If you practice martial arts in Raleigh, or anywhere for that matter, the competition involved can make athletes react in negative ways that ultimately affect their performance. Athletes have to deal with a lot of stress and anxiety as well as overcome fears regardless of whether they’re trying to earn their next belt color, or if they’re competing at a paid high level.

Sometimes your mind can work against you when you’re trying to perform at a high level during a competition. It’s actually par for the course and most, if not all, martial artists have these feelings at one time or another. However, it would be a shame to waste all that training time just to fall apart right before the match.

In this two part series, we’re going to take a closer look at sports competition anxiety, what it is, and even how to overcome it. If you want to start learning martial arts in Raleigh, consider Gracie! We’re not your typical gym as we specialize in self defense, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and Muay Thai. Call today and ask about our free classes.

What is Anxiety? How Can You Control It?

To control your competition anxiety you have to figure out how it’s affecting your sports performance. To do that, you have start by understanding what anxiety is and what causes it. Anxiety is created by the sympathetic nervous system during a “fight or flight” response. This response is typically only triggered when a person is in actual danger. However, in today’s world, some people’s fight or flight mechanism might kick in just by stepping on a slick sidewalk or performing in front of an audience.

Thanks to research by leading neuroscientists, we now know that the effects of long-term anxiety are detrimental to human cognitive systems. In some studies, researchers found that short-term anxiety also had a negative effect on performance as well. A good example that was used explained how anxiety kept athletes from getting into their “flow.” The key to managing these performance anxieties is to disarm them and we’ll discuss those techniques in the next part.

Don’t miss part two of this series where we discuss all the ways the control your competition anxiety. If you want to learn how to defend yourself, keep reading to see how we can help.

Free Mixed Martial Arts in Raleigh | Gracie

Gracie Raleigh offers free Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai classes so you can try before you buy. We want you to come out and experience what it is like to train with some of the best athletes in NC and some of the top coaches in the industry. If you’re interested in mixed martial arts in Raleigh, then your first call should be to us. We offer highly rated Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, open mat, sparring, self defense and other martial arts training that you’ll need to know if you want to make the jump to being a professional fighter. We even offer specific classes that are just for women.

Have a child that would like to learn martial art skills? We have a great program that is just for kids. Parents, there is also no contract for your child to attend training at Gracie Raleigh. That way you’re not tied down if your child’s interests change. Give us a call today and ask how you can get started.