Retaining composure and calm in a stressful situation is wildly useful life skill that can be applied to any number of areas. People look to different techniques when they try to hone this skill, but you might find that you’re able to learn something from the field of combat sports.
Having an opponent attack you in a small arena is undeniably a pressurized environment. Yet, in order to overcome that challenge and glimpse a hope of victory, combatants need to be able to stay calm and avoid falling prey to panic.
Live in the Moment
If you find yourself in a combat sport, only to be distracted by distant anxieties or ruminations – dwelling on the past or the future – you’re opening yourself up to a quick and easy defeat. You need to be grounded in the present moment and aware of what you’re seeing and hearing so that you can respond in real-time. It’s about living in the present, and that’s a lesson that can have a profoundly positive impact on your personal life. It often feels as though worrying more about a problem can help you to prepare for it, but often, it’s just worrying and endless spirals of thought. Practicing mindfulness and other techniques that help you to ground yourself in the present can be beneficial for your mental health and how you respond to events in your life.
The Zone/Take Some Space
Living in the moment can help you to better understand when it’s the right time to be completely engaged with an activity, and when it’s better to take some space. In any given combat sport, knowing that your opponent is about to strike and that you’re in a vulnerable position means that you have to evade or defend – and seeing that vulnerability in them gives you cause to push ahead.
This relates to greater ideas of balance and moderation – it’s possible to have too much of a good thing, just as it’s possible to press your advantage for too long in a fight and lose control of the moment. Even when it comes to something that you enjoy, such as the games that help you to relax at the Lucky Nugget Casino, it’s important that you take regular enough breaks to keep the activity healthy and enjoyable for the long term.
You Have Autonomy
Something what’s easy to forget in a modern world of endless voices and apathy is that you have an impact on the world. It might not feel as though that’s true when the global population sits at around eight billion, but it is true.
In a combat sport, this autonomy can be felt directly – the actions that you take over the course of a fight will either lead to your victory or your defeat. It’s difficult to be so binary about applying this to your wider life, but it shows that what you do has an impact and – more importantly – that you have choices. It’s easy to feel locked into your current course of action, but there’s always another choice if you care to find it.