Simple Tricks To Improve Your Mental Game

Being comfortable in your own skin is highly underrated.

One of the issues I see pop up across the board with new fighters is that they feel uncomfortable in gear. Two things are happening hear. First, no one wears a gorget when they walk around or have to navigate the world looking through the mesh/perf of a fencing mask. The other, more than likely, is that it’s not THEIR gear. Same thing goes for garb at events. If something is yours, fits properly, and doesn’t smell like anyone else you’re going to be able to move around in it a whole hell of a lot better.

One of the things I do to help me with this is doing my solo drills while wearing gloves. If no one is trying to hit me, I probably don’t need to wear something to protect my hands. The worst I’ve done is to take some skin off my finger will doing stramazzoni with my sidesword. However, a sword in a gloved hand is going to feel and respond differently than a sword sitting in a bare hand. So as I wear gloves at each and every tournament, it’s important for me personally to prepare in gear that more closely aligns with the use case I’m training for.

Something else I do is have one full set of clothes to fight in and then another for the drive there and back. For me this came from the woman who’s house we used to go to after practice banned us from sitting on her furniture in our sweaty clothes, but I’ve found it to be useful for more than just that. Firstly, I don’t want to have to wear a jock strap for any longer than I have to. If I am not currently or about to fight someone, I’d really like to be in my nice comfy underwear that gives me room to breathe. This means that every practice I have a set of compression shorts and a jock strap in a bag that I change in to on site.

Side note: If you’re the kind of person who needs a cup when they fight, go for compression shorts plus a jockstrap. The two in one’s aren’t great at doing either job. Relatedly, compression shorts will wick away sweat and won’t bunch up the way cotton underwear will.

Outside of being comfortable at practice, doing a full costume change also means I’m comfortable during the drive back home as opposed to sitting in my workout pants and sweaty ass shirt. For anyone who’s taking even a single psychology course, you’ve probably heard of the term “recency bias”. If you haven’t, the idea here is that you are more likely to remember the last part of an experience more than you are an of the other constituent parts. This is hugely important in both the user experience and customer service worlds. If you had a great meal, but then had to wait twenty minutes to get the check, there’s no way you’re going back to that restaurant. So, if I’m itchy on the sometimes hour long drive back home after practice, it doesn’t matter how much fun I had swinging swords around, I’m going to be a lot less likely to go back because now the most recent experience I had in relation to fighting was being physically uncomfortable. Instead, though, if I feel nice and fresh after practice I’m already going to be thinking about what I get to work on next week.

Relatedly, this is also why I try and get gas on the way to practice instead of on the way back. Standing outside in the cold trying to fill up my tank isn’t fun regardless of how you slice it. However, if I hit up the gas station on the way there it’s just an annoyance. If, instead, I went to practice, hung out at the pub with my friends, and now have to stand outside in the dark with snow being blown into my face, I’m going to be a lot grumpier when I finally get home and have to figure out parking.

My question for you is, what are some things you’ve done in order to make your fencing experience more comfortable?

To hear more of my tips and tricks, feel free to pick up a copy of my latest book, “Bolognese Longsword for the Modern Practitioner” over at FoolOfSwords.com