The

Sparring Mind
How to Achieve Peak Performance
Through a Sharper Mental Game

Rodney King, M.A., and Christian de Quincey, Ph.D.

T h e W i s d o m A c a d e m y P r e s s . A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d .
C h r i s t i a n d e Q u i n c e y a n d R o d n e y K i n g, 2013
N o p a r t o f t h i s p u b l i c a t i o n m a y b e r e p r o d u c e d , s t o r e d , o r
t r a n s m i t t e d i n a n y f o r m o r b y a n y m e a n s , i n c l u d i n g e l e c t r o n i c ,
m e c h a n i c a l , p h o t o c o p y i n g , r e c o r d i n g , o r o t h e r w i s e , w i t h o u t
w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n f r o m t h e p u b l i s h e r .
F o r i n f o r m a t i o n , c o n t a c t :
T h e W i s d o m A c a d e m y P r e s s
c de q @ c h r i s t i a n d e q u i n c ey . c om

I S B N : 9 7 8 - 0 - 6 2 0 - 5 5 5 2 2 - 7

P r i n t e d i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s o f A m e r i c a .
V i s i t : w w w. e m b o d i e d m i n d p e r f o r m a n c e . c o m

D I S C L A I M E R O F W A R R A N T Y / L I M I T A T I O N S O F L I A B I L I T Y

T h e P u b l i s h e r a n d A u t h o r s h a v e u s e d t h e i r b e s t e f f o r t s i n p r e p a r i n g t h
e c o u r s e a n d a c c o m p a n y i n g c o m p o n e n t s . T h e P u b l i s h e r a n d A u t h o r s m a k e n
o r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o r w a r r a n t i e s w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e a c c u r a c y
o r c o m p l e t e n e s s o f t h e c o n t e n t s o f t h i s c o u r s e o r c o m p o n e n t s ,
a n d s p e c i f i c a l l y d i s c l a i m a n y i m p l i e d w a r r a n t i e s o f m e r c h a n t a b i l i t y o r f i t
n e s s f o r a p a r t i c u l a r p u r p o s e . T h e r e a r e n o w a r r a n t i e s t h a t e x t e n d b e y o n
d t h e d e s c r i p t i o n s c o n t a i n e d i n t h i s p a r a g r a p h . N e i t h e r t h e P u b l i s h e r n
o r t h e A u t h o r s s h a l l b e l i a b l e f o r a n y d a m a g e s a r i s i n g f r o m t h e u s e
o f t h i s c o u r s e o r c o m p o n e n t s , i n c l u d i n g w i t h o u t l i m i t a t i o n a c t u a l ,
s p e c i a l , i n c i d e n t a l , c o n s e q u e n t i a l , o r o t h e r d a m a g e s . T h i s c o u r s e
a n d a n y a c c o m p a n y i n g c o m p o n e n t s a r e d e s i g n e d t o e d u c a t e a n d
p r o v i d e i n f o r m a t i o n o n l y a b o u t t h e s u b j e c t m a t t e r c o v e r e d , a n d n e i t h e r
p u b l i s h e r n o r a u t h o r a r e e n g a g e d i n r e n d e r i n g l e g a l , a c c o u n t i n g , m e d i c a
l , o r o t h e r p r o f e s s i o n a l s e r v i c e s . I f l e g a l o r o t h e r e x p e r t s e r v i c e s a r e
r e q u i r e d o r d e s i r e d , t h e s e r v i c e s o f a c o m p e t e n t p r o f e s s i o n a l s h o u l d b e
o b t a i n e d .
I t i s n o t t h e p u r p o s e o f t h i s c o u r s e a n d a c c o m p a n y i n g c o m p o n e n t s t
o p r o v i d e a l l t h e i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t i s o t h e r w i s e a v a i l a b l e t o t h e A u t h o
r s a n d / o r P u b l i s h e r , b u t t o c o m p l e m e n t , a m p l i f y , s u p p l e m e n t , a n d d i r e c t t
h e r e a d e r t o o t h e r t h i r d p a r t y i n f o r m a t i o n a n d t e x t s . T h u s , t h i s t e x t s h o
u l d b e u s e d o n l y a s a g e n e r a l g u i d e , a n d n o t t h e u l t i m a t e o r o n l y s o u r c
e o f i n f o r m a t i o n i n t h i s a r e a ; t h e i n f o r m a t i o n h e r e i n i s b e l i e v e d t o b e c u
r r e n t o n l y u p t o t h e p u b l i c a t i o n d a t e . R e a d e r s a r e u r g e d t o r e a d a
l l t h e a v a i l a b l e m a t e r i a l a n d t a i l o r t h e i n f o r m a t i o n a n d a p p l i c a t i o n t o f
i t t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e i n d i v i d u a l n e e d s . T h e r e s o u r c e s l i s t e d i n t h i s c o u r s e
a r e f o r i n f o r m a t i o n p u r p o s e s o n l y , n o t e n d o r s e m e n t s o r r e f e r r a l s . N e i
t h e r t h e P u b l i s h e r n o r t h e A u t h o r s s h a l l b e l i a b l e o r r e s p o n s i b l e f o r a
n y l o s s o r d a m a g e e x p e r i e n c e d i n d e a l i n g w i t h a n y s u c h l i s t e d r e
s o u r c e s o r p r o v i d e r s .

Do every act of your life as if it were your last.

Marcus Aurelius

Table of Contents
Authors Note

07

1. The Power of the Mental Game

09

2. Crea^ng Refocus Goals

13

3. Refocus Goals: The Four Drivers

16

4. Crea^ng an In-Between-Rounds Rou^ne

22

5. Mind-Body Interface

27

6. Mind-Body Interface in Ac^on: Brain Science on the Mat

32

7. Learning to Manage Your Emo^ons

36

8. Mindfulness in Ac^on

38

9. Breath Enlivens the Mental Game

44

10. Final Words

49

11. About the Authors

50

12. Links for Contact

53

Authors Note

Warrior Meets Philosopher

You have in your hands a new approach to coaching the mental game for
sparringWarrior meets Philosopher.

This introductory ebook is based on the Embodied-Mind

Performance program, developed by Rodney King and Chris^an de

Quincey.

Famous in the world of mar^al arts (MA), Rodney King, founder of Crazy

Monkey Defense, has dis^lled the essence of many years of prac^ce and
coaching MA trainers and clients into a set of rou^nes and skills that have
proven highly eec^ve in sparring as well as in compe^^on gh^ng. Anyone
familiar with Rodneys approach will recognize his unique style and insights
developed in this manual and taken to a new level for op^mal sparring
performance.

We expect readers of this ebook to be already aluned to The Warriors

Way. However, for many of you, blending this with The Philosophers Way
may be a new experience. Dr. ChrisVan de Quincey, founder of The Wisdom
Academy, has specialized in a branch of philosophy that focuses on the mind-
body connec^on, and is an established teacher in the eld of Consciousness
Studies.

He has teamed up with Rodney to apply the power of philosophical

insights to highlight important aspects of mental game theory and prac^ce

mostly overlooked in other MA programs. Philosophers focus on clarity and
dis+nc+ons in language that help us communicate ideas more precisely and
7

eec^vely. Thats what Chris^an brings to this work. By teasing apart ner
dis^nc^ons in Rodneys approach to mental game training for mar^al arts, the
Warrior and the Philosopher have collaborated to create a unique approach to
mar^al arts that honors equally the importance of the mind (the mental
game) and the body (the physical game), and takes mar^al arts coaching
and training to a new level of excellence.

See you on the mat.

Rodney and ChrisVan

1
The Power of the Mental Game
Developing your mental game is one of the most cri^cal aspects of success in
mar^al artsespecially in a performance-based environment like sparring. Yet, a
lot of beginners have a hard ^me guring out how to achieve an eec^ve mental
game and what it really means.

Our purpose here is to delve deeper into the mind and what happens

when you achieve a winning mental game.

Lets begin by revealing the bolom line: The heart of eec^ve

performance is staying mentally present, avoiding thinking about the future or

being stuck in the past. In other words, in order to win in your sparring game,
you must remain centered and present.

Here's an example: You are not present when you are projec^ng into the

future, trying to an^cipate what your opponent is going to do next. When you're
on the mat, trying to get into your opponent's head, guring out what hes going to
do next might seem logical. However, this doesn't lead to a performance gain. In
fact, it degrades performance and open leads you into trouble.
Theres a kind of a paradox here: Developing the mental game means
9

prac^cing being able to focus the mind, being unconcerned or worried about the
future or reac^ng to what happened in the past. We can't stress enough how
important it is to not get caught up in past and future thinking, because that will
actually distract you from performing at your best.
You need to dis^nguish between observing (no^cing) your process of
thinking and being run by your thoughts.
As well as leqng go, a certain element of choice and control needs to
happen simultaneouslyand that's where the paradox comes in. You need to
develop the ability to no^ce your thoughts and not be run by them. For example,
you might no^ce that you're focused on the future, concerned about what an
opponent might do in the next moment. Or if youre concerned about something
your opponent did a few moments agoespecially if you made a mistakeyou
can easily become trapped in that way of thinking. The idea is to recognize this and
ground your mind right back in the present moment.
The mental game works best when you go beyond thinking. Instead, of
thinking your thoughts, it's about learning to feel your thinking. Rather than
geqng caught up in your thoughts, you need to ship your alen^on to your
feelings, to the sensa^ons in your body. With prac^ce, as you learn to feel you
thinking by increasing awareness of the sensa^ons in your body, you will sooner
or later realize that your feelings and sensa^ons are the generators of your

10

thoughts.
Focusing on your embodied sensa^ons is one of the best ways to get back
into the present moment, to actually feel whats going on in the body from
moment-to-moment, allowing yourself to be guided by your inten^ons, aims,
and valuesby what you want to achieve in your sparring game.
When you rst start working with the mental game, you probably wont
think about the mind-body connec^on in this way. In most cases, when you're in
the heat of the moment during sparring, you may not even be aware that you are
projec^ng into the future or holding onto the past. It takes a certain amount of
presence of mind just to be aware of that.
Most of the ^me, thinking just runs on automa^c; its habitual. Part of
playing the mental game is to crack open the habit, and to become inten^onal in
your choices and how you can direct your mind in the moment. One of the
rst things to do is to actually just be. We recommend that people prac^ce this
(you can call it medita^on or just call it siqng and observing the mind) for a few
minutes even before you get on the mat. Take ve minutes to just sit and no^ce
what goes on in your mind when youre leqng it do its own thing.

If you're astute, you will no^ce that your mind tends to be worried either

about something that has happened (in the recent or distant past), or what is going
to happen back on the mat in a few moments, later in the day, or even in a
11

months ^me. With prac^ce, you will no^ce that most of your thoughts are usually
focused either on the past or on the future.
If you learn to no^ce how the mind habitually tends to ship to past or
future throughout your normal day-to-day rou^nes, then when youre actually
on the mat and engaged with your opponent, you will nd it much easier to
no^ce what is going on in your mind in the heat of ac^on. Naturally, thats the
most dicult ^me, and, of course, thats when your mental prac^ce needs to
catch up to your physical prac^ce.

12

2
CreaVng Refocus Goals

Developing mental presence is powerful; but its not easy to achieve. It takes
dedicated prac^ce. A ques^on open comes up: I nd prac^cing this o the mat
can be rela^vely easy, but when I am actually engaged in sparring how do I stay
mentally present?
When your thoughts are moving into the past or the future, you can easily
get caught up in a mental vortex, and spin out of control. The trick at such ^mes
is to allow yourself to simply no+ce and observe what your mind is doing,
without judgment: Oh, Im thinking about the past (or future) right now. That
simple act of awareness automa^cally brings you back into the present. In order
to be aware that you are thinking about the past or future, you have to be
present. At that moment, you can then choose to stay focused on the present,
and let your thoughts come and go like leaves blowing in the wind, without
geqng sucked into the past or future.
This is where what we call refocus goals comes into play. It is the ability
to recognize that you are either in the future, or holding onto the past. Once you
recognize this, you have an opportunity to decide where to focus your alen^on
13

for example, on some immediate goal or on some cue that will keep your
alen^on focused in the present on what you want to achieve.
Refocused goals are always focused on the present moment; not on a
future expecta^on or something that happened in the past. Refocusing means
not geqng caught up in past or future thoughts.
If you no^ce that your mind is taking you into the future or keeping you
stuck in the past, its natural for the mind to start judging itself: Oh, I shouldnt
be doing this. Of course, that causes you to go deeper into distrac^on and away
from the present moment.

Projec^ng your thoughts into the future or holding onto the past is not

sparring now; instead, it is about what just happened a moment ago or what you
an^cipate is about to happen. However, being present in the moment means fully
embracing and being part of the experience of sparring as it is happening right
now.
The body has its own intelligence, and it plays a major role in the
eec^veness of the mental game. When sparring, you need to ship, from an
egocentric mind dominated by thoughts to your embodied mind, where feeling or
soma^c intelligence is dominant. Thats how you get into the present moment: by
actually checking out of the fantasy mind of your egowhich is concerned about
the future and the past, about expecta^ons, doing well, or not looking badand
14

allowing the bodys natural intelligence to express itself in the present moment.
When you can allow that to happen, you will be quite amazed at the skillful
intelligence your body can manifest when its given the chance to do so.
Using refocused goals, gives you an opportunity to go through a checklist in
your mind, to bring you back to a place where you are totally focused in this
present moment, and not holding onto future expecta^ons or whatever
happened in the past. Your goal is to get to the point where you can let go of your
thinking mind and ship over to the bodys natural intelligence.
In the beginning, as you prac^ce refocus goals, you are likely to nd
yourself thinking, Hold on a second, Im projec^ng into the future. Or, Im
trying to predict what my opponent is going to do next. This is an important part
of developing self-awareness. Aper all, you cant correct your mental distrac^on
of thinking about the past or the future if you cannot recognize when it is
happening to you.
Once you recognize that this is not where you want your thinking mind to
be, then you can go through your refocus goalsand this will bring you back to
the present moment, to a neutral state of mind, making it easier for you to b just
let go.

15

3
Refocus Goals: The Four Drivers

In the Crazy Monkey program, we use the Four Drivers" as the key refocus
goals to successfully lead you back to the present. The Four Drivers are
essen^al components in developing an eec^ve embodied mental game
because they directly relate to your performance in the moment.
Here's a breakdown of the Four Drivers:
Balance. Being in balance isnt just a maler of physical stability. It also
refers to balancing your thinking and feeling mind, as well as having a
balanced perspec^ve on your sparring experience, including your
emo^onal state.
Defense. Focusing on defense means making sure you protect yourself.
When your emo^ons kick in, however, it's easy to forget youre
supposed to protect yourself, and, instead, you let your emo^ons run
your game. Anger is a perfect example of an emo^on taking over. When
you ght driven by aggression, your physical game starts to fall apart.

Tight economical structure. This is closely linked to defense. It means

16

making sure that when you're execu^ng a technique, it is precise, or

^ght. In other words, you should not be making unnecessary openings
for your opponent to hit you.
Condi6oning. Understandably, you will open experience a great deal of
apprehension in sparring, especially during the outside game, when a large
space exists between you and your opponent. Thats why we call it the
spiral of apprehension. It's normal to have a lot of thinking going on in
this part of the game: Should I go in? Should I hold on? Should I wait a
lille bit? When you're not en^rely sure, anxiety builds up, and this
directly aects your breathing. So, part of taking charge of condi^oning
is to consciously focus on the quality of your breathing. Your breath is,
literally, the oxygen your body needs to re up your energy.
The Four Drivers work to help you ship alen^on to refocus goals. They
are an eec^ve a way to center yourself directly in the present moment and to
experience your experience as it is actually happening.
To ac^vate the Four Drivers, you go through a checklist. For example, you
could say to yourself: "Defensecheck. Balancecheck. Tight economical
structurecheck. Condi^oningcheck." Naturally, you can simplify the
language. In the middle of a sparring match, you dont have to say ^ght

17

economical structure, which is quite a mouthful! Instead, you might just use a
brief phrase or words of your own to center you in the present moment.
For example, when you say to yourself, Move hands, you're ac^va^ng
the driver of defense. Anybody in the Crazy Monkey Defense program will
recognize why moving your hands is important. If youre moving your hands all
the ^me, and suddenly something gets thrown at you, you are able to pick up
your defense a lot quicker than if your hands are completely s^ll. Con^nuously
moving your hands directly aects your overall defense in a very concrete way.
By simply saying defense, you check o one of these refocus goals that brings
you back into the present moment, increasing your mind-body coordina^on and
eec^ve performance.
It is important to keep in mind, however, that when you say, defense or
move my hands, this should not be alached to any future expecta^on or an
event in the past. As a refocus goal, it is something you have to do right here,
right now in the very moment of sparring, while it is happening. Its not like
saying, Id beler move my hands, because if I dont, those next shots are
going to get in. That kind of self-talk means you are no longer being present.
Youve moved o task and would be focusing on task-irrelevant goals. To
prevent was^ng your energy in irrelevant ways and making yourself more
vulnerable, get in the habit of using the Four Drivers to ac^vate task-focused
18

goals that focus your mind on what is happening right now.

Prac^cing going through this checklist in your mind is important because
it helps you to center yourself. The key point here is to remember that in order
to eec^vely refocus goals you should use a phrase or a word that brings you
back to the present. Never use language that ships your alen^on to future
expecta^ons or keeps you thinking about the past.
The trick of mastering the mental game is that you are using the mind
to let go of the mind. Thats why its called the mental game!
Re-focus goals are basically quick thoughts, or mental reminders. Theyre
like lille seeds sown in the mind, and once theyre sown, you let them go
rather than geqng involved in an internal dialogue with them, which just
distracts you into more thinking. To repeat: Focus your mind on a specic re-
focus goal, and then let it go.
Focusing the mind on re-focus goals rebalances your mind and body so
that they work harmoniously together in the moment of ac^on. That's when
you can let the body take over and express its natural intelligence. In a
sense, then, you prac^ce focusing the mind so you can let go of the mind and
let the bodys natural intelligence take over.

Analy^c intelligence is certainly worth developing, especially when the

session is over. Aperwards, siqng down to analyze and talk through what
19

worked and what didnt can be very useful. But in the moment, on the mat, we
are prac^cing leqng go of analytical intelligence, and instead leqng the bodys
natural wisdom and intelligence, guide us in the moment. We use the analy^c
mind just to give us that lille extra focus needed to engage the task-relevant
cues, and then we let it go. And, with prac^ce, at that moment were back into
allowing the bodys intelligence to express itself.
Amazing things can happen once you trust your bodys natural
intelligence. In training to develop your mental game, your rst task is simply to
discover that you do have this natural embodied intelligence. Then, with further
training and prac^ce, you progressively learn to trust it. Of course, the more you
prac^ce this, the easier it is for you to tap into your bodys
innate intelligence, and trust to let it guide you during rapid re exchanges on
the mat. More prac^ce leads to greater eec^veness, and this reinforces
trus^ng the body next ^me you spar. This really isnt something to gure out o
the mat. It has to happen in ac^on.

20

Balance
Hands Moving
Tight
Breath

Licensed to R K of 17, JHb, Gt 2194 SA. Ema2i0l address: rodney@crazymonkeydefense.com

21

4
CreaVng An In-Between-Rounds RouVne

Most people don't develop in-between-round rou^nes. Instead, when the round is
over, they think about all the wrong stu. In between rounds, when you are
energized, gathering your breath, thats when your thinking mind can run wild. In
our experience, people rarely take ^me-out between rounds. And thats a
wasted opportunity (open up to one minute) to get re-grounded and boost your
mental game. As you wait, eager to move into the next round, you dont use that
minute produc^vely. One way to boost your mental game in between rounds is to
learn how to anchor yourself during that period.
Anchoring techniques are dierent than refocus goals, which involve
thinking on purpose in order to bring yourself back to the present moment.
However, anchors typically focus on a physical movement that can be performed
during, and specically aper, sparring. It works best in between the rounds, and
it is a way of bringing about posi^ve emo^ons and feelings of condence. More
than that, though, its about leqng go of what happened in the previous round.
For example, Rodney uses as an in-between-round rou^ne he calls the
Circling Shark. Instead of siqng down or chaqng to someone between rounds,
Rodney circles the mat like a shark, using the ^me and the movement to reselle
1

into his body with a well-prac^ced anchor technique. He never sits or chats
between rounds because he knows its very dicult to come back and be
completely present if he ships alen^on to anything other than the sparring
experience happening now.
During the Circling Shark rou^ne, Rodney walks around clockwise,
usually three ^mes. He has turned this into an eec^ve anchoring-ritual, a
physical ac^on that his body recognizes.
Thats the dierence between a task-relevant cue and an anchoring
technique. In this case, Rodney anchors himself physically while he walks around
in a circle. He may even switch direc^ons and do another three circles in the
opposite direc^on. He keeps doing this un^l the bell goes o for the next round.
The purpose is to literally let go of whatever happened in the round that just
happened. In doing so, he brings himself back to a point of presence and focus in
the moment. While walking, he focuses on breathing, because breath has a way
of bringing us back to that centered place, back to presence. He does this any^me
he nds himself alaching to what just happened in the round, which is very
common and natural for a lot of peopleand this is why it takes prac^ce to
change that behavior. Rodneys inten^on is to clear his mind, to let go of
everything. The combina^on of circling and focusing on the breath allows him to
anchor himself in the present moment. (An added bonus: Some opponents can be
distracted and puzzled by what Rodney is doing, and this can throw them o their
2

game when they resume sparring.)

Unlike Rodney, most MAers engage their analy^cal mind during the break
between rounds, thinking, I should have done this or I should have done that.
In the next round, Im going to do this and that. It almost never works out that
way when you go into the next roundespecially if youve been spending a whole
minute thinking about what you should have been doing or not doing, and what
you're going to do next. Dont let your should hit the fan!
Work toward accomplishing the art of anchoring yourself by using some
kind of physical expression. Walking around is one way. Some people tap their
gloves together, just for a minute, as they walk around to get themselves back into
this present moment. As a result, when they move into the next round, they are
completely present and ready whatever comes at them.
Both anchors and refocus goals share a common aimle?ng go.
Rodneys Circling Shark anchor is one eec^ve technique for leqng go of
what has already happened, bringing yourself back into the present moment. Of
course, when using a refocus goal in sparring, the point is to just let go of
whatever is taking you out of the present moment. When you let go of the past
and the future, whats lep is the present. That is the common factor in both the
anchors and the refocus goals.
You may be in a sparring match, and things are just not going right. You
know you should be focused in the present, focusing on your refocus goals, and
3

leqng go. But, for whatever reason, it is just not working out. These are all parts
of performance. Having an "in-between-round rou^ne," where you ac^vely work
through an anchoring process, gives you the opportunity to reset yourself for the
next round.
Reset is a phrase worth highligh^ng. You could actually think of the
anchoring process as pressing a reset bulonlike seqng the system back to its
factory defaultemptying the mind so that you are fresh and primed as you step
back onto the mat for the next round.

5
Mind-Body Interface

The mind-body interface and developing a uid mind are really, really
important to achieving success in your mental game.
But, what does this mean?

Focusing on embodied-mind corrects the frequent mispercep^on that

mind and body are separate. This isn't the case at all.
The mind-body split began back in the 17th century when the famous
French philosopher Ren Descartes declared that any body (i.e., anything made
of maAer) is extended in space; but, he said, the mind has no extension in space.
Maler or body, then, is extended stu while mind is thinking stu or feeling
stu. The mind, in other words, is what thinks and feels. This dis^nc^on is
important and makes a lot of sense. However, Descartes didnt just make a
dis+nc+on between mind and body, he said they were also separateexis^ng in
dierent domains of reality. He split them apart. And thats where the problem
set in.
Descartes mind-body split made a big impact in Western philosophy
and modern science and society in general. For example, science focused

exclusively on gaining knowledge about the physical world, the world of maler
(bodies extended in space). It completely ignored the nonphysical domain of mind
and consciousness. In fact, science went even further, and claimed that the only
reality that existed was physical stumaler. Mind was assumed to be some
kind of by-product from complex interac^ons between brain cells.
As a result, most people just focused on the physical side of their own lives
(believing that what happened in their minds was not all that signicant or even
real). Sports men and women, including mar^al ar^sts, believed that success in
their game relied on nothing more than building up physical strength and skills.
They ignored the crucial role the mind (including aqtude, focus, alen^on,
feelings, and thoughts) plays in perfec^ng performance.
That is now changing. More and more people are realizing that the mind-
body split was ar^cial to begin with. It never really existed (except in the ideas
of philosophers and scien^sts). Others, such as ar^sts, dancers, and master
mar^al ar^sts have always known that mind and body are like two sides of a coin
inseparable. They always work together, enhancing each
other. And when they work against each other, the result is poor performance.
Thats why it is important to recognize the in^mate connec^on between
mind and body. Yes, they are obviously dis+nct and dierent: Mind is that part

of us that thinks and feels and chooses. It does not exist in space. It is non-
physical. Maler or body, on the other hand, is our bulk, the part of us that is
physical and takes up space.
However, even though mind and body are dis+nct, they are never
separate. Again, think of the two sides of a coin: Heads and tails are dis^nct and
dierent, but you cant separate them (another example is the shape and
substance of a ball: they are dis^nct but inseparable). Thats how it is with mind
and body. They are dierent but always go together. And thats why it is
important for mar^al ar^sts (and other athletes) to focus on developing a keener
sense of their own mind-body interfaceto understand and experience how
what goes on in the mind aects how the body performs. Thats what we mean
by embodied mind.
It clearly makes sense to dis^nguish between your mind and your body.
Aper all, if you get into a ght or are sparring on the mat, your body can get
bruised; its your body that your opponent is striking at and grappling for. But
he or she cant actually grab your mind, and your mind doesnt get bruised
at least not literally.
Even though body and mind are in^mately connected, we know that the
mind and body have very dierent kinds of existenceone is nonphysical (mind)
and the other is physical (body). It follow, then, that we need to

develop and master dierent processes, and dierent prac^ces for training the
body and training the mind. Working out on the mat, you are engaging in the
physical gamewhich, of course, is important. However, you also need to learn
when and how to ship into the mental game where a dierent set of prac^ces
is needed to develop alen^on, focus, aqtudeas well as a uid mind that allows
you to simply observe whatever thoughts or emo^ons are rising up when you
engage with a sparring partner. (This prac^ce is also highly benecial in the rest
of life, too.)
Keep in mind that just because there is this dis^nc^on between mind and
body, this does not mean that body and mind are ever separate. They always go
together, so whatever is going on in the body is going to have some impact on
whats going on in your mind, your consciousness. And the reverse is true:
Whatever is going on in your mind, whatever you are thinking, whatever your
aqtudes are, whatever your belief systems are, those will have an impact on how
your body performs. Mind and the body are always connected, and so, in training,
it makes sense to develop dis^nct prac^cesone set of physical prac^ces for your
body and another set of mental prac^ces for you mind.
People open dont realize that the way they are thinking aects their body
movement, and vice versa. How you bring body aqtude to the mat, the
way you hold your body in sparring, will also, in turn, aect your thinking mind.
9

Mind and body work together, always inuencing each other in a feedback loop.
As coaches working with our clients, we focus on embodied-mind
performancetraining that takes our clients to the point where they can actually
use this knowledge to integrate their mind and body as one dynamic mind-body
unit.

When you learn to spar with the correct mental game, completely focused

in the present moment, you ins^nc^vely understand which refocus goals are
needed at any precise moment to achieve your objec^ve. A well-trained mental
game gives your body a much sharper focus. Understandably, this works best in
actual prac^ce, when you have to apply your technique against an opponent. Not
only does your mind aect the performance of your body, it works the other way,
too. The way you hold your body, the physical stance or aqtude you bring to your
sparring match, also aects your thinking mind. A lot of people dont see that
dis^nc^on. They miss the important fact that their body aqtude aects the
quality of the way they use their mind.

6
Mind-Body Interface in AcVon:
Brain Science On The Mat

You can approach mind-body connec^on from a more informed and holis^c
perspec^ves. Thats what Crazy Monkeys Embodied Mind Performance program
is all about. For example, a lille knowledge about how the nervous system works
par^cularly the autonomic nervous system that controls our breathingcan go
a long way.

Scien^sts have discovered that some really very simple gestures, such as

how you shape your mouth, can aect your mental aqtude. You can prac^ce a
simple exercise easily at home to demonstrate this. Put your face into a smile by
turning the edges of your mouth upward. Immediately and automa^cally, this has
an eect on the brain chemicals that make you feel good. This is based on
scien^c evidence that a par^cular body posturein this case, the way the
mouth is shapedhas an eect on the chemicals produced in the brain, which
then aect how the mind responds. This is a simple, but very eec^ve, way to
show how body aqtude and state of mind are in^mately related.
Take another example of body posture: If you are siqng slumpedor

even standing slumpedmore than likely that will send a message to the
brain that youre feeling dejected and maybe even depressed. Again, this
emphasizes how body posture and mind aect each other.
With this in mind, now try a dierent exercise: Standing strong in sparring
doesnt mean you have to stand with your body surface exposed and vulnerable.
A core principle in Crazy Monkey is to adopt a crouched stance that is strong and
grounded (we call it the hunchback stance). When you adopt the crouch
posture it will aect your mental aqtude and how you feel about yourselfand
how you feel about yourself in rela^on to your opponent.
Bolom line: Body aqtude has a denite and clear eect on how the mind
responds in par^cular sparring situa^ons.
Some^mes people nd it dicult to bring their alen^on back to the
present moment because theres so much stu going on in their thinking mind.
One way to overcome that is to consciously recreate a more eec^ve body
aqtude. This may come from training, as in the example of the crouched or
hunchbacked stance. If youre having a hard ^me being present in a sparring
match because your thinking mind is running wild, it helps to realize that an
unfocused mind disempowers the body. However, by becoming aware of your
wild mind or being aware of when your body isnt performing to task, you can
quickly and eec^vely remedy the situa^on. For example, you might become

aware that your stance is out of structure because you are standing too upright.
If so, you can immediately x this by locking into the right posi^on (as youve
been trained), adop^ng the hunchback stance. This simple act of changing your
body posture will, in turn, aect your thinking mind, making your feel more
defended and secure.
We use the phrase mental game as a short-hand to imply all of this
otherwise it gets complicated. However, some^mes when we talk about the
mental game, people think were talking about only whats in your head.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The mental game is rst and foremost
an embodied feeling that involves awareness of your body and the sensa^ons
owing through it at any moment. Its open an emo^ve process, and one way
to enhance your mental game is to engage your body in a correct aqtude for
your par^cular sparring match. Simply correc^ng your body posture is open all
you need in the moment to switch your mind from a nega^ve to a posi^ve
aqtude.
In other words, the mental game is as much about whats happening in
your body. Its very important to remember this: Your mind isnt just in your
head, in your brain. It exists throughout your en^re body. Every cell has its own
intelligence. Your mind is literally embodied. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense
that when you get into the hunchback stance, your body knows from training and

sparring that it is well-protected. You know from prac^ce and experience that
that is the best stance for protec^ng your body from an alack.
The body learns how best to protect itself, and so if you consciously adopt
that physical posture, your bodys natural intelligence (your embodied mind) will
feel relaxed and will trust that it is being protected. Having that physical stance of
protec^on will give your embodied mind a sense of securityat least a greater
sense of security than it would if it didnt adopt that stance.
Simply adop^ng the stance triggers the brain, which then triggers the mind
to say, Okay, this is the way I need to be to be protected.

7
Learning To Manage Your EmoVons

Frequently, mar^al ar^sts have a (mistaken) belief that they have to get into an
aggressive state, a kind of killer ins^nct" mind-set, in order to do the business at
hand. Without a doubt, some^mes this can work. If you go in the match with that
kind of emo^onal force, you might become more physically dominant than the
person youre working against, and there is a good chance that the emo^onal
surge may help you beat your opponent.
But now consider this: What happens when you are dealing with an
opponent who is far superior to you in skill? In that case, a killer ins^nct driven
by blind aggression is more than likely to backre on you. Very quickly, you will
nd that your opponent is not reac^ng the way you expect. When you go into
ght driven by an aggressive emo^on and it doesnt work, you are now at a double
disadvantage: First, your opponents superior skill can easily deal with your
aggression; and second, your aggression blurs your mental clarity, and you quickly
nd yourself both overpowered and outsmarted by your opponent. That can
become a real problem. Your aggression ips back on you. Suddenly the
emo^onal chemicals of aggression turn into anxiety and fear. Now youre on your
5

back foot, and youve just got yourself into a hole thats going to be very dicult
to climb out of.
People open say to us, Well, Ive seen aggressive ghters win. And we
respond, Yes, but that works only when theyre already winning the ght.
Anger against an opponentwho doesnt have to be signicantly superior, just
more dominant in that par^cular momentdoesn't guarantee success. If the
anger doesnt work (and frequently it doesnt) it quickly spirals into frustra^on,
anxiety, and eventually fear. By then, youve lost control, which means youve
lost the game.
Instead of that, we want you to use your mental game to no^ce: Okay,
Im feeling a surge of anger. Now, instead of geqng lost in the anger and leqng it
take control, your awareness or observa+on of your own emo^onal state is all you
need to either avoid losing control or to regain it if its beginning to spiral out of
your hands. Awareness of your anger prevents it from domina^ng your thoughts,
and hence your ac^ons. Its much beler to no^ce it and then pay alen^on to
what is actually happening with your body, and trust in your bodys own natural
intelligence to direct your emo^ons rather than have them be directed by the
anger.

How do you achieve this you may be asking? By prac^cing what we call

Mindfulness-in-Ac^on.

8
Mindfulness in AcVon

Working with and managing your emo^ons Emo^ons have their own energy, and
can be very powerful. Without prac^ced skill, strong emo^ons can overpower us
and leave us vulnerable. This is where mindfulness-in-ac6on comes ina state
of mind where you are able to just be present without judging the outcome of
your performance.

Mindfulness involves not becoming alached to the way you are thinking,

or alaching to whatever sensa^ons are arising in your bodyBy not being

alached, you remain in control and retain the ability to be fully present. This
leads to the great advantage of having a uid mind.
Using re-focus goals and anchoring techniques is important to get you
back to the present. However, geqng to the stage where you dont always have
to mentally run through them takes you to the next level. This is what we mean
by using your uid mindwhere you are no longer fusing to your thoughts or
emo^ons.
Heres a quick step-by-step overview:
1. Mindfulness/Observation: First, cul^vate and prac^ce mindfulness
7

learning to simply observe your thoughts, emo^ons, and feelings without judging
them, or trying to do anything with them. You simply watch them as though they
were images on a TV screen.
2. Choice/Focused AAen6on: Next, aper mindfulness or non-judgmental
awareness, use your minds power to choose where to focus your alen^on. In
the early days of training, you can work on the habit of using refocus goals and
anchors to get yourself grounded.
3. Fluid Mind/Embodied Intelligence: Later on, though, you can reach a
level where you use your uid mind to get yourself grounded without having to
actually silently repeat the refocus goals or engaging in an anchor process. At
this stage in your mental game training, you have trained your body-mind to
naturally and spontaneously respond intelligently.
Are you able to actually stay in the sparring match without judging the
thoughts and feelings that are coming up?
Choose to pay alen^on to what is happening in your body without judging
it, allow it to just bethis is mindfullness-in-ac^on. Self-judgment in sparring
takes you away from the present moment. It distracts your alen^on either by
projec^ng into the future or holding onto the past. Think back to the opening
sec^on. When you nd yourself projec^ng or holding onto the past, thats when
you are no longer present, no longer able to perform at a peak levelbecause

peak performance happens only right now.

We have been condi^oned to judge ourselves and others. Whether in
mar^al arts or in life in general, that kind of judgment doesnt work for peak
performance. If we happen to nd ourselves thinking in a par^cular way or
moving in a par^cular way on the mat or in daily life, it doesnt help to judge
ourselves and say, Oh, I shouldnt be thinking that. When that happens, you
spiral into judging yourself more and moreand then you judge yourself for
judging yourself! It quickly spins out of control. Rather than geqng into that
trap, no^ce, Oh, Ive had a par^cular thought thats taken me o track. Just
no^ce it and then let it go. Simply use your uid mind to choose to get back to
sparring.
You have to choose to let go. By leqng go, you actually nd the control you
have been seeking all along in your mental game. The sense of centeredness and
complete ability to be present in this experience happens by leqng go.
You are actually leqng go of trying to run the show using your own egoic
mental force. When you let go of the ego mind, you allow the bodys deep
ins^nc^ve intelligence to take over, and your bodys ins^nc^ve intelligence is
almost always much more eec^ve than trying to think things through in the
moment. Remember, sparring is performance, and a performance always
happens in the moment.

Fluid mind happens only when you're able to be mindful-in-ac^on. The

opposite of uid mind is s+cky mindwhen you are alaching or fusing to your
thoughtsthinking that your thoughts are reality. Theyre not. They never are.
They are just thoughtsabstrac^ons arising and passing through your mind.
In order to cul^vate uid mind, you must rst learn to no^ce theres a
big dierence between what you think and what you actually experience. In
short, we are asking you to cul^vate experience beyond belief. By experience,
we mean the feelings or sensa^ons in your body from moment to moment.
Paying alen^on to whatever feelings are going on in your body grounds you.
Every thought you have begins as a feeling in your body and percolates up.
Every thought is an abstrac^onand every belief system is a mental habit.
Thoughts and beliefs are mechanical. When they dominate our mind, we nd
ourselves running like a machine. However, experience is what happens from
moment to moment to moment. It is naturally uid like a movie, whereas
thoughts are kind of sta^c, like snapshots. Consider the image where thoughts
are like the cogs in the machine going click-click-click-click-click, whereas your
experience is just uidly owing from one moment to the next. By drawing your
alen^on into the ongoing process of experience, rather than geqng distracted
into the mechanics of abstract thoughts, you will nd you are much more
eec^veboth on the mat and in the rest of your life.

10

Thoughts do not give us reality. As weve already men^oned, thoughts are

abstrac^ons. A thought is like a frozen fragment of reality that weve isolated
from the ongoing stream of uid experience. An individual thought is like freeze-
framing a moment in ^me. Of course, reality never stands s^ll. Like our
experience, it always ows from one moment to the next. Therefore, every
thought is plucked from the uid steam of experience and reality, and
immediately slips into the past. As soon as this moment in ^me arises, it
immediately slips into the pastaway from the current reality. Thoughts, then,
lose contact with reality as it is now because thoughts are always rooted in the
past. They are frozen moments abstracted from the in-the-moment experience
of reality as it is actually happening.
When we pay alen^on to our thoughts we're actually observing past
momentsfrozen fragments of consciousnessand meanwhile were missing
out on whats actually happening in reality. Reality is always connected to the
experience of whats going on in our bodies from one moment to the next.
And thats why it is important to cul^vate mindfulness and uid mind to
learn to re-focus our alen^on on the present moment by experiencing the
sensa+ons owing through our bodies and observing the thoughts owing
through our minds.
Every thought and every belief is a distor^on of reality. The way to get back

11

to reality is by paying alen^on to our actual embodied experience. Embodied

mind grounds us right back in the reality of the moment. One of the best ways to
prac^ce that, of course, is through the prac^ce of mindfulness.

Having the ability to be mindful allows you to become aware of the

important dierence between thinking and experience.

Being mindful means, essen^ally, developing the ability to be more aware
of whats going on from moment to moment, both in your mind and in your
body, and then making a choice about where you want to direct your alen^on.
Most important, to be mindful is to accept what is happening, without judgment.

12

9
Breath Enlivens the Mental Game

Earlier, we men^oned that one of the four re-focus goals was condi+oning.
We men^oned breath, in par^cular, as a way to refocus the thinking mind
into the present moment where true performance happens. But what does it
mean to say use breath to center yourself in the present moment, and
how can that be used to supercharge your mental game?

Have you no^ced that, in normal circumstances, your dont have to do

anything to take care of your breathing? It just happens naturally all on its
own. Well, thats your brain doing its job behind the scenes. However,
some^mes its useful to take control of your breath, or at least to pay closer
atten^on to it and, for example, to remember to breathe more deeply and
deliberately.

Your breath is one of the most eec^ve links between your mind and

your brain, and, therefore, between your mind and your body. Mindfulness of
your breathing, then, is a great way to relax your body and become grounded.

So now, lets take a quick look at that three-pound piece of intelligent

jelly inside your skull that is connected to all parts of your body through a

13

complex network of nerves.

Your brain sits on top of your spine, which is the main highway for your

nervous system, feeding informa^on from your peripheral nervous system

(PNS) about what is happening in your body to your central nervous system
(CNS) to be processed in your brain.
Your peripheral nervous system (PNS) has two parts and funcVons:
1. External. Your sensory-soma+c nervous system responsible for gathering
informa^on about your external environment.
2. Internal. Your autonomic nervous system (ANS) responsible for monitoring
and controlling your internal organs (e.g., heart, lungs, viscera, and glands).
Your ANS also aects your motor nerves that determine how your body acts
and reacts in response to internal and external s^muli.

Your ANS is mostly beyond conscious control. It operates behind the

scenes, usually unconscious and involuntary (by contrast, your sensory-

soma^c system responds directly to your conscious will).

The ANS, then, perceives your bodys internal environment and after

informa^on is processed in the Central Nervous System (CNS), the ANS

regulates the func^ons of the internal environment. Most of this is done
completely unconscious.

The ANS has two subdivisions: parasympathe+c and sympathe+c

14

nervous systems.

SympatheVc Nervous System. S^mula^on of the sympathe^c nervous

system prepares the body for emergenciesfor ght or ight. It kicks into
ac^on in high stress situa^ons, such as gh^ng or sparring.

Some^mes referred to as the ght-or-ight system, the sympathe^c

nerves direct more blood to the muscles and the brain. Heart rate and blood
pressure increase, while blood ow to the diges^ve and elimina^ve organs
decreases.

ParasympatheVc Nervous System. Whereas the sympathe^c gears the

body up for ac^on, the parasympathe^c calms it down, bringing your body
back into a state of balance.

The parasympathe^c balances the sympathe^c. Without the

Parasympathe^c Nervous System (PNS) for balance, the sympathe^c (ght-or-

ight) system can overwhelm the body with an over-abundance of energy
causing dizziness, spaciness, confusion, fear, anxiety, or other forms of hyper-
arousal and distress.

Conscious Breath. Whereas most ANS ac^ons are involuntary, some,

such as breathing, work in tandem with the conscious mind. This means that
focusing on the out breath (which ac^vely engages the parasympathe^c

15

nervous system) is the one tool we can use to have a direct eect on the ANS.
It is the only tool we have to bring the sympathe^c nervous system down from
overdrive that typically happens when sparring, where adrenaline is always
present. Bottom line: Your out-breath is one of the few ANS processes you can
consciously control.

Importance of Breath. More and more, the medical community is

realizing that sympathe^c dominance (fear/aggression response) underlies

many modern-day maladies, including anxiety and hypertension.

While science does not yet fully understand what causes sympathe^c

dominance (ght, ight, or freeze), one thing is very clear: Poor, incomplete
or shallow breathing allows the sympathe^c nervous system to take over.

By contrast, correct breathing balances the autonomic nervous system

by ac^va^ng the parasympathe^c nervous system and calming over-ac^ve

sympathe^c reac^ons. As a consequence, slow, deep breathing naturally and
quickly reduces internal tension, anxiety, and many other psycho-
physiological challenges to health and well being that result from this
imbalance.

Furthermore, if you focus on your out-breath when sparring, then you

are not thinking about the past or the future. Focusing on the out-breath
immediately brings you back into the present. Breathing always happens right

16

here and now. Even if you found yourself moving into past or future thinking,
bringing yourself back to your out-breath, re-focuses you back in the present
moment.

As we have been saying throughout this ebook, only in the present

moment are you free from alachment to past and future thoughtsand truly
able to perform at your best.

Below is a quick breathing exercise you can use in sparring any ^me you

nd yourself moving away from the present moment.

Parasympathe6c Breathing Exercise

1. Focus from the heart: Breathe in and through the heart.
2. Relax breath: Keep your throat open, breath falls into your belly, ribs
move with each breath. Not too deep, and not too shallow.
3. Exhale: Focus on the exhale, as this engages the parasympathetic
nervous system (in-breath, heart rhythm quickens; out-breath, body
sinking and heart slows).
4. Smooth Change: The change between breaths is gentle and slowlike an
ocean wave, rolling onto shore, lingering, and then returning.

17

10
Final Words
And there you have it. A solid introduc^on to an eec^ve mental game for
peak sparring performance.

You have to approach your mental game training as you approach your

physical training. If you working out physically six-hours a week, then you
should spend equal or more ^me on your mental game.

We spend so much of our life on autopilot. Training for your mental

game is about coming o autopilot, and puqng yourself in the drivers seat.
It is about becoming aware of what is truly going on inside yourself. Not in a
nega^ve, puqng yourself down, kind of way. Rather we want you to
approach your internal game with compassion and curiosity. You have spent
a life^me being condi^oned, and changing that will take ^me, and a whole
lot of eort.

We wish you luck as you move forward on your inner journey of self

discovery.
Rodney and ChrisVan

18

11
About The Authors
Rodney King, M.A. RSME
Rodney holds a Masters Degree in Leading
Innova^on and Change and is an Advanced Post-
Graduate Student, pursuing his Ph.D. at the
University of Leicester. He is an interna^onally
renowned mar^al arts and leadership coach.
He has worked with Army Special Forces on
developing high-performance mindsets during intense engagement. He has
instructed law enforcement ocers both in the United States and Canada on
how to protect themselves when all else fails. He has worked closely with
corporate execu^ves, emerging leaders, and CEOs to access their inner warrior
and gain the winning edge both mentally and emo^onally to enhance their
careers.

Star^ng his rst company at 18, he went on to develop coaching courses

for modern mar^al arts, leadership development, and business success tools,
now taught and used in more than 15 countries around the world.

Author, husband, and father of two boys, Rodney is one of the leading

experts in his elda modern-day warrior, who teaches the original inten^on
of mar^al arts as a life performance tool.

19

ChrisVan de Quincey, Ph.D.

Award-winning author and consciousness coach Dr.
Chris^an de Quincey teaches philosophy and
consciousness studies at John F. Kennedy University
in California. He is also founder of The Wisdom
Academy, an online venue for programs and private
mentorships in consciousness and transforma^on.
He summarizes his lifes mission as an embodied
cellular commitment to help others understand
the mind-body connec^on in ways that empower
and transform lives.

Although his formal academic training is in philosophy of mind, he

champions an interdisciplinary approach to consciousness. His studies and

wri^ngs have covered, for example, neuroscience, cogni^ve science,
anthropology, history and philosophy of science, history of philosophy,
quantum physics, cosmology, theology, as well as Eastern and Western spiritual
tradi^ons. Using his background in journalism, he specializes in communica^ng
profound and complex ideas in accessible language without compromising the
integrity of robust scholarship.

His books explore and challenge the deep assump^ons we hold about

consciousness, collec^vely and individually. Exposing and engaging with our

often unques^oned belief systems is not only central to any comprehensive
and eec^ve program in consciousness studies, it is essen^al for
transforma^on at the personal and societal level. Perhaps more than ever
20

before in human history, he says, we cri^cally need to develop tools and skills
to accelerate transforma^on of our fundamental ideas about who we are and
how we relate to the world around us.

He teaches that unless we engage in this deep work, we are unlikely to

create the kinds of solu^ons needed to sustain our communi^es and

civiliza^on through the current century. Business-as-usual is no longer an
op^on. We have reached a point in the evolu^on of our species where, it
appears, we either make a profound shift in personal and collec^ve
consciousness or face the prospect of wide-ranging and increasingly complex
crises that threaten the well being (perhaps even the survival) of our social,
economic, poli^cal, educa^onal, and ecological systems.

With an intention and commitment to help bring about this kind of

needed change, Dr. de Quincey has teamed up with international martial arts
expert and coach Rodney King to develop and offer new programs in
Embodied Intelligence to individuals and martial art schools around the
world. He can be contacted via his website: www.christiandequincey.com.

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Visit
www.embodiedmindperformance.com
for details on Embodied Mind Performance programs, or
contact rodney@crazymonkeydefense.com
to book workshops and personal coaching.

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