Throwing and the inside of my head

[Alan H]

OK, I'm resting up to be 100% for Camp Pockoski this weekend. I bailed on throwing on Monday, I was still beat from Saturday. Yesterday I got in the throwing ring and did footwork drills...rotations, South Africans and so on for about 40 minutes with no implements. I spent some time communicating with my Inner Thrower , Koji-style by getting into "Home Position" and just settling there....worked on the mind part of making my body do what I want it to.

I had forgotten....what I used to love about throwing discus was that when I stepped in the ring, everything became simple. The world went away and it was just me and my body. As John Powell explained it to me (silver medalist in the discus) ....he's worked with developmentally disabled kids. He tells them what to do. They get in the ring and they do it. They throw the discus. It's a simple thing, throwing discus. Just because it's simple doesn't mean it's EASY, though.

So I tried to get there and remember the simplicity of it. Go Home. Drill the body, practice the quiet mind. The tape is irrelevant. The implement is an accessory to my body. Quiet...move....throw.

It can be the same thing in the Highland trig, if I let it.

I know that when I get upset and angry, I throw badly. Some people need to be angry to throw well...not me. I need to use my best tool....my mind, during practice, but that active brain of mine gets in the way on Game Day. If I quiet my mind, trust myself that I have taught my body what to do, and just throw, I invariably do pretty well.

Drill the body. Quiet the mind. Be simple, be strong. I practiced that, yesterday.

[Zardoz]

A clear mind is very important to my focus. Be prepared, clear the thoughts, and let muscle memory do the rest.
There's a quote I like about soccer; "The ball is round, a game lasts 90 minutes, everything else is pure theory".

[Pleater]

I used to 'put the shot' when I was younger.

It helped to visualise the throw.

Lying down or relaxed in a chair, go through the preparation, imagine walking up to the line, preparing to throw and all the movements necessary to make a perfect, and legal throw.

I once won the year record because my rival saw how far she had thrown and jumped about celebrating, put a foot over the line and invalidated the throw.

I always visualised myself walking out of the back of the area, so I always did.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[o1d_dude]

I mostly intend to have fun when I throw. After that, it's all pretty simple.

Mizu no Kokoro: A mind like water.