Blog posted and still under development.. thank you for your patience as I correct and add photos to a very long blog.
The subconscious mind is what we call instinctive actions and is part of every sport. If you had magical powers and you had to bake a pie, you would think of it and "Poof" the pie would be there. Without, these magical powers you would have to instruct the mind of all the work of gathering the material for making a pie, preparing it and even calculate the time needed to cook. Blog stats (below) same every year.
When you instruct the mind to do an action (make a pie) it is all "conscious" instructions . In the case of a sport it is instructions to the muscles that perform the sport action. After many times doing the same action and the making corrections with the same instruction to the mind, the athletic has began to develop what can be called "Muscle Memory". Actually we remembering how to do the action correctly and the subconscious does those actions. Braking a car is often given as an example of the instinctive action in time of danger. We don't think but when it is finished we are surprised how fast it happen.
This blog is intended for coaches whom are beyond teaching new members the sport (level 1 "Club Coach) or helping correct a fault created from wrong actions during the delivery. (Level 2 or "Corrective Coach"). As the coach's student moves into competition and works with more mental problems of stress and concentration we find a Level 3 or "Competitive Coach" with efforts to change "Muscle Memory" into productive results.
This information does not hurt to be known by a learning athletic but a major problem in knowing about the athletic's conscious and subconscious interaction during a performance; is that the athletic must continue to allow the subconscious mind to have control and it's "Muscle Memory" to be performed. Athletics will say that this is done by allowing the action to be performed in what is a "void of thought" or a "Zen moment". It is hard to control actions done in the uncontrolled "Subconscious" time of an action or performance. But it is possible.
Every sport is different, from the wrist movement of throwing a dart to the arm movement of Petanque or Lawn Bowls or Curling. These three last sports have the same physical movement in their beginning of action; but each is a little bit different as the muscle movement change and complete the actual action. Also the time between beginning the performance's action and when finally the athletic sees the result of their action can become a major problem. For this reason, in making corrections to an athletic's performance a "Level 3 coach" must be aware that attempting a change by conscious instructions to the muscles; also comes at a lost of the "subconscious control" which is so important to not interfer. Therefore, in a correction or an attempt in doing the new corrective action we must understand that the conscious mind is attempting the change; and like a parent watching a child learn the subconscious mind is there in the background.
subconscious mind explained on Youtube |
In an "Open sport" like Soccer or Hockey we are always "Open" to what is or has just happen around us. We are making adjustments for those actions in our sport as we encounter them. An example is when a opponent player is approaching on your left so you move the ball or puck to your right side. In seeing the player we have a "Open Sport" awareness and the subconscious action is done instinctively as you move away from that danger. This happen so fast you did not realize you (or the subconscious mind) had done it but after years of playing and many games experience your subconscious mind knew the necessary corrective action.
Until you are in the top percentage athletics of your sport and against similar levelplayers and/or involved in a national and international competition; you may not know or even think about these "Subconscious" actions. Because Petanque is a "Closed Sport" and you are alone with your performance; the rules are made to remove distractions from others players thus allowing you to develop actions and unique "Subconscious" abilities faster.
In Petanque, it still means a lot of practice as your self-development progress through practice of that "Shooting Takeouts" or a "Pointing with an Effect". Finally, you become aware that each Petanque shot you perform is begin after much conscious thought and you have release thinking to the "Subconscious" mind. Like in most "Closed" sports; there is a "Preparation routine" where the conscious actions of the "Performance" are studied. This routine, which you spend endless hours perfecting is made up of two parts. Controlling actions and movements and Decision actions based upon information collected on your previous game action.
With the "Preparation Routine" finished and eventually beginning the "Shot Routine" you do little or no thinking and think the shot and "Poof", let the subconscious mind perform the shot. You see it happen as the shot is done in a fraction of a second. You may hear athletics say "I don't think, I just do the shot". or "It just happens".
If for a minute. we look at this idea of our brain is a bio-computer which is controlling our actions and keeping us alive with breathing and even actions of preventive security; we find things we think and do and other actions which seem to happen instincitively.
The website of (Conscious and Subconscious) .gives a good insight into the interactions of the two minds. The develop of man has been that during times of danger or sudden changes the subconscious mind has used the data that had been collected for quick action decisions. Today, this subconscious mind is still very important, but seldom seen except in Sports. We can practice our sport performance hours on hours, but it remains difficult to instruct the body or mind to use the collected data from practices. We all know how things happen instinctive and quickly, but we seldom learn how control or to instruct the "Subconscious" of our wishes.
When we are making decisions or making a change in our performance it is the conscious mind telling the muscles what performance to do. But when we are finished thinking about that actions or using our "Conscious mind"; we turn over control to the subconscious mind.
For an action like jogging, we decide consciously to run and instruct our feet to start running, but if we found our self in danger while jogging, (like a person running toward us) the survival instinctive which is active in the subconscious mind becomes aware of our need to modify our actions. You find yourself now stepping to the side while still jogging. This is how the subconscious mind works completely invisible of it action to our thinking. We did not think to move or how.
Also, when the Subconscious mind does an action, we are always surprise how quickly it happen or how much extra strength we seem to have had at those times. What is important is that we find our self having been in a "void of thought". Call "survival instincts", to see danger and adjust our actions; the mind has developed muscles and actions in response to what it considered as a danger.
Likewise, in sports our actions are learned from hours of practice and not from previous life experiences. But, as mention in the above website; in a similar manner the memories have been collected and have become known as "Muscle Memories" which we use everyday.
Do the muscle have memory cells? Studies into muscle builders suggest that muscles have a structure which allow then for returning to previous development quickly. A sort of memory, but in sports we talk more about the subconscious mind uses memories and even it's able to instruct muscles to do actions from previous practices. The problem which all athletics discover is the conflict of the conscious mind taking control when we want the "Muscle Memories" or subconscious mind to be happening.
Emotions are an example where our reactions (consciously) is to analysis what had just occur and have feelings. Ofcourse, the "Subconscious Analysis" happens everytime that the "subconscious mind" has preformed as it is collecting data so that when it is next performed instinctively; Like in the event of a similar danger. If we had taken the time to think at each danger, our slow conscious thought and the waste of time (thinking) would mean that the danger would have overcome us before we decided to react.
So, we think and do actions with the "Conscious Mind" which become memories, or step by step actions; and later when we want or need that action performed again, we allow the "Subconscious Mind" to do the action with a thought. ("Run")
The usage of the subconscious mind in our sport is hidden from us, but also when the athletic sees the finish of his/her performance; which may be very short, his return to conscious thinking is immediate. (Ex: a "Petanque take-out" shot happens as soon as started, so is immediately finished). We can see the actual result of the performance and even have an emotion response to that unsuccessful action. In other sports like "Lawn Bowls" there may be between 14 to 16 seconds before the bowl comes to rest near the "Jack" ( the target ball); and the athletic sees the results of their delivery. At these times and in longer waits, the athletic would create a routine of activities to study the performance while waiting for these 14 to 16 seconds.
The Lawn Bowls blog of "Three subconscious mind exercise" of December 28 2012; was at first, an attempts to identify to the reader the presence of the Subconscious mind in the athletic's actual Lawn Bowls delivery. But also it developed into how to offer a sort of exercises to communicate to the "Subconscious mind". Very often and only in athletic with years of training can this be achived and with success of what had been expected from such communication. Also, we discover that the subconscious mind can be changed and the "Muscle Memory" modified. Through learning to communicate by a single thought, the athletic can modify the "Memory performance" if such a communication (thought) is learned and done properly.
However, like a new employee doing work for the boss, the subconscious mind with too much instruction can become confusion and create results that are not wanted. To some referred as "Conscious/Subconscious conflict" because we don't often try or have success in modifing the Subconscious actions.
Searching through my150 blogs about Lawn Bowls and the use of the Subconscious mind, that December 28, 2012 blog is interesting because the "Three Subconscious mind Exercises" can be applied to any sport to identify the subconscious mind. However, the idea of concentration and occupation of thought for several seconds as is done in Lawn Bowls can be creative in the changes we want in our performance especially if we apply it to other sport.
Recently, as I was working with a Petanque player who was "in" and "out" of the "Subconscious Zone" with his successful "Petanque Take-Out Shot"; I had to accept that this player was not interested in the sport's elite classification (Gold, Silver). He only wanted to develop a skill and participate in Social Petanque. A coach must always respect "Acceptance of Goals " by their student. Also, too much information and even to suggest communicating with the subconscious to improve his performance is not his expectation. He just wants a good "Take-out" shot. Like getting a driving license, some only want to drive a car and others continue studing and go to a Level 4 or 5 driver's license.
The player who wants to don international level competition has a greater expectation of his performance and this blog is intended to help these athletics in their personal development. Eventually in their "take-out" Shots, they will become aware of the Subconscious mind's ability. Then the coach will be able to advance them to the next level of mental control as they began using the "Instinctive Zone" of the mind and become aware of the Subconscious presence during their performance.
In every sport the subconscious mind is present in the performance; but in Petanque, the duration of the shot action is so short and performed so fast that immediately after the release of your ball the athletic can see the result. In other sports like Lawn Bowls and even Basket ball the delay between the action and the result can allow the athletic to feel the presence of a "void of thought". This always occurs when the subconscious mind was in total control and actively in control of the action.
So the first step is to feel or be aware of when your subconscious mind is doing it thing; and work to shut down the conscious thinking of how to do the action. This will expand your ability to quickly give control of your actions to the Subconscious. Then as per the "Three subconscious Mind Exercises" blog; you can learn to communicate and even change those action of the subconscious mind toward a better result..
In the Petanque "Take-out Shots", the successful strike of the 3 1/2 inch "target" ball is usually self-ego satification that the player does not feel the presence of the "Zone" void. In order for the precision in the "take-out" shot to be developed, the Petanque shooter needs to be precise. If the target ball is 3 1/2 inches large you can miss by 2 1/2 inches on either side and still have made contact. Also if your line of Shot is correct you can miss the distance by several inches and still remove the target ball.
When I say "Precision Shooting" I refer to decision to strike the "target" in such a way that the resulting damage of the target ball leaving from the pointing area; has not distributed the other balls. Unlike Lawn Bowls or Curling where each team delivers a bowl (or stone) to the pointing area in alternative sequence; in Petanque the opponents continue to play if they do not have the closest ball. In such "take-out" shot also removes your own ball as "shot"; they you must play again.
"Precision Shooting" means communicating to the subconscious mind of the angle of contact and expecting that the subconscious will success. Otherwise, each take-out shot requires two balls. (the shooting shot and the replacement ball to recapture the shot). The game becomes the success of not leaving the opponents a surplus of balls to play after you have played all your team's balls.
Secondly, if your "Take-out Shots" of the opponent's ball has resulted in your ball leaving the Point area or gain the point; they you again must play a second ball to have the "Point". Shooting to hit the "target" ball at an angle and to allow the thrown ball to pass without a contact with any of other balls is largely "Precision Shooting".
That article stated:
"In sports, a lot of actions happens so fast only the subconscious has the ability to control how we react and then produce the final wanted result. If a baseball player in throwing the ball and is losing his balance, what would happen if he was to think.. "I am not properly balanced and must throw to the left because I am falling as I throw"? All of these thoughts, our conscious mind interference with our actions, would result in the pitched ball being badly thrown as he lose the time to adjust his throw... The subconscious mind can feels the off balance action in his throw, and also knows to achieve the needed action wanted to result in the adjustment of the action and force of the thrown of the baseball"
In Petanque the "Take-out Shot" is much like a baseball player out in right field who after catching the ball and beginning to throw it to Home plate. The whole action of the throw is done so fast that the athletic does not know their Subconscious mind has been involved. Unlike, Lawn bowls which maybe nearly 15 seconds between start and finish of the Lawn Bowl delivery and performance; the near split second throw of the baseball ball or Petanque ball is finished before we are even aware of perfroming the action. A total Instinctive action where a " Subconscious" action and "Muscle memory" was done as a rapid action. This is the same action of a car driver finding their foot coming to the brakes, without thinking, as a child runs into the street. We don't think, we just do it instinctive.
In December 2012, as I started writing this blog, I was afraid that this subject would be miss-understood. But now, after more than 10 years the 140 blogs written, it has receied over 90,000 reads with the early spring volume always above the average. With still 10 days in April (2024) (the volume is now 2,123 blog reads, this month. The "Read Stat" chart on the right, is the last 7 days since prior to starting to write this blog; and has already had 851 readers visit).
The December 2012 blog read:
This blog speaks of a old saying that "A wise man and a fool appear alike until either one of them begin to speak" Why even express yourself in something, which others don't understand and which may be so controversial to have readers view your teachings as Poppy Poop...
Last Month, while watching Ryan Bester, Canada's best Lawn bowler, on streaming Australia Bowls at the World Bowls 2012, in Australia.; I saw the smooth flow from Conscious to subconscious actions in his bowl delivery.This young man has done what I had taken over the last 40 years of personal learning in several sports for me to develop(Archery, Petanque, Lawn Bowls) ,,. With great teacher like the french instinctive traditional archer,Jean Marie Coche, and his book "La discipline du tir a l'arc instinctif souple", I have learn to relax during the(se) action, and let the subconscious do the sport.
I believed in the development of these abilities, "to be in the Zone" and if not for the recent video of Tiger Wood on the subject in Youtube, I would have just continue to work on it myself. This smooth flow of mind from conscious to subconscious, creates what some people will call an out-of-body (experience)
Another golfer , Mark Cslvsbrvvhis said it another way in that article. "When I'm in a zone, I don't think about the shot or the wind or the distance or the gallery or anything; I just pull a club and swing."
Likewise, Al Geiberger said "A great round of golf is a lot like a terrible round. You drift into a zone, and it is hard to get out of it."
This Zone is when the Conscious mind release control to the subconscious, and you stand back and watch as you are performing the actions. The actions and results is best defined as being " totally in the zone" because you have learn it is possible to give total control to the subconscious. "
"The athletic in the Peak Performance Zone,, is really in a heighten state of awareness., an absorbed focus. There is an element of Relaxation Response, that goes on in there. And they are always in the Here and the Now, with a clear uncluttered mind. Just absorbed in the moment." and most important.. "Letting the performance happen rather than thinking or helping the performance to happen"
"Whether, in a Lawn bowl delivery, Archery shooting an arrow or what ever (a petanque Take-out shot). If we think about what we want to do we lose it.. Because the subconscious mind requires you to not think about your action; you must learn to think about nothing for that few microseconds." (and let the action happen)
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"Without saying too much more but with these three exercises, listed below, which allows the Commanding of the Subconscious; you can apply it in your personal Sport. Again to some, I will seem to be an idiot, but to others I can be a teacher."
"Daily, in driving a car we Brake to a stop without thought as we do many (such) tasks instinctive. We live our lives with the subconscious doing for us. The subconscious mind is always busy , But never do we allow it a total control, and so it is hard to later develop it as part of our sport. Maybe, it is now time in our personal sport development, to engage, and develop, this aspect of mental control. Let things happen and be less of a control freak as we watch our self giving more control to the subconscious mind. ( And see the difference it makes in our performance)."