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Mental Toughness Essay

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The notion of military training to enhance an athlete’s mental toughness may sound far reaching for some but for the applied sports psychology and performance enhancement world its becoming a reality. Special operations veteran Craig Weller, staff writer for T-Nation, aims to bridge the notion in his article Combat Psychology and Sports Performance, “The skills you possess in a calm, controlled environment will probably not be the skills you possess when it really matters. The impact of stress may mean the difference between victory and defeat, a clean climb and a jarring fall, or even life and death. (Weller, 2009).” This is why so many are turning to these principles to build up what is considered to be “one of the most important psychological …show more content…

When instructed to use methods such as tactical breathing and mediation prior to scans, the non-special forces trained elite athletes showed dramatic improvement in stress responses, “scanning the brains of Navy Seals has also revealed the power of meditation in developing the mental muscle of both combatants and athletes, (Fenn, 2015). But what does this really mean for mental toughness? In a preparatory sense, these skills lay the foundation for an individual to be able to develop coping mechanisms and focus while under stress and pressure, thus creating the environment for the toughness of one to be developed. In Mental Toughness and Success Levels Among Elite Fencers study results were clear showing that MT was a result of developing mental skills, “the fact that commitment and emotional control are highly associated with training, it is recommended that mental skills training be used to improve mental toughness in athletes, (Ghasemi et al, 2012).” Therefore, by fostering these emotional traits/behaviors psychologists, coaches and the like, can successfully promote mental

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