Page 151 - The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin_Neat plip book

in my notions of The Soft Zone and The Internal Solution, is a potent launching
point for a unique approach to performance. In thi s chap ter, I’ll focus on one of

the most decisive emotions, one that can make or break a compe titor: Ange r.
As we enter into this discussion, please keep in mind the thr ee steps I de scribe d
as being critical to resilient, self-suf fi ent per formance. Fi rst, we learn to fl w
with distraction, like that blade of gr ass bendi ng to the wind. Then we learn to

use distraction, inspiring ourselves with what ini tially woul d hav e thr own us
off our games. Finally we learn to re-create the ins pi ring settings interna lly. We
learn to make sandals.
My own experience with anger in compet ition began with being jerke d

around by a rival of mine whom I mentioned in Part I of the book. Thi s ki d
was a hugely talented Russian player who immigr ated to the U.S. whe n we
were fifteen years old. Immediately he and I were the top two young pl ayers in
the country. Boris knew how to pus h my but tons . He was unr estraine d by any

notion of competitive etiquette or even by the rul es. He woul d do everythi ng it
took to win, and would sometimes do thi ngs so far out side the line s of no rmal
chess behavior that I was totally taken aback. Cons ider the hilarity of thi s
moment. We are in the U.S. Junior Cham pi ons hi p, last round, playing for the

title. I am four or five minutes into a deep tho ught pr ocess. Thi s is the critical
position. The ideas are coming toget her, I’m appr oachi ng a solut ion, and
suddenly Boris kicks me under the table, two or thr ee times, ha rd. Boris
studied karate and I know he liked t o ki ck thi ngs , but thi s was ridi cul ous .

There were many times that Boris pum meled me under the table dur ing
critical moments of our games, but of cour se no t all of his tactics were so over-
the-top. He would shake the board, loudl y clear his thr oat in my face fi e or six
times a minute, tap pieces on the table whi le I tried to thi nk, or conf er abo ut

the position in Russian with his coach. The standar d reaction to suc h moment s
is to go tell the arbiter what is hap pen ing. The probl em is tha t whe n thi s
happened Boris would feign innocence, insist in Rus sian and broke n Engl ish
that he had no idea what I was talking abo ut , and the arbi ter woul d ha ve

nothing to go with. Even if Boris was reprimanded , he had suc ceede d in
getting my mind off the position. He was winni ng t he p sychologi cal ba ttle.
I found Boris’s disregard for sportsmanshi p infur iating. Peopl e like hi m
hurt the game that I loved. I ment ioned in Part I that we both traveled to a

world championship in India to represent the Uni ted States, and several teams
lodged formal protests against the American team becau se he and hi s coach