Flow in FD & BJJ

A phenomenon which links peak performance with intrinsic reward and athlete satisfaction, could in turn lead to improved coaching, training, and preparation methods, especially if there are some clear markers on how to attain flow state, or how to avoid inhibiting flow. This study aimed to add to depth of knowledge in the area by investigating the perceptions of flow state in two differing sports with no prior research in the subject matter. Of particular interest was the attitude towards risk of physical harm by the participants. The influence of risk on flow state has not been studied in great depth (Jackman et al., 2016) and it is possible that athletes experiencing flow may have strategies to manage or minimize any risk of physical harm in their sport.
An attempt was made to answer the following four specific research questions:
1. Do these two groups of athletes experience flow?
2. Does the description and perception of the state of flow by freedivers and BJJ practitioners differ in any essential manner that can be related to their sport?
3. What strategies do these two groups employ to attain or maintain a state of flow?
4. Does either group feel that the risk of physical harm associated with their sport influences their ability to achieve a state of flow?

• Each group commonly associated immediate feedback, intrinsic for the freedivers and extrinsic for the BJJ athletes, with the attainment of flow state. Athletes and coaches should consider specific strategies to enhance the level of feedback athletes can receive, encouraging practices such as body scanning, which can be utilized by athletes who are perhaps unable to receive external feedback.
• Both groups reported the use of variable goals as beneficial to the attainment of flow state. Athletes and coaches could benefit from matching outcome and elite performance goals with basic process goals which support the act of intrinsic feedback, such as body position and technique specific goals.
• Both groups reporting a lack of anxiety, and no fear of harm when competing, neither group considered risk of harm as a disruptor of flow state. This was due to high levels of confidence in the safety processes in place in each sport. Sports practitioners could therefore increase the likelihood of attaining flow state by ensuring the safety practices involved in their respective sports are of a high enough standard as to remove anxiety and fear of harm from the participants.

Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 11 elite sports athletes.