|
Tensions begin to rise at Red Bull Air Race airports all around the world in the energy-filled hour or so before races begin and every pilot - whether they’re from the United States, Russia, Austria, France or South Africa – can be observed putting on some form of “mental blinder” as they try to psych themselves up for the looming battle in the sky.
The rituals vary. You can see some pilots walking through a miniature practice course of Red Bull cans set up on the ground in their hangar, sometimes zipping through the course with their hands in front of their chests as if they were holding onto imaginary controls while executing the turns and loops – and etching the track one last time in their minds. And you can see others with vacant stares on their faces, seemingly off in another world of deep concentration, as they softly mumble to themselves.
At the same time they all seem to keep a wary eye on the unpredictable pack of journalists, photographers and television crews scurrying around the tarmac – potential distracters that might possibly try to disrupt their concentration with an ill-timed question or picture. Most pilots have a “Don’t-bother-me-now” look on their faces in the hour before the first “Smoke On” is shouted to signal the start of the competition, which is for the most part respected. All the pilots know that getting their mind and spirit in peak condition is vital to success in the race that they will tell you, time and time again, will depend to a large degree on mental readiness.
This year two rookies, Yoshihide Muroya of Japan and Matthias Dolderer of Germany, will bring new and somewhat unorthodox forms of pre-race meditation to the World Championship. Muroya is an ardent believer in the powers of Zazen and a regular practitioner while Dolderer uses archery as a form of mental training for precision flying.
“I concentrate my training so that nothing can distract me from what I’m focussed on,” said Muroya, who will make his debut with Dolderer and two other rookies, Matt Hall of Australia and Pete McLeod of Canada, at the season opener in Abu Dhabi on April 17/18. “On race day I can’t let anything distract me. Zazen strengthens my concentration and keeps the stress level down.”
The 36-year-old Muroya, who has been practicing Zazen for about a year, said that the secret of the mental training is to clear your mind of desires and thoughts. After waking up each morning he sits down for 30 minutes with folded legs and hands. He breathes from the centre of his abdomen with eyes neither open nor shut.
He says this form of meditation helps him keep his motivation under control and strengthen his self-management. Before he turned to Zazen he was convinced that perfect hand-eye-foot coordination was the main thing a pilot needed to fly well. But now Muroya said he believes that 75 percent of success can be traced to mental preparation.
Dolderer has been using archery to sharpen his concentration and said he is even considering setting up a target in his hangar for a little last-minute archery before races. “It’s conceivable I could set up a target in the hangar,” he said.
But the 38-year-old rookie said that one or two training sessions with a bow and arrow in a meadow at home in southern Germany is usually enough to keep his focus tuned. He said he uses archery as a form of mental training. Archery gets his body and spirit ready for racing by raising his level of attentiveness and concentration while at the same time requiring him to stay relaxed. Another reason he likes archery is that he gets instant feedback.
“Archery is similar to the Red Bull Air Race in that you need to be completely concentrated on what you’re doing,” Dolderer said. “With archery I go deep inside myself and don’t think about anything else.”
|
News 
