Refocusing Rage for the Win with Sabrina Shapiro, Graduate Student-Sports and Performance at National University

Hello! Welcome to the Monkey Mind Newsletter where we provide you with the tools to be a more successful and resilient athlete and human. 

CONTRIBUTOR
Sabrina Shapiro, Graduate Student - Sports and Performance at National University

Sabrina Shapiro is a full-time coach of Olympic Fencing and a martial arts instructor in Los Angeles, California.  Passionate about cultivating life-long athletes, Sabrina is dedicated to becoming one herself. She believes that mental toughness is the cornerstone of a champion and actively develops this quality in her students by fostering sustainable self-confidence, keen mindful focus, and deep passion for the game. As a former captain of her top-10 division I NCAA collegiate fencing team, Sabrina discovered and developed a talent for coaching her teammates through their performance issues and building strong team dynamics. 

Aside from fencing and martial arts, Sabrina has an extensive background in other combat sports and the performing arts. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Sport and Performance Psychology with aspirations to work in areas such as injury recovery, military veteran transitions, and theatre companies' post-graduation.  Fun Fact: Sabrina has worked as a professional bodyguard, violinist, and an elementary school science teacher.

If you are interested in working with Sabrina or want to learn more about her qualifications or how she can best support your mental skills training, don't hesitate to get in touch with her at [email protected]

TOPIC
Refocusing Rage for the Win - “Hone in and Get Frosty”

You are at the regional championships. It’s the second round of a 15-point fencing bout and the score is 6-5 against you. Your opponent is obnoxiously cocky, even though you “just know” they do not deserve to be. “They aren’t even good!” you tell yourself, and you just want to show them who’s boss. You step in to attack and BAM! They hit you square in the face. Your head snaps back, the ref calls halt, and your opponent gets another point [7-5]. Everyone saw that hit, your opponent is now grinning ear-to-ear, their teammates cheer, and you see red. You want to kill your opponent! For the next points you attack faster and stronger but they hit you every time. The angrier you get, the faster you seem to get hit, and before you know it, you’ve lost the entire match, you are eliminated, and so is your pride.

Rage Can Strike!

Whether on the fencing piste, on the court, or in the ring, rage can happen, and when it does, it can defeat you faster than any opponent on their best day. Rage causes a loss of focus and motor control leading to clumsy, predictable movements, which then lead to a severe performance drop.  If rage ever happens to you (and let’s be honest, it probably has), there are steps you can take to regain your poise and win!

What is rage? 

Rage is the culmination of feelings and is often triggered by a sudden moment of physical and/or emotional pain. Maybe it started as shame of messing up in front of others combined with the fear of losing and was set off by an opponent dunking on you. Or perhaps it stemmed from feeling powerless against a great opponent mixed with fear that your parents will think you do not practice enough and was set off by hearing your father shout a futile command from the sidelines. The nature of the growing feelings may vary but the result is the same; one little incident can set off that rage-loss process like a chain reaction. Before you know it, you have thrown it all away.    

Why does rage make you slow?

When you are raging, your brain and body are stuck in the past, in that painful moment, in those painful feelings. The game is happening in the present, but you are reliving the past; if you are dragging yourself through the past to play in the present, you are already behind.

MENTAL PERFORMANCE TOOL
How do we shake off the rage and refocus for the win?

Here are two methods for refocusing that can be used in tandem or alone. One method is the body approach, and the other is the intellectual/creative approach.

These two methods can be used in combination as well.  After awareness, exhale strongly, and breathe while remembering your goal.  Think, “Hone in and get frosty!”, then focus your eyes, mind, and body on your goal. If you are a creative type and storytelling helps you regulate your emotions, feel free to make yourself the hero (or villain) of the story and add that flare to the narrative.

Rage happens to us all at one point or another, but it does not have to control the outcome.  By practicing these methods during moments of frustration, you’ll be better prepared to refocus when it matters most!

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