Whether you’re about to face a formidable martial arts opponent,
serve a high-risk warrant, or search a house in some hot, dusty town in
the Middle East, there are several ways to charge your mind and your
body for the task. Some call it “getting psyched” or “psyching up.”
Psychologists refer to it as “levels of arousal.” Hmm. I’m not sure
about that last term. Should someone ask what you’re doing, do you
really want to say, “I’m getting aroused”? Best to stay with “psyching
up.”
By whatever term you choose, getting psyched up can be key to functioning at your optimum. Here are a few ways to do it.
Selected Association
This is a psychological term that refers to being with others who
already have the level of arousal you need. This isn’t the time to avoid
those hyped-up, obnoxious loudmouths. The time to avoid these people is
when you want to calm down after an event. But to get psyched up, seize
the moment to soak up their enthusiasm.
A good teacher, coach, sergeant, and captain know how to use their
words, body language, and energy to charge those about to do a difficult
task
Cue Words
I like this method and use it to calm myself — psyche down, if you
will — as well as to psyche up. I’ll bare my soul here and tell you my
two words. Please don’t tell anyone. To calm myself, I whisper or think
sink. Over the years, I have learned to relate that word to letting go of all my tension and stress.
To psyche up, I whisper or think the word
samurai. I’ve been
training in the martial arts for nearly 50 years, so the word has a
powerful suggestibility to me. I’ve seen many samurai movies, visited
exhibits, watched demonstrations, and read lots on the subject. When I
say or think “samurai,” it conjures in me a warrior of extraordinary
skill ready to do what needs to be done.
Words have meaning. The right one(s) invokes powerful psychological,
emotional, and physical reactions. In short, the right word or words
psyche you up.
Cue Images
These are your mental images — call them movies if you want — of you
performing at your best. For example, if you’re trying to improve your
running speed, you might think of a cheetah ripping across a plain. If
you want to work on your quick draw, you might “see” in your mind the
late Bob Munden, who could draw, shoot, hit the target (sometimes two
targets), and reholster faster than the blink of an eye. Literally.
If not a cheetah, your cue image might be another fighter who has
qualities that you admire. It might be a fellow officer who does an
excellent job on felony stops, or a fellow soldier who exhibits all the
warrior qualities you want to emulate.
Physical Warm-Ups
This is easier for martial artists to do but cops and soldiers should
do it when they have the opportunity. In my martial art class, we do
the same warm-up every time. This works as a physical and mental bridge
from the students’ workday or school day, to practicing the fighting
arts. The loosening exercises are martial arts specific to help bridge
that gap.
Cops and soldiers might have to go off by themselves for a few
minutes to physically warm up. Should someone make a comment, just say
that your back and shoulders are bothering you and you need to get your
blood flowing a little.
In the end, know that because your mind and body are connected, physical activation will spur psychological activation.
Self-Confidence Statements
Many warriors use statements such as the following — whispered to
themselves, said aloud, or simply thought — to instill a powerful sense
of self-assurance.
- “I will perform at my best.”
- “I am ready to do this.”
- “I’m anxious to do this.”
- “I’m feeling good.”
- “I’m strong.”
- “I’m full of courage.”
- “I know how to do this.”
Always state your self-confidence mantras in the positive. For
example, don’t say, “I am not weak,” because your subconscious tends to
ignore the negative word “not.” In other words, it hears “I am weak.” So
keep it positive: “I am strong.”
Anger Transformation
Using anger to psyche up yourself is controversial. Advocates believe
that it energizes and psyches one to perform at his/her optimum. Others
believe that it can be detrimental, in that it tightens muscles and
clouds thinking.
I’ve found it to be detrimental, at least as it pertains to
hand-to-hand combat. I’ve been in situations where I was angry in the
extreme and found that I lost my fine-motor skills and my thinking was
restricted. Conversely, when I responded with a cool head, my techniques
were cleaner, faster, and my thinking less prehistoric.
Among psychologists, to include sports psychologists, there is little
support for using anger to psyche oneself. Wait, there is one.
If you’re in a survival situation and you’re certain that you’re
about to die, especially if you were to give up, that is the time to
muster all the unbridled anger and rage to psyche yourself to fight all
out.
Music
Tunes are the most popular way to psyche up. During my competition
years, I listened to certain songs in my car during my commute to a
tournament. When I was a cop working a particularly dangerous part of
town, I listened to hard rock, which I detest, while driving to work. As
a fiction writer now, I listen to certain movie soundtracks when
writing action scenes.
Some of our troops in Afghanistan listen to hard rock in their
vehicles when attacking or defending against the enemy. And who can
forget that iconic helicopter assault scene in
Apocalypse Now
when the lead chopper played “Ride of the Valkyries” over its
loudspeaker to not only psyche the warriors in the birds, but also to
terrorize the Vietcong on the ground.
What kind of music works for you?
* * *
Studies show that psyching techniques work. What is clear is that
different people need different techniques to get results. Music works
for Tom, but cue words work best for Kathy. Cue images work for your
teacher, but performing some simple warm-ups works best to prepare your
mind and body.
Take the time to learn what is in your best interest. You will love the results.
Loren was a military policeman in Saigon during
the Vietnam War and retired from the Portland, Oregon, Police
Department after more than two decades of service. He can be contacted
through his website at www.lwcbooks.com.
NOTES:
My sincerest gratitude to Loren Christensen for his kind permission in reposting his article to my site.
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