Muscle Memory to the Zone

The 2016 World Bowls (Christchurch New Zealand) now underway, as I start these two Blog on Muscle Memory. Part 2  texted and being edited but time for blog writing or editing during  the World Bowls is hard to find. After the games maybe, or in a few more weeks I will finish the Second part. I hope to have the blog mix the idea of  "Muscle Memory"  with the styles of Delivery of a couple of World Bowls Finalists.  You will find it interesting on how these great athletics, New Zealand Lead Angela Boyd or Wales lead Laura Daniels prepare their delivery before putting themself  into a "Zen Delivery"  Zone.

Now that I have finished watching the December 11^th Women`s Pairs Finals of World Bowls (Streaming); and being a Canadian, I can miss the Ryan Bester effort to capture the Singles Gold. Another great Bowls Video which one day maybe I will blog about.

The photo to the left, which part of the video from ifilm NZ on the "Vimeo LiveStreaming" of the preparation of the greens show the removal of over 6 inches of rain water from the greens. (Note January 31, 2023 while editing this blog -  We thank this New Zealand company for still having available today this video.)

As a Coach of Bowls it is the Women’s Pairs Final between New Zealand and Wales which is of most instructive to bowlers and for me a coach to blog. Watching the two very different style of delivery of these leads, I find the rare opportunity to show how each finalist have all the same aspects of a "Muscle Memory" delivery and in two different ways both athletics show their delivery as they move into a  proper "Zen Zone Delivery". In this Zen delivery they are in a void of thought as their subconscious mind uses memories of training to do a perfect delivery. (Like one brakes the car when a child runs into the street. No thinking involved but instinctive action done.)

First, I hope that in no way does this blog gets seen as a criticism of the delivery styles of  Angela Boyd or  Laura Daniels as both are great athletics and performed exceptional.  With the internet and "Live Streaming" our sport gets great coverage. But often non elite lawnbowlers who are  watching the game get an uneducated view of Bowls from comments made by announcers whom, like Sky Sports Presenter Jordan Vandermade can not be expected to know all the fine detail and hard work for an athletic and their style of delivery. 

All night I have been questioning if I should build a blog around these  two different styles as they clearly show an athletic`s development as they progress in prefection and are moving from Muscle Memory (conscious memory of Delivery) to being in the  Zone (subconscious control delivery). From the photo (left) we see both players at the point of "In the Zone" and neither is looking up the green.

Ofcourse, it is hard to suggest  to my blog readers look a great World Bowls video of Pairs final for Gold; when the jokes from the announders ( Jordan and Terry Scott) about the multi swinging delivery of  New Zealand lead Angela Boyd seem to reflect a bad style of delivery.

  I decided that my readers which are some of the best Lawnbowlers in the world are more educated then the announcers and the other blog readers who are learning;  will clearly understand and value the subject matter of "Muscle Memory" and "Being in the Zone"

What works is more important then the opinions of others on the style of delivery as Angela Boyd is still developing her "Pre-visualization" and eventually in a few years will have a total mental "Pre-visualization".  Basketball coaches tell their  elite athletics to mentually practice their basket shooting when sitting on the bus.  Of course you don`t seem them doing their arm movement because they are using their memory of their actions.  So I ask you to please understand that those doing televised comments can not know about all the sports they cover or the hard work and coaching that goes into a  well experienced  athletics. It is hard work to reach the level of World elite athletic and even  harder to get that perfect roll to the jack.

  I thank both Angela Boyd and Laura Daniels for allowing me to write about their styles. (I assume they will contact me if they object). I am sure that they understand that this  is a unique opportunity to comparing two different delivery style, while helping me in teaching  our lawn bowls  athletics (to-be) about how  to develop and use "Muscle Memory" and slowly create their movement while moving into the Zone. (Clearification note: After doing a movement over and over it appears the muscles have developed of how to perform the action. At one point in a Delivery the conscious thought and instructions will be abandom and the subconscious will perform the action. At this point the athletic is in the Zen Zone.)

Before writing about these two styles I must ask the reader to do a small physical exercise.  This is important as later in this blog, the memory of this exercise will be a major part of your mental study and movement of the mind (thought) from muscle memory to the zone.  If you do not do this 30 second exercise then it is better to stop reading now as later you will not have any memory of the exercise to recall and collect from for your subconscious. Ofcourse, you can also read this blog a second time while then doing the exercise but knowing what to expect will not be a teaching on the 2nd reading and of course the mood will change.

Exercise.  Look at a distance object, as you sit where you are and  am read this, (plse do this exercise). Much as you would look up the green at the jack, pick some distance object to look at.  Place your index finger at the side of your face under your eye. Move the finger out from your eye toward the object until you are covering the object with your finger. Much as if you are pointing at the object.  Do this three times. (Yes, please do it even if it seems foolish) Thank you. You have now developed a mental memory of this action. (finger moving from eye to object)

There is such a difference in the two styles of delivery of Angela Boyd and Laura Daniels but both have all the same aspects of mental (muscle) communication and muscle memory.  First, lets discuss New Zealand Angela Boyd's, with her 8 swings of preparation and the body movement of a light forward and back sway as she taps her foot. It is almost as if she is delivering the bowl and watching it go to the jack. Opps, not enough weight.. try again.. until she feel she has her weight.

Watching the video closely, you see various aspects of this action. This is called the Pre-delivery routine and every good lawn bowls player has some sort of action to prepare themselves. Probably after her physcial swing of the bowl she is seeing in her mind the memory of her bowl going up the green. With each arm swing she is showing the subconscious mind the distance to the jack. How ? As you will see later the mental memory of the complete movement (delivery to Jack) is very quick.  If you see the deliverymemory to the jack you are showing the mind the distance. Doing it several times correct the distance. This pre-visualization is done until finally she feels she has the distance and now with  proper force for that jack distance, she lets the subconscious mind do the Muscle Memory and places herself in the Zone.

Of interest here, is in the French game of Petanque the player is allow to walk to the jack and of course when walking back the mind is feeling the distance. Some players go half ways to the jack or cochon. But the subconscious mind needs to know the distance. Angela`s delay is giving the subconscious mind that distance.

One would say that the first few delivery swings are to define the delivery weight and she is following the un-released bowl to the jack in an memory of her delivery. But her delay before starting her next swing is too quick for her to follow a bowl; so she is using her memory of the bowl rolling up the green. (When you do the finger exercise above at the end of this blog you realize the memory is faster than the actual event). 

 Later in these blogs I will show  the reader how to have the subconscious mind know and judge the distance with only the memory of the distance distance and done in the Pre-delivery routine.  What you see in the delivery of  Laura Daniels is her pre-visualization has been done prior to her delivery and now all that is in her mind is one last pre-visualization. That is all the subconscious mind needs before her Muscle Memory and delivery happen as now the subconscious knows the distance and weight to reach the jack. This, transfer control to the subconscious seems obvious as we see in the final swing that  Angela's eyes are nolonger looking toward the jack as she has established the distance and is confidence of her delivery weight.

We notice that Angela Boyd has lowers her eyes,its her way of mentally remembing the distance she will soon look up and see her bowl rolling up the green. In a youtube video of Tigar Wood, ( Sports Psychology - Want to visualize like Tiger? - YouTube )  the great golfer;  says "between beginning my swing and seeing the ball in flight up the green, i have no memory of what happen ". And if asked, Angela also has no memory from when she started her delivery swing and sees the bowl rolling up the green.

 This is an important part of communication with the subconscious mind as it is just her and her memory of another time when the jack was at that same distance that has helped the subconscous do the delivery. 

 The rules of Silence when on the mat is in the rule book because in any delivery like Angela now into her delivery by her body movement. (as she sway forward and back) is established a control harmony which is her amount of body movement in the next swing. This is also part of the communication with the subconscious as the  body movement is the final steps of her delivery. Even this small sway is sufficient  forward body movement defines the small modified body movement to be  either adding on or taking off the deliveryweight. It is also a constant movement to remind the body (subconscious) that there will be nothing changed.

Up to this point it is memory to remaind the mind and identifying how much weight was used last time at this distance and for the subconscious to remember from the previous delivery. (just performed minutes before or month earlier). At this point and just after the last practice swing and before the delivery Angela Boyd seems to do two  small wrist flick. WHY ?? as coach of others I believe this is her mental void entry moment. Often we need something else to think about which is not part of the delivery to not think about the delivery and enter the Zone.

In every delivery where a bowler enter the zone (zen zone where there is a complete absence of thought) there must be a pre-visualization of the delivery.

  ** (See note below) Whether the stopping of toe tapping in the Petanque video (below "in the video") which is the tell of  a the Petanque player`s pre-visualization or this wrist flick of Angela wrist; both are tells of  transfers of control to subconscious;  the athletic has now  move from the pre-visualization actions to the Void or into Zone. This is a communication between the athletic`s intention and  giving control to the subconscious mind. As we can see in the Petanque video of Mark Wildeboer where he stops his toe tapping (his tell of pre-visualization)  in the video of this jack takeout shot. At the time of his shooting he is in the Void,

I know that some people use a wrist flick to add on weight, but it is my opinion that this movement would be in the pre-delivery routine and not at this pre-visualization period of delivery.   So not only has angela told her body the amount of muscle movement that is needed for the delivery swing but also she has established that her pre-visualization is finished. The reason that this flick can not be pre-visualization is that at this movement it would confuse the subconscious mind  with another thought and the subconscious mind would apply something else as an instruction. 

Before looking at the rest of delivery of Angela Boyd let look at the style of Wales’s Laura Daniels  which seem to be a step to the mat and do a very quick  delivery.  But, be sure that all the same pre-delivery checks are done in the style of Laura Daniels; else her delivery would not be constant if she did not have a pre-visualization and a transfer of control to the subconscious as she entered her Void.

  First, the delivery swings off Laura Daniels is mental and not physically visable, With the small bounce of the bowl in her palm she mentally remembers and establishes the memory of the delivery swing and movement. It is interesting if such a trick would mean a different bounce of the bowl in the hand for a longer jack. (worth asking this of such an athletic)  You know this is a pre-visualization action like the arm swing of Angela and the mental thought of the a memory of previously having rolled to this distance  because her eyes are on the jack as the bowl is bounced. Like Angela, she is travelling her mind to the jack so the subconscious can establish the distance of the jack.

So both have done their pre-delivery routines and communicated to the mind the distance of the jack, and the amount of delivery weight and swing that is needed to arrive at the jack.  Also through practice of each their style, both have communicated to the mind their want and need to control the body movement.

At this point both  Laura and Angela have their mind ready to do the delivery  and transfer all thought to their subconscious for a "Zone Delivery"

Do you remember the exercise with the finger at the eye you did earlier in this blog.  Take a minute and close your eyes and remember that muscle memory of that movement. Can you see your finger Do you see your finger going from your eye toward the distance object you pointed at. This is data stored by the mind for use by the subconscious.  After a month or even a year of a repeated movement this data is what the subconscious uses when given total control of the delivery.

 This viewing of the memory is a previsualization of that movement you did earlier and it is the most important aspect of the subconscious`s transfer of thought from conscious thought (muscle movement and memory) to the subconscious mind. You only did your finger movement once.. imagine an action like delivery which has been done several hundred times. This is why in a absence of thought the mind using muscle memory  does the percise performance of the delivery.

Although Wales Laura Daniels’s delivery seems fast, she has taken a second  and has seen  a similar projection or previsualization of her bowl rolling to the jack; before she began her delivery.. It is fast in her style because it does not take more than a microsecond of time but in this short time when the mind is occupied with that previsualization thought,  you have given the subconscious mind control of your delivery.

In the void of thinking of the previsualization movement, like you seeing your finger going to the object that you were looking at: simularly the subconscious mind has performed all the pre-delivery  muscle memory preparation of the bowls delivery and now left uninterrupted (in a void) will do the delivery you wanted.

 (Yes Angela Boyd routine is more longer but one day soon Angela will reach the detail and quick delivery that Laura Daniels does. Both women did the same mental checklist)  Both bowl delivery was done while  their mind was occupied (previsualize or something else) and they only now see the bowl on route  to the jack ( they missed the memory of their delivery because they were in that Zen Zone or the void)   

Yes, You will know you have entered the zone because you will not remember doing your delivery. You will see your bowl several feet in front of you as it is rolling up the green. but don t expect it tomorrow... start as Angela does now and one day you will be a Laura Daniels.  Just it is very hard to go into the void.

It is very important that  you allowed your subconscious mind to do all the things you had checked and communicated that you want in the pre-delivery movements.  Whether this pre-delivery checklist  is a short like a double bounce of the bowl in hand like Laura Daniels or eight practice swings, with a body sway and toe tapping like Angela Boyd; all the information was presented to the subconscious mind and maybe Laura when stepping to the mat began her communication with the subconscious mind... so now on the mat with the delivery to do.. not else is needed.

Sorry as this blog may seen to indicate a attitude of "know it all" but I only wanting to explain this transfer of Muscle Memory of one’s delivery to the actual delivery movement;  I did not always see the Mental Void of mind (zone) entry in Angela Boyd’s  and Laura Daniels' style and know that even at this level of development various distractions caused the delivery to be "a conscious delivery" . The conscious delivery is a bowler's actual control of the delivery as to letting the subconscious do the delivery.

 Only you the bowler, or these athletics them self, know if you had a void when you gave control to the subconscious mind.  And many times you will be controlling your delivery in such fine detail that you know you did a "conscious" bowl  delivery.

If in your delivery, your void of mind is missing, try to think of the finger to object image which your visualized above. This completely different thought removes any conscious control of your delivery and does the transfer of control to the subconscious mind.  There is not difference in seeing your finger go to the object and seeing the bowl going to the jack.  And Laura Daniels show us how quick this thought can be completed with her style. So seek out your absence of delivery thought during the movement of delivery. Let your Muscle Memory and Zen do your delivery.

In my other sport "Petanque" during the throwing of a takeout shot, I find this thought is as quick as if I have closed my eyes.  so if you want to know how strong this Zone is??  Close your eyes during your delivery and see your result.  Yes closed eyes is a certain type of void as you are always occupied to see what is happening.. But it is more important to use the previsualization image and certainly not the closed eyes technique.  Although, in my club I have an athletic who has gone to several International Petanque World Competition and who`s style of delivery is such she is not looking at her target ball during her shooting. The close your eyes is only suggested to help you to know and realize the power of the  your subconscious mind when you are in the zone.

Thank you Laura Daniels and Angela Boyd for two so different styles, It was a great game to watch. I hope this blog has shown  the readers, the aspects of Muscle Memory and the Zone which lawn bowls delivery contains.( edit note Jan 30 2023 - As my series of Blogs on Subconscious communication progress now in 2023, I hope that the  athletic working on his development; will know their path to Zen performance)  Some readers of this blog will improve their delivery, others will like the streaming video commentator find it a big joke. The only joke is Angela got to the World Bowls Championship early in her career and not what looks good but Angela's multi-swings, says "What matter if the result is a good delivery".

 And the propose of this blog is to help  see the two delivery  styles of Angela Boyd and Laura Daniels from the  video on Live Streaming   2016 World Bowls Game  video.   and as I look now in 2023 (editing here) I get it still available.

** Note added Jan 30 2023 - Previsualization as to Visualization A recent Petanque student replied when asked if he did Previsualization said " Yes, I  looked at where I wanted my Petanque takeout shot ball to hit the target ball". Previsualization is an action done before (pre) visualization. What this student was doing was visualizing his shot.  Previsualization is action done before as seen by Angela movement which is putting into memory a required result from the intended delivery result for the subconscious to know and perform.