fight before it was even fought. . . I got up and took stock of myself. What could I do about this terror inside me?
I could guess the cause. I had been thinking about the fight the wrong way. I had been reading the newspapers, and all they had said was how Tunney would lose. I was losing the battle in my own mind. Part of the solution was obvious. Stop reading the newspapers. Stop thinking of the Dempsey menace... his killing punch and ferocious attack. I simply had to close the doors of my mind to destructive thoughts and direct my thinking to other things. It took discipline. [10]
Like Marciano, Tunney ended up: 1) using visualization and related mental rehearsal techniques, programming himself to perform at his best, and 2) avoiding negative psychological influences from his opponent and other outside sources. Both of these should be done by all serious athletes. Failure to do the latter—avoiding outside negative psychological influences—can jeopardize all the good that visualization and self-hypnosis might accomplish. Remember, as an athlete interested in achieving your potential and defeating your competitors, you want only positive thoughts entering your mind. If possible, you'd like to see negative thoughts directed into your opponent's mind; however, it may not be worthwhile to attempt to psych-out your opponent if in the process you leave yourself open to being subjected to negative influences. So, the wisest approach is likely the one Marciano employed: isolate yourself before competition, and shoot positive thoughts through your mind via self-hypnosis, visualization, etc.
Muhammad Ali, perhaps boxing's greatest heavyweight champion ever, is yet another fighter we can mention in connection with hypnosis. Supposedly, Ali used hypnosis to prepare for his heavyweight championship rematch against Leon Spinks in September, 1978. This is the story at least which Bill Burt of the National Enquirer reported. [11] The Enquirer is known for its sensationalism; but, Burt's story contains credibility for many reasons, a main one being that the hypnotist involved was none other than Jimmy Grippo. Grippo, as we recall, served as Melio Bet-tina's manager, and was on the losing end of the Battle of the Hypnotists.
As related to Burt, Grippo sat at Ali's bedside for four nights prior to the fight, giving Ali hypnotic suggestions. According to Grippo, suggestions given the athlete just before he goes to sleep are ideal since "they're accepted by both the athlete's conscious and subconscious mind. Then the best that's in the athlete will come out." Grippo gave Ali several suggestions. Many were of a technical nature, useful only in boxing. Informed Grippo, "I could make them because I'm a former boxing manager." Others, however, were general suggestions, applicable to any sport. Some of the more noteworthy of these included:
1) "You will have complete confidence in yourself."
2) "Your will to win will be greater than ever."
3) "You'll have perfect coordination and reaction."
Ali, well past his prime at age 36, scored a convincing victory over Spinks. Compared to some of his other recent fights, Ali looked very good, moving and dancing extremely well. As Grippo observed, "he was able to go 15 rounds like it was 10 years ago." So, was it the hypnosis? Ali reportedly admitted that the positive thoughts Grippo had given him had, in fact, helped him. This at least is what Harold Conrad, Ali's public relations consultant, and Waddell Summers, the boxing editor for the New Orleans Times Picayune, heard Ali say.
Previous to the Spinks fight, Ali had relied on repeated recitations of his famous "I am the
greatest!" line—called an affirmation by sports psychologists—to prepare himself mentally for bouts. An affirmation is a positive attitude-building statement that one repeats at intervals to himself. Perhaps as age caught up to Ali, he found his "I am the greatest!" affirmation not proving as effective as it had been in his
I could guess the cause. I had been thinking about the fight the wrong way. I had been reading the newspapers, and all they had said was how Tunney would lose. I was losing the battle in my own mind. Part of the solution was obvious. Stop reading the newspapers. Stop thinking of the Dempsey menace... his killing punch and ferocious attack. I simply had to close the doors of my mind to destructive thoughts and direct my thinking to other things. It took discipline. [10]
Like Marciano, Tunney ended up: 1) using visualization and related mental rehearsal techniques, programming himself to perform at his best, and 2) avoiding negative psychological influences from his opponent and other outside sources. Both of these should be done by all serious athletes. Failure to do the latter—avoiding outside negative psychological influences—can jeopardize all the good that visualization and self-hypnosis might accomplish. Remember, as an athlete interested in achieving your potential and defeating your competitors, you want only positive thoughts entering your mind. If possible, you'd like to see negative thoughts directed into your opponent's mind; however, it may not be worthwhile to attempt to psych-out your opponent if in the process you leave yourself open to being subjected to negative influences. So, the wisest approach is likely the one Marciano employed: isolate yourself before competition, and shoot positive thoughts through your mind via self-hypnosis, visualization, etc.
Muhammad Ali, perhaps boxing's greatest heavyweight champion ever, is yet another fighter we can mention in connection with hypnosis. Supposedly, Ali used hypnosis to prepare for his heavyweight championship rematch against Leon Spinks in September, 1978. This is the story at least which Bill Burt of the National Enquirer reported. [11] The Enquirer is known for its sensationalism; but, Burt's story contains credibility for many reasons, a main one being that the hypnotist involved was none other than Jimmy Grippo. Grippo, as we recall, served as Melio Bet-tina's manager, and was on the losing end of the Battle of the Hypnotists.
As related to Burt, Grippo sat at Ali's bedside for four nights prior to the fight, giving Ali hypnotic suggestions. According to Grippo, suggestions given the athlete just before he goes to sleep are ideal since "they're accepted by both the athlete's conscious and subconscious mind. Then the best that's in the athlete will come out." Grippo gave Ali several suggestions. Many were of a technical nature, useful only in boxing. Informed Grippo, "I could make them because I'm a former boxing manager." Others, however, were general suggestions, applicable to any sport. Some of the more noteworthy of these included:
1) "You will have complete confidence in yourself."
2) "Your will to win will be greater than ever."
3) "You'll have perfect coordination and reaction."
Ali, well past his prime at age 36, scored a convincing victory over Spinks. Compared to some of his other recent fights, Ali looked very good, moving and dancing extremely well. As Grippo observed, "he was able to go 15 rounds like it was 10 years ago." So, was it the hypnosis? Ali reportedly admitted that the positive thoughts Grippo had given him had, in fact, helped him. This at least is what Harold Conrad, Ali's public relations consultant, and Waddell Summers, the boxing editor for the New Orleans Times Picayune, heard Ali say.
Previous to the Spinks fight, Ali had relied on repeated recitations of his famous "I am the
greatest!" line—called an affirmation by sports psychologists—to prepare himself mentally for bouts. An affirmation is a positive attitude-building statement that one repeats at intervals to himself. Perhaps as age caught up to Ali, he found his "I am the greatest!" affirmation not proving as effective as it had been in his
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