Competition-Harder Practice
Make training conditions tougher than the event you must handle
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 98%
Competition-Harder Practice deliberately introduces realistic friction before the event so the performer does not meet it for the first time when results count. Jake chose cramped lanes near walls and trained in rain, wind, and heat because tournament archers stand in narrow spaces beside other competitors. Tim later sought noisy batting cages, crowded ranges, varied lighting, and left-handed neighbors to reproduce distraction. Add one bounded stressor while preserving the same technical and mental process, then observe where performance or composure breaks. Repeat until the disturbance becomes familiar, and only then add complexity. The method is not indiscriminate punishment: old coaching tactics involving knives or thumbtacks are stories, not recommendations. Useful difficulty maps to a real demand, remains safe, and develops recovery rather than merely exhausting the athlete.
Origin
Jake says he habitually chose the hardest practice lane and adverse weather, later recognizing the shared high-performance principle of training hard to make competition easy.
Core principles
- 01Comfortable practice leaves predictable event stressors untrained
- 02Difficulty should resemble demands the performer may actually face
- 03Repeated exposure turns disruption into a familiar cue
- 04Safety and recoverability limit useful adversity
How to run it
- 1
Map event friction
List the environmental, social, and timing conditions likely to disturb execution at the real event. Prioritize recurring and high-impact factors.
Pro tip Include crowding and visual conditions, not just obvious physical stressors.
- 2
Add one safe stressor
Recreate one condition at a controlled intensity during ordinary practice. Keep enough capacity to execute the correct process.
Pro tip Start with a narrow lane or background noise before stacking stressors.
Watch out Do not copy unsafe punishment-based coaching tactics.
- 3
Protect the routine
Run the same technical checklist and mental cues used in normal practice. Treat the disturbance as context rather than a reason to invent a new method.
Pro tip Measure recovery after disruption, not just the first affected attempt.
Watch out Added difficulty is counterproductive if it repeatedly engrains poor mechanics.
- 4
Progress toward realism
Once execution stabilizes, increase duration, intensity, or the number of realistic stressors. Rehearse the combined conditions before the target event.
Pro tip Finish with at least one full event simulation.
In the wild
Jake practiced in the lane nearest the wall because tournament archers receive roughly 24 inches of space and stand tightly packed. He later advised Tim to seek similarly crowded practice positions.
→ Restricted space became familiar before it appeared under tournament pressure.
During travel, Tim practiced near children hitting balls with aluminum bats and shouting only feet away. The inconvenient venue doubled as distraction training.
→ Noise and nearby movement became practice inputs rather than novel competition threats.
Common mistakes
Adding irrelevant misery
Difficulty helps only when it prepares a real demand or strengthens recovery without degrading the target skill.
Stacking stressors too early
Multiple disturbances can overwhelm attention before the underlying process is stable enough to train.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for performers whose event conditions can be safely recreated or made slightly more demanding during practice.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when added difficulty creates injury risk, trains distorted technique, or has no relation to the real event.
From the transcript
“I choose to make things as difficult as possible when I'm practicing.”
“anything you can do to make things more difficult to shoot in the rain, to shoot in the wind, to shoot in the heat, I…”
“training hard to make competition easy”
From the episode
#811: 2x Olympic Archery Medalist Jake Kaminski — Lessons Learned and Mantras Used After 1,000,000 Arrows
Jake Kaminski