GSP's Psychotherapy Cure?

In a recent article by RDS, GSP admitted that he wasn't in the right frame of mind to fight Matt Serra to defend his UFC Welterweight Championship title.

Following his loss of the belt, Georges St.Pierre consulted with a sports psychologist to exercise his personal demons to get him back on the Championship track to get the coveted strap back around his waist.

Josh Koscheck stands in his way back to the title as GSP is set to fight him this Saturday in Las Vegas at UFC 74: RESPECT.

GSP speaks about his long road back to Championship form courtesy of RDS.ca:


The head elsewhere

In my fight with Serra, I must acknowledge that I had the head elsewhere. I had personal problems and disease in my family. However, I am the type of person who never repeats the same error twice. Therefore, I will let myself never again decentralize by this type of problems.

However, I want to be quite clear. I do not blame anybody for my defeat against Serra. I am the only person in charge. I let myself surround by bad people and I a little too much let myself swell the head. On the other hand, I am a proud athlete and I intend well to rebound.

Against Koscheck, I will not present myself while saying to me: “I should have done this or I should not have done that. ” I did everything what I had to do. I have the clear spirit and the quiet conscience. I will present myself at this fight like a champion and it will arrive what will arrive. What I know, it is that I will point myself in the octagon with all the tools necessary to carry it. With hockey, it is not always the best which gains, but that which plays best; it is not always the fastest horse which triumphs, but that which runs best. In fighting, it is the same thing. Even if I believe being the best fighter in the world, it is not always him which collects the victory. It is that which fights best. It is what happened against Matt Serra, but I will make so that that does not occur any more.


Help of a sporting psychologist

In a chronicle published on the site of the UFC, Koscheck mentions that I am a very good athlete, but that my weakness is between my two ears, that my mental force is not on point. He's right. It WAS my greater gap. However, it is not any more the case!

I worked enormously on this aspect since my loss against Serra. You will see a completely different fighter this Saturday in Las Vegas. I am with best of my form. I believe that I never was on such a level since the beginning of my career.

Since my defeat of last April 7, I consulted a sporting psychologist of the name of Brian Kane. He works, in particular, with several players of the major leagues. I consult it several times per week and it will be present in Las Vegas during my fight with Koscheck.

Kane is somebody of exceptional and it shows me the things in another way. It came to see me with some recoveries with the drive and it analyzed my work. When I was not satisfied with a thing which I had made, it asked me what had occurred and it showed me the things in a more positive way.

To be honest, before this experiment with Brian Kane, I always thought that people who consulted sporting psychologists were the insane ones. I really did not believe in that. I however realized that any athlete should have one, particularly in mixed martial arts because it is about an individual sport where we must think of many things during the confrontation. There are so much ways of putting an end to a fight which it is necessary to remain concentrated in any time.

Also, I get much from visualization. By visualizing a fight and the things which occur first, like the weighing, our body feels accustomed when the events really proceed and it reacts better. People do not go from there necessarily account, but that done an enormous difference in end of line.

A war of three rounds?

I do not want to launch out in the predictions, but against Koscheck, I prepared for a war of three rounds.

However, when he makes an error, it will be the end for him.

One speaks again oneself the next week for the analysis of the fight…

To read the full semi-translated RDS article, CLICK HERE