hypnosis for boxers

hi folks i have a client coming to see me who wants to boost his sporting performance with the aim of becoming a world champion boxer. does anyone have a script or ideas they are willing to share as to the best way to help him.

all comments appreciated

cheers

stephen

Favorite

0 members favorited this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by James Hazlerig - HypnosisAustin on February 28, 2011 at 2:11pm

All the same techniques that you would use for any other sports enhancement should work: stress management, confidence enhancement, mental rehearsal, identifying with a role-model, future pacing.

You might also teach some pain management, which is probably the one thing most other athletes won't need to the same degree.

James

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by John Maclean on February 28, 2011 at 3:42pm

I have worked with boxers and even a cage fighter who did not like to hit people! While all James says is true you should also work on "focus and flow" and "paying attention"

Paying attention:

When dealing with clients or athletes who tell you that they are having difficulty in concentrating – then one may find that the athlete is concentrating on concentrating‟! Robert Nideffer (1976) believes that a person‟s focus of attention falls into four categories: -

The width (broad/narrow)

The direction (internal/external)

Taking it one step further, others have been able to process the categories: -

Narrow-internal

Broad-internal

Narrow-external

Broad-external

Narrow-internal - A focus on internal and kinaesthetic aspects of performance

Sports that rely heavily upon this focus would include springboard divers and gymnasts (who will "check‟ body position in the air) Focus on the position of the limbs will also be important as the participant will also be "marked‟ according to aesthetics (pleasing to the eye) Other writers have also stated that top professional gymnasts will "plan in‟ an arousal check part through the routine, in order to bring heart rate and breathing into check. Other checks they may make during the routine will include internal fatigue levels and physiological checks (such as sweating) to check effort levels.

Broad-internal- This is the analytical thoughts and strategy development focus. This is very important in almost all sports. Distance athletes will devise strategies on how to beat their opponents, by making decisions on where and when to "push on‟ the pace. Team sports will rely upon the tactics devised by the coaching staff to beat the opposition .

Narrow-external - Here, the attention or focus is drawn towards a single object (cue) within the external environment Examples of sports dependant upon this focus of attention will include football and tennis. Here, the participant will be "watching the ball‟ throughout. Another example cited by Daniel Bishop is that of a second-placed cyclist who watches the back wheel of the leader, gauging when to overtake.

Broad-external- Here, an assessment of the surrounding environment is taken before decision making is made final. A golfer will look at the prevailing wind conditions, hazards, etc before choosing the club and line to take. Team games (hockey, football, etc) rely upon the player on the ball to look at the position of both team mates and opposition before making a pass Although the above is very simplified, in reality, we tend to shift from one attention focus to another. Sport psychologists are working on ideas and techniques to lengthen this "attention span‟ during activity.

From these ideas, the concept of concentration has been born Concentration. The conscious focussing of the mind and the senses on performance. Concentration (like attention) has a time span – unfortunately not very long – before the mind wanes and wanders. A crucial skill in sport, concentration can be learned over a period of time and there are a number of steps that need to be taken and practiced until an appropriate one is found for the individual. As stated above, one will find that concentration/attention can be very difficult to attend to for endurance type events and activities To concentrate or remain in focus requires systematic mental strategies – all of which can be learned. The Rover Squad of the LTA at Bisham Abbey constantly practices skills and drills on concentrating to the task at hand. Team-mates will attempt to break the concentration of each other during the serve (or similar), by shouting and waving from the periphery of their line of vision Anyone found to be smiling or responding to the outside influence demonstrate that they have NOT focussed and concentrated fully.

So from this we can see that a boxer needs to be able to change his focus from Broad External to Narrow External very quickly as he needs to assess his opponents position and movement as well as the incoming punches. At the same time he needs to be able to "pick" his target while avoiding counter punches.

"You cannot improve talent but you can improve performance!"

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by John B. Lee IV on February 28, 2011 at 4:40pm

Boxing gives you an interesting array of things to anchor to. Granted, i am no performance expert and I will take notes on the previous entries by the 2 gents before mine.

find out his absolute needs between rounds, revivify those, supercharge them and anchor to his water bottle. You can even have him actually do it in the office.

perhaps a calm and powerful confidence can be linked to his gloves, anesthesia to his mouthpiece, etc...

Also modeling is huge as the Good Sir Hazlerig suggested. Mental rehearsal while modeling excellence can be sped up. He can participate in numerous rounds in a session. I really only work with golfers and tennis players but they can "practice" in perfect form 100s or 1000s of swings. It has had fine results thus far.

we also assign tasks. The conscious mind will come up with the grand strategy and the subconscious mind will execute without conscious interference-- kinda like driving with a map. You don't need to consciously think of gas pedal pressure, you do need to think of the best route. Physical movement at the professional level should be subconscious.

Look up Alan Whitton. He is the fight guru, I don't know if he is on hypnothoughts

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Fable Goodman on February 28, 2011 at 7:14pm

I have worked with a few Cage fighters over the past months, with good success.

I have skimmed the earlier responses, and I will be coming back for a second read of john's comments about focus and flow, and the other John's response about anchoring, when I have more time, some good stuff there to keep you going> Thgree excellent responses. I may comment more later.

Love and hugs,

Fable

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Michael Ellner on February 28, 2011 at 8:05pm

Hi,

Can you imagine the attitude, the heart, the sacrifice and the hunger necessary to become a boxing champion?

I can - I felt it when I was with 2 time former Heavy Weight Boxing Champion Tommy "The Duke" Morrison. Briefly, in 1996 the young "Duke" was walking on air, he had just signed a multi-million dollar contract and was focusing every fiber of his being on knocking Mike Tyson out -- LIFE WAS GREAT! That fight never happened because the Duke was told that he had tested positive for HIV and he was banned from boxing... These days Morrison is in fighting shape and he is fighting for the right to box again. Morrison is organizing a legal team that will demand proof that he is or ever was infected as claimed when he was banned from boxing and I am happy to say that I am in his corner for this fight. Stay tuned...

@ Stephen -

In terms of modeling what it takes to be a champion

Champions keep their eyes on the PRIZE - Everything is focused on being the best - Champions practice and workout like champions...

Champion Boxers don't manage stress they CHANNEL Stress

Although Champion Boxers do not need pain management during a fight because they are feeling no pain while they are fighting... James is right on -- Pain management comes in very handy after the fight...

Michael E. @ http://www.nycanxietyhypnosis.com

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by John Sannicandro on March 1, 2011 at 1:03am

Definitely a great subject to work with. Ken Norton, a great fighter from the 70's used hypnosis to raise himself from a decent fighter to a champ using hypnosis. He beat Ali once after he was hypnotised prior to the fight. It might also help to emphasize to your subject that visualization has been a part of the martial arts for centuries. Traditional karate uses a practice called kata which does not translate well to English. Kata emphasizes visualiing an opponent as the practitioner practices technique. It programs the person for success and automatic responses.

Naturally all the visualization and hypnosis won't help if the guy doesn't have the skills or does not train earnestly. If he does then hypnosis can be the edge that improves his game. I agree with those that have emphasized a comprehensive approach. I'd also suggest self hypnosis daily before training, in the AM, before bed, etc to hard wire automatic responses, increased strength, comfidence, and to change the automatic beliefs he has about his ability. The most important thing however is to increase the effectiveness of his training to improve his all round game.

John

www.jslmhc.com

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by John Maclean on March 1, 2011 at 12:14pm

One night in the late 50's at Madison Square Gardens in New York, Floyd Patterson crashed to the canvas. Seconds later, he was no longer the world's heavy - weight champion, the Swedish boxer Ingemar Johannson had taken the title away from him. All the experts of that time said that Patterson was through, finished. His future as a boxer was behind him. Everyone knew that if Floyd Patterson were to continue he would be faced with one of the greatest of all psychological stumbling blocks. No heavy-weight champion had ever won back the title. But Patterson had to try and more than that, he said he would do it. Even in defeat, Floyd Patterson still maintained his 'always a winner attitude.' He knew he could succeed, and was not content to have others look upon him as a failure. Patterson had taken a fierce pride in being world champion - the best in his field.

Patterson also knew that 'the programme works if you work it.' He accepted the fact that on the night in question, for some unknown reason, he had not been working his programme correctly. On reflection, he realised that he had to make some slight adjustments to his mental attitude and work hard to make up for lost time. And he did work hard. He also studied and listened to his trainers. He also listened at length to someone much older and wiser - Joe Louis, who, throughout his own boxing career had shown in no uncertain terms what an 'always a winner' attitude could accomplish. What passed between the two will never be known, but in the return fight with Johannson, Patterson not only regained his title but proved that the power of his 'always a winner attitude' was sufficient to develop in him, as he termed it, "the inspiration to action" " know-how" - knowledge necessary for him to regain the heavy-weight crown.

It is significant that when newspaper photographers were taking pictures of Patterson just before the return bout, he said - "The most important thing you can't get any picture of. Because the most important thing for me is my mental attitude."

We can relate the three elements of Patterson's success strategy to the three components necessary for a person to function at full potential.

1. Inspiration to action = inner motivation That which motivates you to act because you want to.

2. Know-how = talents The particular techniques and skills that consistently get results for you. The proper application of knowledge which becomes habit through actual repetitive experience.

3. Knowledge necessary = information Knowledge of the field of activity, the opponent (other competitors or team), plus any other contributory factors. If we now bring into this the 'trigger,' the power of emotion - the feeling of being the best - then we can appreciate how an attitude of being 'always a winner', might be developed.

When working with sportsmen and women I use hypnosis to develop that "Winning Mind" by developing appropriate focus and arousal levels, belief, future pacing and visualisation. Using my Sports Psychology training I help can apply the principle through hypnosis techniques.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by stephen mckibben on March 1, 2011 at 1:08pm

cheers everyone for all the valuable information i will take all advice onboard .

many thanks once again.

this is whats great with this forum the advice from fellow professionals that proves invaluable

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kevin Cole-NLPTrainingQuest.com on March 1, 2011 at 1:09pm

If you are familiar with the NLP "T.O.T.E." model, it is in my opinion, hands down the #1 best tool for Sports Enhancement there is.

If you don't know it, and you want to work with athletes, learn it. You don't necessarily have to take a full NLP training to learn it either. You can call a local NLP Practitioner that has a solid grasp of it and ask him/her to teach it to you. Just make sure they know it well enough to teach. Not everyone teaches it well- and it's not the easiest to learn.

I would describe it here, but it's one of the more complex tools that really needs to be experienced to be understood. Again, if you don't know it, learn it. It will be your most valuable tool when working with athletes- and with countless other clients as well.

Best,

-Kevin