This is often used with relaxation techniques in order to reduce arousal. The boxer imagines the cicumstances and feelings associated with being relaxed.

Imagery can also be used to practice something, this is known as mental reheasal. The boxer can 'run throug' his performance in his mind, deciding how to cope wtih tactics, what shots he will throw, earing the crowd, smelling the atmosphere and feeling the fear and handling them confidently. By doing this he is working on some possible sources of stress - uncertainty, pressure, low self - confidence - to minimise their effect. This type of training is thought to enhance performance to a great degree if used correctly. Ten minutes a day is good, lay in a dark room and imagine your at the fight, you feel scared, you can hear the crowd. Imagine your getting gloved up then walking to the ring and getting in, imagine yourself performing well and handling the far. Try this before training, imagine sparring etc, its no good doing it on fight night. You need to practice, thats the only way you get good at it. Did you know the brain struggles to tell the difference between reality and imagery (if done properly). Give it a go, I think you be surprised by the results, what have you got to lose?.

You can use tapes and such to wind down after training, one widely used method is progressive muscular relaxation (PMR). This involves tensing and then relaxing groups of muscles in turn over the whole body. Boxers can devise their own techniques along these lines, and practice usually enables the athlete to relax effectively in a very short space of time.

Other types of relaxation:

. Meditation

. Hypnosis.

You can listen to music, this is a good relaxation method used alot, whatever feels good for you.

 

Goal setting can help the boxer focus away from the source of stress and on something achievable. It should focus on performance related goals rather than on outcome related goals. Boxers can be helped to focus on a particular, achievable, goal during performance which can switch attention from external factors which may create arousal and worry.

 

One way to do this is to give yourself buzz words, or a quote of some sort you read every time you go training or to a fight. This type is effective because it releases self confidence and give you that something extra in training/fighting. An example coild be a note hand written on a piece of paper that you keep with your training gear and read when using it. It could say something like "today i will train like a champion, so tommorow i may become one"