Myth #1(Mother Nature killed the sport of ski jumping) Debunked

Myth #2(NCAA killed the sport of ski jumping) Debunked Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

Myth #3(The US doesn't have the talent) Debunked Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

Mind Of A Ski Jumper Part 1, 2, 3, 4

The Ultimate Coach - Ski Jump Training Device

Jumping Season Digest: (see bottom of this page)

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Myth #3 Debunked: Part 2

Let me stress first and foremost that I am in no way a psychologist.  I have did plenty of research in the area though trying to figure myself out.  Ski jumping has went a long way to teaching me just how crafty the mind can really be when it comes to stopping you dead in your tracks so you cannot progress forward.  Thanks to ski jumping I have learnt more about psychology in the past six years then I probably could ever hope to learn by studying it in college.
 
This stopping of forward progress is the first thing that you really need to become aware of.  The human mind is always out for one thing, "CANI, Constant And Never-Ending Improvement".  The human mind doesn't want to be stagnant.  It wants to be constantly learning new things and striving for mastery over things it learns.
 
A baby is pretty much is fearless human being.  It is always striving to learn new things.  From walking, talking, reading, writing, etc. a baby/young child is always out asking questions and learning new things.  Once that child picks up something that he likes, he keeps at it until he masters it or is forced by a parent or sibling to put it down.
 
It's this CANI principle that follows us all through our life.  It's this same principle that drives all ski jumpers to want to get better.  Again the mind is out to make you the best that you can possibly be.  So why do so many jumpers fall into ruts?
 
Ruts aren't natural, they are against the way the mind works.  Whether it be stagnation in learning or flat out self-sabotage, ruts form when the mind has been influenced by an outside force.  The mind sees this outside force as trying to harm the body, emotionally or physically.  The minds number one job is to protect the body.  It doesn't have to be something real, it can be something the mind preceives as dangerous that can cause the mind to react and work its way into a rut or self-sabotage.  If the mind doesn't understand something it will try to keep you from doing what it knows it shouldn't do, such as move out over the skis.  Read each part of Mind Of A Ski Jumper, as it will give you different scenarios from my own ski jumping history that shows just how much the mind can influence the body.
 
How many jumpers do you see that start jumping at a real young age that has a hard time moving out over the skis?  More than likely it is very few.  Why???  Because they don't know any better, they have never been taught anything about science and the laws that govern the world around them.  They just listen to their coach and head back up the jump to do what he tells them to do.  The younger they start, the easier time they have picking up the movement.
 
Now if you take someone like myself that started jumping at age 27, you find yourself with a totally different story.  The mind has been taught, through teachers, and experience, that it isn't such a wise idea to move out over the skis, there is nothing out there to hold you up if you do.  An adult can watch these kids do it and they can see that it works, but that little thing called their subconscious mind tells them that it isn't okay to do it.  This causes many older beginner jumpers to have a difficult time picking up the sport of ski jumping.
 
It's this difficulty that can be recognized as a mental barrier.  Teaching technique won't work in this case.  Training/changing the mind will.  The mind wants to be constantly improving.  When you start to move out over the skis the mind wants to hold you back.  In this case, it has the fear of falling down on your face and hurting yourself.  The mind wants to protect the body.  It holds you back from going out over the skis because of this fear that it has created thanks, more than likely, to falls that you took when you were first learning to walk.
 
Not being able to go beyond a certain distance on a given hill can also be considered a barrier.  Granted if you are already jumping to the bottom of the hill than this doesn't apply quite like it would for someone like myself.  I generally jump between 30 and 35 meters on the 50 meter jump in Lebanon.  I have been jumping that same distance now for the past three to four years.  No matter what I do differently the results are always the same.  On occasion I will jump further but 95+% of the time I'm always landing in the 30 to 35 meter range.  This isn't constant and never-ending improvement.  This is a mental barrier.  This is what a jumper needs to change to ever be able to progress any further.
 
These barriers can be very sneaky in nature.  They don't have to show themselves completely to put you in a rut.  The easiest thing to look for when trying to see if you are suffering from a mental barrier is to see if you are in a rut or not.
 
Tomorrow I will look at the 180 reversal.  It's another way to tell if you are facing a mental barrier.
 
Until next time
Keep the ski tips up,
Crash
Winter 2010
DateLeb 25Plymouth 25Leb 50And 38
Dec 121
Jan 056
Jan 063
Feb 024
Feb 032
Feb 046
Feb 073
Mar 063
Totals133102