AGORA - tidsskrift for forskning, udvikling og idéudveksling i ...

AGORA - tidsskrift for forskning,
udvikling og idéudveksling i professioner
of the specific skill to be performed, especially if the training is based on an instructional pedagogy. But
also in many life situations, individuals are preoccupied with future situations, concerns, expectations or
outcomes – instead of staying in and also appreciating the present moment. In our earlier years, though,
we started out by being in the immediate moment: think about a small child: the child is not able to
anticipate the future. Naturally the child stays in the present moment and is totally absorbed by being in
the activity. Sports and meditation are two areas where attention training is developed. Actually, being
attentive to the present moment is not different from what could be called meditation. In that sense, a
meditative state is not by definition connected to religion or New Age movements. This meditative state
of attentiveness and of being in the present moment includes epoché, an attitude which is characterized by
the suspension of judgement. As described earlier, epoché is based on the redirection of our attention from
“the exterior” to “the interior” which means we focus on things in ourselves or the environment through
focusing on the immediate experience of the present moment.
What can attention training or movement meditation look like in sports? By sensing, with immediate
attention to and consciousness of situational factors, e.g., specific movement elements, sounds in the
environment, one’s own breathing, the way the ball flies, etc., the athlete has a good possibility of
restraining and suppressing disturbance which is normally caused by reflective thinking about the
situation. The inner game approach developed by Gallwey and Kriegel (Gallwey, 1976; Gallwey, &
Kriegel, 1977) works with a model that uses a similar idea of a perceptional focus on the immanent
situational qualities as a fundamental basis for a light and undisturbed learning process where athletes
are able to avoid distraction created through critical thinking about rules, technique or mistakes. A focus
on selected elements while moving sharpens the intentional orientation towards the specific situational
factors. In that sense, we stimulate our orientation towards the kairos, the propitious moment for decision
and action. We know what to do at the right moment without any reflection. Our bodily attention which
mirrors the intensive and immediate intentional orientation to the environment implies a readiness for
action that fits the situation.
This attentive orientation can be supported by coaching interventions, which means supporting
the person to be coached in his or her own efforts to intensify the dialogue with the environment and
the tasks at hand (Stelter, 2002; in press). By giving assignments or asking relevant questions, the coach
can support the perceptual focus of the athlete(s). The coach can, for example, suggest a task-relevant
orientation towards specific elements “inside” the athlete(s) or towards environmental factors (surface,
wind, sounds, equipment, other players, etc.) – depending on the specific character of the sport or on
particular individual challenges.
Further ideas for exercise are:
• Attention on the hara-centre or the centre of gravity: Many movements originate from this point, and
focusing on it can help the athlete to be more centred in his/her performance. All Asian martial arts
work very determinedly on focusing on the hara-centre.
• Attention on breathing: In many activities and movements it is beneficial to coordinate the execution
of a specific movement with the breathing rhythm. For example, if somebody is challenged by finding
a good rhythm in crawl swimming, one of the central focus points could be the breathing rhythm and
its coordination with the movement. A similar approach could be applied in skiing by combining the
cut of the turn with breathing out.
• Attention on specific parts of the body: The execution of movements can be supported by a focus
that helps the athlete to avoid distractions and that helps to sharpen the awareness of an important
www.cvustork.dk/agora/ 17