Mental skills are one of the most significant factors of competition success in most sports, and fight sports are no exception. One of the biggest myths in sports is that mental skills are born with and cannot be taught. However, overwhelming empirical evidence shows that mental skills can be learned and improved through practice, just like physical skills can be sharpened through exercise.
Although there are different definitions of what mental skills entail, the general understanding is that they involve being able to cope with various demands of the game better than the opponent. Successful athletes can effectively withstand different stressors, whether emotional or physical.
There are different aspects of mental skills that differentiate elite and non-elite athletes. In a study by Ercis (2018), it was shown that elite athletes do not depend on technical abilities alone for their success. Rather, they use a combination of skills, including mental skills like imagery, goal setting, stress moderation, self-confidence, commitment maintenance, and various personalized mental practices in competition.
In a study by Sharp et al. (2013), participants reported that the mental skills training they received had a positive effect on their performance. The study also acknowledged the importance of coaches learning to teach mental skills in order to support their athletes, the mental practice program has to be well thought out and professionally carried out. This requires the coaches to be educated on the components of mental resilience and equipped with a method to deliver the training. The authors also reported that the acquired mental skills were not only applicable in sports but in other areas of life as well.
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References
Ercis, S. (2018). Comparison of Mental Skills of Elite and Non-Elite Athletes. Journal of education and training studies, 6(n4a), 72-75.
Sharp, L. A., Woodcock, C., Holland, M. J., Cumming, J., & Duda, J. L. (2013). A qualitative evaluation of the effectiveness of a mental skills training program for youth athletes. The Sport Psychologist, 27(3), 219-232.
