Insights from World and Olympic Champion Tommy Kono

Remaining Focused Tweet

April 2012 - In Olympic lifting we usually create our own mistakes. If you have been training regularly and performing the best you can in your workouts whether good days or bad days, you will do well at the contest if you are in complete focus with what you have to do. The only time we can run into competition problems is when we tend to spend too much time thinking of our competitors and what they might lift in the contest.

How often have you heard the expression that you have no control over the other person's thinking but you can control your own. Whether your competitors are in great shape or not you do not know and even if you did know, there is nothing you can do about it. Leading into a contest you cannot be expecting external forces to disrupt your opponents training or conditioning. To do so, you are placing negatives in your own thoughts because rather than face the reality of the problem, you are not working on the positive side of improving yourself to meet the challenge. It is wishful thinking to hope your opponent injures himself or appears on the competition platform in poor shape. Expect the best performance from your competitor and be prepared to counter it with your best performance!

I have always faced the fact that there will be only one winner, and if I perform my best and I come in second, my opponent, my adversary, deserved to win for he was a better lifter than me. If the sport of weightlifting was a contact sport like in boxing or amateur wrestling, where your opponent can counter your movements, it becomes another matter. Your opponent in weightlifting is, in reality, the barbell! Your competitor is indirectly your opponent. What he lifts, you have to either match it or beat it, but it is the barbell you are lifting against.

The barbell has no brains for it is nothing more than dead weight and the challenge is to lift it overhead to beat your opponent's lift! So why should we get nervous when the weights get heavier when, in reality, we must be focused in following a definite pattern of movement to elevate the weight? This is where being focused on correct technique becomes so important. It is the excitement, the nervousness, and our thoughts at the moment that makes us anxious and we tend to forget about technique and start emphasizing only power to make the lift.

A great teacher of martial arts in Hawaii once told me in a private meeting that he had studied the action of different sports and he found that Olympic weightlifting was the closest sport that came to put to practice "Zen." Unlike the yelling and cheering that takes place in powerlifting or in most other sports, Olympic lifters need to fix their attention on what has to be done and have dead silence before the attempt is made so they can concentrate solely on the task of harnessing their power to apply it correctly for the ultimate lift.

As Reverend Bob Richards, the Olympic pole vaulting champion, said in one of his motivational speeches, the place kicker was sent in at the last few seconds of an important football game for a field goal. On this guy's shoulders rested the outcome of the crucial game where his team was behind by three points. The place kicker got on the field and focused his attention on the uprights of the goal posts. He made certain he could see the goal posts clearly even with the sea of faces of the spectators behind the posts in the stadium.

The ball snapped and the football was placed in position for his kick. Disregarding the onrush of the opposing team players, he focused clearly on the exact spot he had to kick the ball and he followed through on the kick that split the uprights and his whole team came down on him to congratulate him. The team went on to win in the overtime. You have to be focused exactly on what you must do when you are on the platform. Let nothing distract you. Your complete control of your action is critical at this time.

Smooth Lifting Is Efficient Lifting Tweet

March 2012 - If you watch world champions and world record holders make their lifts, you'll note that when they lift, their movement is smooth. Many times you'll see world records made and it will appear as if the lifter was capable of lifting even more. A contrasting example would be a lifter staggering all over the platform to save the lift. The lifter ends up at the front end of the platform or ends up facing diagonally either to the right or left of the head referee. After all this "juggling" of a heavy weight, the lifter may have to lift again in two minutes.

How efficiently did the above lifter perform the first lift? The more efficiency in performing the lift, the quicker the recovery time for the next attempt because of the energy conserved. The lifter has a better chance of succeeding with the next heavier weight if he had performed the previous attempt with good technique. A sudden change of speed as if a person has only two gears shifting—slow and fast, is not an efficient way of lifting. Nor is swinging the weight up because you create a circular path of the bar and unless you time the catch of the bar correctly in the snatch, the bar will keep going around because of the momentum created by swinging the weight.

For many lifters and coaches, as long as the lifter gets the weight overhead, it is considered a good lift. By the rules it may be a good lift, but by not performing efficiently, it could be reinforcing a poor habit. A good technician performs the lift in one spot and the bar travels within a narrow path above the area of the lifter's feet. The bar moves with an accelerating speed until it reaches the peak of the pull: no slowing down in any area along the pull and no sudden change of speed. A good technician "bounds" out of the bottom of the lifts using good reflex and the flexibility of the bar to the lifter's advantage.

A long time educator and coach, Morris Weissbrot, mentioned it many times in the past as an M.C. and in his speeches and clinics that an Olympic lifter must have the strength of a bull yet perform his lifts as gracefully as a ballet dancer. If you want to be an outstanding Olympic weightlifter, never be satisfied having made a lift. Strive to perform all your lifts smoothly, technically perfect.

Follow Through Tweet

February 2012 - Back in 1954 Parry O'Brian broke away from the traditional style of quarter turn (90 degrees) of the body to a 180 degree turn to throw the shot. His start style of facing the opposite direction he was to throw in the shot put was revolutionary to say the least. It gave him additional twisting power to add more momentum to the shot. The current trend is to spin around like a discus thrower or a hammer thrower to generate even greater momentum to the shot.

Though I am not into track and field, I do understand the mechanics of generating power. As I studied the current shot putters in action, I noticed that many concentrated so much in generating such a terrific spin that it was not aiding them as much as it could because the spin did not reach its peak at the instant of the throw.

In weightlifting we tend to do the same thing. Our thoughts are so much on the explosive movement that we become over anxious and pull too hard too soon rather than build up the power for the finish of the pull. There is such a thing as winding up with a slow steady start and gaining momentum so it reaches peak force at the finish of the pull. The delivery of a devastating force comes at the peak of the generated power so the effect of the power is on the implement used, whether it is a shot, discus, and bat to a ball…or a barbell.

The follow through is the after effect of reaching peak power. This is particularly evident in such sports as golfing, baseball and bowling. The follow through is to make certain the direction is defined and wind down of the correct movement. In weightlifting, it is the perfect lockout in the snatch and the racking of the bar in the clean or in splitting under the barbell in the jerk resulting in a perfect lockout of the arms. Television is a great medium for studying sports. When you see golfers practice their strokes a few times before addressing the ball, they are adjusting their kinetic sense for the critical stroke. When you see the smooth delivery of a bowling ball on the bowling alley, there is no real forced effort by the bowler or miss/release that cause bouncing of the ball on the alley like that of a beginner. More than likely there is a good follow through by the golfer and the bowler. We have to apply this same kinetic sense and smoothness also in our weightlifting efforts.

Start your pull smoothly off the platform and continue to apply increasing pulling pressure on the barbell by generating smooth acceleration, hitting peak speed at chest height. The follow through will be the dynamic speed of the body moving under the barbell that is suspended momentarily in the air as it changes direction of its path from upward to downward.

A Gift to You for the Year 2012 Tweet

January 2012 - The start of a new year is as good as any to give you something that can have great meaning and can affect you profoundly in the weeks and months ahead. It is not a material thing that you can place dollars and cents value on but a "thought" that, when taken serious and carried through, can have a tremendous impact on your life and have untold riches because the value of it cannot be measured monetarily. Time is a precious commodity of life and we all have the same amount of time no matter who you are, or how wealthy or poor you are. How we spend our time is the important factor in succeeding in any endeavor, and in life. You can be a couch potato and do nothing but sit and stare at the electronic idiot box all day and night and accomplish absolutely nothing; or, plan to make good use of your time by setting goals and setting a time limit to accomplish them and work toward that end.

You have a choice and I am giving you two half-year calendars on which to plot your goal(s) for the year. When you put things down on paper, you are laying a plan for the year so you have a definite goal to shoot for and have a point of focus so you don't go astray and waste time, energy and money. Olympic lifting is a numbers game so it is easy to show improvement by lifting greater poundage than before. This comes about by systematic, logical approach to training. You can improve by setting higher goals and making your workout meaningful. You go to the gym for a definite purpose, unlike a common laborer that reports to work and performs mindless repetition of movement automatically. As in Olympic lifting, the whole purpose in life is to keep forging ahead, accomplishing things and being positive in action.

Reflect back on January 2011 and compare your station in life at that time and how and where you are today at the beginning of January 2012. You are a year older, however, have you made good improvement to show the year gone by? You cannot undo whatever mistakes you made last year but you certainly can do something about your future by making a definite, progressive, goal oriented plan.

Like a flight plan of an airline or a ship with a rudder to steer it to its destination, have a clear plan on what you want to accomplish during 2012. Choose goals that are reasonable and attainable and discipline yourself to follow the plan to success. During my weightlifting career I used the two half-year plan to achieve outstanding success. It kept me on course to accomplish some great goals for a number of years so I pass this advice and information on to you.

A six-month plan is a good length of time for a plan: enough time to get somewhere, and not too much time to get lost along the way. I believe that lifters can set down poundages they would like to lift, but then they wander workout to workout. They do not have good concentration, discipline, or, in sum, control over their own selves: limbs, thoughts, and mind. Good intentions are nice, but behavior control, the how-to of accomplishment, is where they draw a blank. Nothing great is accomplished without some sacrifice on your part. Accept reaching for your goal as a challenge and devote time to plan it correctly. Thinking first is a good place for you to start. Don't go on automatic pilot when you go into the gym. Think through your workout before you ever get to the gym, in detail, and then follow what you have laid out in your mind, minute by minute.

Most lifters know the chronic mistake they make in lifting but continue to train in their "comfort zone" which actually solidifies the mistake. The only way to correct this mode is to deliberately concentrate on erasing the error each time you step up to the barbell in training. If you do not do this with the lighter, warm up weights, you are certainly not going to correct the error of lifting with the heavier weights. Each lift is supposed to be better performed than the previous lift. If not, why not? It is very easy to set yourself on "automatic pilot" and disengage your mind on the task. This, then, is wasted motion, energy, time and actually counterproductive. Instead of heading toward your goal, you are again falling into the habit of just flexing your muscles without the brain engaged. Have a list of your top three technique errors to correct. Have a list of your top strength problems to correct. Have a list of your goal poundages. Have a list of the top three things you are doing wrong outside of the gym that are interfering with your life inside the gym.

Write your goal in on the 6-month calendar and keep focused, not deviating from the plan, unless for some unforeseen reason you have to. In such case you make the adjustment to accommodate the circumstance and continue to pursue your goal. Accept no excuses to discontinue your plan. It is easy to fall prey to being lazy or unfocused; but if you truly want to succeed, you will keep your mind in a positive mode and pursue your goal as originally intended. Thoughtless behavior is all American nowadays. Let's turn this around and become an accountable citizen. Be productive. Seek improvement. Go for it!

Champions Who Overcame Adversities Tweet

December 2011 - When you study some of the past champions, you'll find that many of them had a rough start in life. Take the example of one of the greatest female track stars of our time, Wilma Rudolph. Afflicted with scarlet fever and pneumonia when she was a child, she lost the use of her left leg for more than three years. The doctor said she would never walk normally again, but through sheer determination and her willingness to endure painful remedial exercises, she was able to get rid of her leg brace and even started to run when she was in her early teens.

At 16, she won a bronze medal as a member of the U.S. women's relay team at the Melbourne Olympics in 1956. At the 1960 Rome Olympics Wilma won three gold medals, the first U.S. female to win three gold medals in a single Olympic Games.

Harold Connolly, Olympic champion and former world record holder in the hammer throw was a forceps delivered baby with a damaged left shoulder that also affected his left arm. Despite over a decade of therapy for his left arm, it was four inches shorter than his right and he could never raise it above his shoulders.

I remember making friends with him in 1956 when the U.S. Olympic team processing was taking place in Los Angeles prior to flying to Australia for the Melbourne Olympic Games. Hal went along with the weightlifting team to train at the Downtown Los Angeles YMCA. I was impressed with his squatting ability for he was performing many reps with well over 400 pounds.

I saw and spoke to Hal quite regularly in the Olympic Village. He had trained exceptionally hard to get to where he was and I felt he was destined to do great in his event. I was extremely elated when he won the Olympic gold medal in the hammer throw event, more so because of his physical handicap. He had set an Olympic and world record on his way to winning the gold medal.

In weightlifting we've had lifters like bantamweight Anthony Vega, who had no fingers on one hand, win the Junior National title. Gary Deal had one arm that was withered by polio and yet did some amazing snatches and jerks as a heavyweight winning several national titles. Eric Carlson was one of the best lightweights in the U.S. despite polio that left one of his legs thin and partially bent. Eric was within range of breaking the world record press at the time.

On an even grander scale, in the sport of weightlifting, Canada's Douglas Hepburn comes to mind. Doug won the World Heavyweight Weightlifting Championship title in spite of being born with a club foot. In winning the world title in Stockholm, Sweden in 1953 he established a world record press lift of 371 lbs.

If you have the normal use of your arms and legs and nothing physically wrong with you, there is no reason why you cannot improve if you believe in yourself and you can stretch your imagination. There is no physical limit in lifting. As I have stated in the past, you will reach your physical limit when your arms are pulled out of their sockets…and we have a long way to go before that kind of thing happens!

Self Improvement Tweet

September 2011 - There is no end to the misconceptions about Olympic weightlifting.  One basic misconception is that it is about competing against other lifters.  While this seems an obvious fact about competitive lifting, it is hardly that.  Olympic weightlifting is not about competition against other lifters but against yourself.  Your opponent is a dead weight, a barbell.  It is inert and you have to move it overhead.  You control the barbell if you use good leverage and apply your strength correctly.  If brute force alone is used on the barbell and the weight is too heavy, it will end in a failed effort. The other lifters in your bodyweight class in competition are doing the same thing—basically competing against themselves, except they do not realize it.  They think they are competing against all the others in the same bodyweight class.

If you were truly competing against the others in your class, why not start with the heaviest weights:  What’s to prevent you from starting after others have finished? You start with a weight that you think is reasonably safe for your ability and see how it goes before moving to a heavier weight.  You are testing yourself with the first lift to see if you should jump 2 kg. or 5 kg. for your next lift.  You are constantly checking on yourself to get the best performance at this time. In reality the other lifters are doing the same thing; they are testing their ability before advancing to heavier barbells.

So where does the competition between the lifters take place?  The lifter will succeed who can stretch his imagination and believes he can achieve what he pictures as possible.  This may not be enough to win the class but he will end up with new Personal Records. Now we are getting down to the basic concept of self improvement.  Our training efforts should be to improve our lifting ability at all times.  When you cannot show signs of improvement, what is the purpose of training if you are a competitor and not a hobbyist? If you have been stymied for any length of time and your total has not moved up, something is wrong and you need to correct it otherwise you have fallen into a rut and have accepted the condition. In all my years of training, if I did not improve on my total, I would have thrown in the towel.  I trained because I always thought I could do better.  When I could not, I retired from competitive lifting.

Between the ages of 14 and 27 you should constantly show improvement.  If you have no injuries and your enthusiasm runs high, you can continue to improve even beyond the age of 35.  And, for the female lifters almost up to 40 years of age before tapering off. Ivan Douganov of the old Soviet Union started weightlifting in his late 20s but he managed to break the Snatch world record in the 75 kg. class at age 34.  Norbert Schemansky broke the World heavyweight Snatch record just before he turned 38 and that was after many years of championship lifting and a couple of major back surgeries. If you are in your teens and early twenties, your total should be improving from contest to contest.  There is no excuse for not improving unless you have limited yourself or your coach has capped your performance.  You don’t push yourself to set upon set in vain, or periodization with no point.  You push to improve and only to improve.  If you don’t improve, the aim of competitive lifting, for you at least, has vanished.

Champion's Attitude Tweet

August 2011 - Just what is this thing called "Champion's Attitude?" Is it just thinking higher goals or is there something more to it than that? It is a lifestyle of thinking because it is not just a positive mental attitude; it is a development of character in a person. It is his action, his reaction, the very demeanor and deportment under stress and even during euphoric, successful moments. It is the athlete that controls his emotion and is worthy of being looked upon by his peers and others as role model as a first rate person, more than as a first rate athlete. A Champion's thought is not just about his own performance, but he is considerate of his team members and does what he can to support them before and during competition. He always performs well before and during competition. He always performs well before the public whether it is an exhibition or demonstration. He strives to show improvements in competition so he is forever aiming for higher totals. He makes no excuses for poor performance, but he learns from them so he does not commit the same error in the future. He is not afraid to admit mistakes, and he is prepared to concentrate on correcting them. A champion faces reality and copes with problems head-on. When problems rear their head, he attempts to solve them rather than brood over them. He tackles the problem to find the solution. He has confidence in his ability and takes pride in himself in what he does.