Tennis Improvement Memo 556. Why Yoshinobu Yamamoto is 'Unfazed by Attempts to Make Him Laugh'—The Synergistic Effect of Focus and Self-Affirmation

Kike's comment on Yoshinobu Yamamoto. “Even if I try to make him laugh from behind, he doesn't budge at all.” Is his focus that deep, or is his self-affirmation that high? Or is he just a cold guy (joking). Behind his unflappability lies the brain's principle of 'one thing at a time' and a mental structure that allows him to prioritize himself. When focus and self-affirmation align, noise disappears and precision skyrockets. The story continues to the commonalities between Yamamoto's long toss and Ichiro's laser beam.

▶ More than the fact that Yoshinobu Yamamoto 'doesn't do weights'...

What should we pay attention to in the article above?

It is not that Yoshinobu Yamamoto 'doesn't do weights,' nor is it his pitching form or throwing style, which have been described as the 'cleanest in the baseball world.'

What I focused on most this time is the comment by Enrique Hernández: “Even if I try to make him laugh from behind, he doesn't budge at all.”

▶ There are '3 reasons' why a person is unfazed

Regarding this 'not budging even when someone tries to make him laugh,' there are three interpretations.

One is that because Yamamoto has high concentration even when someone tries to make him laugh, Kike's attempts do not reach Yamamoto's ears or eyes.

Two is that Yamamoto's self-affirmation is high, and he can prioritize his own needs.

Three is that Yamamoto is a cold guy who ignores Kike (laughs).

Setting the third one aside as a joke, the first and second are important for demonstrating ability, and they can be said to be interrelated.

▶ Is ignoring a greeting rude or just focus?

First, regarding the matter of high concentration preventing things from reaching his ears or eyes.

As I always mention, the human recognition system of 'eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind' follows the principle of 'one thing at a time' (related article: A talk on the human recognition system).

If you try to make someone laugh while they are concentrating, if they are deeply focused, they will not notice.

The 'people who ignore you' when you greet them, whom you occasionally encounter, fall into that category.

That person is concentrating on something else.

Or, they are simply a rude guy (laughs). *Note 1

▶ Focus is only established when you can prioritize yourself

And now, the second point about having high self-affirmation.

Even if someone speaks to you, for example, when you are counting numbers and want to prioritize that task, being able to ignore them is something you can only do if your self-affirmation is at a certain level (related article: 'Self-affirmation' required for no-look by Miyamoto Musashi).

If you respond with 'Yes! Right away!' when someone speaks to you while you are counting, it is not so much about being considerate to the other person, but rather a 'neglecting yourself problem'.

Since you end up having to start counting from 1 all over again, your work performance cannot possibly improve.

Incidentally, when you are counting, even if you intend to listen, what people say does not really sink in.

That is how much the brain is not designed for multitasking.

▶ Low concentration is due to low self-affirmation

And 1 (concentration) and 2 (self-affirmation) are closely related.

When self-affirmation is low, you feel like 'I must prioritize others over my less valuable self,' so you cannot concentrate on the task in front of you and become concerned about the eyes and presence of those around you.

Therefore, it is a correlation where performance drops even further (related article: How can I play without worrying about those around me?).

Conversely, when self-affirmation increases, you can prioritize your own needs (while, of course, judging the priorities at the time), allowing you to concentrate on the task in front of you.

It is a correlation where you are not concerned about being watched and your concentration increases.

In tennis, for example, you will be able to hit back a return no-look without worrying about the opponent's net player poaching (related article: The no-look hitting method was extremely effective).

▶ Yoshinobu Yamamoto's long toss and Ichiro's laser beam

By the way, Kike praised Yamamoto, saying, 'Even at 400 feet (about 122 meters), it's as accurate as throwing a strike to home plate.' he raved.

Regarding this, I will cover it again in the salon backstage talk, incorporating the topic of the 'blindfolded pitching practice' revealed by laser-beam Ichiro.

▶ Bonus: Regarding Note 1, 'Is smiling kindness? Or is it insurance?'

Just a cold-hearted guy...

However, this is not a joke; excessive greeting is a sign of low self-affirmation.

Why not check it based on your own behavior and that of others? (related article: What is the reason for excessive greetings, apologies, humility, and smiles?).

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