A pivotal moment in my young life took place when I attended my first wrestling camp at the University of Iowa.
The first day, Dan Gable, the 1972 Olympic Gold Medalist and head coach of the Iowa team, asked for a partner to demonstrate on. The boy who volunteered stood stiff as a robot, unable to relax. Gable immediately told him to take a seat and looked for another partner.
As one boy sat and another stood, Gable looked at us and said, “When you’re wrestling, you need to be relaxed.”
Then he paused, shook his arms to release tension from his body and added…
“You gotta relax so you can EXPLOOOOOOODE.”
Two years later, when I was on Gable’s team at Iowa, I noted how frequently he shook his hands, wrists and forearms to release unwanted tension.
Gable did this while walking down the hallway, while watching film of previous competition, as he warmed up before practice. He seemed to be doing it all the time.
I didn’t fully realize the importance of Gable’s “quirk” at the time. No one else on the team did it nearly as often. Most didn’t do it at all.
Over the years, in my study of martial arts and other endeavors, I learned that physical and mental relaxation are the hallmarks of the great ones. The superstars know how to be calm and relaxed as they sit still, stand in place, or move.
They know when and how to apply pressure to something without using unnecessary tension. They know how to apply force to a task without overdoing or “forcing” it.
The great ones are using something I call “the principle of effortless effort.”
They relax so they can EXPLOOOOOOODE.
First, they imagine what they want to do. They see it and feel it as though they are doing it now.
Second, they act without appearing to act; they are relaxed and at ease as they move. They let their mind lead the way.
Third, they get results that stun those who take action first, those who, when things don’t go well, apply even more tension, which leads to even worse results.
There’s a reason that Psycho-Cybernetics teaches you relaxation exercises first. With them you’re a powerful force, an extraordinary achiever; without them you’re average and ordinary.
“You gotta relax so you can EXPLOOOOOOODE!”
Matt Furey
P.S. Next week, June 18, I’ll be holding another Intensive. Details forthcoming.
