Thread: Meditating before boxing match or workout?

I'm just throwin this suggestion out, but since meditation really helps your mind, couldn't it, theoretically, let you have a more focused workout or bout? i may start trying this and see if it's effective at all. has anyone here tried it?

I wouldn say I meditate but I do spend a lot of time getting my mind into the correct state.

Before a fight all I do is stretch a little, warmup every moving joint and jog on the spot for a while. thats very little in comparison to many.

But I do spend much longer "under the hood" toying with my mind.

More on positive visualization than a free meditation;
ticking all the boxes,so it becomes automatic on the night.
Builds faith and the neuroligical links between the mental and physical occurance.
Some belive it has effects outside of the mind body too, like a magnet attracting.

We call it "centering",and if Ive got a fighter properly centered you could drop a cinder block on them and they wont blink.
Generally how I test out if they are getting the centering process is drilling them bare knuckles to the gut
So if you tell me your centered,you had better be,otherwise your in for a serious lick of pain
I never said this was a nice gym

ooh that sounds intense. i'm interested to know how this centering process works

Originally Posted by nutrick

ooh that sounds intense. i'm interested to know how this centering process works

Its a deep breathing form of meditation,done correctly it really does work.
Ive been able to drill boxers who were totally on balance hard enough that theyve moved two feet without a twitch
Just as Lee got alot of ideas for Jeet Kun Do and Ed Parker got alot of ideas from boxing,Ive taken alot of ideas from both of their martial arts forms,as far as blocking balance,,and being mentally centered

Can it be applied between rounds of a fight?

Actually if you can chill yourself out enough,between rounds is a great time TO do it.
Boxers have a tendency to let their heart rate go through the roofs
So yeah,taking the time between rounds to get your breathing and heart rate back under control,while you listen to your corners instructions,is just about the smartest thing on earth you could be doing

Originally Posted by Trainer Monkey

Actually if you can chill yourself out enough,between rounds is a great time TO do it.
Boxers have a tendency to let their heart rate go through the roofs
So yeah,taking the time between rounds to get your breathing and heart rate back under control,while you listen to your corners instructions,is just about the smartest thing on earth you could be doing

Yeah I do something like that. Between rounds I just breathe deeply and be at rest. Almost as if I'm not listening. I just rest properly not stressed or panicing the way you see some fighters.

Meditation is an ongoing practice of cleansing the Body and mind. Its not an isolated thought process before a fight or workout it wont happen anybody who thinks that are deluded. It will take months of practice before the thought process relates to anything constructive as regards being THAT and understanding THAT to the full. But when you engrose THAT then you and yourself are one ,and a force.

Originally Posted by Scrap

Meditation is an ongoing practice of cleansing the Body and mind. Its not an isolated thought process before a fight or workout it wont happen anybody who thinks that are deluded. It will take months of practice before the thought process relates to anything constructive as regards being THAT and understanding THAT to the full. But when you engrose THAT then you and yourself are one ,and a force.

I couldn't agree with you more. The same applies to training.

Right before the fight, you see some trainers and their fighters put on a good show with the pads and shadow boxing as if it was a public exhibition. The thing is if you were not ready before, then no last minute advice or amount of headshrinking is going to make you ready.

As you know the real training (MENTAL and physical) is a long ongoing process, and there is no fighter that I can think of that can make a sudden U-turn in their patterns soon before a fight. This is also true when we see a trainer trying to instruct his fighter in between rounds.

I do think that a lot of fighters could benefit by doing a very similar routine before every fight. This is should be as simple as the trainer wrapping his fighter's hands, and him not saying anything that shouldn't be said. The fighter does his warm-up (no exhibition) and that's that.

Attitude helps, I agree with ThomasTabin that boxing needs to be "dehumanized." i.e. not looking at it as two fighters trying to do each other in, but as somewhat of a puzzle for each fighter to put together as the fight progresses.

On a final note, if a fighter has a mental/emotional problems before a fight there are a few methods that are more effective than simple meditation/visualization. This is TFT (Thought Field Therapy) With your belief in it, this can allow you to clear your mind of any nervousness, or whatever and without making you complacent before a fight.

A word to the wise, and thing to admire about some of the great fighters way back, is that they were prepared to fight any time. This isn't because they knew some last minute meditation technique, it was because they were always prepared.

[quote=Trainer Monkey;477430]We call it "centering",and if Ive got a fighter properly centered you could drop a cinder block on them and they wont blink.
Generally how I test out if they are getting the centering process is drilling them bare knuckles to the gut
So if you tell me your centered,you had better be,otherwise your in for a serious lick of pain
I never said this was a nice gymquote]

lol

A little bit off the subject of the question, but i've got a really good book on meditation that i'll upload.. I've been taking a bit of time out to practice it a couple of nights a week, and I can see that it will take a long time before I really get to that centred place..
A lot of the metaphors in the book regarding how to let go of your thoughts and control your breathing really help you in the right direction.
When you get advanced enough to get to that centred place regularly, you will slowly are able to get to that centred state quicker and quicker...
I have absolutely no doubt that meditating before a match would help..

I believe in regards to the workout, it would probably be very very good to meditate after your workout, after you've done your warm down.. It will help dramatically to relax all your muscles that you don't even know are tense, your deep breathing will carry toxins out of your body and allow maximum nutrients and oxygen to get to every part of your body for repair.. It could in fact be a huge addition to your recover process. And even perhaps your preperation process...

Now let me find this book.

Here ya go guys.. Very good book anyway, only 600kb
enjoy

http://www.geocities.com/cillenmolin/meditation.pdf

I will say this give meditation a go, keep at it, it takes time. Result if you ever wondered what Heaven feels like, you will find out