Visualization and Imagery
This is about touchy-feely crap so move on if you can’t take a bit of touchy-feely crap.
There was this guy, a Dr. Blaslatto at the University of Chicago, that did a study in visualization and imagery with three groups of basketball players, the criteria being successful free throws. Group 1 did nothing, Group 2 physically practiced free throws, Group 3 just spent the thirty-day study visualizing making free throws. The results were interesting. Group 1, the lazy asses, had no improvement. Group 2 improved 24% as you would expect. The unexpected results were that Group 3, the visualizers with no actual free throw practice, improved close to what the physical practice group did, 23% to the plus.
Your brain is a weird ass place. There are places in your brain, those not pickled by 1000 beers, that build connections to what you see being done to performing those actual tasks. I was a chef for many years. A chef instructor showed me how to dice an onion. My brain observed his technique and connected it to my hand. I then cut myself a lot but after a while I could dice an onion pretty well. I visualized and practiced repeatedly until I could cut an onion real fast while checking out the new waitress and talking to the banquet manager about a party that night. To this day, 15 years after thankfully being out of the business, I can still cut a mean onion, trim a pile of tenderloins, whatever. Like walking, riding a bike, it’s there in a muscle memory cubbyhole ready to go.
Visualization is not all about the video game in your head. When you think about the smell of the coffee, you can see the cup and the steam coming off it, you can taste it in your pumpkin head. Do not, I repeat, do not try, and taste or smell your cornhole bag.
Nervous about the tournament or blind draw? Visualize the venue, the boards, the noise, the pattern of the floor or carpet. Visualize yourself being nervous, breathing a few times, and relaxing. Visualize winning or even just doing well. Visualize congratulating your partner after a good game.
Try just sitting in a chair or lie down and see yourself making the perfect throw. Visualize little things; how about a perfect palm up release, a flat bag hitting the perfect spot on the board and sweetly sliding in the hole, or a beastly airmail that crushes your opponent’s soul? Don’t just visualize from a first-person perspective (in your own body), see yourself from afar as another person. See it in slow motion or fast.
During the match, doing all of this would probably have you committed. Watch some of the pros in action, many flip their bag a few times and stare at the ground, look up, aim, and fire. I doubt they are thinking about dinner. Maybe a quick video image of the bag doing what you want it to would a great step in your pre-shot routine.
All in all, this isn’t truly touchy-feely crap, it’s how we are wired as humans.
Remember, “Practice what you suck at!”
Love,
Josh
