[This is the transcript of Day 1 of my Badminton Secrets Audio Course, now available free on badmintonsecrets.com!]

Hello and welcome to day one of the Badminton Secrets
bonus audio course.

I’m Robert G. Johns and over the next seven days we’re going to
be looking at a number of exercises aimed at helping you play
better badminton.

For the exercises you need to be somewhere quiet where you
won’t be disturbed and you can really let your imagination run
free.

Today’s exercise takes the concept of a mentor in badminton
from the first chapter of Badminton Secrets.

A mentor is someone you look up to and admire, and whose
play you hope to emulate.

This exercise will help you achieve this and understand what it
is that you need to do to play as well as your mentor.

So just sit back and relax.

Think of someone who you greatly admire in badminton.

Someone who really excites you and inspires you with all that
they have done in the game.

It could be someone famous, like an Olympic champion or a
world champion.

Or it could be someone you know personally, maybe a family
member, or a club mate, or an opponent, or a rival.

Let your feelings of inspiration guide you on this one. Who are
you drawn to?

Now think of something they’ve achieved.

Some sort of goal or level of ability that really makes you look
up to them.

Maybe it was beating you, winning a tournament or a match. Or
maybe it’s just their regular game that you admire.

We’re going to make in your mind a 30 second movie of that
person, doing the specific thing that you so admire.

So imagine a movie screen right in front of you, running a
movie of them playing.

Bring it close up to you, in full vibrant colour.

Imagine them hitting the shuttle the way they normally hit the
shuttle, and playing the way they play, achieving amazing
results.

Make it inspiring, make it moving.

Let the video run a little more, watching them play badminton
so well.

As we get to the end of the video now, mentally rewind it and
put it on pause for a second.

What you are going to do next is step into that movie and play
the role of the mentor.

You’re going to look out from their body and see the movie
through their own eyes.

So back to that very first frame in the movie, because we’re still
on pause, imagine transporting yourself now into their body and
look out through their eyes.

Look around you in this freeze frame.

What do you see?

What do you hear?

Become aware of what you are thinking as that person.

Be aware of your new values, your new attitude, your new
emotions.

Of course you don’t know exactly what they’re thinking, this is
where your imagination comes in. This is the important bit.

Now you’re fully inside that person, in your movie.

Seeing what they see through their eyes, feeling what they feel.

Release the pause button on your mental video and run the
movie again with you playing the role of the mentor.

Pretend you’re an actor.

As the movie runs, see what is happening, and take notice of
what you are automatically thinking.

What goes through your mind as you are playing?

What is it you are focussing on, what is it you are concentrating
on. HOW focussed are you?

Keep running through the movie in your mind, remembering to
look out from their eyes.

And finish the movie.

Still in the role of you mentor ask yourself what was it that was
making you play so well, why did you do the certain shots that
you played?

Thinking back, what was in your mind as you were playing?

Were you focussing on a specific part of your play, or were you
thinking of the whole picture?

Were you thinking of a big goal you were aiming for or were
you concentrating on one point at a time?

How did it feel for you as you were playing badminton.

Were you loving it?

Were you hating it?

Did you enjoy winning and hate losing, or did you enjoy the
whole process?

How did your levels of confidence feel?

Coming out of the role, back to the present and becoming
yourself again now.

Reflect on what becoming your mentor brought out in you.

Was it as you would have expected?

Was there anything that they thought that you don’t think?

Is their anything in your game that you can change that will
bring it more in line with theirs?

As we said before, there’s no way of knowing exactly what
someone else is thinking but by doing this exercise you have
been able to get more of an insight into what it is that makes a
champion badminton player.

It has opened up your imagination and helped you decide what
you need to do to achieve what they’ve achieved.

It’s very hard the first time to get a clear mental image of that
movie, but if you do this exercise a few times, as well as
watching your mentor, whether on television or in person, you’ll
start to subconsciously take on board the habits that make the
difference between them winning and losing.

And this will work wonders for your game.

Tomorrow we’ll be looking at an exercise that gives you a
different perspective on your own badminton and gives you an
opportunity to see in what ways you can quickly and easily
improve your own game.

So until then, thanks very much for listening, and here’s to
playing fantastic badminton.