The 4-Core Competencies of Self-Mastery and Elite Performers In The Zone
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Dr Ray
Oct 4, 2009, 5:10:08 PM10/4/09
to Mental Golf and Sport Psychology
The 4-Core Competencies of Self-Mastery and Elite Performers In The
Zone are presented in Teeing Off With The Masters: A Sport Psychology
Novel, from which I quote:
TEEING OFF WITH THE MASTERS
The pieces of the puzzle were gradually coming together and Charlie’s
confusing story was beginning to make sense. Those surrounding
Charlie, including his Doctors and family, were considering but
fragments of the larger picture, or so it seemed to me.
I thought back on my conversations with Andreas, as we had so often
discussed holistic alternatives to modern medicine. He would
sometimes quote Thomas Edison, “The doctor of the future will give no
medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human
frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.”
I remembered how he so persuasively argued how our mind is our
greatest personal resource, making education the foundation for truly
informed decisions and personal development. He always insisted, truly
effective education is best focused on fundamentals, advancing an idea
he had learned in his martial arts, physics and engineering training
as a young man.
Andreas was fond of saying, from one thing know ten thousand things.
It was within this context, when he introduced me to his 4-Core
Competencies of Self-Mastery.
I remembered him emphasizing how everything that exists, exists always
in a state of movement, and when movement is fluid, flowing and
rhythmic, it is energy efficient, proceeding as Mother Nature intends.
I agreed, rhythmic movement seems a pivotal issue and essential to
personal effectiveness in virtually everything we do well. I knew
this from my own experience as a musician.
He’d often illustrate his point by emphasizing the obvious relevance
of rhythmic movement to excellence of performance in the arts and
athletics. Music, ballet, gymnastics, basketball, tennis, golf,
swimming, dancing, singing, all performances occur at their best when
rhythmic movement prevails.
Then he added, the most significant variable undermining flowing,
rhythmic movement is physical tension. While it is our preferred
state to be relaxed, numerous forces generate tension, compromising
energy efficiency and effectiveness in all things human.
Simply put, the singly most important force governing fluid,
coordinated human movement, is the degree to which we are relaxed.
Fortunately tension, the enemy of relaxation, is tangible, he argued,
and something we can eradicate if we have the required knowledge. We
can choose to replace tension with relaxation, if we know how to do
it. Ability to relax thus becomes the 1st of his 4-Core Competencies.
Andreas also emphasized the importance of fundamentals while learning
balance, his 2nd Core Competency. As I came to better understand how
the governing force of gravity shapes our physical functioning in all
situations, and better appreciate how balance eliminates strain, I
began to catch his evolving drift. Rhythmic movement requires balance
and this applies to all our movements. Clearly, our bodies obey the
same physical laws as the spinning top, making the pirouette in ballet
an excellent example of rhythmic full-body movement.
He then added Flexibility as the 3rd-Core Competency underlying
rhythmic, full-body movement. As rhythmic movement evolves, it needs
elasticity and there soon appear multiple forces to restrict freedom
of movement. These forces can exist within our body, as is the case
with tight muscles, and outside our body, such as cold weather, tight
clothing and numerous other constrictors. Flexibility, in conjunction
with relaxation and balance, allows for adaptive rhythmic movement in
an ever-changing environment. I had to agree with his conclusions.
Finally, Andreas argued, relaxed, balanced and flexible movement is
most effective when goal-directed and this is best accomplished
through Focus, the 4th-Core Competency.
That’s reality according to Andreas Yinekes and I could find no solid
basis for disagreement. Being relaxed, balanced, flexible, and
focused in the moment, would have headed off a lot of Charlie’s
problems.
Dr. Ray
Zone are presented in Teeing Off With The Masters: A Sport Psychology
Novel, from which I quote:
TEEING OFF WITH THE MASTERS
The pieces of the puzzle were gradually coming together and Charlie’s
confusing story was beginning to make sense. Those surrounding
Charlie, including his Doctors and family, were considering but
fragments of the larger picture, or so it seemed to me.
I thought back on my conversations with Andreas, as we had so often
discussed holistic alternatives to modern medicine. He would
sometimes quote Thomas Edison, “The doctor of the future will give no
medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human
frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.”
I remembered how he so persuasively argued how our mind is our
greatest personal resource, making education the foundation for truly
informed decisions and personal development. He always insisted, truly
effective education is best focused on fundamentals, advancing an idea
he had learned in his martial arts, physics and engineering training
as a young man.
Andreas was fond of saying, from one thing know ten thousand things.
It was within this context, when he introduced me to his 4-Core
Competencies of Self-Mastery.
I remembered him emphasizing how everything that exists, exists always
in a state of movement, and when movement is fluid, flowing and
rhythmic, it is energy efficient, proceeding as Mother Nature intends.
I agreed, rhythmic movement seems a pivotal issue and essential to
personal effectiveness in virtually everything we do well. I knew
this from my own experience as a musician.
He’d often illustrate his point by emphasizing the obvious relevance
of rhythmic movement to excellence of performance in the arts and
athletics. Music, ballet, gymnastics, basketball, tennis, golf,
swimming, dancing, singing, all performances occur at their best when
rhythmic movement prevails.
Then he added, the most significant variable undermining flowing,
rhythmic movement is physical tension. While it is our preferred
state to be relaxed, numerous forces generate tension, compromising
energy efficiency and effectiveness in all things human.
Simply put, the singly most important force governing fluid,
coordinated human movement, is the degree to which we are relaxed.
Fortunately tension, the enemy of relaxation, is tangible, he argued,
and something we can eradicate if we have the required knowledge. We
can choose to replace tension with relaxation, if we know how to do
it. Ability to relax thus becomes the 1st of his 4-Core Competencies.
Andreas also emphasized the importance of fundamentals while learning
balance, his 2nd Core Competency. As I came to better understand how
the governing force of gravity shapes our physical functioning in all
situations, and better appreciate how balance eliminates strain, I
began to catch his evolving drift. Rhythmic movement requires balance
and this applies to all our movements. Clearly, our bodies obey the
same physical laws as the spinning top, making the pirouette in ballet
an excellent example of rhythmic full-body movement.
He then added Flexibility as the 3rd-Core Competency underlying
rhythmic, full-body movement. As rhythmic movement evolves, it needs
elasticity and there soon appear multiple forces to restrict freedom
of movement. These forces can exist within our body, as is the case
with tight muscles, and outside our body, such as cold weather, tight
clothing and numerous other constrictors. Flexibility, in conjunction
with relaxation and balance, allows for adaptive rhythmic movement in
an ever-changing environment. I had to agree with his conclusions.
Finally, Andreas argued, relaxed, balanced and flexible movement is
most effective when goal-directed and this is best accomplished
through Focus, the 4th-Core Competency.
That’s reality according to Andreas Yinekes and I could find no solid
basis for disagreement. Being relaxed, balanced, flexible, and
focused in the moment, would have headed off a lot of Charlie’s
problems.
Dr. Ray
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