post competition disorder

[Warren J. Dew]

Jumping jacks do create movement. What do you mean?

I mean Standard - and Smooth - movement across the floor, which is the context for the "movement results from technique" concept.

 

[fiesta0618]

Thanks. That's useful. Does 100% commitment imply 100% energy output level, though? For example, if one is doing say rumba basics, or even time steps, can one commit 100% to full leg straightening, hip action, and other technique, without being at 100% energy output?

There isn't a single simple answer here, because there's a massive difference between the physical forces acting upon the body and the brain's perception of them.

For learners like us, what the brain tags as "all-out" is almost certainly much less than the full force it can apply, because the brain is aggressive about protecting itself and the body from danger. And danger is not just about injury; loss of confidence, loss of balance, and exhaustion are also "dangerous" things that the brain will naturally and emphatically seek to avoid. Much of the mental side of training involves rewiring the brain so that it sets a higher threshold for what counts as "dangerous."

So I would say that 100% commitment does not necessitate 100% effort, in the physical sense. But unless you are already trained to an elite level, it is likely that the brain's perception of 100% effort will yield only 90% of the body's physical capacity to commit. And so one should occasionally dance like a madwoman to stretch that perception, make it more accurate, and unlock the capacity to commit closer to 100% in truth.

In principle, one should eventually get to a level of training where pushing that mental boundary is no longer necessary.

 

[Misspendragon]

There isn't a single simple answer here, because there's a massive difference between the physical forces acting upon the body and the brain's perception of them.

For learners like us, what the brain tags as "all-out" is almost certainly much less than the full force it can apply, because the brain is aggressive about protecting itself and the body from danger. And danger is not just about injury; loss of confidence, loss of balance, and exhaustion are also "dangerous" things that the brain will naturally and emphatically seek to avoid. Much of the mental side of training involves rewiring the brain so that it sets a higher threshold for what counts as "dangerous."

YES! That's what I meant by ANS training. Pros being able to tolerate much higher level of ACTUAL energy output versus PERCEIVED energy output. They have a different threshold for what their ANS can tolerate and work with productively.

 

[Tracy]

My teacher actually has me run my dances at what I perceive as too much energy and overdo it without worry of technique and then way less than I need and barely do much. He says it is to learn my maximums and minimums and then be able to have a controllable range.

We also have a saying we use just before a comp..."don't let technique limit your soul". So passion vs precision...performance vs technique. Yes, both are needed but to perform, you have to trust your technique at that point and let the performance/passion have a turn. Afterall, that is what makes it feel good!

 

[j_alexandra]

Spending energy does not automatically result in movement, in this Standard sense of movement across the floor. You can do jumping jacks in place, expend plenty of energy, and get no movement.

<de-lurking for a moment>

Progression and movement are different. You move a lot when doing jumping jacks. You don't progress. In Standard, you move and progress.

<back to backing away slowly from this thread>

 

[Misspendragon]

<de-lurking for a moment>

Progression and movement are different. You move a lot when doing jumping jacks. You don't progress. In Standard, you move and progress.

<back to backing away slowly from this thread>

Yes, movement and progression are different. Loads of movement in jumping jacks.

And why are you lurking ?

 

[ProgressNotPerfection]

And why are you lurking ?

I suspect it’s because @j_alexandra is emphatically, unequivocally opposed to the word “disorder” in this context.

But “disordered” is an apt word to describe the melange of thoughts and feelings I personally feel when a comp is over: chaotic, disorganized, elated, unsettled, relieved, overwhelmed, emotionally fragile, and exhausted, both physically and mentally.

 

[scullystwin42]

Phew! First competition in over a year done! Closed silver latin B. I almost cried after I finished my last heat- I wasn’t sure I’d be able to compete again ever, but I made it and was still standing at the end! New style, new partner, made it through and met my goal of not being tense and stiff in frame. And I had so much fun! Nice to have that joy again.

I didn’t realize how much former pro’s personal issues had been seeping into making competitions not as fun- it was nice to be at a comp with people who truly did want me to be there and to dance as best I can.

Not all him making me not love it last year, obviously, it was just part of the difference. I love doing Latin again as well.

I am very sore today, but my chest didn’t hurt yesterday. A little tight today, but nothing too bad. I’m cautiously optimistic that I’ve had some improvement in my body based on how I was able to dance.

It was an unexpected surprise to win champ and scholarship. Small field, but still lovely. I teared up a bit after the lineup and secret pro had to tell me not to cry because we were going to take pictures lol.

And I had a bombshell dress to wear to the evening portion. Wish pros had gotten third but I always love to see them dance.

 

[Cal]

Phew! First competition in over a year done! Closed silver latin B. I almost cried after I finished my last heat- I wasn’t sure I’d be able to compete again ever, but I made it and was still standing at the end! New style, new partner, made it through and met my goal of not being tense and stiff in frame. And I had so much fun! Nice to have that joy again.

I didn’t realize how much former pro’s personal issues had been seeping into making competitions not as fun- it was nice to be at a comp with people who truly did want me to be there and to dance as best I can.

Not all him making me not love it last year, obviously, it was just part of the difference. I love doing Latin again as well.

I am very sore today, but my chest didn’t hurt yesterday. A little tight today, but nothing too bad. I’m cautiously optimistic that I’ve had some improvement in my body based on how I was able to dance.

It was an unexpected surprise to win champ and scholarship. Small field, but still lovely. I teared up a bit after the lineup and secret pro had to tell me not to cry because we were going to take pictures lol.

And I had a bombshell dress to wear to the evening portion. Wish pros had gotten third but I always love to see them dance.

That's great! I'm so happy to hear this from you!

 

[ProgressNotPerfection]

Phew! First competition in over a year done! Closed silver latin B. I almost cried after I finished my last heat- I wasn’t sure I’d be able to compete again ever, but I made it and was still standing at the end! New style, new partner, made it through and met my goal of not being tense and stiff in frame. And I had so much fun! Nice to have that joy again.

 

[Purr]

Phew! First competition in over a year done! Closed silver latin B. I almost cried after I finished my last heat- I wasn’t sure I’d be able to compete again ever, but I made it and was still standing at the end! New style, new partner, made it through and met my goal of not being tense and stiff in frame. And I had so much fun! Nice to have that joy again.

I didn’t realize how much former pro’s personal issues had been seeping into making competitions not as fun- it was nice to be at a comp with people who truly did want me to be there and to dance as best I can.

Not all him making me not love it last year, obviously, it was just part of the difference. I love doing Latin again as well.

I am very sore today, but my chest didn’t hurt yesterday. A little tight today, but nothing too bad. I’m cautiously optimistic that I’ve had some improvement in my body based on how I was able to dance.

It was an unexpected surprise to win champ and scholarship. Small field, but still lovely. I teared up a bit after the lineup and secret pro had to tell me not to cry because we were going to take pictures lol.

And I had a bombshell dress to wear to the evening portion. Wish pros had gotten third but I always love to see them dance.

Congratulations on your awesome results!

 

[wahoo_foxtrot]

Won OSB which is a surprise as it was a tough crowd...!
Also got not-too-bad remarks from dear Larinda which made me wanna cry now.

 

[IndyLady]

Won OSB which is a surprise as it was a tough crowd...!
Also got not-too-bad remarks from dear Larinda which made me wanna cry now.

Congratulations on your excellent results!

I, on the other hand, totally lost OSB (technically not last every time, but I wanted to use that verb).

I'm not devastated, I knew I wasn't going to knock it out of the park, but tbh the low level of the results was very informative. I am aware that I've made a number of technical improvements but it was so clear, and especially from the videos, that I was/am just not on the same level as the other people on the floor, (ok admittedly there were a couple multi-dances that I somehow missed were "Open" when I signed up for them, not medalist level, oops). I'm at the point where it's about the couple, not just me (sigh) and ... well.... we need to talk about that. I took a break from lessons this week so have not had this discussion and it will be next week. Pro's other student had similar experience/feedback and apparently he was not receptive in the moment (to put it mildly) but implemented some changes on her next lesson, so it will be interesting to see how my conversation goes. He's been heavily promoting the "you've improved so much, results don't matter" line, but frankly this time around that is a cop-out - it makes sense for a franchise newbie on their first comp, but not someone at my point in the journey (i.e. please table the patronizing pep talks).

The interesting (not in a good way, if you think about it) is that I got by far the most recalls in a scholarship on one of the Open ones, after following a piece of advice from the hair/makeup lady, and I think that was the difference maker. Who should I be paying for dance instruction apparently?

Honestly, I didn't totally enjoy the experience, irrespective of results. There was just a lot of excessive and unexpected waiting, with heats being run out of order for QF's and SF's etc, and just sometimes long stretches between set of heats. I also didn't particularly care for dancing at 10:30-11 pm at night - I wasn't sleepy like I expected, but it was also hard to get to sleep at a decent hour to get up for the next morning because I still had to shower to wash off hair/makeup and then it takes a little to decompress.

OK one highlight... so I always leave a short note with my housekeeping tip so they know to take it (I've heard rumors that sometimes they won't take random money on a pillow anymore b/c they don't want to be accused of stealing), i.e.. "Housekeeping - thank you". Historic happening, I came back to my clean room and the note was turned over and she had written "thank you" with a smiley face on the back. That is going in the scrapbook.

 

[Misspendragon]

Congratulations on your excellent results!

I, on the other hand, totally lost OSB (technically not last every time, but I wanted to use that verb).

I'm not devastated, I knew I wasn't going to knock it out of the park, but tbh the low level of the results was very informative. I am aware that I've made a number of technical improvements but it was so clear, and especially from the videos, that I was/am just not on the same level as the other people on the floor, (ok admittedly there were a couple multi-dances that I somehow missed were "Open" when I signed up for them, not medalist level, oops). I'm at the point where it's about the couple, not just me (sigh) and ... well.... we need to talk about that. I took a break from lessons this week so have not had this discussion and it will be next week. Pro's other student had similar experience/feedback and apparently he was not receptive in the moment (to put it mildly) but implemented some changes on her next lesson, so it will be interesting to see how my conversation goes. He's been heavily promoting the "you've improved so much, results don't matter" line, but frankly this time around that is a cop-out - it makes sense for a franchise newbie on their first comp, but not someone at my point in the journey (i.e. please table the patronizing pep talks).

The interesting (not in a good way, if you think about it) is that I got by far the most recalls in a scholarship on one of the Open ones, after following a piece of advice from the hair/makeup lady, and I think that was the difference maker. Who should I be paying for dance instruction apparently?

Honestly, I didn't totally enjoy the experience, irrespective of results. There was just a lot of excessive and unexpected waiting, with heats being run out of order for QF's and SF's etc, and just sometimes long stretches between set of heats. I also didn't particularly care for dancing at 10:30-11 pm at night - I wasn't sleepy like I expected, but it was also hard to get to sleep at a decent hour to get up for the next morning because I still had to shower to wash off hair/makeup and then it takes a little to decompress.

OK one highlight... so I always leave a short note with my housekeeping tip so they know to take it (I've heard rumors that sometimes they won't take random money on a pillow anymore b/c they don't want to be accused of stealing), i.e.. "Housekeeping - thank you". Historic happening, I came back to my clean room and the note was turned over and she had written "thank you" with a smiley face on the back. That is going in the scrapbook.

Very cool about the housekeeping. And I'm sorry you didn't have a good time and that your results weren't what you had hoped for. The hair/makeup person advice was interesting; what did she advice you to do?

Good luck with the conversation with your Pro.

 

[mnldoc]

Thank you for your post. Sometimes, people only post about their good results, not their disappointing ones. I appreciated the honesty of your post. It reminded me that that the highs and lows of competing are something all of us who compete go through and share. I can certainly relate.

You also reminded me how small acts of kindness/courtesy can sometimes have such a large impact.

Maybe it is better that your conversation with pro will be next week yet. Hopefully this will give him time to digest, reflect, and come up with an action plan.