Erik's Mahjong Ramblings #3) Mental Prep and Considerations

Erik Karhan, Mahjong Rambler

Erik's Mahjong Ramblings #3) Mental Prep and Considerations

It goes without saying that mahjong is not exactly the most fair game at times, and it's real easy to lose control of our emotions. It's not just rage and frustration though, sometimes you know you're against a strong player and start playing more frantically. How should we mentally prepare for matches to reduce our mental stress and stay focused?

I want to preface this by saying that I received a lot of this advice from columns written by professionals, and mainly Toyota Urata. I've simply pieced some of the advice that's helped me together, and I hope it can be of some use for competitive players in our community.

Before the Game:

1) Warm up by handling the tiles a bit. This will get your hands ready and start to shift you into thinking about the game.

2) Visualize yourself losing! This one sounds odd, but if you can see a bad end and accept it in advance, you will be able to play with a greater clarity of mind regardless of the result.

3) Visualize yourself winning! Build your confidence up by pretending to tsumo, ron, or whatever else helps you imagine winning. It's important to have confidence in your own play or you will waver when it comes to making the critical decisions.

4) Respect your opponents! Regardless of who you are playing, show them respect. It does not matter if they are a beginner pushing like a maniac or if they have played for 20 years.

5) If you're a bit worried, try some basic breathing exercises with your eyes closed. Deep breath in, hold, slowly exhale, hold, repeat.

During the Game

1) Never drop your guard until the game is over! Likewise, never give up until the end. During the game, you must not act rashly. Look for the right moment and only then seize it with force. Use not only your theory, but also your intuition and experience from other games.

2) Never let your self confidence waver. If you suspect you made a mistake, don't beat yourself up over it or keep thinking about it. Push it to the side, and move forward. You can reflect on it after the game! Also, just because you made a mistake does not mean you cannot adjust to neutralize it. Don't feel that one bad move means you have to commit to failure.

3) Counter strength with strength. If you are playing someone you know to be strong, you must not shrink back from them or they will be able to dominate freely. As Sakurai wrote, take great pains to attack! It sounds silly, but you need a strong force of will and great earnestness to not falter when facing a strong opponent. At the same time, please do not take this advice to just push recklessly.

After the Game

1) Be grateful! Thank your opponents for the game, and be a good sport no matter how hard you won or got dumpstered. Take pride in having played a good match thanks to the efforts of all 4 players.

2) Do not brag, do not whine. Players who do this regularly are insufferable.

3) Review, reflect, and integrate your findings. Take a moment to go over the key moments of the game in your head before you prepare for the next game. Make sure you are doing this not only for the games you do poorly in, but also the neutral and winning games! You'd be surprised how much you can improve even in a hanchan where you are dominating.