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They identified several areas of irrational beliefs that may affect an athlete’s performance. In particular, they indicated that perfectionist demands may cause a poor self-concept or feelings of inadequacy, which increase the likelihood of failure. However, they distinguish between perfectionist demands and perfectionist desires indicating that a perfectionist desire, which is achievable and not judgmental, may increase the likelihood of success. Other irrational beliefs include:

• Considering failure a catastrophe

• Basing self-worth on achievement

• Focusing on fairness in competition

• Generalizing from a single performance to overall competence

Goals and Performance

A 1997 study by King and Williams, Goal orientation and performance in martial arts, looked at goal orientation and performance in novice martial art students by having them complete the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire to rate their satisfaction and performance, and then having their instructors rated their performance in basic skills, effort, persistence, and consistency.

Task orientation is a mastery approach that focuses on hard work, learning goals, improving skills, and gaining understanding. Performance orientation is focused on ego, competition success, gaining recognition, establishing superiority over others, and a belief in natural ability rather than hard work.

Generally, traditional martial arts focus on mastering self-defense and perfecting techniques, which is consistent with a task orientation approach, whereas, sport oriented martial arts focus on tournament preparation and are consistent with a performance orientation. The researchers found that a task orientation predicted performance and was positively correlated with enjoyment.

How to be the best you can be

• Set goals. Set attainable goals. As you reach one, set a higher one. Keep your goals firmly in mind to maintain motivation.

• Keep an open-mind. Stay receptive to everything, not just things in which you are interested.

• Stay committed. Being the best you can be requires hard work and commitment.

• Practice. Practice at every opportunity and make opportunities to practice more.

• Stick to the basics. Basic techniques are the foundations of Taekwondo. Even a master is judged on how well he or she performs basic techniques.

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