From the Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai by Yamamoto Tsunetomo:
The heart of a virtuous person has settled down and he does not rush about at things. A person of little merit is not at peace but walks about making trouble and is in conflict with all.
A key to success in Olympic weightlifting is your ability to “chill out”. I don’t mean you can’t get pumped up before a big lift. I do mean that in most of your training, you need to be extremely methodical and analytical. But, the trouble is that the human mind is generally incapable of being methodical and analytical when it is emotional.
In a sport like Powerlifting, shear aggression can save the day (it’s why it’s a better indicator of brute strength than Olympic lifting is). But, in Olympic lifting that can often just mess you up. You need to lift with a totally clear mind.
Adrenaline is fine, and being aggressive with the amount of force you put into the bar (at the right times!) is also great. However, you have to walk a fine line. Too much “hype” and you will drop the very carefully crafted technique you’ve been working so hard on and the bar will fly everywhere but up!
A good weightlifter has settled down and does not rush about things.
[Note: the picture above is of Naim Suleymanoglu, one of the greatest weightlifters who’s ever lived playing chess – all that patience he learned while weightlifting is paying off!]
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Quim Gil, OscarB and Henri Bergius, Cosimo. Cosimo said: RT @quimgil: Zen quote of the day: Patience http://bit.ly/esm2hc [...]