In case your gymnast has gone by (or goes by) a psychological block in gymnastics, you’ve got possible observed that it usually will get rather a lot worse earlier than it will get higher, even trickling onto totally different occasions.
Many mother and father ask me why this occurs…
And whereas I haven’t got any scientific proof to assist my conclusion, I’ll inform you my idea primarily based on sensible expertise working with gymnasts going by psychological blocks.
First it is vital to grasp the fundamentals of a psychological block in gymnastics. Your gymnast’s mind is perceiving some form of “menace” that usually comes from the strain she’s feeling. For this reason we sometimes see psychological blocks pop up or worsen proper earlier than a brand new season (when your gymnast is making an attempt to maneuver as much as the following degree) or proper earlier than an vital competitors in direction of the top of the season (States/Regionals/Nationals).
Her mind is sensing the strain she’s feeling to do nicely or to check out or to maneuver up and it protects her by going into fight-flight-or-freeze mode…in gymnastics it is the FREEZE mode that’s most prevalent since that is actually the one method her mind has management over the scenario. If she will not run away/flee from gymnastics observe (not going) or put up a combat along with her coach (additionally not going), her mind should make use of the one factor it is aware of the best way to do to guard her – cease her from going for her ability (very similar to you may get that “deer in headlights” feeling).
Now I feel we will all describe the “basic” psychological block in our gymnasts…sooner or later she was doing the ability nice and the following day she simply “misplaced” it. At first her coaches may inform your gymnast to take a break or to not fear about it. Then when it persists for longer, they struggle different strategies like cheering her on, telling her simply to go for it, or ultimately punishing or shaming her for not with the ability to do her ability anymore. (P.S. not all coaches do these final issues however in my expertise, extra coaches than not make use of these scare or punishment techniques after all the things else has failed).
And fairly quickly, if her psychological block persists for lengthy sufficient, you begin noticing that she’s having bother on different abilities that had been simple to her. Most probably, these abilities tends to be the “backwards” abilities comparable to again tucks, flyaways, and yurchenkos. You’ll be able to insert just about any backwards ability right here.
Disclaimer: It isn’t ALWAYS the again abilities on different occasions that go (generally a entrance tumbling cross will go too). It is simply that the backwards abilities are those that she sometimes NEEDS for the following degree so they have an inclination to go greater than the opposite abilities.
So why is that this trickle impact occurring to your gymnast? What’s inflicting a single lack of ability to have an effect on her different occasions too?
I’ve a idea as to why your gymnast’s psychological block trickles onto different occasions and he or she will get blocked on a number of abilities.
The most important cause I see gymnasts block on abilities is due to strain to make it to the following degree. And the ability that will get blocked? You guessed it…the one they want essentially the most to maneuver as much as the following degree.
Again walkover or again handspring on beam, sequence on beam, spherical off again handspring again tuck, flyaway off bars…these are key abilities in shifting as much as the following degree within the obligatory/decrease non-compulsory ranges. I additionally see it constantly in decrease degree compulsories on the leap from low to excessive bar.
A psychological block comes from damaging patterns of thought that get strengthened over and time and again. It is usually a sense of being ‘not ok’ or having achieved so nicely final season that she feels the strain of getting to repeat her success in a brand new degree. When she would not have the instruments to lighten these pressures in her mind, her mind continues to reply by sounding the hazard alarm. Keep in mind this: Stress = Hazard = Freeze. When your gymnast can alleviate the strain emotions, her mind would not go into hazard mode and therefore will permit her to do her abilities.
In case your gymnast is feeling the strain to maneuver up and is doubting her skills, her mind is responding to that worry of not making it or of letting others down. And in true legislation of attraction style, your gymnast will usually lose the one ability she wants to maneuver up. With out that ability she will’t transfer up, thereby proving to herself that she has an absence of capability and is not ok to go to the following degree.
Usually this simply begins on one occasion (beam is the one I see get blocked essentially the most, adopted by flooring). However over time, as your gymnast’s confidence plummets from dealing with this psychological block, she doubts herself much more. Consequently, she reinforces the concept that she is just not ok to maneuver as much as the following degree, and extra abilities begin to get blocked.
Additionally, when your gymnast has been struggling by a psychological block for a very long time, her sense of self value in gymnastics is so low. And her mind not trusts her to finish abilities efficiently.
As well as, AND THIS IS KEY TO MY THEORY, she’s been making an attempt SO arduous to push by her psychological block that her mind has misplaced religion in her capability to hearken to its FREEZE response.
Keep in mind her mind’s final aim is to maintain her protected. And when her mind is detecting these damaging thought patterns, it’s in fixed hazard mode. And your gymnast is so used to TRYING to do her blocked ability time and again, that it alerts to her mind that she is not taking the “hazard” response significantly sufficient.
What her mind needs her to do in that second is cease making an attempt her ability. And what she usually does is attempt time and again. Whether or not that is standing there and never going (a type of balking) or bailing out mid-skill, that is pushing by a psychological block and that could be a recipe for catastrophe.
And so to verify your gymnast hears her mind’s “hazard” name, her mind will shut her down on increasingly abilities.
It is like your mind says “If you happen to’re not going to pay attention, I will maintain shutting down abilities so that you lastly take me significantly.”
Assume of a kid going by a mood tantrum. If she begins to bang on the desk and her mother and father ignore her, what is going to she do? She’ll bang louder! She may even escalate to the following degree by throwing issues or screaming or doing something to get her mother and father to discover her.
Your gymnast’s mind is identical method. In case your gymnast would not take her freeze response significantly sufficient on the primary ability, her mind will escalate the scenario in order that your gymnast has no selection however to pay attention.
And this is the reason psychological blocks usually trickle to different occasions.
It is also vital to keep in mind that a psychological block on a ability is not ever about worry of that ability or not with the ability to do this ability. Psychological blocks occur on abilities your gymnast might efficiently do. Your gymnast by no means “loses” her abilities. Her mind blocks her from doing them. And that is why it is crucial on your gymnast to study to hearken to her mind and rebuild belief (issues I work on with them in my non-public teaching periods).
Some psychologists have theorized that again abilities go extra usually than entrance abilities as a result of her mind feels much less protected going backwards since it may well’t see the bottom or what’s behind her.
However I really imagine it is the again abilities that go as a result of these are those which might be within the routines that she must do. And when a entrance tumbling ability goes, it is normally as a result of your gymnast has modified her routine to do entrance tumbling as a substitute of again tumbling, however continues to be fighting strain to compete nicely…therefore her entrance tumbling abilities might ultimately go too.
Anyway, that’s my idea. Once more, nothing scientific about this. I haven’t got proof or analysis to again up my concepts. However having labored with a whole lot of gymnasts struggling by psychological blocks I are likely to see the identical patterns again and again. And these are my observations. Take it for what you’ll.
Backside line – in case your gymnast is fighting psychological blocks and so they have now trickled onto totally different occasions, she wants assist instantly! That’s what I am right here for. You’ll be able to see particulars beneath for my 3-Session Psychological Block Jumpstart bundle.
Let me know within the feedback in case your gymnast has “misplaced” abilities on a number of occasions and what the abilities she has misplaced had been…let’s examine if there are any commonalties.
—–
If you happen to or your gymnast wants assist, along with the assets beneath I additionally supply one-on-one teaching periods through Zoom.
Useful Hyperlinks:
