Practice the basics of a winner

Any master of sports knows one thing, its the basics that are tested over time, thats why they practice the basics over and over again.

When you got a move down, you can do it, your technique is properly done, you then starts to practice the move until its done and then you start over again.

The key is to get several aspects down,

• Setting a baseline, something you can rely on when the heat is on.
• A fallback if for some reason your to emotinal, thinking to much or any other error.
• Having something that simply works.

Practice must be fun and you also need to work with the whole routine.

When I practice Golfshots I do this,

• Wedge shots, hearing the crowd applauds, making a wave with my hand.
• Full shots, smiling for the heat I put on the shot. Looking out the fairway. Hearing my playing partners saying "Nice shot".
  
• Hitting it down into the hole hearing screaming audience and high fives.
  

Seriously, the practice needs to be done as much as your in competition, and yes, you will look silly waving, and thanking the audience from time to time.
However, your training yourself to do this in competitions where there is a different context than at your range.

People always say, its hard to take the swing from the range to the 1 tee.
Yes, unless your range is the 1 tee.

Making this a part of your practice, how the competition will be is a great way to practice the basics, when entering a course, playing there, you already have the shots made, you already knows how it feels like since your already been here, scoring low.

When you practice, make sure your doing the things you do well, better.
If you have a good performance with a particular movement, do that and improve on that using audiences, roar from the people, laughter, camera flashes, the screams for get in the hole, or even people screaming for your opponents shots. If needed tape a competition from TV, on a recorder, play it up at the range.

When you practice the new things, you work on particular things, mainly feel, how the sensation of the movement, in motor-cortex are cordinating with your eye, balance and senses, and how it will go into a feeling of knowing how this is like when doing it properly.
When this is reached, then a fluid movement takes place, it starts to go automatic, by itself.
This is the point of coding the move into long term memory, and the more aware you are of this the better quality and refinement you can do.
As long you dont interfer with the feeling and coding.

Any movement follows the rules of learning,

1. Whole movement first.
2. Continious movement, rythm, tempo and timing, feel.
3. Coding appears to be set with motor-cortex and sensorychannels and internalize feel.
4. When stable a long term memory charge is waiting for coding and repetition until a whole move sensation appears.
5. When this happens, you own the move.
6. Modifications can now be made without any fear of fucking the move up with Consious details and such small detailed fix.

In Golf, people fuck the idea of swinging the club up so much you would be suprised how much garbage I have heard and been reading.

People judge a golfer how their swing looks?
Oh my god, of course, that is why Jack Nicklaus won 19 majors, he was a good swinger?
Or maybe a great sportsman?
Ben Hogan people admire for his swing, but he was able, to go to Europe, play in 1 british open and win it.
One time only, one win.
Now, that means he was a good player and it isnt about the swing, ever.

Its about how well you can perform over time and under pressure.
How well you can cope with emotions, your thinking, your physical body, your fitness, your focus of attention, following your gameplan, performing at your best, keeping the state and so on.

Making good practice is to practice that, NOT the swing.
The swing is just a tool to get your shots where you want them to be.

So, start practice after you own the move with competition like context, with this you be used to fairways that are small, bad lies, fast greens, rough that isnt cut etc...

Martial artists knows that the basics is what is going to save their life, not the fancy high wheel spinning kick.
When someone is coming after you, they want to see blood, not a black eye or some punch, they want to tear your eyes out, kick your balls into oblivion and then you need good basics.

You need attitude, which is trained by good practice by adding compeition like context into your sport.
Obviously, martial arts are more life concerned context than making a 300 yard drive down the fairway.
However, having the tour card on the line can be as life concerned situation for anyone.

Make good practice, incorperate life like situations and you be a better player and are able to Opimize your Performance while your practising.

/Robert Johansson
Re-New NLP.