The Super Mental Training Book (11 page)

As related to Burt, Grippo sat at Ali's bedside for four nights prior to the fight, giving Ali hypnotic suggestions. According to Grippo, suggestions given the athlete just before he goes to sleep are ideal since "they're accepted by both the athlete's conscious and subconscious mind. Then the best that's in the athlete will come out." Grippo gave Ali several suggestions. Many were of a technical nature, useful only in boxing. Informed Grippo, "I could make them because I'm a former boxing manager." Others, however, were general suggestions, applicable to any sport. Some of the more noteworthy of these included:

1) "You will have complete confidence in yourself."

2) "Your will to win will be greater than ever."

3) "You'll have perfect coordination and reaction."

Ali, well past his prime at age 36, scored a convincing victory over Spinks. Compared to some of his other recent fights, Ali looked very good, moving and dancing extremely well. As Grippo observed, "he was able to go 15 rounds like it was 10 years ago." So, was it the hypnosis? Ali reportedly admitted that the positive thoughts Grippo had given him had, in fact, helped him. This at least is what Harold Conrad, Ali's public relations consultant, and Waddell Summers, the boxing editor for the New Orleans Times Picayune, heard Ali say.

Previous to the Spinks fight, Ali had relied on repeated recitations of his famous "I am the

greatest!" line—called an affirmation by sports psychologists—to prepare himself mentally for bouts. An affirmation is a positive attitude-building statement that one repeats at intervals to himself. Perhaps as age caught up to Ali, he found his "I am the greatest!" affirmation not proving as effective as it had been in his younger days, and this is why he turned to a mental discipline (hypnosis) that could better program his subconscious. Whatever the reason for trying hypnosis, Ali definitely appears to have profited from trying out the technique.

Jack Dempsey, the greatest boxer of the Golden Era of Sports, shot positive thoughts through his mind during each fight. It is insignificant whether we call this process use of affirmations, self-hypnosis, or self-talk (a term sports psychologists sometimes use to avoid saying the word "self-hypnosis"); all that matters is that it worked for the Manassa Mauler. Dempsey describes what he did:

To keep up my courage in the ring, I would give myself a pep talk during the fight. For example, while I was fighting Firpo, I kept saying over and over, "Nothing is going to stop me. He is not going to hurt me. I won't feel his blows. I can't get hurt. I am going to keep going, no matter what happens." Making positive statements like that to myself, and thinking positive thoughts, helped me a lot. It even kept my mind so occupied that I didn't feel the blows. During my career, I have had my lips smashed, my eyes cut, my ribs cracked—and Firpo knocked me clear through the ropes, and I landed on a reporter's typewriter and wrecked it. But I never felt even one of Firpo's blows. There was only one blow that I ever really felt. That was the night Lester Johnson broke three of my ribs. The punch never hurt me, but it affected my breathing. I can honestly say I never felt any other blow I ever got in the ring. [12]

Dempsey's best years were already behind him when he fought Tunney. Even so, one concludes from his testimonial that, despite getting beat up in his two defeats to Tunney, he never felt his opponent's punches—this occurring thanks mainly to Dempsey incessantly repeating positive thoughts to himself while in action. We have already seen how entering a relaxed state, in which brain-wave activity level is reduced, facilitates the subconscious's acceptance of new input (suggestions, ideas, etc.); however, Jack Dempsey's experience clearly shows that it also possible to remain "awake" and still successfully program yourself. Repetition, in this case, seems to be the key element.

An interesting contest for the IBF heavyweight boxing crown took place on September 21, 1985 between Larry Holmes, the reigning champion, and Michael Spinks. Spinks, constantly moving during the fight, won a unanimous decision. Holmes explained afterwards that "he [Spinks] wasn't that strong. He was just awkward. I couldn't get my right hand going, just couldn't get a shot."[13] Spinks provided a different theory about why Holmes, undefeated prior to the bout, could not get untracked, stating:

I hypnotized and mesmerized him [with a bobbing, rolling style]. I rolled, and whenever he was close, I went off on him.

During the fight Holmes' gaze seemed transfixed on Spinks' bobbing head, much like the way a subject's eyes follow the hypnotist's swaying pocket watch. We recall from the Introduction that a central focus of attention, when combined with relaxation, produces an inhibition effect in the cerebral cortex, bringing about the hypnotic state of mind. Holmes, by intensely concentrating on Spinks' jerky head movements (the focus of attention), could have unwittingly brought upon himself a state of mind approaching hypnosis, thereby slowing down his reactions and thought processes. So, far-fetched as it may seem, Spinks' "I hypnotized and mesmerized him" remark might contain a lot of truth.

Over two years later Holmes lost again, this time to the mentally tough WBC and WBA heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson. Tyson, then only 21 years old, told reporters a few days

before the fight that "when I was growing up, I always rooted for him [Holmes]."[14] More significantly, the young champion stated that "I used to shadow box and think I was fightin' Larry Holmes. I always beat him, and there were no split decisions." This positive visualization became a reality. Tyson knocked Holmes out cold in the fourth round of their January 22, 1988 bout. Other factors, such as Holmes' advanced age (38), certainly helped determine the result as well; even so, it must be admitted that Tyson's winning mind-set had to have influenced the outcome, perhaps serving as the final nail in the challenger's coffin.

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The best endorsement hypnosis, visualization, or any other mental training strategy can receive is for the athlete to continue to use it even after he loses. Several of the boxers we have read about here have persisted in using their preferred mental rehearsal technique despite experiencing losses in the ring. Clearly, with these athletes mental training has passed the test, providing them the positive frame of mind required in the quest for peak performance.

FOOTNOTES

1. Johansson employed hypnosis to advantage in defeating Floyd Patterson for the heavyweight boxing championship on June 26, 1959. Dr. Huber Grimm, a Seattle physician and hypnotist, describes how Ingemar responded to a pre-fight hypnosis session (see "Hypnotized Cager Almost Beat Gaels," San Francisco Chronicle, December 31, 1959): "While under hypnosis he (Johansson) was told that he would throw his right hand when there was an opening and before he was consciously aware of it. That's why after the fight he was unable to say that he had spotted the opening before he threw the punch that knocked Patterson down the first time. It was so fast they had to stop the movies of the fight frame-by-frame afterward to see it."

2. "Quarry Getting His Mind, Body Ready for Zanon," Los Angeles Times, November 3, 1977, Part III, p. 1.

3. "Hypnotist Aims to Put More Punch in Clients," Los Angeles Times, November 5, 1978, Part XI, p. 1.

4. Bob Stevenson, "Self-hypnosis for the Athlete," Hypnosis Quarterly, Vol. 21, No. 3 (1978), pp. 11-16.

5. Dan Levin, "His Fight Plan Is a Planter's Punch," Sports Illustrated, March 25, 1974, p. 34.

6. "Loser Norton Gets Down but Only on Disco Floor," Los Angeles Times, March 27, 1979, Part III, p. 2.

7. "Shavers Finishes Norton in 1:58 of First Round," Los Angeles Times, March 24, 1979, Part III, p. 1.

8. "Loser Norton Gets Down but Only on Disco Floor," op. cit.

9. Rocky Marciano, "How It Feels to Be Champ," The Fireside Book of Boxing, (New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1961), p. 275.

10. John D. McCallum, The World Heavyweight Boxing Championship, (Radnor, Pennsylvania: Chilton Book Company, 1974), pp. 130-131.

11. Bill Burt, "Hypnotism Helped Ali Destroy Spinks," National Enquirer, October 10, 1978, p. 2.

12. Dale Carnegie, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1948), pp. 268-269.

13. "Spinks, Not Holmes, Makes Boxing History," Los Angeles Times, September 22, 1985, Part III, p. 1.

14. Earl Gustkey, "Holmes Will Be Fighting Age and Odds Tonight," Los Angeles Times, January 22, 1988, Part III, p. 1.

MENTAL TRAINING STRATEGIES TIME LINE (BASEBALL)

D

U R I

N G

T H E

S E A S O N

Listening to Baseball Hypnosis Tapes

(Bill Little's customized tapes also incorporate visualization, as do the ones put out by Bruce Bam and Dr. Gawain)

Use of Transcendental Meditation

(Willie Stargell, Ted Simmons, Larry Bowa, and others)

Hypnosis Sessions

(See hypnotist Arthur Ellen's work with the Angels, several of the Dodgers and other major leaguers; hypnotist Harvey Misel's work with Rod Carew, Bill Buckner, and other professional ballplayers; Lee Fisher; Dr. Conn; Coach Hertz hypnotizing his team; Peter Siegel)

Practicing Visualization

(George Brett did this for eight games in 1980 while out of the line-up with a wrist injury; went 6 for 12 upon his return and felt he had "not been away;" Wade Boggs constantly pictures himself making the "perfect swing")

T H E

G

A

M E

Self-hypnosis Sessions

(Ruppert Jones; George Foster; Dave Collins; Dennis Lamp averaged two sessions a day)

Performing while Under Self-hypnosis

(Dennis Lamp employed a "key word" to put himself in this state of mind; used heavy doses of self-hypnosis to earn an 11-0 record in 1985)

Rituals to Enhance Concentration

(Wade Boggs does wind sprints at the same time before each night game, draws chai sign in batter's box when he steps in, etc.—these help maintain his focus)

BASEBALL:

PLAYERS SCORE WITH MENTAL TRAINING STRATEGIES

It is well known that professional baseball players nowadays receive tremendous pay, with the best players acquiring a celebrity status that can become a downright hassle. Everyone from the press to autograph seekers grabs for a piece of their time. In spite of these numerous distractions, today's ballplayer somehow must concentrate on playing the game. He must put out of his mind such things as his upcoming contract negotiations and speaking engagements. This is not easy to do. So, many ballplayers turn to hypnosis, visualization, and meditation to help focus in on the primary task—which is to play excellent baseball—and tune out everything unconnected with the game.

The use of hypnosis by baseball players provides us an interesting history. Long ago David Tracy came out with two books, The Psychologist at Bat (1951) and How to Use Hypnosis (1952), in which he tells of his experience as team hypnotist for the St. Louis Browns. Supposedly, Tracy had successfully employed hypnosis on the New York Rangers hockey team and the St. Francis College basketball team. However, similar results with the Browns were not to be. Hypnotist Arthur Ellen, who has worked with many baseball stars, informed me what happened:

They had a guy once with the St. Louis Browns, Dr. Tracy. He promised the St. Louis Browns they'd come out on top of the league. So, the management hired him. Except the son of a bitch never was able to hypnotize anybody. He was so arrogant and smug that he never established a rapport with the guys. He got the job, but he couldn't hypnotize anybody. They wound up in last place anyway. Because they had no team.

Not surprisingly, Dr. Tracy's account of his work with the Browns differs from Ellen's. He says in his book, How to Use Hypnosis, that he helped many of the players:

If I saw that fearful imagination, nervousness and tenseness at the plate were hampering a man's batting ability, I would hypnotize him privately in my room before a game. While he was under hypnosis, I would tell him that when he came up to bat, he would be completely relaxed mentally and physically, with an irresistible desire to drive that ball out of the park; that he would have perfect confidence in himself, and would slam into the ball with every bit of power in his body. This method proved very successful with Owen Friend of the Browns and a number of other ball players, not only at bat but also in their play in the field.

Tracy provides no specifics, aside from his mention of Owen Friend. We do not know how much players' batting averages increased, how many less errors they committed, etc. after they participated in hypnosis sessions with Tracy. Also, none of the Browns Tracy worked with are quoted. Tracy does, however, hint that his working relationship with the players was not ideal. He admits, "To a limited extent I helped many rookies on the Browns when I was with them and if I had been given freer rein, I could have helped much more." What the "if I had been given freer rein" comment means, we gain no clue from Tracy. When all the evidence is considered, Tracy's account has to be taken with a grain of salt.

One reason I am an advocate of self-hypnosis is because you are your own hypnotist, you know yourself and trust yourself. Lack of rapport is therefore no problem. For hypnosis to be effective, a trusting relationship must exist between the person being hypnotized and the one doing the hypnotizing. Apparently, this trusting relationship, or rapport, might not have existed

between Dr. Tracy and the Browns; were this the case, hypnosis could not have been of much benefit. Even if Tracy established rapport with the players, it is questionable whether the Browns would have significantly improved upon their last place finish. As Ellen noted, "they had no team." Hypnosis can help in many ways; but, it cannot make up for any substantial lack of ability and talent.

A classic baseball hypnosis story appears in Arthur Ellen's book, The Intimate Casebook of a Hypnotist (1968). Leo Durocher, while manager of the New York Giants, brought his pitching ace, Sal Maglie, to see Ellen. Maglie had missed several starts because of a painful hip. Upon discovering he was to be hypnotized, Maglie got angry; but, Durocher persisted, and his pitcher at length relented. Ellen hypnotized Maglie, and then told him to respond to Durocher's voice. Taking his cue, Durocher told Maglie to do a duck walk. This he did, showing no discomfort. Seeing this, Ellen determined that Maglie's hip problem was of psychosomatic origin. Were it a true physical disability, Maglie could not have duck walked, no matter how willing. Ellen accordingly told Maglie that his hip would not bother him anymore because there was nothing physically wrong with it. The next day Durocher started Maglie, and he responded by pitching a shutout.

It is Ellen's opinion that 90% of the patients in hospitals do not belong there, because there is nothing organically wrong with them. Along these lines, many athletes believe they are injured when in reality they are merely bringing on pain through their emotions. This proved to be the case with Maury Wills of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who early in 1963 came to Ellen complaining about his legs. Wills had set a major league record of 104 stolen bases the previous year. Ellen hypnotized Wills, and while in this state Wills admitted several fears. The '62 season had taken its toll on Wills' legs, and he was not looking forward to another season of pain. Mainly, Wills was afraid he could not play if anything happened to his legs. Once again, Ellen recognized that Wills' apprehensions and leg pains were primarily the product of emotions. Telling him he would feel no pain, Ellen had Wills do a sequence of leg exercises. Like Maglie, Wills completed the exercises feeling no pain. Ellen then explained the situation to him, how he had been overprotecting his legs through needless worry, and gave him a hypnotic suggestion to realize that this was the case. When Wills awoke, he felt great, and walked out of Ellen's office with a smile on his face. He subsequently enjoyed a fine 1963 season, leading the league again in stolen bases and batting .302.

Through hypnosis thousands of people are currently obtaining the same seemingly miraculous elimination of pain Wills and Maglie experienced. For example, the Los Angeles Times reports that more than half of the pain clinic patients in the Walter Reed Army Medical Center are hypnotized regularly instead of being put into a stupor by drugs, the usual treatment; in addition, it was also pointed out that across the U.S. patients suffering from terminal cancer, cerebral palsy, and other diseases are gaining welcome relief from pain via hypnosis. [1]

Such cases are not really news, however, to those familiar with the history of hypnosis. Since its official discovery in the late 18th Century by the German physician, Franz Anton Mesmer, hypnosis has alleviated the suffering of millions. In fact, before nitrous oxide (laughing gas) came into widespread use in the mid-19th Century, hypnosis served as the general anesthetic for operations. The work of Dr. James Esdaile, who performed hundreds of operations on Hindus in India, exemplifies this. Basically, Esdaile's procedure was to hypnotize his patient, and then conduct the operation. The various operations performed included such surgery as arm and leg amputations, removal of cataracts, and cutting out tumors. In his report to the Royal Academy of Medicine in England, Esdaile noted, "I have seen no bad consequences whatever arise from persons being operated on when in the trance." He added that "cases have occurred in which no pain has been felt subsequent to the operation even."

Obviously, if hypnosis can alleviate the pain of the operating table, common sports injuries

should be a piece of cake for the hypnotic treatment. We learn that this is the case the majority of the time, although there are exceptions. I remember a chance encounter with Lee Fisher in April, 1978, who ran a baseball instruction camp in Calimesa, California. Fisher told me he was using hypnosis on Andy Messersmith, then a pitcher for the New York Yankees, hoping it would help Messersmith get over his arm problems. I followed Messersmith's career closely thereafter, half-expecting a remarkable comeback. Unfortunately, Messersmith never came close to regaining the fine form for which he was once noted. His arm, therefore, must have been pretty bad off. As we know, in such situations all the hypnosis in the world will not help.