assumed that his "Achilles heel" was the liver, and therefore I recommended Andrey to give his best in the first minutes of the fight, to focus on one blow and asked him to see this blow, which was done. Then, we made a "trip to the mountain stream". Andrey commented on what was happening in the following way: “I see a powerful mountain stream, it is seething, and if an obstacle is encountered on its way, this stream will crush it. Coming closer, I feel all its strength and power, I feel admiration, feeling this energy …”Then Andrey was asked to become this stream himself, to merge with it, which he did (his body became denser, like a compressed spring). At that moment, the next pair was announced, and Andrey stepped onto the tatami … Together with the blow of the gong, I turned on the stopwatch and after 45 seconds turned it off, since the fight was over (Andrey kicked his opponent in the liver and won an early victory).

On Monday morning, Andrei came into my office in a white suit and said that the second fight, which I was not lucky enough to see, because I had a consultation, he also won. Then, thanking him for the work done, he said that his first rival, entering the locker room, threw the following phrase to him: “Yes, you were just lucky that I accidentally got into the liver…”. I asked Andrey what he thinks about this and he, after thinking a little, said that while preparing for the fight he saw this victorious blow so clearly that he even felt it on a physical level, and when the fight was over, he took it as due. And at the end of our meeting, he said a wonderful phrase: "Now I understood what you meant when you said that accidents are not accidental and that some are perceived as the will of chance, for others it is a natural result of their work" …