Martial arts; an antidote for anxiety

I have sadly noticed in recent years an increase in the level of anxiety among my young students. Since the practice of martial arts and self-defense is based on protecting one’s physical and mental integrity, I felt unprepared to fend off this increasingly present enemy: anxiety.

I then started my research on the internet, watched dozens of videos, consulted books to better understand what anxiety is. I then meditated to realize the moments in my life in which I myself experienced episodes of anxiety. For example, I experienced a lot of anxiety at the end of my competitive career, and not about the competition itself, but about the way my students looked at me. I was less stressed going to a world championship in Germany than participating in a small competition in front of my students. In short, I experienced social anxiety caused by my ego.

Before I began my research, I quickly realized that I had difficulty distinguishing between stress/anxiety/fear. So let’s start by defining these.

Definitions

THE STRESS is activated by current eventsthat is, they are happening here and now or will happen in the very near future. It causes a reaction in the body allowing us to do so face a threat or attackreal or perceived. This reaction is accompanied by more or less significant physical discomfort. [1]

Example: Roxanne is stuck in a traffic jam. A car speeds past her; the one behind is too close. We hear the sound of horns and the screeching of brakes. Roxanne is stressed.

THE’ANXIETY it is, for its part, a projective or anticipatory fear. Meaning what. oriented towards a more distant future. This state of disorder and agitation is also accompanied by physical discomfort, of varying intensity. Concerns raised are often excessive, even unrealistic, and generally fueled by metacognition (our little inner voice) [1]

Example: Hugo is stuck in traffic. The cars are stationary and no real movement is observable. Time passes and he expects to be late for kindergarten, where he has to pick up his child before closing. Hugo is anxious.

THE FEAR it is a feeling of anxiety experienced in the presence or thought of a danger, real or presumed, or a threat. [2]

It is also important to remember that stress and anxiety are, to some extent, very positive. They have allowed us to survive to this day and sometimes act as stimulants in certain situations such as preparing for an exam or a competition. But as with everything, balance is essential. The problem arises when stress and anxiety cause negative effects.

The stress of real CINEMA! [1]

• The lack of Ccontrol: the feeling of helplessness, the impression of not controlling the situation or of not being able to influence it causes stress.
• THE’Iunpredictability: facing a completely unexpected event or not knowing in advance what will happen.
• THE Nonovelty: when something happens that you have never experienced before, it is certainly accompanied by a certain amount of stress.
• THE’ANDgo threat: Stress can also result from the feeling that our abilities are being tested or that our abilities are being tested.

Two alarm systems: REAL and FICTIONAL [3]

Alarm system of FEAR

• Danger REAL → Live from FEAR → Her FEAR triggers a ALARM →Your body receives DANGER SIGN and is preparing to effectively face this danger.

Alarm systemANXIETY

• Danger IMAGINED → Live from FEAR → Her FEAR triggers a FALSE ALARM →Your body receives DANGER SIGN and prepares to face it, even if it isn’t not necessary.

Avoidance, avoidance and avoidance!

The most common symptom to detect anxiety is: avoidance. Whether this happens consciously or not, through self-denigration and/or sabotage using a more or less credible argument and despite the desireIt is not advisable to exclude yourself from the source that causes anxiety so as not to create a reproductive effect that will be even worse over time. It is rather advisable to gradually approach the anxiety-producing element to tame it and resolve it.

General forms of anxiety

There are different forms of anxiety: generalized, separation anxiety, social (fear of being embarrassed, humiliated or rejected by others), agoraphobia (confined places: queues, crowds, etc.), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), selective mutism, specific phobia (fear of insects, flying, heights, etc.) and panic disorders. [4]. Of course, if your anxiety is predominant, you will need more than one Sensei (martial arts teacher) to help you, but a clinical psychologist.

Martial arts antidotes for anxiety

Relaxation and visualization

Generally, in most martial arts, the session begins with a moment of meditation that allows you to learn to relax, breathe, center yourself, be in communion with yourself and be fully aware of your thoughts. At the same time, as an extension of meditation, the practitioner learns to develop visualization (for example, to relive a movement or visualize a kata). This same visualization is a powerful tool when you are anxious to imagine yourself in a safe or relaxing place (e.g. the forest, the beach, your room) and to evoke your senses (e.g. music, smell, taste, etc.). Additionally, preparatory visualization for competitions can be used to imagine yourself successfully performing the anxiety-inducing task. However, different breathing methods are taught via breathing kata or with methods such as cardiac coherence.

Self-confidence

Martial arts practice is known to be excellent for self-confidence as it is done in an environment outside of educational institutions or businesses that are a source of intimidation. THE dojo (place where martial arts are practiced) is a healthy place where practitioners respect each other. Then, practicing in pairs and small groups facilitates the feeling of belonging to a group in which we will immediately feel that we are forming a 2^And caring family. Every exercise, movement, demonstration, comparison… is potentially a source of small victories which, when added together, multiply the sense of achievement and personal esteem.

The rhythm of life

With our accelerated pace of life (did you know that children are subjected to acceleration instructions more than 100 times a day?) the practice of martial arts is a perfect time to take a break from our daily lives to be able to reflect on the practice of our art.

Positive thinking

What would happen to your garden if sulfuric liquid was spilled on it? We must take care of the garden of the mind and every time we see an anxiolytic thought, we listen to it, delete it and replace it with a positive thought. Examples of positive thinking include:

• Being bored is unpleasant, but it is not dangerous.
• Remember the new situations you faced with courage.
• You may sleep less well, but you may also fall asleep easily.
• If you happen to cry, it would be surprising if a friend made fun of you.
• Deep down, you really want to move forward. Don’t let fear stop you.

Exercise

Physical activity is known to have positive anti-anxiety effects:

• therelieves excess adrenaline

• ↑endorphin (pleasure hormone), ↑dopamine (vigilance and pleasure), ↓cortisol (stress hormone), ↑serotonin (regulates brain activity, sleep, appetite, pain, mood, anxiety, depression).
• Releases muscle tension and frustration
• Increases lung capacity
• Better sleep

The Dojo Kun of anti-anxiety!

The dojos art they are rules of conduct in order to guide the practitioner to have a psychological and spiritual development in accordance with the practice of martial arts.

• Acceptance ends the struggle
• Be kind to yourself
• Abandon your pride
• Connect to what’s happening now
• Have mercy on yourself
• Tolerate uncertainty
• Be patient with yourself
• Get closer to serenity
• Increase your self-esteem
• Be perfectly imperfect!
• Find out what’s really important to you
• Set priorities
• Get help from others/delegates
• Knowing how to say «no»
• Connect with yourself and accept yourself

Two complementary methods

These two methods aim to break down the anxiety-provoking elements to reduce or rationalize all the pieces that do not really constitute anxiety-provoking phenomena.

Stack of cubes

• Describe each step to achieve a result
• Rate each step based on your anxiety/stress level
• Unpack each box and minimize the contents
  level of anxiety/stress

For example, a person is eager to participate in a competition. So let’s look at the list of items that cause anxiety. Packing my bag with everything I need, not sleeping the night before, not being hungry in the morning, getting to the event, finding parking, changing in the changing rooms, etc. Then we can ponder each step and come up with ideas or attempted solutions to resolve them. For example, preparing my karate bag could be rated 5/10: a solution could be to make a check list of things to bring and do the check 24-48 hours before the event and perhaps ask another person to double check. The weight of the stress level could then drop by up to 1/10.

The small steps method

• Step 1: Name your fear and specify the goal you want to achieve.
• Step 2: List the SMALL STEPS to overcome, starting from what scares you the least, until you reach the goal.
• Step 3: Advance one SMALL STEP both using the tricks you learned in the previous sections.

Let’s take preparation for the belt exam as an example. The fear could be that of failing (thus disappointing those close to you or of seeing your self-esteem damaged). Small Steps Method: 1- carry out all the movements required by yourself. 2- ask a person to ask you all the movements to practice. 3- Take the pretest. 4- Take the exam.

Conclusion

Many people manage to overcome their anxiety on their own, or at least live with it better, by adopting strategies similar to those we have described here. In case your efforts to overcome these difficulties are not enough, do not hesitate to turn to professional psychology services and do not blame yourself if relapses occur. Remember the Japanese saying: “fall down 7 times, get up 8 times!” »

Larry Foisy

References

[1] Stress and anxiety, strategies and techniques to manage them, Ariane Hébert, Édition Mortagne, ISBN: 9782897921699.

[2] Larousse virtual dictionary,

[3] Incredible me, master your anxiety, Nathalie Couture, Geneviève Marcotte, Édition Midi Trente, ISBN: 2924804507

[4] Healing Anxiety for Dummies, Charles H. Elliott, Laura L. Smith, Martine André, ISBN: 978-2-7540-1195-2