First to 15: The USA Fencing Podcast

Dr. Nicole Polanichka on Turning Competition Anxiety Into Confidence

Episode Summary

Licensed clinical psychologist, mental performance consultant, and lifelong fencer Dr. Nicole Polanichka joins First to 15 to break down the mental game of fencing. From butterflies in your stomach to sweaty palms, she explains why those pre-bout nerves aren’t your enemy — they’re your body preparing you to perform. Nicole shares her own journey as a Princeton varsity fencer and veteran competitor, offers tools to reframe anxiety as “go juice,” and gives practical routines for athletes, parents, and coaches to turn stress into strength.

Episode Notes

Season 2, Episode 11
Guest: Dr. Nicole Polanichka — Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Mental Performance Consultant, Veteran Fencer

What we cover

Nicole’s fencing origin story (and The Princess Bride connection)

The veteran fencing community as a supportive, lifelong home

How her psychology training reshaped her approach to competition

Why the stigma around mental health in sports is lifting

What makes fencing unique: individual pressure + fight-or-flight triggers

Red flags for parents: when nerves cross into fear or lost joy

Physiology of competition-day anxiety (and why it helps, not hurts)

Reframing nerves as “go juice” and building pre-bout mantras

What parents and coaches can do (and not do) to support athletes

Pre-competition routines: control the controllables, consistency, music, notes

Reset tools after a bad bout: “short memory,” rituals, music, breathing

Staying consistent through higher-pressure rounds to avoid choking

Quick hits:

Mask mantra: “Excitement, not fear”

Weather forecast for her nerves

Taylor Swift on her playlist

Recommended book: Beyond Grit

Visualization & mindfulness as five-minute club drills

Quotable

“Your body isn’t telling you you’re afraid—it’s telling you it’s go time.” — Dr. Nicole Polanichka

“Control the controllables. Consistency breeds confidence.” — Dr. Nicole Polanichka

Call to action
If you’d like to connect with Dr. Polanichka, you can reach her at nicolepolanichka@gmail.com or spot her at veteran events nationwide.

Episode Transcription

SEASON 2, EPISODE 11

[0:00:01] BW: All right, imagine the time is 7:59am and your name's about to be announced at the start of the pools. Your heart is racing, your stomach is in knots, your hands are maybe a little shaky. Even though you've trained for months, you're wondering, "Why my body feels like it's sounding an alarm?" Today's guest says that signal doesn't have to be your enemy. It can actually be your edge if you know the right way to read it. 

I'm Bryan Wendell, and this is First of 15. Our guest is Dr. Nicole Polanichka, a licensed clinical psychologist, mental performance consultant, and lifelong fencer. She fenced varsity at Princeton, has been competing for nearly 30 years, including veteran national and international events, and trains out of Lancaster Fencing Academy in Pennsylvania. So, we'll talk about her fencing journey, shift into what's really happening in your brain on competition day, and finish with some tools that can help you turn those nerves into fuel. Welcome, Dr. Nicole, and thanks for joining us today. 

[0:00:56] NP: Yeah, thanks for having me. 

[0:00:57] BW: All right. Well, let's get into first the fencer behind the psychologist. That's your story there. What hooked you on fencing and kept you in the sport throughout school, and then college, and now as a successful veteran fencer? 

[0:01:11] NP: I was the little kid that always liked swords and toys that had swords. But interestingly, it was my sister that started fencing before me. And she jokes that without her, I wouldn't be where I am today. We were at a summer camp where you could choose different activities. And I think I just picked the first thing I read that I liked and didn't read further, but she did, and she chose fencing. And after the first class said, "Oh my god, Nicole, you need to do this. You need to switch because we get to play with swords." 

And so in the meantime, while I'm trying to switch over, they also showed us the movie The Princess Bride. At which point after the fight scene, she said, "That's what we do. That's exactly what we're going to do." So I was hooked at that point. Went back home to rural Pennsylvania and bugged my parents for four years to get me fencing lessons, but it took four years for someone to start teaching them. So, that's when I started in late high school. And it's been my first love and my greatest love since then. 

[0:02:06] BW: And then how about as a veteran fencer? Because you've had success there as well. So, I guess that's what got you into it. What has kept you going as a vet fencer? 

[0:02:16] NP: I love the fact that fencing is a sport that can be lifelong. And when I finished college, and I was trying to stick with it for a little bit while I was in grad school, and I ended up taking some time off. And when I came back, I didn't realize what a large vet community there was. And so when I got back into it when I was almost 30, I was hesitant because I knew there were going to be high schoolers. I knew there were going to be college students. And it had been years since I had fenced because of life. And I didn't know if it was going to be the same. 

And when I came back – and I met some fabulous women and men, but especially the women that took me under their wing and said, "Hey, like there's a whole community here. You're just a baby. And when you hit 40, you're going to get to join us and play with us, and we're really fun." And when I started going to NACs and seeing – even before I could fence with the vets, just seeing them there and seeing what a community it was and how they were competitors, but they were also friends in a way that I don't think I had seen before. In college, you had your team and they were your friends. But a lot of times the other teams were the enemies. And here was a community where everyone was just lifting each other up. 

[0:03:34] BW: Yeah, that's something that I noticed when seeing my first vet fencing tournament. And it even applies on the international level too, right? The vet community internationally is really strong. So, I'm wondering what came first for you as far as the mental side. Did you discover the power of the mental game as a fencer, or was it later through your psychology training that you said, "Oh, this can actually be applied to fencing as well?" 

[0:03:59] NP: It was later. I was a bit of a mess as a college fencer. I did not have an understanding of how much the mental game really could impact me. And it really did impact me. I knew a little bit, or I thought I knew about psyching yourself up, but I had no clue what that meant. And I would just find myself getting either too hyped up to the point where I couldn't think, or getting so caught up in my head and being fearful of what would happen that I couldn't perform in the way that I knew I had the ability to. 

And so when I came back to the sport, like I said, I had taken some time off for grad school, where I was in a clinical psychology program. And so when I came back to it, I was intent on not having that happen again, not having some of those demons that held me back when I was younger get in the way again. And so I had tried some things on my own to try and help reduce some of the expectations or the fears that would get in the way when I would just be trying to fence. 

But as I met a lot of colleagues in my psychology community, there was one individual who was a practicing sports psychologist already. And so we would be at a conference once a year together. And I would just pick his brain the whole time, mostly to help myself to find out. And what I learned was there were some things that I already knew that I would help people with in my office that were dealing with anxiety, that were dealing with stress. And I learned that I could use those in the moment or even before competitions to help myself, and started learning some other skills. And while I did that, I thought if I could learn more about this and make this part of my practice to help other athletes, to help other fencers, that would be great. So that's what led me down the path of becoming a certified mental performance consultant, which is I'm in the last processes of doing now. 

[0:05:51] BW: In sports in general, not just in fencing, I feel like, as a fan, I've noticed more athletes willing to talk about their mental toughness and that side of the sport. I'd love to hear if you think that this stigma has been lifted about like, "Well, I'm too tough to have to even like talk to someone about my feelings as I'm about to start competing." If you have noticed that this stigma has kind of started to evaporate, what do you think is the cause of that? 

[0:06:19] NP: I do agree that the stigma has been evaporating. And I think part of the cause of that is it's been happening just in general with mental health. I think a lot of the stigma around mental health in general has been lifted. The younger generation is really more accepting of not just talking about it amongst themselves, but putting it out there. When we think about social media and TikTok, and there's a lot of influencers that talk about their own mental health in general. And I think that was naturally going to move into the sports realm. 

For a long time, athletes have had to or felt like they had to have this image of I'm just tough. Nothing gets through me. It's just game day focus. That's it. You either are able to do that or you aren't. And if you can't do it, then maybe you aren't cut out for this. And if you can, you don't want to show a chink in your armor. I think with the move that just generally in society we've been making toward being willing to talk about what's going on in our heads and how we manage stress and our emotions, and people being willing to talk about neurodiverency and all kinds of things, then athletes are able to say, "Well, hey, I'm human, too. I'm an athlete, but I'm also a person, and these things are going to affect me." And we've seen that in media with lots of athletes coming forward and talking about their own struggles. 

[0:07:42] BW: And what is unique about fencing in the mental health realm? Because like other individual sports like tennis, it's just you out there, right? Yes, there's doubles in tennis and there's team events in fencing, but it's still you out there in the mask, and you got to kind of solve the problems on your own. So, how does the uniqueness of our sport change the dynamic here and add complexity? 

[0:08:06] NP: Yeah, I think part of it is exactly what you said, that even in a team competition where you're working together, it's still you out there on the strip with an opponent, and the points are racking up either for you or against you. And you're the only one out there in charge at that moment. And a lot of times it can feel like there's lots of eyes on you. So, not only are you the only one out there that's in charge of what's happening, and you can't rely on your teammate in that moment, but you literally have the ref watching you, you have potentially teammates of your opponent and yours there watching and cheering, your coaches. ll eyes can feel like they're on you even if they're not. 

The fact that we are also a sport where you win or lose by literally getting hit. So, it is triggering in our bodies that fight or flight response. Even if we're used to it, even though we're not in danger, that's something that we're programmed for. It's hard even if you've been used to this and you're not getting hurt most of the time in fencing, but you're taking hits. And you know that you either hit your opponent and get a point. Or if you don't, you make a mistake, they're faster, they're stronger, they've outwitted you, you're taking a hit, literally. And so that puts into our brain lots of things subconsciously that can trigger those responses in our body, too. 

[0:09:33] BW: If there's a parent listening that has a fencer, how would they know whether their child would benefit from talking to someone like you about all that's going on in their head before, during, and after a competition? 

[0:09:47] NP: I think some of it is picking up on the cues that you see in your kid when it comes to competitions. Are these things that they look like they're excited about and enjoying? Obviously we get nervous before competitions. And you and I are going to talk about that more, what comes from and why it's not a bad thing. But if your child is seeming in their actions, are their words more fearful than excited? If there's lots of expressed worries about, like, "What if?" Like, "What if I lose? What if I don't make the cut?" And this can happen with older teens, too, but younger kids like, "Are you going to be mad at me? Is coach going to be mad at me?" Lots of questions of what kind of bad things are going to happen if I don't do well? Because that lets you know that they're really focused on the fears and the potential negatives of competing, because you don't always win. 

If you have a kid that you know that has loved the sport or has loved doing this, and then suddenly it seems like that interest has precipitously dropped, they don't want to go anymore. Maybe they don't want to even go to practice. I mean, we all have days we don't want to go to practice. Kids and teens, sometimes more so, can be a little – they have a lot going on in their lives. But if it really seems that more often than not they're expressing they don't want to be there, and that's been a real big change for them, that might indicate that they've lost their joy in it. And that could be stuff going on in their head. Because even if they're doing well objectively, they're winning, they're progressing, if internally they're not experiencing the positives, that might mean they would benefit from talking to someone about what's going on. 

[0:11:38] BW: Yeah, I love that. Well, let's talk about what's going on. And in our next section of conversation, I wanted to get into like what's happening in the brain and how to work with it. So the first question is why does an athlete experience anxiety on competition day? What is actually causing that emotion? 

[0:11:57] NP: First, we're talking about we label it anxiety, but it's not always anxiety. I think probably if I'm right, you're talking about like the feelings they feel, right? There's the maybe butterflies in their stomach or the heart's racing. They feel kind of like shaky or sweaty. And then there's also the mental stuff, right? Thinking, "Oh my gosh, I have this opponent and now I have to get on the strip." So, it's a combination of those physical and mental. And we label it anxiety, but the reality is it is also stuff that happens with excitement. 

Our body system reacts the same way to excitement as it does to something fearful and scary. How we label it determines what we think it is. But from a physiological perspective, what's going on is the same. If you think about it – I don't know about you. Do you like going to amusement parks and getting on roller coasters? 

[0:12:52] BW: Yeah. My kids drag me onto them, but yes. 

[0:12:54] NP: Yeah. Okay. Before you're about to get on the roller coaster, maybe when you're seated there and it's about to take off, do you feel butterflies in your stomach? 

[0:13:02] BW: Yeah, for sure. 

[0:13:03] NP: Yeah. And you probably feel a little shaky. If you were paying attention, if you had a heart rate monitor, your heart rate would be going up. Now you're getting on there and you're doing this, and you even say like, "I'm excited." There is a component of, "Oh, my gosh. There's going to be big drops." But those of us who do that willingly, it's excitement. Our body system is set up. So when there is something we're facing that we view as fearful, that could be a threat to us, or as something that is exciting, meaning it's an opportunity for us, it launches off hormones in our bodies, our sympathetic nervous system. And those are things like adrenaline. And I think a lot of people have probably heard of adrenaline, a fight or flight response. And the reason that gets launched is to help us, right? 

If we think about if we're in a situation that we're afraid that either our life is in danger or we think our life is in danger, we need to be able to do certain things to protect ourselves. And that's where we get the fight or flight. We have to run or we have to fight. And to do that at a moment's notice, I think all of us would want to be able to perform at our best. 

[0:14:09] BW: Absolutely. 

[0:14:10] NP: If we think evolutionary, if I'm facing down a saber-tooth tiger or jumping out of the woods, I need to run my top speed to get out of there. We don't have time to warm up. We don't have time to psych ourselves up. Our body does that for us. And so that's what's going on when we're afraid. The adrenaline and along with some other hormones, if it lasts long enough, we also get cortisol. But it increases our heart rate because we need to get blood to our limbs. We need to get blood and oxygen. Because if we've got to run or we've got to fight, we have to perform at our best, our body needs that. So our heart rate goes up, our blood pressure goes up. Those are things we notice, right? I'm sure a lot of people who are competing can feel that, where our heart starts fluttering. We start breathing faster. Literally, hyperventilating means taking in a lot more oxygen. We need that oxygen to get to our extremities. 

Our body redirects blood flow from our stomach and GI system. Because if you have to run, you have to fight, you have to perform at your best, we don't need to be wasting energy or resources on digesting food. It's just not important right now. That gets redirected, and that's why our stomach feels funny because our GI system is always working. When it suddenly essentially tries to shut down, that feels weird. It focuses our senses. We can hyperfocus. 

Some people notice that it's almost like a tunnel vision. They can superfocus on what's in front of them, maybe paying less attention to things around them, more sensitive to sound. Our brain wants to focus more on what we need to do again if we need to protect ourselves. Temperature goes up. That's why we can feel sweaty because our muscles need to be warmed up. They start activating because they need to be used. 

The same thing happens when we get excited because our body views that as an opportunity. Something's about to happen, and I need to be ready for it. And the same exact thing, we need to be ready for it. We need to be able to make the most of that opportunity. We need to be ready to compete. In the case of sports, anytime that you are on the strip, anytime you're on the court, that's an opportunity, right? You're doing it because you want to. There's a chance to win. You need to be ready. And so your body is trying to help you out. That's why that happens in a competition, because you're getting ready to do something and your body is on your side. It's trying to help you. 

The problem becomes twofold. One, if we get caught up in the, "Oh no, I'm afraid. This is a scary thing," we start viewing all of that as due to fear and anxiety. And maybe, if we are afraid. But the other problem is if we don't learn how to manage those physiological responses, they can negatively impact us. 

[0:16:56] BW: So, how do we manage those? How should we make those unpleasant feelings go away? Or should we? Do you just accept it, or do you try to mentally diminish them? 

[0:17:09] NP: Well, we definitely don't want them to completely go away, right? Because if we – like I said, they're there to help us. They're there to help us perform as well as we possibly can. If you didn't have those at all, well, you'd have to do all that work yourself to get yourself ready, which we do, right? We warm up and stuff. But you're essentially taking away something that benefits you. 

[0:17:32] BW: something natural that your body does, right, to help you perform. That makes sense. 

[0:17:36] NP: Yeah. And other things to get released are also things like testosterone. Those are helpful to us. Our body wouldn't be designed this way if it didn't help us. Evolution, it would have gone – we would have not still survived. This is something that not just for us but other animals have. It's really useful. So you want it there. If it's not there, that could mean that you're not excited about what's going to happen and you don't care. And that's also not good, right? If you get on a strip and you're like, "Whatever. I'm here for competition. This doesn't matter at all," you're also not going to perform your best because you're not invested in it. So you want to be invested. You want your brain to view it as an opportunity. You want to be excited. You don't want it gone completely. 

There's a couple things that are helpful. The first part of which I started talking about is how we view it. If we walk onto the strip, if we walk into a competition, like you said, at 7:59 you're getting called to strip and you view what's going on in your body as, "Oh my god, I am afraid," that's not going to set you up well for what needs to happen next, right? Because now you're telling yourself, I'm afraid I'm anxious. I'm not ready for this. Now does that mean I'm not ready for this? I can't handle this. I might choke. Now you start playing a whole record in your brain about being afraid, being anxious, not being ready. 

And then it also starts to have you view the competition as fearful. And it's possible that for some athletes, that actually starts the process. They approach a competition being afraid what's going to happen because – and that fear can come from a lot of places. They could be afraid of losing. That's a big one. And not just losing, but what does it mean if I lose. 

[0:19:20] BW: Right. And who's going to be upset? Coaches, parents, teammates. Yeah. 

[0:19:24] NP: Yeah. If there are expectations that they've placed on themselves, again, not viewing it as an expectation as opposed to a hope, a desire. If you have an expectation, then there's the fear of not meeting that expectation. 

[0:19:40] BW: Right. I've got to get a top 32 here or else I'm not going to qualify for the – yeah, exactly. 

[0:19:46] NP: Yeah. For some athletes, if a lot of their identity or what they see as their worth is wrapped up in how they perform, then that can be really scary because that means I'm good if I win or I'm bad or worthless if I don't. And so that's where a lot of that fear can come from. And then the interpretation of those feelings is accurate, right? You are afraid. 

[0:20:11] BW: Is there like a mantra or something that you could say right as you get onto the strip or that you coach athletes you work with to to say that might make them say, "Okay, this feeling that – this tightness in my chest and my heart racing is actually a good thing and I'm going to channel it into my fencing." Something that you know you could just take with you onto the strip. 

[0:20:35] NP: Yeah. And I've talked with lots of different athletes, and we come up with something that feels like it works for them. But it's all on a variation of things. For me, when I started understanding this more when I was in my grad program and understanding the physiological response, it was, "Okay. This is go juice. The adrenaline in my body is go time. And this is something that's helping me do that." 

[0:20:57] BW: Yeah. It's reframing it. Yeah, I love that. 

[0:21:00] NP: It's go time. This is just go juice. And so it helped me take what – because I used to hate those feelings in my stomach, right? Like, "Oh my gosh. I'm anxious. I'm nervous. I feel like I'm going to puke. This must mean I'm scared." I'm not ready." Now, when it happens, I'm like, "Okay, body. Thanks for looking out for me. It's go time." And that's why I also explain the whole process when I'm working with athletes is understanding what's going on in your body and why makes it a lot easier to make that switch in your brain. Like, "No, my body is doing this to help me. It's not telling me I'm scared." This is literally to help me perform better. And if my body is saying it's go time, I'm ready. It's go time. 

[0:21:44] BW: And you also need a little bit of the explanation. I see what you're saying. Because if you don't have any of the context and you're told to just say, "That's go juice. It's go time." You're like, "Well, that's not helping me. You need the framing and the groundwork to be laid first.

[0:21:58] NP: Yeah. 

[0:21:59] BW: So, parents and coaches on a competition day, what might help? And is there something that might accidentally hurt when they're trying to support an athlete who's dealing with a little bit of, let's just call it for sake of simplicity, anxiety, but we know it's a bunch of things going on. What should parents and coaches do and maybe not do? 

[0:22:19] NP: I think that you know when we were talking about, like I said, the fear, the fear outcomes, I think a lot of things that can get kids focused on the negative outcomes is just focusing on the outcome in general, right? Talking about how the day is going to finish before the day even started. There's an expectation of, "Well, if you make the top eight, you get these points." Or, "Ooh. It's an A2 competition. If you win, you might get your A. Or if you make it into the top, you'll get your B." Focusing on what some outcome because then that lays out an expectation and can lay an expectation that then can become a point of fear. 

And so working with your kid, talking more about what are the things they are in control of that day. What is the opportunity in front of them? Viewing it as a chance to just fence your best against your peers. In the case of a big competition, especially when they're at a NAC, and we have kids and teens of lots of different abilities and levels. And a lot of times they're coming together at the same time on one strip in a pool. You can have kids that it might be like their first or second NAC, and they have someone whose name they recognize in their pool, and they're like, "Oh my gosh. I'm going to lose. I'm afraid. They're so good." 

Parents, you know, taking the perspective of like, "Well, let's just be curious about what happens. You don't know how it's going to go. Just fence your best. You have a chance to try yourself against this person. And we don't know the outcome, but you've got three minutes to just see what happens." 

[0:23:57] BW: Yeah, I think that's brilliant. Let's talk about a pre-competition routine. Now we're kind of getting into some of the tools maybe that you have found to be effective in your own fencing and also in your practice. Let's say, again, we got an 8am pool in this scenario. Starting at 7:00am, what type of routine might you recommend? And we don't have to prescribe it to the minute, but things like breathing, and activation, and all this, even the logistics of making sure you're not setting yourself up for failure by showing up late and rushing, right? What are some things that you like to recommend? 

[0:24:32] NP: One of the big things I say is control the controllables. So, there are things that you have the ability to control. You don't have the ability to control everything. You can't control if your pool's going to run on time, or who's in your pool, or what the venue is going to be like, or how long the check-in line's going to be. But you do have control over when you wake up in the morning. You have control over how early you get to the venue, most cases. Sometimes that only opens up an hour before you get there. You have control over what you eat. You have control over whether you are dressed and ready to go for your warm-up. And this is really individual for each athlete, right? 

I myself, I need a lot of time for my warm-up. Not just because I'm 47. And if I don't warm things up and stretch them out, bad things can happen. Unlike I was 18 and I could just pop out of bed and have some coffee, and start fencing. But also because mentally, I have a routine set up that is just as much about going through the process that lets my brain know that when I step on the strip, I'm ready. And so that varies for everybody. 

I know athletes that do their pre-competition readiness somewhere else. And they don't want to get to the venue until as close as possible to when they start fencing because that puts them in a better mind space. Part of it is understanding what works best for you as an athlete. And you figure that out by being really aware and maybe even taking notes, right? As you start competing, how did this day go? How did it start? What things do I feel like helped me? Did I have enough of a warm-up? Too much? And learning how to dial that back to get your perfect for you, right? Because that's going to be different from someone else. And that's where someone like me can be helpful to kind of talk through things, figure out what works best for you. ut yeah, control the controllables. And once you know what you need, doing your best to make those things happen, making sure you're getting up with enough time for your warm-up, having everything there you need.

I have a warm-up music that is the same. My music's going to be different from someone else's. But a lot of times I'll talk to people about, "If you have something that you like, let's make it consistent for every competition." Because, again, that puts you in the mindset of it's go time, and this is what I do. And so if you follow that pattern with the same music, the same kind of warm-up, you are getting yourself mentally and physically ready. So when you step on the strip, you have as much of the same mental mindset in each event as the last one because that's what helps you with consistency. 

If you're just kind of willy-nilly doing all kinds of different things, you can feel really thrown off, and you can start wondering like, "Oh, well, I did this differently this time. And what if that doesn't work, and now I'm anxious?" But being consistent with what you do kind of helps settle your mind as much as possible because you don't have control over the other things coming at you. Your opponents are going to be different each time. The officials are going to be different. There may be problems with the strip. Your weapon might malfunction, but everything else that you've had control over has been consistent. You can feel more settled. 

[0:27:56] BW: Yeah. And I love what you said too about writing it down in the notes app on your phone or even having a notebook that's in your fencing bag that has that routine written out. Okay. So, we've been very optimistic, but let me be pessimistic for just one second and say that you're in pools and you lose the first one 5-0. How do you reset knowing that your day is not over? You got to bounce back and get right back in there. 

[0:28:21] NP: And that reset is a good word, right? Because that's what needs to happen. And again coming up. I like coming up with a short phrase, or a mantra, or something. And this is individual for each person. But for me, it's short memory, right? Dwelling on what just happened is not going to help me for the next bout for lots of reasons, right? Because it's putting me thinking about what went wrong. It's having me think about a loss. And the reality is, even if there was something, a technical change you could make that wasn't working that time, the middle of competition isn't necessarily a time for most of us to do that to make that change. 

[0:29:00] BW: True. Yeah. 

[0:29:01] NP: And if you're thinking, "Don't do that again." Whether it's, "I can't lose the next one, or don't make that mistake, or don't flash," you're holding yourself back. You're not actually pursuing a win. You're trying to avoid another loss. That is not the right mindset to be in. So coming up with some kind of reset. And again, that'll be different for everybody. 

I have music. In between bouts, I put my headphones back on, and it is the same music every time. So it doesn't matter whether I just won a bout or lost a bout. I know what the pattern's going to be, and it kind of puts me back into, "Okay. Well, I'm back. And I just have another bout next. I'm not thinking about what just happened." Some people might need to take a walk away from the strip for a minute, take some deep breaths, come back, new bout, new opponent. But coming up with some kind of thing that you do every time that is your reset. 

And you'll see if you watch not just fencers, but if you watch other professional athletes, sometimes you can pick up on that. If a tennis player that maybe just missed their serve or wasn't able to return it, if you start watching, there might be something you see them do over and over to kind of bring them back. Fencers might have this too. Touching themselves in a certain way, crouching down, saying something. You can't hear what they're saying in their head, but sometimes you can pick up on what they're doing with their bodies. Taking their mask off and putting it back on, that resets their mindset for that bout. 

[0:30:30] BW: So, find what works for you. Yeah. 

[0:30:33] NP: Yeah. It's individual for everyone, but coming up with something that tells your brain, "Okay, we're starting over. That's done. Next bout." Short memory. 

[0:30:42] BW: And then the thing that I actually love about a fencing tournament is also what can make it super stressful, which is that every single round, the pressure ramps up, right? Whether your goal is to medal or even just to get out of pools, each win is going to make the pressure even higher and higher. You tell me, like a strategy that works in pools, is it necessarily going to work in a top-eight bout? Or if all goes well, if you're on the final strip, right? And now there's 200 people watching you. Does the strategy change, or do you stay consistent even in those higher-pressure moments? 

[0:31:17] NP: I know I keep saying it's different for each individual. For me, it stays consistent. And I think in general for people, being consistent is probably going to work best for a couple reasons. But the main one being that if what you do in the final bout to get yourself ready is the same as in the pool bout mentally, you are not now for yourself ramping up the pressure or the expectation. Just like whether I'm going to a local competition or summer nationals, my warm-up is exactly the same. My playlist is exactly the same. I do everything exactly the same. Because if I'm going, "Oh, well, this is a NAC or this is summer nationals and this is super important," that's going to raise the expectations and the fear. 

And the same thing can happen if you're stepping on a D strip and like, "Oh, no. Now this is important," or like you said, it ramps up, as you move through, each bout you have is going to be harder. I mean, that's the nature of it because the person you're facing just won their last one. And if you're making it to the gold medal match, that means you're the top two that day. And so, each bout's going to get harder. And if you're thinking about it like, "Oh, well, this one's going to be harder. The last ones I was ready for. But I don't know. I don't know if I can do this one. This one's going to be like way more difficult." Well, now all that work you did to kind of get yourself settled has now been undone. While there may be individuals that changing kind of what they do to prep for that right before a final DE is different than a pool, generally that wouldn't be my recommendation because it just sets you up to potentially what we call choke, right? To not be able to perform. 

[0:32:56] BW: That makes a lot of sense. And I'm training for a marathon, and they say the same thing. Like in your long runs, make sure you're wearing the exact same shoes, nutrition, outfit, everything to make it as much like game day as possible. And so you're not changing or doing something new, and you've got that familiarity and consistency. That's really interesting. 

[0:33:17] NP: Yeah, this is much mental. You do it partially because you need your body to be ready for it. But it's also mentally, right? When you're running on marathon day, it feels like you're training runs, a lot of that fear and anxiety won't be there because you're like, "Well, I've got this. I'm used to this. I did this before." Right? 

[0:33:40] BW: Just like you said, a local tournament versus a national tournament. It's the same routine. I think that's really smart. I hadn't thought of it that way, but it makes a ton of sense. For our last segment, we've been doing this thing called five quick hits. Just five quick questions. The first thing that comes to your mind. For the first one, let's come up with a three-word mantra that if you had the ability to stencil it into a fencer's mask or something, and it's the last thing they see before they put it on. And this could be something that you yourself would use. And obviously, it's not one-size-fits-all, but what would those three words be? 

[0:34:18] NP: Oh, I only get three. I have a four-word one if you're willing to take four words. 

[0:34:22] BW: Yes. Let's say it's a bigger mask. We've got a little bit more room. 

[0:34:28] NP: And I actually have this on a friendship bracelet. Have fun, not fear. 

[0:34:33] BW: Oh, I love that. That's great. Okay, so let's pretend that this is like a weather report for your own fencing. And how would you describe your own pre-competition nerves as a weather forecast, let's say? What's going on in Nicole's brain when you're about to fence? 

[0:34:48] NP: It starts off pretty calm, right? It's a nice day, but then the breeze starts picking up, and I can feel it starting to cycle a little bit. And there's a moment of like, "This is building. Do I need to be worried?" And pretty quickly, because I've been doing this a long time, I'm like, "Oh, no. I like that breeze. That's nice. Let's just roll with this." And I just start letting it take me. I'm like, "I'm in control of this and I'm enjoying it. Not getting caught up in it." 

[0:35:16] BW: That's great. Well, and you've had the experience to do that. Maybe where it might have previously been a thunderstorm or a tornado, it's a nice breeze that you actually enjoy. I love that. 

[0:35:27] NP: Yeah. Let it carry me. 

[0:35:28] BW: Yeah. Okay, you mentioned music before, which is great because question three is, what is like a go-to song on your playlist? Your competition playlist. 

[0:35:38] NP: Oh. The one that I always listen to before a – I have a couple. But the first one that I'll go on before a direct elimination match is Taylor Swift's Blank Space. 

[0:35:51] BW: Ah, nice. That's a good one. 

[0:35:53] NP: Yeah. 

[0:35:53] BW: And then how about a recommendation for a book, a podcast, or a resource that you think athletes might benefit from about a strong mental mindset? 

[0:36:03] NP: There is a book that is actually pretty quick reading. It's not just for athletes but just general mental mindset. It's called Beyond Grit. Kamphoff, I think, is the woman's last name. It's probably targeted more towards adults, but it just generally talks about your mindset for lots of things. And really getting into that kind of gritty mindset and being able to pursue the things that you want to pursue. 

[0:36:28] BW: That's great. Okay. And then last question. If you owned a fencing club and were a coach and could build like a five-minute mental skills, we've got footwork, we've got point control, and now we're going to do a mental skill practice, what would you teach? Is there – or even is there a way to practice that in a one-on-one or small group setting at the club, at the fencing club level? 

[0:36:54] NP: My go-tos would be either a mindfulness exercise, and that's something that – and I do this with clients. Being able to focus on managing the thoughts in your head and not getting swept up in them. Being able to kind of recognize them and move past them. The thought, "Okay. My opponent is a national champion and is really good." Okay, there's a thought. That is true. Let it move on by and not get caught up in it." And then a visualization exercise. I know that those are two things. But visualization exercises can be really helpful in helping athletes put themselves in the mindset and in the moment, and being able to go back to it when they're feeling unsteady or uncertain to really be able to kind of close their eyes and visualize being the type of fencer, engaging in the type of actions they want to engage in, being confident. 

[0:37:45] BW: That's great. Well, Dr. Polanichka, thank you so much. Now, if people want to connect with you or learn more about your own practice, how should they do that? 

[0:37:54] NP: My name is long, but they'll be able to see it on the podcast. But just my name, nicolepolanichka@gmail.com. I'm pretty easy to find. There's not very many of us Polanichkas out there. They'll see me at most NACs that have the vet fencing events there. 

[0:38:10] BW: That's great. Well, thanks for turning this topic into some tools that everybody can use. Yeah, hopefully people will see you out there on the strip, or if they're in and around Lancaster Fencing Academy. And there's so many great ideas from this episode that I think people can take to heart and see how it changes their day and their competition. Thank you so much for listening and for being here with us. And now we can all fence with confidence. So, thank you so much. 

[0:38:35] NP: Thanks for having me. 

[0:38:37] BW: Thanks for listening to First of 15, the official podcast of USA Fencing. We'll be back with our next conversation in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, you can stay up-to-date on all the latest fencing news by following us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. And if you like this podcast, please help us grow and reach more people by leaving us a rating or review. Until next time, I'm Bryan Wendell, and I hope to see you real soon out on the strip. Bye. 

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