20 oktober 2017 Montreal - Canada:
The 2nd World Championships is about to start. The 'Weembi high rollers' from France have come to turn up the heat on us. A team existing out of exclusively former world champions. Their name gives away why they are here in Canada. They have come for the highest achievable stakes: becoming the next world champions. That was exactly why I had travelled to Canada with team HayaBusa, another world title.
As reigning world champions we wanted to extend our title no matter what and show the world we were worthy of the title. Also Russia and the USA would be teams to keep an eye on and the tension was really palpable at the beginning of round one. The pace during indoor skydiving competitions is always very high and this time was no different. After the judging of our first 'jump' we had a tied first place together with France and Russia. All of us had scored 30 points, followed closely by USA with 29 and Qatar with 28 points. The trend was set and it was clear we would not be handed out any gifts here. Conquering another world title would be a hard nut to crack.
No matter how hard we were going, it was not fast enough. After 4 rounds we were still nowhere and it seemed we were going to lose the world title...
The next round gave us another tie score with France, but we managed to take some distance from Airspeed, the US team and Black Cat, the Russian team. The French were flying their round just before us each time. In the final moments, before it was our turn, I glanced at them flying and saw them going all out. It looked blazing fast and I thought by myself 'wow, these guys are really going for it!' The scores would later back this up.
Round 3: Belgium - 24 points
France - 25 points
On the scoreboard there was now no more getting away from reality. We were in 2nd place and it was clinging on for us to show the necessary level. Counter to the French, who had only done indoor training, we had to divide our training time over both indoor and outdoor. Looking from the outside, both disciplines may seem quite the same. However a lot of techniques and skills are very different. Did this mean we no longer had the desired level that would grant us the world champion title? Round 4 didn't bring much relief: another tied score with France and so again no change on the leaderboard. No matter how hard and fast we were flying and trying to get ahead, it was not enough...
​ | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 |
France | 30 | 29 | 26 | 30 |
Belgium | 30 | 29 | 25 | 30 |
USA | 29 | 28 | 24 | 29 |
Russia | 30 | 27 | 24 | 30 |
Qatar | 28 | 21 | 24 | 27 |
It might not surprise but those scores and the ranking had gotten into our heads. Of course we were not giving up yet because round 5 could very well become the crux and deciding round of this competition. It was a round with 3 'randoms' or formations and 1 fast 'block' This was something that really fitted our style and where we as team HayaBusa were known for. If we were to make a difference it would have to happen on round 5.
During the preparations we took plenty of time to go through all of the details, spoke about little nuances in momentum or degrees of rotation. Together with our coach we looked at different possibilities and decided to go for a 'non standard' option. We chose to do the movements and transitions as efficient as possible even if we had not trained these specific as much as the standard option.
stress and pressure raced through my body...
During the build up to the round I felt the stress building up as it always does. Even though we did not really put this into words with the team, we all knew this round might as well be crucial in deciding wether or not we would win or lose this world championships. A couple minutes before our battle would start we high fived our opponents. After that we went through our own team routine: going over the jump one last time, bumping our 4 helmets together followed by a team hug. Meanwhile the Americans came out of the tunnel and it was up to the French to start their 35 seconds lasting sprint. I felt the stress and pressure racing through my body and couldn't get rid of that pit in my stomach. From the corners of my eyes I saw the French High Rollers launching into the windtunnel, consciously I didn't give it any attention. I closed myself off from the fast movements by visualizing one more time. With closed eyes I went through the jump as seen from my perspective. A gust of wind and change in sound brought me back to the here and now. The High Rollers were getting out... it was time.
The windtunnel instructor gave his thumbs up and we are getting ready in the door. With the closing of my visor I close myself off from all the distractions. Optimal focus is essential! All of us are positioning ourselves and then a moment follows where time seems to freeze for a bit until... shake - shake - ready - set - G...
On the go I blow the air out of my lungs, jump into the tunnel and immediately our start feels good. Within a fraction of a seconde we make the first formation and what happens after was like magic! All grips are picked up at exactly the correct place and the jump is picking up blistering fast. Every time we pick up our grips together it feels like a jolt of energy is running through us. After the 10th point we really are up to speed and the fast rhythm is like a perfectly set mechanical clock. 3 randoms: bam - bam - bam - block... bam - bam - bam - block...
Time is slowing down and everything feels great. We are all 4 of us totally absorbed by the moment. The movements are happening as by itself . My view is transfroming into a movie that plays in front of my eyes: in high definition and with a lot of extra frames per second. I see everything laser focussed, except what is outside of the tunnel. The many people and the eyeballs aimed at us are like behind opaque glass, bam - bam - bam - block... The jump keeps going and I become conscious how good the jump is going. We are as a team 'in the zone' and with a broad smile behind my visor I enjoy the flow experience. My breathing is becoming heavier and deeper, but I feel super strong! There is no before nor after, bam - bam - bam - block... only now.
After what feels like 2 minutes our coach jumps up and waves at the window. Our 35 seconds are up. The opaque glass turns transparant and through the noise of the windtunnel and my earplugs I hear the applause and cheering. The only thing going through my head now is 'wow, what a round and what an experience!'
A few years later when Michele Silvi (Mike) stepped into our team it got clear to me what had transpired during that round. He had written a thesis: 'la menta del campione' or translated 'the mind of the champion'. In his thesis he describes the work of Mihály CsÃkszentmihályi, a psychologist who introduced the concepts of flow and flowstate. The work of this psychologist is no less then intriguing. It gives a scientifically substantiated explanation to what I had experienced during that remarkable round in Canada.
The wikipedia page describes flow as follows:
a flow state, also known colloquially as being in the zone, is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by the complete absorption in what one does, and a resulting transformation in one's sense of time. Flow is the melting together of action and consciousness; the state of finding a balance between a skill and how challenging that task is.
If we dig a bit deeper into this concept then it turns out a flowstate does not have to happen 'by accident' but we can actively search for it. CsÃkszentmihályi gave 8 characteristics to flow, but if you're asking me it's much more interesting how we can create a flow state for ourselves. You could compare getting into a flowstate with falling asleep. If all the necessary conditions are there to fall asleep and we allow ourselves to drift off, we can fall asleep. However if we want to much control over it and we ask ourselves every 10 seconds if we are already sleeping then it will not work. In a way to enter and stay in a flow state is similar.
The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times… The best moments usually occur if a person's body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile. - Mihály CsÃkszentmihályi
If we can recognize and look for the different conditions to get into a flowstate, then there's not much else for us to do then letting us being absorbed by the moment and allowing us to enter flow. Everything seems to go effortless and the task in front of us is just hard or challenging enough. The balance is found between on the one side our skill level and on the other hand the challenge level. We are sufficiently aroused or tense without being overly stressed. We know the direction we have to go to and are free of distraction. Focussed!
Different flow triggers have been discovered and researched. If we want to experience more flow in our lives we could search for or place more of these triggers in our lives.
Ooh... and how did that round 5 eventually go scorewise? The French had a good round but got 2 points deducted: they scored a nice 41 points. Our round was flawless and we scored 47! In the end we managed to win the 2nd world championships title with a lead of 7 points on the French High Rollers. That team peak performance had been crucial in turning the meet around.
The flow experience gave us a world champion title, who knows what it could give you or your team?
Here is our 5th and deciding round of the meet:
If this sparked your interest, then watch this talk where Steven Kotler goes deeper into this subject matter.
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