|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
From Amazon
A phenomenon when first published in 1972, the Inner Game was a real revelation. Instead of serving up technique, it concentrated on the fact that, as Gallwey wrote, "Every game is composed of two parts, an outer game and an inner game." The former is played against opponents, and is filled with lots of contradictory advice; the latter is played not against, but within the mind of the player, and its principal obstacles are self-doubt and anxiety. Gallwey's revolutionary thinking, built on a foundation of Zen thinking and humanistic psychology, was really a primer on how to get out of your own way to let your best game emerge. It was sports psychology before the two words were pressed against each other and codified into an accepted discipline.
The new edition of this remarkable work--Billie Jean King called the original her tennis bible--refines Gallwey's theories on concentration, gamesmanship, breaking bad habits, learning to trust yourself on the court, and awareness. "No matter what a person's complaint when he has a lesson with me, I have found the most beneficial first step," he stressed, "is to encourage him to see and feel what he is doing--that is, to increase his awareness of what actually is."
There are aspects of psychobabble and mysticism to be found here, sure, but Gallwey instructs as much by anecdote as anything else, and time has ultimately proved him a guru. What seemed radical in the early '70s is now accepted ammunition for the canon; the right mental approach is every bit as important as a good backhand. The Inner Game of Tennis still does much to keep that idea in play. --Jeff Silverman
Book Description
The Inner Game of Tennis is a revolutionary program for overcoming the self-doubt, nervousness, and lapses of concentration that can keep a player from winning. Now available in a revised paperback edition, this classic bestseller can change the way the game of tennis is played.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
The problems which most perplex tennis players are not those dealing with the proper way to swing a racket. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
The problems which most perplex tennis players are not those dealing with the proper way to swing a racket. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Know Your "Selves" Better,
By
This review is from: The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance (Paperback)
As most people can guess by the title, the "inner game" of tennis is the game that takes place iin the mind of the player and is played against barriers such as nervousness, self-doubt, etc.To gain clarity on the mental problems in tennis, the book looks at the concepts of "Self 1" and "Self 2". Self 1 is the name that is given to the conscious ego-mind which likes the tell Self 2, you and your potential, how to hit the ball and play the game. Or, to put it another way, Self 1 is the "teller" and Self 2 the "doer". I found this to be an interesting idea, as we have all caught ourselves talking to ourselves or have seen others talking to themselves during a game. If you ask someone who they are talking to, they will usually say "I'm talking to myself." This, of course, implies that there are 2 "selves", "I" and "myself"- and so is born the idea of Self 1 and Self 2. Pretty astutue observation in my opinion. Now according to the book, to achieve peak performance, the key is to resolve any lack of harmony between the two selves, as it is the contrary thinking of Self 1 which causes interference with the natural abilities of Self 2. This requires the learning of several inner skills, such as the art of letting go of self-judgements, letting Self 2 do the hitting, recognizing and trusting the natural learning process, and so on- which is what much of the books spends discussing. I highly recommend this book for anyone who plays tennis (or any other sport for that matter) as it does a great job in dealing with the fact that many of our difficulties in tennis are indeed mental in origin. Other helpful books for tennis players I've come across include Treat Your Own Tennis Elbow.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Solid approach to better performance,
By
This review is from: The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance (Paperback)
Interesting book that has many insights I will use in improving my curling game.However, given that this is a classic book written more than 30 years ago, I have to wonder why today's top tennis players are nothing like the calm, detached athlete that Timothy Gallwey sets forth as a model. They are passionate about winning and many get angry with their own mistakes or calls made by line judges. Top tennis players are not "detached from the result" as Gallwey would have us be. My guess is that the tennis elite may have learned some things from this book, but have not bought the Zen tennis approach hook, line and sinker. Maybe they should - maybe we all should and the world would be a better, less hyper-competitive place. That they haven't does show that Gallwey's approach has some limitations for competitive athletes. All that said, The Inner Game of Tennis has much to recommend it. His analysis of the role that the left brain and right brain (Self 1 and Self 2) play in athletics is extremely useful for analyzing one's own inner talk. His chapters on Changing Habits and Concentration: Learning to Focus are gold mines of practical tips. The basic insight I will take away from this book is that of seeking awareness of what I am already doing in my curling delivery and having that awareness without making judgments. Let change/improvement happen, without forcing it to happen according to a preconceived model. Gallwey would never use as judgmental a word as "improvement," but probably everyone who reads this book is seeking exactly that. Pursued patiently using Gallwey's approach, they will probably find it too.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A new approach to learning and enjoying the game,
By
This review is from: The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance (Paperback)
Excellent book on the psychology of playing tennis (or any other sport for that matter). Some concepts you already know or "feel" but Timothy Gallwey writes them in words extermely well so he makes you realize the ones you know and makes you discover the ones you don't know. Note that he doesn't "show" you how to make a forehand/backhand or any other shots. Instead, he tells you how you should approach learning and practicing them.His concept of the 2 selves really hit the spot for me and helped me greatly in taking a different approach when playing others or practicing my shots. If you're like me, you've always felt there's a natural way of playing but most people are trying too hard and try to control every single movement in their shot. This makes you believe that it's how you should be playing (make sure you hold your raquet this way, then hold your raquet at this hight... shift your weight here while moving your raquet this way...). But Timothy explains and gives you tricks to focus and simply trust your body to make the shots it naturaly can make (or learn to make). I really liked the chapters on why people play tennis and Timothy's concept of competition. This makes a great difference when enjoying the game. He actually goes very far in my mind and I now understand some of my friends attitude better after reading those 2 chapters (you most likely have some friends like this: win by all means so to prove one self to the other and themselves... and if they loose, there's always an excuse for it). It makes the game even more fun while getting better at it. I'm a 28 year old amateur playing in a local league and just for fun with friends. I would have loved to read this book when I was a kid. Helps tremendously in self-esteem and the perception of competition (for any sport).
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Sports > Individual Sports > Tennis
- Books > Sports > Miscellaneous > Sports Psychology
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
