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Why Is Mental Rehearsal So Powerful?
Author: Simon Hazeldine
If you could imagine in your mind the movement, pattern or technique that you want to rehearse. Although this sounds very simple, mental rehearsal is a very powerful method of performance enhancement.
Whilst conjuring up images of yourself in your mind may sound like some sort of esoteric practice, please be assured that using your imagination to rehearse is not strange in any way!
A considerable amount of scientific research has been done into mental rehearsal and how powerful it can be in improving performance. So how does mental rehearsal work and what makes it so powerful?
Two of the main theories concerning mental rehearsal are the 'muscle memory' (or psychoneuromuscular) theory and the 'mental blueprint' (or symbolic learning) theory.
Mental Memory Theory
Psychologists hypothesise that mental rehearsal works because muscles
become innervated (stimulated) sufficiently during mental rehearsal to give kinisthetic (body sensation) feedback to the body parts that will be involved in the actual physical practice. The theory is that during mental rehearsal your muscles 'learn' just as they do when you are actually performing the movement
Mental Blueprint Theory
A further theory of how mental rehearsal works is symbolic learning theory. This hypothesises that the imagery used in mental rehearsal may function as a coding system that helps martial artists to acquire or understand movement patterns.
The mental rehearsal may help you to "blueprint or code your movements into symbolic components, thus making the movement more familiar and perhaps more automatic. Whatever theory or theories are correct about why mental rehearsal works, one fact remains certain - it works! So let us now look at some ways that you can apply mental rehearsal.
Mental rehearsal can be used to get the very best out of yourself. You will make faster progress to achieving your martial arts goals if you use mental rehearsal.
Some of the ways that you can use mental rehearsal:
By using mental rehearsal to practice new moves or techniques before performing them physically. It can be useful to break down complicated sequences into manageable sections and then build this up to the full sequence.
By using mental rehearsal to practice moves or techniques that you already practise physically. The process of mental rehearsal will powerfully compliment and enhance your physical practice.
By using mental rehearsal immediately before events such as tournaments, competitions or gradings. This can strengthen confidence by calling up the feelings you have associated
with a good performance. Mental rehearsal will also focus your attention on the task at hand.
By using mental rehearsal if you have limited physical practise time available before a specific event. By using mental rehearsal if you are recovering from injury - you can still get some beneficial training completed, even though you may be unable to train physically!
In next month's column, we will explore the process of mental rehearsal further and look at ways that you can improve your usage of it. Until then, enjoy the benefits of regular mental rehearsal!
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