Focus is the mechanism through which we make the most of our fencing. We have to be able to focus adequately in order to give our all, and coming up with the right focus is not always so straightforward.
Athletes are always on the lookout for ways to up their mental game, but focus can be an ethereal idea. Finding concrete ways to bring our attention into the right direction, the direction that we want it to go, is no simple thing. Even the concept of focus can be fuzzy, but this post will give you a complete breakdown of what you can and should be doing to get your focus on for fencing.
What is focus?
Any discussion of focus has to start with a definition.
In sports and sports psychology, focus is your ability to turn the field of your attention in the direction that you want it to go. The field of your attention is everything that’s internal, including your emotions, your thoughts, and the physical sensations you’re receiving from inside your body like hunger or muscle pain. Field of attention also encompasses everything that’s external, including the sights, sounds, smells, physical sensations, and taste. All of these things are vying for your mental attention. Imagine you walk into a room full of toddlers with a plate of cookies and they all run up to you asking for one.
When you focus, you’re turning all or most of your brain power in one direction, while letting all of that other competing stuff fall away.
Everything is competing for your attention
In fencing, you need to be able to not only pull your focus in one singular direction, but also to shift it between different things. It’s of no use to you to put all of your attention in one place and then not be able to move it to somewhere else when you want it to be there. Focus is worthwhile when it’s agile.
You want to be able to maintain focus on your opponent’s sword, their feet, and their target area. Sometimes your focus needs to be on the tip of the blade to see where it is, and sometimes it needs to be on their fencing hand to see where the tip is likely to be going in the near future.
Then there’s you, and the places that your focus needs to shift for your own performance. You need to be able to shift your focus from your own feet relative to both the speed and direction that they’re moving and also how that speed and direction relates to both the end of the strip behind you and the opponent in front of you. You need to be fully aware of your position in space so that you can move out of the way of an incoming blade.
Beyond both you and your opponent, there’s the referee, who needs to command your focus primarily auditorily. You have to be able to hear those calls and cues throughout the match. It’s not just the referee, though. If you’ve got strip coaching going on, you’re hearing someone chime in about what you need to do and how you need to move.
Outside of the strip, there’s the milieu of sounds that are going on in the venue itself. You don’t need to be able to filter these sounds in, but you do need to be able to filter them out of your attention.
Prime focus
That section of the strip where you want to pull all of your attention is called your area of prime focus. This is only the area that is relevant to what you’re doing right now, and when we talk about focus, what most people mean is that they want to direct their prime focus in a specific direction.
Learning how to direct prime focus consists of two different things:
- Blocking out distractions
- Honing in on specifics
You have to be able to do both of these at the same time in order to get your prime focus exactly where you want it to be. Neither of them is going to happen all at once. Developing focus is like any other skill – you have to chip away at it from multiple angles in order to learn how to do it.
For fencers, this means you can’t think about how you want to focus on competition day, you have to start thinking about it much earlier than that. You’ve got to develop those focus skills well in advance in order to be ready for the competition when it finally comes to that.
Tactics to improve your focus in fencing
Understanding what focus is is one thing, but knowing how to improve it is a totally different thing. These concrete tactics will help you to increase your focus, and the great thing is that developing the ability to focus is a transferable skill. You can apply these focus building skills to any other thing that you do, from school to work to other sports.
1 – Attend to the process
One of the biggest ways to destroy your focus is to have the outcome in your mind instead of the process in your mind.
The outcome could mean any number of things. This could be your ranking in overall competition, your ranking in the national points registry, the outcome of the match itself, or even the outcome of the bout that you’re in. None of these things matter more than the point that you’re trying to get against your opponent right now and the need for you to keep them from getting the next point against you.
The overarching outcome does matter in the wider scheme of things, but when you’re in a bout, the only thing that your prime focus should be pointed towards are the immediate events that are happening right then and there. This is plenty for you to focus on, between you, your opponent, the ref, and your strip coach, as we laid out earlier.
Some fencers make the mistake of thinking that focusing on the end goal will help them reach it. Actually, this hurts your fencing performance and lowers the possibility of you reaching that end goal.
When you focus on the outcome, you’re not focusing on the things that will actually help you reach it. These are things like technique, timing, tactics, physicality, and mental malleability.
2 – Tap into your emotions to unlock your focus
No matter how hard you try, you cannot separate your emotional reality from your performance.
Emotions are one of internal realities that can be most distracting from doing well in a fencing bout. Though we tend to lay the blame at our in ability to think well, it’s often the case that we have an inability to emote well that prevents us from performing the way that we’d like to.
Negative self talk is a huge problem, especially for fencers who are driven to perform well. In order to unlock your focus, you’ve got to change the stream of self talk that you have going on in your head. This takes practice, and it’s a habit that you have to reinforce over and over again in classes and private lessons, as well as when you’re thinking about fencing outside of your training.
Positive self talk lets the focus flow. It doesn’t block the way, rather it allows you to point your attention in any direction. Negative self talk, on the other hand is like a big brick wall that is thrown up in front of your focus.
Here are some examples of positive self talk that you can practice during fencing matches:
- “I did a great job with my distance in the last match.”
- “I’ve done well in the DE at regionals before, and I can do that again.”
- “I did everything I could to prepare for this competition.”
- “I belong at this level of competition.”
- “Whatever the outcome of this match, I’m going to do everything I know how to do.”
Building up emotional confidence is huge for increased focus. The more you’re able to feel good about yourself, the less those negative emotions will distract you during your bout.
3 – Control what you can control
Often, we see fencers who are so incredibly focused on what their opponent is doing that they lose sight of what they are doing for themselves. This can extend to other matches that they aren’t even fighting in. We see this often in larger tournaments in the DE rounds, when a fencer is so fixated on the bracket and who they may or may not meet in a future match that they aren’t able to focus on the match that they’re in. This problem in particular can derail fencers who are otherwise performing well, and it can even lead to them not performing as well as they should against an opponent who they should have no problem besting.
You cannot control who you fence in a tournament. You can’t control the calls that the referee makes against you. You can’t control the loudness of the venue or the strength of your opponent. Putting your focus on any of these things has zero value because no matter what you do, you could never change them.
You can control what you can control, and everything else – and I mean EVERYTHING else – is a distraction. When you reframe these things as distractions, it makes it much easier to push them out of your mind.
What can you control? You can control your thoughts and your technique. You can control the tactics that you use and the intensity with which you bring those tactics to the opponent. You can control that you are well hydrated, well rested, well fed, and that your equipment is well prepared. Pour your attention into these things, and your performance will improve.
4 – Develop auditory and physical cues
Of our five senses, sight is the dominant one for most people. Though all five can be part of the equation for you in helping to develop focus, auditory and physical cues tend to be especially helpful for turning your attention in the right direction. These cues are essentially a way for you to lock your brain into a particular kind of attentive mindset.
Both music and physical activity help to block out distracting thoughts by increasing the engagement level of other senses. It can help if you close your eyes when using both of these.
For music, try using noise-cancelling headphones for ten to fifteen minutes before a bout begins. The simple act of putting in those headphones will also develop into a physical cue, so using this technique is a double boost. The kind of music that you plan can be anything that works for you, as long as it’s not something that will get stuck in your head on repeat. You might also try using a guided meditation for focus/grounding/concentration instead of listening to music. You’ll find tons of these available on Spotify and YouTube.
Physical focus cues are another powerful way to modify your attention. You’ll see some athletes do this just before they compete, jumping up and down, shaking, or stretching. They do it consistently, which is how it helps them to develop focus. If you do the same physical action before every single match, both in practice and in competition, you’ll cue your mind and body into a focused mode.
You can extend the use of these kinds of cues beyond just the match. Having a similar physical and auditory routine every time you go to a tournament can help you to have a more focused mindset before you even get to the venue, before you even get to the strip. Maybe you listen to a motivational playlist whiel you shower every single time you go to competition. You might have songs like “Eye of the Tiger” and “Roar” on your playlist, and no one is going to bother you if you decide to sing loudly along. In fact, that physical release of singing in the shower is a way of mixing a physical cue into the process.
5 – Pulling attention to your center of gravity
Stop for a second and take a long, slow, deep breath. Notice how this immediately draws your attention away from everything outside of you and calms your thoughts.
Now do it again, only this time place your hand in the center of your torso, just below your breastbone. Keep your hand there, paying close attention to how your belly goes in and out. You’ll notice that your attention naturally goes to this place when you add a physical cue to the breath. You don’t have to work very hard to balance your thoughts and put your focus on your center of gravity, which is right there in the center of your torso.
Deep breathing has long been a method that people use to sharpen their ability to focus. This technique of drawing attention to your center of gravity can be used just before a bout starts, and it can also be used in practice to make it even more powerful. It’s a simple, easy way to gain control over both internal and external stimuli and increase your ability to focus.
6 – Hone your visual attention span
As was mentioned a little earlier, sight is our dominant sense for taking in information. That’s a great thing, because it means that we can bring in a ton of info that will serve us really well and in a variety of ways. It can also be overwhelming to have so much information coming at you.
There are tons of ways that you can do this. Here are a couple of exercises that will help you learn not to be visually distracted when you’re fencing.
- Changing focus – You can do this literally anywhere. Focus on one object that’s close to you, it can even be your hand or your knees, for ten seconds, then switch your focus to something that’s across the room and hold it for ten seconds. Keep moving the target of your visual attention, changing it every ten seconds, for ten rounds total. This takes less than two minutes, and it will help you learn how to intentionally put that visual focus where you want it to be.
- Peripheral vision – Again, this is something that you can do anywhere. Look straight ahead, putting all of your attention on an object six to eight feet in front of you. Without changing the actual focus of your vision, move your attention to your peripheral vision. Notice what objects are there, what movement is there, etc. All the while, keep your eyes on the object that’s right in the center of your vision. Alternate for ten seconds each, and go for ten rounds total as before.
One thing you’ll notice quickly about both of these exercises is that they are tiring! Not only mentally, but they’re tiring for your eyes as well. As you’re doing them, try to relax the rest of your body and release the tension that you naturally feel when you start training your focus this way.
What we’re doing with both of these is practicing the control of our visual perception. Not just what you see, but what you notice about what you see. The two are very different things. We look at things all the time in our world, but we don’t always notice what we’re looking at.
7 – Routine, routine, routine
Much of focus is based on the habits that we build for ourselves. If your routine doesn’t support your focus, then you are going to struggle with focus.
Building a healthy routine, especially during the fencing season, should be a priority. Things like putting your fencing bag in the same place at your house every time, packing your things to travel in a certain order, and training with your coach in the same way before you leave will support your focus. Good habits mean you don’t have to think “where are my fencing socks?”, leaving your attention for more important things.
You can’t change all of your fencing habits at once, though. Start off small and keep reinforcing a habit until it becomes so ingrained that you don’t even think about it. Then you can focus on another habit. This doesn’t extend just to getting ready for competition and training, but to the match itself as well. Practice doing the same things in the same order every time, and you’ll free up your mind to focus on the important things.
8 – Cutting down screen time
This is such a hard one, especially for young fencers, but it’s truly important for building focus. Too much screen time is the enemy of focus. We’re not talking about screen time reading an ebook or screen time working on school work, we’re talking about entertainment screen time.
Social media scrolling and watching video content in particular are really problematic when you’re trying to build focus. This is because these screen activities are intentionally designed to disrupt your attention and addict your brain to their algorithms. It’s truly harmful, and limiting social media in particular is important for improving. There are so many studies about this, and it’s hugely prevalent in people of all ages.
You can still have these things, you just have to put them in their proper context and use them in moderation, especially leading into competition. There are some great apps out there that will lock down phone time for a set period of time. Fencers who are struggling to get off of their devices might really benefit from using a focus app.
Going dark on social media in the lead up to a competition is a great thing to incorporate into your routine, and it has the potential to truly transform the way that you focus in a fencing tournament.
Building your focus helps bring in the fun
Fencing should be fun! You should look forward to competition, both to traveling to the venue and to the moment when you get on to the strip and face your opponent. The whole package should be exciting and fulfilling. A lack of focus can make fencing exhausting, and eventually, it can wear you down.
Building your ability to focus effectively won’t just help you in fencing, it will help you in so many areas of your life. As with so many things in sport, these skills are transferable to work and to school.
Fencing is a great place to practice building your focus, though. It can help you to achieve your goals more easily, but also to just enjoy fencing more. When you’re not fighting inattention, the sport becomes more fun.
Image: Alpha Stock Images – http://alphastockimages.com/ licensed under a free license to use on a website
“using noise-cancelling headphones for ten to fifteen minutes before a bout”
Better “before an *event*.” During a pool, the fencer is responsible for reporting to the strip for their bout. At least one national ref tells fencers “If I have to call you, it’s a Yellow”. Similarly, there is typically 15 minutes between last bout’s end and DEs’ start – less regionally and locally. Walking your DE slip to the BC *is* a listening opportunity, but thereafter fencers have to listen for the pod captain to call their bout at uneven intervals.