What's ur mind set or game before a big fight,
do you visualize a win,
or you keep your mind blank before a fight with no expectations,
how do you train for a intimidating opponent
I've only fought one guy that I was really intimidated by (and that's not really as in ACTUALLY intimidated, but I mean REALLY, REALLY, intimidated), and he smoked me. Still working on the mental thing. I was scared out of my mind, so instead of fighting a smart, conservative fight, (I probably could've outboxed him), I went out brawling hoping for a lucky KO. There was a KO alright :(
Forgive me for drawing from another discipline, but in addition to being a recreational 'merican kickboxer, I am a kendo ka. In kendo we have a saying, that there are four mental "poisons" that can do you in in a match. They are fear, doubt, hesitancy and confusion.
It's been my limited experience - with kendo - that they usually go in that order, too. First you fear the opponent. If you can work through that, you doubt your own ability. If you can work through that, hesitancy can still ensnare you. When you hit confusion, your game's gone to shit.
In kendo, not only do we try to avoid the four poisons, but we try to poison the opponent. Still working on this one, and perhaps the parallels between kendo and kickboxing will break down at this point.
Helps?
Ugh, man, I've gone into some fights intimidated as hell and didn't do nearly as good as I should have.
Basically, you just have to know that you're in the best shape you can be in, and your technique is as good as it ever has been, then go in there and do what you do. Stay calm and cool and get the job done.
That has alwasy worked for me when I was ready for my fights, IE, was in damned good shape, had trained hard for my oppoenent etc, but what do you do when you come into a fight on short notice, or they switch your opponent?
Perform your Ram Muay well. Cast your Magic. Build up your Aura.
(actually "yes", I *am* serious)
Khun Kao
Another thing is don't be afraid to lose. I adapted this from my newfound obsession with samurais; they believe in reincarnation so they are fearless. This goes for fights as well, if you realize that win or lose, you'll (almost) always get another chance you won't worry about losing. That really loosens you up. But sometimes too much, so you have to be careful.
I always feel a bit jittery/apprehensive before any confrontation I found what does the trick for me is to push the pace,not hesitate.When actual s@#t starts flying it goes away.There was only one time I was straight up scared/terrified of an opponent.I had virtually no stand up at that time and he came to our studio where I was learning Valetudo.He outweighed me by over 100lbs and had many fights under his belt,while I had 0(in competition).I did poorly as expected and vowed to NEVER repeat/feel like that again.Once I started doing some standup,I've sparred again and noticed how actually slow he was.
"Fear is the mind-killer"-Paul Atreides(Dune)