My Childhood Performance Anxiety

I started Judo in 1973 and took to it like a duck to water. After about a year, I was in the junior team, representing the club at competitions around the Midland Area and, on occasion, in other areas of the country.

I loved Judo and could hold my own against all in the club and against those who visited our club within my weight category. Within a few years, I was training 5 nights a week and Judo took up most of my weekends with Judo competitions or gradings.

My problem was that I suffered from what I know now to be Performance Anxiety. I would shake, be sick and make endless visits to the toilet. I did not lose all my competitive fights; I won many, but never enough to get a medal.  

From 1973 to 1980, representing my club, I never got a single medal; my instructors/coaches would say things like he is a nervous kid, he will grow out of it, or it’s just how he is.

Back in the mid to late 1970s, my coaches and instructors did not understand performance anxiety and knew little about sports psychology.

I had the physical ability, techniques and skills to succeed in Judo but not the understanding or the ability as a child to control my emotions.

I know what performance anxiety feels like, and now, as an adult, I realise what I have missed out on in Judo. I had great Judo coaches and instructors, many of whom were champions and some represented Great Britain.

As an adult, I have learned so much about my emotions and how to manage them and use them to better myself. I have stood up in front of my peers, members of the public, military personnel, police officers instructors and I have delivered training in six countries.  

Let me help you overcome your Performance Anxiety and Fear.