Entering the Zone

One thing to remember when discussing "the zone" is that we are dealing with the brain, emotions, and personality. As with any other time you deal with these types of variables it is very difficult to accurately teach and explain for all audiences. Everyone thinks a bit different, feels a bit different, and learns a bit different.

I first developed a technique to create "the zone" through martial arts training, specifically kata training. For those not familiar kata is a sequence of predefined moves similiar to a dance. The movements are actually fighting techniques and to truely embrace kata is to be able to visualize combat within the sequence. At higher levels, kata performance is meditation in motion, an exercise to unite mind and body with the goal of killing ego. This isnt a martial arts article so I'll end it there but I thought some background was needed.

The zone created is best illustrated through kumite or sparring however. The fact is if you tried to conciously think about each block or punch or kick you would be very ineffective. If you react its too late, you need to be able to meld into the combat, to act without thinking. In essence, to truely express yourself by letting go of thought and expectation. If you allow distraction, anger, ego, expectation, or doubt into your mind you simply will not be able to preform.

The idea in all of this is you have to let yourself go to be who you are. I always reference letting oneself win rather then making it happen. Like a sculptor that starts with a block of granite and chisels away to the statue, so we must strip the excess off to find our true selves.

Darts is the same thing. We have to eliminate all of those thoughts that hold us back. The idea is to create a tranquil mental state. Once the mind is free from distraction we are able to operate on a different level, often achieving goals we wouldnt think possible.

I know this article is alot of philosophy rather then technique. But I really think its most important to control your inner mind before trying to deal with your external enviroment. Blocking out secondary distractions is actually pretty easy once you have conquered that noisy beast inside your head.