Um, excuse me, I think you and I should talk. You see, I know something about you that you probably don’t share with many people. You are a masochist.
Sure, you can look at me like you don’t know what I’m talking about, but I know you like pain. And I have proof. Now you look worried. Don’t fret, I don’t have any tapes or photographs, but – as I said before – I can provide you with evidence. You play squash.
Before you think I’m being facetious – or that I’m talking about some sort of psychic pain – let me tell you right now that I’m talking about real physical pain. And the better player you are, the more you know what I mean.
It’s funny, but we rarely talk about how much squash hurts to play. Squash is a brutal sport. In fact, about ten years ago, a study was done in Europe where it was found, in essence, that squash was the most demanding cardiovascular sport played with a ball. More demanding than tennis, than basketball, than soccer. In fact, it’s on a par with distance running.
But, as with most elite distance runners, few players talk about the pain. There is something unspoken about the fact that because pain is a given in playing a close match, it isn’t something that should be spoken about. Perhaps it is because we live in a society where pleasure and the avoidance of pain are paramount, yet we are aware that we have chosen a sport where we know we will experience pain. It’s almost, well, kinky.
And experience it, you will, for no matter how much an athlete trains, the body still experiences pain. What training does do, however, is slow the onset of that pain. This means, of course, that after being properly trained, the body can tolerate a greater effort level than before.
Training serves another purpose – one that is often overlooked. It allows an athlete to be less fearful of pain. Thinking about this, it makes sense. Pain is most often a warning signal to the brain that something is wrong, and pushing oneself through athletic pain can be scary (particularly, though not exclusively, for the aging athlete). Being familiar with pain, therefore, can make it less worrisome and thus easier to tolerate.
It further stands to reason that if one could successfully distract oneself while pursuing a pain-inducing endeavor, one should be able to perform longer (or at a higher intensity). This, in fact, is true – to a point – and it even has a name: dissociation.
Sixteen years ago, Dr. William Morgan, head of the Sports Psychology Lab at the University of Wisconsin, tested dissociation by having test subjects walk on an increasingly steep treadmill. One group simply walked until they could go no further, but the other group was given the simple task of concentrating on dropping their feet each time they took a step. The distracted walkers lasted an average of seven minutes longer than the control group.
The effect of dissociation explains why it is easier to work out to music than in silence, why it is easier to run with a partner than alone, and why we can push so hard while playing squash.
Interestingly, however, dissociation is not the pain-management strategy of the truly elite athlete. It turns out, in fact, that these athletes actually concentrate on the pain. Instead of thinking about other things, they focus in on the pain and use its information to help them monitor their performance.
For squash players, this occurs most often in training, but Jonah Barrington used to say that one of his greatest psychological edges in squash matches was that he wasn’t scared to acknowledge to himself that there would be physical crises during a match. He was prepared, he said, for each one. And as each arrived, he would acknowledge its presence, steel himself, and continue to push – while dragging his opponent with him.
Jonah felt that his ability to feel in control of the pain reduced his fear of the pain. And with that fear reduced, he felt the pain, but he didn’t suffer. He hoped, however, to make his opponent suffer. “Inside every great squash player,” Barrington once wrote, “there is a secret sadist: there’s nothing more satisfying that to be able to reduce another player outwardly calm and capable to a long dribble of sweat.”
Hmmmmmm… sadism and masochism in one game. I won’t tell if you won’t.
