11 Mental Strategies to Prepare Yourself for a Battle (B-Boy / Popping / Streetdance)
Mental preparation is just as important as physical preparation. Mental preparation means having the right mindset going into a competition. It means being confident in your abilities, but also being realistic and thinking of ways to improve. In other words, it’s everything you do to get ready before you get set to go. Whether its a B-Boy, Popping, Whacking, Krumping or another style it is an intense activity that requires a lot of mental focus and stamina, especially if you are new to it. Preparing your mind for a battle involves more than just putting on your favorite track and warming up your arms and legs. Preparing your mind for a competition takes time, effort, and dedication. However, by following these 10 mental strategies you will be able to significantly increase your performance.
Popping Tronick - Funny Bones Crew - Funny4Life - Pasadena, CA - USA
Dough Boogie - Funny Bones Crew - Funny4Life - Pasadena, CA - USA
Be Confident in Your Abilities
Being confident in your abilities is important no matter what you are doing in life. In fact, research shows that the most confident people perform better in almost every area of life, including sports and dancing. If you aren’t confident in your abilities, you won’t perform your best and you’ll put too much pressure on yourself and make mistakes you wouldn’t normally make. If you are feeling nervous about your abilities, try reminding yourself that everyone makes mistakes. Everyone has days where their performance isn’t as strong as it normally is. Every genre of streetdance is an intense activity that requires a lot of mental focus and stamina. Every dancer has those days where they just don’t have it in them to perform at their best. You should expect that of yourself. However, when you are confident in your abilities, you will be able to handle the stress better and perform your best even when it is your “off day”.
Be Realistic
Streetdance is extremely competitive. In some cases, it can be even more competitive than sports such as gymnastics, diving, or track and field. There are tons of Dancers competing all over the world, so you will be up against many different opponents, some of whom are way more experienced than you. It’s important to be realistic about your abilities, strengths, and weaknesses before each competition. If you are in a competition where there are way more experienced dancers, don’t get nervous and put unnecessary pressure on yourself. You probably will not win first place, especially if you are a beginner. There is no shame in not making it to the finals or semi finals. In fact, competing is all about learning and improving. It’s easier to be realistic if you are honest with yourself about your skill level and where you need to improve. If you don’t know where you stand with your skills, try asking your instructor or an experienced B-boy, B-girl or other OG dancer for their honest opinion.
Mentally Prepare Your Battles
Before you head out to compete in a battle, it’s important to mentally prepare yourself for it. Preparing yourself for a battle will help you to stay relaxed during the competition and perform your best. It’s easier to stay relaxed and perform at your best when you are prepared. If you are underprepared, you are more likely to become tense and stressed out. There are many different ways to mentally prepare yourself for a battle. You can do it alone, with a friend, or even with a trainer. Some ways to mentally prepare yourself include: - Visualizing Your Battle - Visualizing your battle is one of the most effective ways to mentally prepare yourself for a competition. You can visualize your battle any way you want, but the most important thing is to be as specific as possible. - Soothing Your Mind and Body - When you are getting ready for a battle, it’s important to manage your stress levels. Stress isn’t bad in and of itself, but too much stress can lead to anxiety, which will make it more difficult for you to perform your best.
“When thinking of battle I first breakdown my weaknesses to be more aware of what others may try to use against me. I simplify every round to maximize my time and push my ability to strengthen my foundation. I think of the marathon and not the race so that I move at a pace I am confident in. For the competition format, I am aware of the judges, DJs, possible opponents, and the crowd. The more you are aware of all that may be against you, the more I worry less when the time comes to step on a stage. When preparing for battle or competition knowledge of self is a great way to begin the journey. The one person I cannot lie to is myself, if I expose my weaknesses to be more aware of those weaknesses, my weakness can now be used as my strength.”
-Boogie Frantic - MZK/FBC
Have a Game Plan
Having a game plan is one thing, but actually writing it down and reviewing it several times before the competition will help you to commit to it. When you are getting ready for your competition, break it down into segments and create a game plan that makes sense to you. - Warm Up - The warm-up is the perfect time to get your mind and body ready for the battle. Make sure to warm up your body and stretch out any muscles that might get tight during the competition. Mentally, focus on centering yourself and getting into the right mindset for the battle. Always Breakdown your battles into segments. Make sure to include a warm-up segment, a trick segment, and a cooldown segment. If you are in a group battle that involves a cypher, add a cypher segment to your game plan. - Review - Before each battle, make sure to review your game plan. This will help you to commit to your game plan and make sure you don’t forget anything. But also have a back up plan and back up sets to counter whatever the competition might throw at you.
Commit To The Game Plan
When you are getting ready for a B-boy battle, it is important to commit to your game plan. You don’t have to be inflexible, but you should know that you are capable of performing at your best with your current abilities. Being overconfident and trying to do too many tricks too soon can lead to mistakes and will make it more difficult for you to perform your best. Every battle is different, so you can’t always predict what will happen. However, you can control how you react to each situation. You can’t control what your opponent is going to do, but you can control how you respond to it. If you are feeling nervous or anxious, try to take deep breaths and remind yourself that you are fully capable of performing your best no matter what situation you find yourself in.
Expose Yourself to Stress Before the Competition
Many people think that avoiding stress before a competition is the best way to deal with it, but that’s not always the case. In fact, most of the times when people are stressed out before a competition, it’s because they didn’t expose themselves to stress before the competition. In many cases, competition stress is not caused by the pressure to perform, but by your reaction to it. If you are constantly putting yourself under a lot of stress, it will make it more difficult for you to perform your best. Exposing yourself to stress before a competition will make it easier for you to deal with it when the time comes. It will also help you to perform your best even if you are nervous before the competition.
Get plenty of rest before the battle
Your sleep quality and quantity directly affect your mental health and your ability to perform. If you don’t have enough rest, you could feel groggy, stressed, and anxious, which will negatively impact your mental performance. If you go into the battle feeling tired, you will be more likely to make mistakes and not give your best performance. This can be avoided by getting plenty of rest the night before. It is recommended that you get at least 7 hours of sleep before a competition, but this number may differ depending on the individual. Many Big events might have a pre-party, So if you decide to attend be sure to take it easy and not stay out very late as you do not want it to affect your sleep and therefore affect your battle.
Turn off your ego
Your ego is your insecurities and feelings of superiority. In a battle, it can hinder you from making progress. If you don’t believe in yourself and your abilities, you will probably lose your focus and forget about your game plan. This can result in you not being able to execute those difficult and intricate moves that are crucial for you to win the battle. You must be disciplined, dedicated, and confident in yourself and your abilities. Being overconfident, though, can also lead to your downfall. You can get too excited and feel like you don’t need to try that hard. You can become careless, which might result in you making more mistakes and forgetting about your game plan. To avoid falling into this trap, you must find the right balance between confidence and humility.
Write down your weaknesses and strengths
Writing down your weaknesses and strengths can help you discover what areas you need to improve upon. It can also help you have a better understanding of your strengths. This can help you stay focused during your performance. You will have a clear idea of what you need to do and which obstacles you need to overcome in order to win the battle. If you are writing down your weaknesses, don’t get too caught up in them. Instead, try to find ways to overcome them. For example, if you are bad at freezes, practice them more often. If you are bad at footwork, try researching footwork tutorials online. By knowing your weaknesses, you can prepare yourself mentally for how to improve upon them.
Don’t obsess over your rival or competition pressures
Competition pressures can mainly come from wanting to win. You want to win so badly that you are constantly thinking about your opponent and how you can beat them. You are obsessed with the idea of winning, and it is consuming your thoughts. If you’re thinking about this all the time, it can make you feel stressed and anxious, which can negatively affect your mental and physical state. Try not to obsess over your rival. Instead, focus your thoughts and energy on yourself, your performance, and executing your game plan. If you’re thinking about your rival too much, you might get caught up in their tricks and forget your own. You might also get stressed out, which will hinder your ability to perform.
Furious Styles Crew Anniversary Phoenix, AZ
B-Boy/DJ Panic - Furious Styles Crew Anniversary Phoenix, AZ
Be Patient
You can’t expect to perform well if you’re rushing yourself. Most Streetdance Genres can be very technical and they require plenty of practice time to get things right. If you’re rushing yourself, you might not have enough time to perfect your moves. You might also get too anxious and rush through your performance, making more mistakes than usual. Make sure you are patient with yourself. Give yourself enough time to prepare for the competition. Take your training seriously and don’t rush through it. Make sure you are giving your practice enough time and attention. If you rush and don’t give yourself enough time, you might not be able to perform at your best. Having the right mindset going into a competition is crucial for success. Mental preparation for a battle is important because it can help you achieve your goals and improve your performance. These 10 mental strategies are great ways to get ready for your next battle.
King Of Hearts- B-Boy Battle - Denver Colorado
What are your Mental Preparedness Strategies? Do yo agree or Disagree with this Blog Post? Let us know in the comments
Keywords: Battle BBoy Popping B-Boy Breakdance Breakdancing BBoying Krump Krumping Popper Poplock Poplocker Poplocking Strutting Boogaloo Electric Boogaloos Whacker Whacking Locker Locking Streetdance Streetdancer Hip-Hop Dance Hip hop dancer
