When I was researching this topic I wanted to learn strategies for controlling anxiety prior to breaking competitions, and to be able to pass these strategies onto my students and peers. I examined areas of Sport Psychology covering breathing techniques and interviews with athletes in relation to performance anxiety, and I applied theories from these areas to the analysis of performance anxiety in relation to breaking.

"The pressure of competition can pep up and improve an individual's performance or damage it. For most of us, competition is associated with feeling alert and ready, yet we may also experience apprehension, sweating palms or worry about how we will perform. If we can find out why this happens, how we can prevent the ill-effects and harness the positive aspects, then we should be able to improve performance." (Woods, 1998)

This quote sums up the paradoxical nature of the effects of pressure of competition. On one hand it adds an edge to athletes' performances, sharpening their responses, and on the other it induces feelings of anxiety which could hinder performance.

I decided to research Sports Psychology even though I was investigating performance anxiety from the perspective of a dance form. The similarities of training physical techniques and preparing for competitions between sport and breaking led me to believe I would find useful information in the field of Sport Psychology that could be applied to competitive breaking situations.

The Sport Psychologist, Richard H. Cox, states that he is interested in helping athletes reach their potential, and does this by developing their self-control and confidence. He believes that Sport Psychology is

"dedicated to the enhancement of both athletic performance and the social-psychological aspects of human enrichment." (Cox, R. p.4, 1998).

That is, athletes can have a rewarding sporting experience without winning, and that this experience increases their internal motivation to continue to strive to reach their potential. I also believe this to be true. In breaking competitions, dancers can feel fulfilled and rewarded if they perform well, even though they do not win the competition. The experience of reaching a personal goal can motivate them to perform better next time they enter a competition. Sometimes, the audience's favourite dancer is not the winner, but the one who gave the best performance.

One area I was interested in exploring in relation to performance anxiety was breathing technique. Working with breath is very important in breaking, especially when the dancer is on stage under hot lights with a large crowd spectating. Breaking is performed in short, fast bursts, like sprinting, so utilising breathing techniques is essential for the correct execution of moves, but it also is useful for alleviating stress and anxiety in performance situations.

In the book Sport Psychology, Concepts and Applications, Cox discusses his work with a golfer who had been the leading amateur in Scotland but whose skills had levelled off once he started competing professionally. Cox espouses a Behaviourist philosophy (Skinner, 1974). Cox explains Behaviourism as the study of the mind and body as a complete entity, in which thoughts, feelings, actions and words spoken are all forms of behaviour which can be studied. Cognitive behaviour can be studied through verbal behaviour, and emotional behaviour through how and when speech and actions occur in an individual. Cox believes that an athlete's problems can be solved through Behaviour Modification (Martin and Pears, 1992). Behaviour Modification states that behavioural problems can be measured, and that the individual's environment can be rearranged to help the individual function more effectively in that environment. Specific interventions can produce changes in behaviour.

One intervention that Cox looked at which I found relevant to my research was that of a golfer with whom he applied breathing techniques. He asked the golfer to modify his breathing at the moment of striking the ball, to concentrate on breathing out instead of holding his breath or inhaling at this specific time. Cox's intention here was to reduce the golfer's muscle tension in his chest, jaw and shoulders so that he would have more control over his swing. Another benefit of concentrating on breathing out at this particular time was that the golfer would feel like this was an easy behaviour modification that he could control, instead of feeling as though he was being controlled by external factors.

In a breaking competition, being able to control certain internal factors is an advantage. There are many external factors that the dancer is not in control of: the music the DJ plays, the temperature of the room, when the dancer has to take their turn on the dance floor, who the dancer has to compete against. In light of this, to concentrate on internal factors that are within the dancer's control will lead to the dancer achieving a more relaxed state. The breathing techniques Cox uses with the golfer can be transposed to breaking, with similar positive results. The dancer can focus on breathing out when executing a particular move for example. There are, however, many other ways breathing techniques can be employed in breaking. The dancer can focus on breathing in and out in time with the music, thereby ensuring their body is moving in time with the rhythm, and lessening the stress of having to stay on beat. The dancer can use breathing exercises to lower muscle tension before the competition begins, inhaling for a count of 4, holding the breath for another count of 4 then exhaling for a count of 8. This also takes the dancer's focus away from their nerves and the stressful external stimuli as they are concentrating only on breathing, an internal focus.

Another behaviour modification Cox employs with the golfer is visualisation. He asks the golfer to visualise where he wants the ball to land before he hits it. This is to reinforce a positive thought pattern rather than negative self-instruction which the golfer had previously undertaken. This modification was also designed to take the focus away from external stimuli which were causing the golfer anxiety, and to focus instead on internal stimuli. This is useful in terms of breaking competitions too, as it is easy for the dancer to become distracted by what that is happening in their environment. Breaking competitions, however, are viewed as 'conversations' between the opponents. The dancer who takes the first turn sets the tone of the conversation, and the next dancer replies or attempts to change the tone. The dancer, therefore, cannot completely focus on internal stimuli, as they must be aware of their opponent's behaviour and engage with and respond to it. Focusing on internal stimuli is an effective tool prior to the competition, but once the competition begins the dancer must be able to share focus with external and internal stimuli. As Butler (1997) states, what separates top level athletes, or dancers in this case, is the "ability to focus their attention, at precisely the right moment, on the most relevant stimuli concerning performance." Once this skill has been mastered, performance anxiety will be lessened.

Strategies for dancers can be to find a quiet place to perform their breathing exercises before the competition, and to learn how to focus on internal stimuli when surrounded by a busy, noisy environment. This is something that I try to do on the day of a competition. I find the atmosphere of the room, the loud music and the behaviour of the other competitors distracting, and finding a quiet place in the venue to focus on myself and my breathing helps me relax.

Two theories I researched are Drive Theory (Hull, 1951) and Inverted U Theory (Yerkes and Dobson, 1908). Both of these theories are connected to arousal. Woods (1998) defines arousal as a neutral state that is experienced as anxiety when connected to negative thoughts and feelings. She states that anxiety occurs when we encounter an experience that we believe we are unable to deal with. This is also referred to as Distress in the literature. Distress is negative stress that causes anxiety. It can decrease performance, feel unpleasant and lead to physical symptoms such as sweating and shaking, butterflies and raised heartbeat. Contrary to this, Eustress is positive stress. It is short term, feels like excitement and is useful for motivation and concentration. We experience Eustress when we encounter an experience that we believe we are able to deal with. The deciding factor that appears to affect whether a dancer is negatively or positively stressed is control: if the dancer feels in control he can utilise his stress hormones effectively.

(http://www.gulfbend.org/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=15644&cn=117)

Although Drive Theory and Inverted U Theory agree that arousal affects performance, they disagree on how. Drive Theory states that the more arousal an individual experiences the better their performance will be, while Inverted U Theory states that there is an optimal level of arousal for optimal performance and if arousal rises above or falls below this level, performance will decline. I agree that there is an optimal arousal rate for performance. If I feel too nervous or excited, or if I feel too tired or bored, I do not perform well. Learning how to achieve the optimal arousal level is key for good performance.

Further, Martens, Vealey and Burton (1990) believe there are three components to anxiety:

Cognitive State Anxiety
Somatic State Anxiety
Self-Confidence

Cognitive State Anxiety comprises worry, negative thoughts about performance, fear of failure, disrupted attention and an inability to concentrate. Somatic State Anxiety comprises physical symptoms e.g. sweating and butterflies. Self-Confidence comprises expectations of failure or success. I have experienced all of these components in a competition situation, and I feel that by implementing the strategies of internal focus and breath, these feelings are alleviated.

Drive Theory states that when an athlete is learning a new skill, their dominant physical responses are often instinctively incorrect, and are corrected through rigorous practice of the correct response. As they build up skills, their physical responses become more accurate. This theory espouses that skilled athletes make the correct physical response most of the time when they experience arousal during a competition. In breaking, when a dancer's physical response is incorrect, they are said to have 'poor form', or if they do not correctly execute a move that they have 'crashed'. Practice and training allows the dancer to learn the correct dominant response and go on to perform well when experiencing the arousal of competition.

Inverted U Theory states that increase of arousal leads to increase of performance, but only up to a certain critical point. When arousal levels are too low or too high, performance decreases. At the optimal arousal level, focus is direct and accurate decisions can be made. Once passed this level, anxiety can set in. Too much or too little causes anxiety according to this theory. Anxiety leads to poor decision making and low focus, there is a narrow field of concentration and the physical symptoms appear.

If a dancer can recognise signs of physical stress they can take measures to counteract these signs. Breathing exercises can lower anxiety and relax muscle tension, focusing on internal rather than external stimuli can ensure they are not distracted by what is going on in their environment. Visualisation exercises can ensure that they are not overwhelmed by negative thoughts. Muscle relaxation exercises can also reduce tension, for example by tensing and holding each muscle then releasing, starting from the toes and finishing at the head. These are all strategies that are useful in decreasing performance anxiety before and during a breaking competition.

Another theory I researched was Achievement Motivation (Atkinson, 1964). Woods (1998) discusses this theory, and describes the difference between having a high motive to achieve success and a high motive to avoid failure.

People with a high motive to achieve actively look for challenges, they want to perform at a high standard, they persist in trying to achieve their goals, they value feedback from others and enjoy performing in situations where they can be evaluated. People with high motive to achieve are not afraid of failure and attribute their performance to internal factors over external ones. They recognise that they may fail if they do not put in enough effort or if they do not concentrate hard enough.

These attributes can be viewed in a breaking competition situation as a dancer who looks for competitions to enter, prepares well in order to perform at a high standard, keeps trying even when they feel as though they are losing, asks judges and peers for feedback and enjoys competing in front of those people for that reason. They are not afraid to lose, and attribute winning to internal factors. Having a high motive to achieve is a positive attribute in relation to breaking competitions.

Conversely, people with a high motive to avoid failure tend to avoid challenges, preferring to compete against easy opposition so they are guaranteed success, or very difficult opposition, guaranteeing failure which is not their fault. They also tend to be preoccupied with failure, and dislike situations where they can be evaluated. Evaluation here is linked with shame of failure, and as such they perform to a lower standard when they are being evaluated. They attribute their performance to external rather than internal factors.

This can be related to breakers who avoid entering competitions or enter competitions with very low or very high level dancers, breakers who perform badly when judges and peers are watching, and attribute performance to external factors (bad floor, poor decision making by judges, the level of other dancers was too high/low). If a dancer does not naturally have a high motive to achieve, perhaps positive self talk would help instil this quality. This could be factored into their everyday training, so that when it comes time to compete, they will be ready to display these positive attributes in a stressful situation.

In conclusion, I feel that I have learned some useful strategies for controlling performance anxiety prior to and during breaking competitions. Breathing exercises, focusing on internal rather than external stimuli, focus and concentration directed to the right place at the right time, visualisation, consistent training and establishing a high motive to achieve over a high motive to avoid failure. I have experimented with each of these techniques in competitions I have entered. I have learned that goal setting is critical for me in order to engage my competitive nature in breaking competitions. I prefer to compete in less formal atmospheres, where there are no judges or time limits. Perhaps this shows that I err on the side of having a high motive to avoid failure as I don't like to be evaluated by judges in a stressful, more formal situation. In future, I can work on positive self talk to change this to a high motive to achieve. Breathing exercises help to keep the physical symptoms of anxiety at bay, and I now utilise these exercises before every round in a competition. I find it useful to focus on internal stimuli immediately before a competition, it focuses my mind onto the performance, rather than worrying about the outcome. I think that if I bring this into my regular training sessions, I will be more prepared for the stress of competitions.

References

Anon. The Mind Body Problem with Tennis Champion Janko Tipsarevic. Available at: https://rcs.kanopystreaming.com/video/mind-body-problem [Accessed 7/11/2016]

Atkinson, J. W. (1964) An Introduction to Motivation. Princeton, N.J.: Nostrand

Butler, R (1997), Sports Psychology in Performance, Arnold

Cox, R.H. (1993) Sport psychology: Concepts and applications. 3rd edn. Madison, WI: Brown & Benchmark Publishers.

Gulf Blend Centre, http://www.gulfbend.org/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=15644&cn=117 [Accessed 18/06/2017]

Hull, C. L. (1951) Essentials of Behaviour. New Haven: Yale University Press

Martens, R., Vealey, R. S., Burton, D. (1990) Competitive Anxiety in Sport. Leeds: Human Kinetics Books.

Skinner, B. F. (1974) About Behaviourism. London: Cape

Woods, B. (1998). Applying Psychology to Sport. London: Hodder & Stoughton

Yerkes RM, Dodson JD (1908). "The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit-formation". Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology. 18: 459–482. doi:10.1002/cne.920180503.