Myth #3 Debunked: Part 11

In the first part of this series(see top of the page for the link) I talked about a nordic combined ski jumper that had decided to retire after not making this years Olympic team.  He could always perform well in practice but would find himself choking when he got into the meets.  This is one very decent, visible, indication of a psychological reversal that has the jumper trapped in their own "nightmarish" world.  The crashes that I take all the time are also a very good indication of a psychological reversal situation at hand.  When you watch a typical jumper they don't crash very often, maybe once or twice a winter, not once or twice a day.  This isn't normal.  That makes for a very good indication that the mind is reversed.

 

Knowing if the mind is psychologically reversed is quite important.  This article:

How To Identify And Correct Psychological Reversal

 

will be a good reference to read up on just how much more difficult it can be to correct problems when your mind is psychologically reversed.  This is why the first thing that the EFT manual addresses is Psychological Reversal.

 

When doing muscle testing(day 8) you may find that your entire body is Psychologically Reversed.  This is why your arm went down when it should have stayed still.  You can use the techniques from the above article to put yourself back on the right track.  As I said before as long as you are keeping track of what gave you "yes" and what gave you "no" you should be fine.

 

Once you have rid yourself of mental barriers it is time to move on to repogramming the mind so you can jump at your best.  Read the following article for a great way of reprogramming the mind:

An EFT method for installing new behaviors

 

If you are trying to get the jumper to move out over the skis have him do bungees.  First have him do it the wrong way, bending at the waist, for example, and then tap on it not feeling very good.  Then have him do it correctly and tap on him about how good it feels.

 

You can do this with any part of the technique.  Some may not be as easy as others to simulate both the incorrect form that the jumper is already doing, as well as the correct form.  WIth a little imagination anything is possible.

 

A few more tips to help you make the most out of EFT:

1. Be specific.

  When asking questions while muscle testing and while creating the setup phrase before tapping, make sure you are being very specific.  You get the best results when you are the most specific.  Instead of creating a setup phrase like Even though I don't jump well... instead you need to narrow down what part of the jump you are having trouble with Even though I don't cock my ankles...Even though I bend at the waist...Even though I don't jump with both feet...etc.  Specifically, what is it you want to change.  Create your setup phrase around that topic.  While you can put together several topics at once it is best to stick with working on one topic at a time.

 

2. Stay hydrated.

  This can't be said enough.  Not being hydrated can make it harder to get good results.

 

3. Keep metals away from your body while tapping.

  The metals can affect the performance of the tapping.  Keep cell phones off and away, this will help you to be able to keep your mind on tapping instead of talking on the phone.  Take off any watches or jewelery as well.

 

4. If tapping seems not to be working, don't blame the tapping.

  Instead take a look at what you are tapping on.  This may not be the real problem.  You may be avoiding what is really causing the problem.  Do some reading on the EFT website about not getting results.  Muscle testing should help keep you from making the mistake and running into stumbling blocks with tapping.  Granted, nothing is fool proof.

 

Tomorrow, I will wrap up this series with a full look at what you should be doing, in order, to solve your ski jumping problems.

 

Update: I see that I did call it right on the money.  Janne Ahonen ended up in 9th place on the large hill on Saturday.  Why does that not surprise me?  If he ever wants to win an individual Olympic medal he needs to get psychological help that will deal with breaking his mental barrier that he has to winning a medal in the Olympics.

 

Until next time

Keep the ski tips up,

Crash

Jumping Journal: February 20, 2006

Day 40.  Gee it seems strange.  I had 30 days in at the end of January and have only managed 10 days since.  This really has been one strange winter.

 

Friday saw a storm front pass through that took highs of around 60 on Wednesday and Thursday down to 50 and dropping all day Friday so that by noontime temps were just above freezing.  The wind picked up massively and ended up postponing the high school state jump meet until tonight.  One person did end up jumping the 38 on Friday afternoon to help with tracksetting on the top of the inrun.  After much discussion it was decided to postpone the meet thanks to the 15-50mph cross winds.

 

Saturday saw highs around 10 with some of the cross winds present during the morning and even more cross winds in the afternoon.  Most of the eastern JO team got some jumps in on the 50 and I was planning on it but it never happened.  Like I said it has been real strange.

 

Sunday was spent doing work on the 50 inrun in hopes that the weather forecast holds and doesn't create any problems between now and JOs.  Yet another day without any jumping.

 

This afternoon I got to Andover for the high school state jump meet and quickly changed into the ski bibs and headed on up the tressel.  The first jump caught me a little off guard, I wasn't expecting so much height on the takeoff.  I don't ever remember having that much height on the takeoff before on any jump.

 

The second jump seemed even higher than the first one and was definitely further down the hill than the first one.  It felt more like I should be ski flying instead of ski jumping.  On the way up for the third jump Cannonball yelled at me telling me to start from the house.  The second jump I started on the second bar down.

 

On the third, fourth and fifth jump I did start from the top bar and I on the fourth and fifth jumps I did manage to drive with the chin instead of keeping the head down.  I did notice that it didn't seem like I was quite as high on the final two jumps either.  The fourth jump was the best jump I have ever had on the 38, down around 28-29 meters.

 

Crash