字节太多 英语原文分在这里：

English version:

Under Pressure

- a feature article about the psychological aspects of eSports


"The first time I started feeling some kind of pressure was at CPL Copenhagen, where I was nicknamed \'The Human Killer\' sometimes. I believed too much in this nickname I received, played without thinking and lost to two Humans," says Manuel "4K.Grubby" Schenkhuizen.

By KIDARCTICA

As the reigning WCG and ECG champion, Grubby knows what it is like to suddenly become a favourite, someone people expect to do well all the time.

Say you are playing in a huge tournament as the big favourite. All eyes are on you, a ridiculous amount of forum posts have been made about your superiority and everyone is expecting you to win. A lot of money, and also your reputation, is at stake. How do you handle the enormous pressure on you?

Lose-Lose Situation


While some people may not even agree that eSports is real sports, the pressure that the top players feel is in most ways just like the pressure top athletes are under. To \'have what it takes\' is important to be able to reach the top and this does not just mean physically - the mental aspect is a huge part of it.

Not only is it easy to give up when faced against the challenge of becoming better at something than everyone else who also tries to be the best. But if you are actually able to get there, there is a new type of pressure on you - all of a sudden, people will have expectations whenever you play. You will no longer be a challenger who can afford to fail against a champion, no, when you are on top, there is no other way to go but down.

In many ways, a top player is in a lose-lose situation when entering a competition. If he or she wins, it is not considered exceptional, just expected. A loss, on the other hand, means failure. And in the eSports community, if you were the hyped up player that everyone thought would win, you will definitely get to hear about it.

"I\'ve always read a lot of community sites and forums, since I was a little sW-grubby-, that\'s something that never changed for me. When I read that people already expect me to win, I have to be very careful not to believe in it. I have to keep telling myself that a win is not easily assumed like that," says Grubby.

The top Warcraft 3 player knows that the satisfaction of winning a tournament will be smaller as no one will be surprised, but merely add it to his list of achievements without really taking much note of it. If he loses, on the other hand, hell breaks loose for Grubby.

"If I lose suddenly I am \'out of shape\', or people discovered my new \'weakest match-up\' or \'I\'m losing it\'. Often I label these people as "stupid" or worse words, and get pissed off by it. But when I realise that they don\'t really know how the whole WC3 pro gaming scene works, I realise it\'s more ignorance than stupidity or them trying to be jerks, and that\'s why it\'s so important they learn more about how it really is, which is what I\'m trying to explain here."

The Fan\'s Mindset


So how is it, really? According to Grubby, there is a big difference between the mindset of the European fans and the Korean fans. "Most Korean fans have one or two favourite players and they stick to them for better or for worse. It\'s really encouraging to read stuff like \'Too bad, Grubby, you win some, you lose some\' or \'Better luck next time!\' even if you lost five games in a row," he explains.

In Europe, things are different. "It is mostly like this: Every last result determines the opinion of the masses. If a player won a tournament, he is the best player and is on a rampage and is loved by many - but as soon as he loses a few games to some other player, suddenly all switch views on who they see as their favourite."

Grubby points out that he is not out to make any excuses or take anything away from any winners. "Winning a well-organised tournament means you were on top of your game and everyone has these moments. I think players like MaDFroG, DayFly, Swain, Check or ShowTime should never have to worry about being called bad players. After achieving as much as they did, it would simply be ridiculous to assume something like that."

"People should just try to stop discarding players who performed well as not good anymore, since they proved that they can do it. And if they want to, they can do it again, I assure you."

Love the Game


In an American survey where 658 coaches and young athletes were asked to choose five out of 128 characteristics that they believed made a winning athlete, psychological factors were picked by far more than the physical ones.

The most picked category was \'loves to play\', followed by \'positive attitude\', \'coachable\', \'self motivated\', and \'strives to improve\'. Among the physical attributes, \'natural physical athlete\', \'physically pushes themselves\', and \'good eye-hand coordination\' were among the top picks. However, the conclusion was that having fun and trying hard made winning athletes.

While the survey was about athletes, the attributes and the results can easily be used about gamers as well. Of course, \'coachable\' is not directly related as very few gamers actually have coaches, but being able to adapt and to learn new strategies and new ways of approaching the game is obviously important.

Grubby is a very good example of this. He loves the game, has a positive attitude, he adapts easily, makes his own goals and constantly wants to get better. "If I didn\'t have goals which I deemed worth it to strive for, I wouldn\'t continue gaming. There might be some players who game for money and as such, as long as tournaments with money are around they can continue gaming. For me it was never about the money, so as long as I see prestige to be won in tournaments, I am happy to continue," he says.

"The pressure has never managed to take away the fun for me; the only thing that takes away the fun for me is if I lose. That\'s why I always try to practice enough so I can win or at least be satisfied with how hard I fought. For me, winning WEG is at least as prestigious as World Cyber Games, even though the playing conditions are very different. The competition is very, very tough, and the challenge is what keeps me going."

Damaging Pressure


Even the physical attributes can, in many ways, be related to gamers. Some gamers, in particular in first person shooter games, have extreme reflexes and move the mouse with extreme precision - which also means they have tremendously good eye-hand coordination. And all gamers have to push themselves physically in order to be able to click faster and more precise - although of course, the physical aspect is very different than for athletes.

In the same survey, criticism, constant negative feedback and excessive pressure were listed as the most damaging factors. Again, this can be directly related to eSports. You would have to be pretty new to the scene in order not to notice all the flames and the criticism poured into forums and news comments around the net.

Being able to handle this becomes increasingly more important the better you get and the higher you aim. Sitting at home playing on your own computer in familiar surroundings is one thing, but once you get out and play in LAN tournaments, everything is different. People will be staring, whispering, pointing, watching at every move you make. And if you fail, you can\'t just log off and be glad that you were playing on a smurf and that no one knew who you were in real life.

Grubby thinks that his way of handling pressure has made him a better player. "I think actually it\'s what gives me the edge on many players. You can\'t let nervousness get the better of you, or people\'s expectations. If I can perform on my best in important matches, I don\'t need to worry about playing badly. If my enemy makes any mistakes due to him being nervous that\'s my advantage," he says.

还是太多，这里继续接力：

Can Be Trained

eSports requires both precision and strategic skills, and the ability to stay calm and perform under pressure is extremely important in games where the click of a button can determine whether you win or lose. The question is how to obtain the mental strength it takes to succeed.

The Sports psychologist JoAnn Dahlkoetter, Ph.D., has written books about the subject of psychological training. In her book, \'Your Performing Edge\', she agrees with the results from the above mentioned survey that love for the game and trying hard are winning qualities.

"The good news is that building and maintaining a high level of self-motivation is a learned skill that anyone can acquire. Motivation is energy, and that sense of self-directedness is one of the most powerful sources of energy available to an athlete. From internal motivation you gain the willingness to persevere with your training, to endure discomfort and stress, and to make sacrifices with your time and energy as you move closer toward realizing your goal," Dahlkoetter writes.

She also makes her own list of the characteristics that can be trained in order to excel at a game:
Enthusiasm and desire to achieve something, regardless of talent or ability.

Courage to succeed, to sacrifice, to push yourself, test your limits and break barriers.

Internal motivation and self-direction, to be able to do it for yourself, not anyone else.

Commitment to excellence, to decide that you want to be good and stick with that.

Discipline, consistency and organisation, hard work on a daily basis.

Being focused and yet relaxed, having a clear view on what is important and what is not.

Ability to handle adversity, instead of avoiding pressure, feel challenged by it.

Six Points of Training

Dahlkoetter\'s suggestions to those who want to train their mental skills are broken down into six points. These points can be adapted to fit the eSports gamer.

1) "Generate a positive outlook: Direct your focus to what is possible, to what can happen, toward success. Rather than complaining about the weather or criticizing the competition, the mentally trained athlete attends to only those things that he or she can control. You have control over your thoughts, your emotions, your training form, and how you perceive each situation. You have a choice in what you believe about yourself. Positive energy makes peak performances possible."

Adapted to fit eSports, this means that instead of complaining about imbalance, bad luck, bad patches and bad playing conditions, players need to focus on things they can actually do something about and make the best out of it. Very often, negative thoughts take away a lot of attention and concentration. By being able to shut that out, you can use all your energy on doing the best possible performance under the circumstances.

2) "Visualize your goals daily: Put yourself in a relaxed state through deep abdominal breathing. Then, as vividly as possible, create an image in your mind, of what you want to achieve in your sport. You can produce a replay of one of your best performances in the past. Then use all those positive feelings of self-confidence, energy, and strength in your mental rehearsal of an upcoming event. See yourself doing it right. Then use your imagery during the event itself."

Many players tend to have a negative view on certain matches or matchups. Even though they may not say it out loud, in their minds, they never believe they can win in certain situations. This makes it much, much harder to be able to actually do it. Relax, close your eyes and imagine yourself winning the finals of a major tournament, getting the necessary frags or the perfect head shots, or finding the perfect strategy and micro against your opponent in Warcraft 3. If you believe you can do it, you won\'t have to fight your own mind in addition to your opponent.

3) "Practice being focused and yet relaxed: Develop the ability to maintain concentration for longer periods of time. You can tune in what\'s critical to your performance and tune out what\'s not. You can easily let go of distractions and take control of your attention. As you focus more on the task at hand (e.g. your training form, how you\'re feeling) there will be less room for the negative thoughts to enter your mind."

Most players play from home, possibly with a lot of distracting factors around them or without the right focus. When training, they may be chatting with others or just generally not taking it as seriously as if it was a tournament. This means that when they are in a competition setting, everything is different from what they are used to. While it is important also to have fun, it is just as important to have periods of training where everything else is shut out and where the only focus is the task ahead of you - playing the best game possible. A general rule is that if you can\'t do it in practice, you most certainly won\'t be able to do it in a game that matters.

4) "Build a balanced lifestyle: Create a broad-based lifestyle with a variety of interests; strive for a balance between work and fun, social time, personal quiet time, and time to be creative. Develop patterns of healthy behaviour. Eat regularly, get a consistent amount of sleep each night, reduce your work load at times if possible, and allow time to relax and reflect between activities. Develop a social support network of close friends and family, some who are sports oriented, and some with other interests. Learn to communicate openly; resolve personal conflicts as they occur, so they don\'t build to a crisis on the night before an important race."

This may be a point where many gamers may laugh and say bullsh*t. The gaming lifestyle very often involves long nights up, LAN parties with minimal sleep and maximum amounts of unhealthy food and drink and a lack of physical exercise. Still, the key is balance. It is obvious that getting the right amount of sleep and a good meal will help reflexes and having a clear head, because you won\'t have to spend time and energy on shutting off feelings of hunger or sleepiness. Partying and staying up can be done after the tournament; imagine how annoying it would be to lose an important match just because you didn\'t want to go to bed a few hours earlier. Good physical condition helps when you have to concentrate for longer periods of time, and not having to think about any outside stress factors will allow you to focus on what is important.

5) "Vary your workouts: Train at a new, scenic place at least once a week. Change your normal training schedule, even if only for two days. Try "active rest" by doing a different sport for a few days (e.g. hiking, swimming, inline skating, cycling, or cross-country skiing). You\'ll get a tremendous psychological boost and probably not lose any of your fitness level."

This is perhaps what may seem furthest away from the gaming perspective as there is no general "gaming fitness" but mostly just very specific training for a particular game. However, taking some time off the game and perhaps playing something else - which at least stimulates the hand-eye coordination and the mental aspects - may be quite inspiring. You don\'t even have to change games, you could possibly try a new weapon, a new race or a new strategy and just fool around and get some game related experiences while having fun.

6) "Enjoy and take the pressure off: Make a deliberate effort each day to create enjoyment in your sport, renewing your enthusiasm and excitement for training. Don\'t try to force your physical improvement. Lighten up on your rigid training schedule and exercise according to your feelings each day. Remove the strict deadlines and race dates which have been cast in stone. Let your next breakthrough occur naturally, at its own pace, when the internal conditions are right. Use setbacks as learning opportunities. Do the best that you can do, draw out the constructive lessons from every workout and race, and then move on. Look for advantages in every situation, even if the conditions are less than ideal."

This last point is particularly important. If you start feeling less enjoyment for what you do, chances are you won\'t be able to push yourself to do what it takes to make it to the top. Training for hours and hours without the right mindset won\'t help, instead, make sure that when you do sit down to practice, you do it properly and focused. If you lose, see it as an important experience and analyse the loss to learn something new. Having a positive outlook and the attitude that nothing is so bad that it\'s not good for anything at all, will get you a long way.

Technical Goals

Simon Timson, a Sports Psychologist at the English Institute of Sports, also acknowledges that psychological training can help sports people to stay focused. In an interview, he explains that it is fairly common that nerves get the better of some athletes because of attention, pressure and expectations.

While he, in most aspects, agrees with Dahlkoetter\'s methods for psychological training, he also adds another technique - to set technical goals rather than a goal of victory. This means that even though the outcome of a particular match may be a loss, the player may still succeed in achieving the technical goals he or she set out to do.

For a Warcraft 3 player, this may consist of for instance perfecting a build order or manage to get an optimal base layout or to get a good flow in the macro-management of the base - things that don\'t necessarily depend too much on the interaction with the opponent. But it can also be aspects like doing a good harassment in the start, continuous scouting, identifying a creeping pattern or getting the correct placement and unit focus in a battle.

By having one technical focus like this rather than an ultimate goal of having to win, the pressure is reduced and the focus is on this one task ahead. In particular when facing opponents that are assumed better than you, this can be a way of overcoming the expectation that "I am going to lose, no matter what".

Relaxation

Timson finally adds that some pressure can be released with relaxation techniques. He has extensive experience with tennis players, and he has discovered that many players get physical reactions to pressure. Through breathing exercises and muscle relaxation, they can manage to control this problem also in games.

While many may frown upon the physical aspect of gaming, it should not be ignored. It is a well-known fact that many people who use computers extensively get tensions in shoulders and arms, and obviously, this may stem from sub-optimal use of mouse and keyboard.

In games where a few millimetres can be the difference between a miss and a head shot, tense muscles can become a problem. Reaction time will go up, and what you do at home, alone in front of your computer, can seem twice as hard on a LAN with people watching you. Being able to relax and keep the calm to avoid unwanted muscle reactions can have a great impact on your game.

To use an example from music, a lot of professional musicians suffer from performance anxiety. This has lead to many of them actually using drugs - so-called beta blockers - medication that blocks the beta receptors that are found in a number of places in the body. By blocking them, you get several effects, including decreased heart rate, blood pressure and tremor.

Obviously, getting drugs may be taking to the extreme. There has been a lot of discussion about the ethics of musicians using beta blockers, especially in competitions, and the use of such beta blockers is considered doping in sports. Though the fact that a lot of musicians actually use it, shows the importance of controlling breathing and muscles during activities that require a lot of precision - just like gaming.

By knowing breathing and relaxation techniques and by being aware that the body may react differently under stress, it is possible to train in a manner where you make an effort to relax in spite of any pressure you are under. Continuous training of this in practice and in smaller events will make you more likely to be able to handle it in major games.

Timson notes though that the best way is to try and work with what causes these tension, and not with the tensions themselves. By solving the underlying problem you will effectively also solve the problem with your physical reactions to it.

The Power of Psychology

Psychological training has become more and more common within sports, and as eSports grows, it would not be surprising to see top teams and players pick up on this aspect of gaming.

Going back to where we started, with 4K.Grubby, he has already been aware of the power of psychology for some time now. His main focus is to try and get a balance where he manages not to get overconfident without losing the necessary confidence to be able to win.

"I am always nervous before important matches, but if I keep telling myself I am not better than my enemy, I can control my overconfidence. And if I keep telling myself I shouldn\'t be ashamed if I lost, then I can control the feeling after I lose," he explains.

Having achieved a lot gives him confidence and assurance of what he can do if he really wants to, and now, he is able to handle the pressure of people\'s expectations better than before. But he still keeps working on his mental strength, and he agrees with the experts that this is something that has to be done within himself, by himself.

"It\'s mostly about yourself. I always call this \'psychology management\' and it\'s nearly impossible for other people to help you in that since everyone thinks differently."

帮顶,哥们加油

鱼把我板凳抢了

只有地板哒 郁闷