It is probably not surprising that as someone who chose sport psychology as their research focus (for my Ph. D.) I believe that the mind is a super important piece of the puzzle and needs to be trained as much as the body when it comes to performance.

I am a very anxious person. Overthinking is my superpower and I feel everything deeply.

There are people who are not nervous before their fights. I saw them. They do exist.

I will never be one of them, though. And that is OK. We are all different.

If you are struggling with your nerves, hopefully, this post can give you a little hand.

Here are some techniques to beat your fight nerves.

1. Accepting everything

A major game changer for you can be the permission you give yourself to fail as well as succeed. Anything can happen in a fight. There is only so much you can control. When I had my session with Big Dave (performance coach David Niethe), he said:

"I need you to have the biggest expectations of yourself when it comes to training. And zero expectations when it comes to the fight." Big shout out to him!

Giving permission to myself to fail, as well as to go and do great, is one of the most empowering things ever.

2. Talking to myself

A good way to scare people around you is if you do this aloud 😊 I do this in my mind, silently, and usually in a café. I simply have a dialog with myself, ask myself what I am nervous about, what I am excited about, and so on. Talk to yourself as you would talk to your best friend. Be there for yourself. Ask yourself, what are you so scared about? Why? Has this ever happened?

Don’t be afraid to keep going, it is very purifying and perhaps that kind of talk you needed but was too ashamed to have with anyone else.

And, returning to point 1, I also assure myself that things can happen in the fight and it is all right.

3. Here and now

If you, like me, tend to worry too much about the future and put too much pressure on yourself, try this. Ask yourself 3 questions:

Where am I?

What am I doing?

What do I need right now?

This will help you bring yourself back to the present. You may feel like an idiot when you do this for the 10th time in the day, but it is a powerful trick. Your replies, aloud or in your mind, may sound something like: “I am in the kitchen. I am eating breakfast. I only need to eat my food so I have energy for tonight’s fight. I don’t need to worry about anything else right now.”

4. Routine

Simple trick to calm down and trick your brain that you are in a well-known situation. Use the same warm-up you use every day before training. Put your gloves on the same way you do in the gym. Spend your fight day exactly the same way as always, etc.

5. Affirmations

Do not seek too much magic behind this. Simply put, affirmations can help you bring your focus to something productive, and help you limit your thoughts from running around. Especially in those moments of high stress, such as walking out to the ring/cage, this is the moment you need such fast aid. However, affirmations need to be trained and used for some time, so make sure you are using them in your training, sparring, etc.

I usually pick words or sentences based on my goals or what I want to change in my performance. So it can be things like: “I am strong. My jab is sharp. I believe in myself. The crowd is cheering for me,” etc.

These are not my affirmations, I will keep mine for myself 😊

Finally, it is really important to acknowledge what you feel and that all your feelings are valid. There is nothing wrong with being scared, nervous, or absolutely terrified. Own those feelings. They only mean that this is important to you.