What does "being relaxed" mean? The state of being relaxed is the absence of physical and mental tension. You cannot "try" to be relaxed because the harder you try, the less relaxed you become. It is a natural phenomenon- you are either relaxed or you are not. You will not be more relaxed by trying harder for the very reason that "trying" implies something adopted or learnt therefore, how can you be relaxed when you are adopting to become something you are not already.
何謂處於放鬆的狀態？所謂的放鬆是身體和心靈完全沒有緊張。你是沒有辦法強迫自己放鬆的，因為當你越想要逼自己放鬆時，你反而會不由自主得變得不輕鬆。這原因在於當你「想要試著」做某件事時，其實你是放不下、心有罣礙的。你在放不下的情況，怎麼能夠強迫你自己到達一個你還沒準備好的放鬆情境呢？
Being relaxed should be the simplest thing. After all, babies are absolutely relaxed at all times that's why babies breath deeply and rhythmically. Babies do not need to try to be relaxed because babies are relaxed.
讓自己到達放鬆的情境應該是最簡單的事；就像嬰兒無時無刻都在一個完全放鬆的狀態下而能有平穩且深沉的呼吸。他們根本不需要試著放鬆因為他們本身已經處於放鬆的狀態。
Being in a state of relaxation is the optimum state for playing squash. Moreover, it is absolutely essential if you want to perform at your peak during a competition. The mind and body is an integrated whole therefore, if the mind is tense, the whole body will be affected and vice versa. A player should seek to achieve mind-body harmony so the whole system works in unity.
人在放鬆時就是在一個打壁球的最佳狀態；甚至，當你想在比賽時達到巔峰，放鬆是非常重要的，身體與心靈會因放鬆合而為一。一旦你情緒緊張身體也跟著會緊張，反之亦然。一個球員應該要讓自己達到身心和諧進而讓自己全身上下的律動是一致的。
Players often struggle to take the quality of squash performed during training to an actual competition. There could be many reasons for this but almost all these causes are based on the psychology of the player. When your mind is tense, your body also become tense, tense muscles gets fatigued a lot faster and energy does not flow as well through the meridian channels. Nervous tension also cause breathing patterns to be erratic and abnormal. Decision making also gets worse. In this mind set, not only is much more effort required of the mind and body to perform even simple tasks but also lower overall quality is achieved. You feel tired even before you start!
許多球員往往想讓自己在競賽時表現出如同練習時的高水準卻反而使不出力。可能原因很多，但最主要的原因其實是來自於球員本身的心理狀態。你一旦情緒緊張，身體也會跟著緊繃，導致肌肉很快就變得疲勞，氣就無法順暢地流通你的經絡。緊張的情緒也會讓人的呼吸變得異常急促，思緒會被擾亂而讓判斷能力下降。在這樣的情形下，你不只需要花費更多精神跟體力去做出平常覺得簡單的事而且還會降低你原有的水準。如此一來，比賽還沒開始你就覺得疲憊了！
Anxiety during a game is often caused by worrying about some form of an outcome, whether it is the outcome of the game or how you will be perceived by others. The anxious mind is never in the "here and now" and therefore how is it possible to execute your game when your mind is not even on the job at hand. Squash is a game where you are required to process information quickly and be decisive in your execution. To achieve this your mind must be relaxed and open to all possibilities so that not only do you see the game but also feel the rhythm of the game. This rhythm could be set by you or your opponent whoever is controlling the game at that point in time.
比賽時的焦慮感往往來自於擔心某些結果，不論是比賽結果或是他人對自己的觀感。焦慮的情緒是在擔心下一刻的結果與自己前一刻的預期有落差，未曾存在於當下；因此，你在焦慮時，怎麼能夠心無旁晤地打好一場比賽？打壁球需要的是準確的判斷跟執行力，放輕鬆並不設限才會讓自己能透視整場比賽並感應比賽的節奏。不論是你或是你的對手，誰主導整場比賽，誰就能的掌控比賽的節奏。
To reduce unwanted tension, forget about winning or whether you look good or not on court- just play the game. Forget about your existence, only the game exist now.
要減少不必要的緊張，就要忽視輸贏或是表現好壞，純粹 打球就對了！忘掉自我的存在，彷彿當下只有這場比賽。
Just be totally immersed in the moment, taking one shot at a time, not worrying about what spectacular attacking shot your opponent might hit if he reaches your shot. Hit this immediate shot with as much passion and enjoyment as if this is the last time you will ever hit a squash ball. By being "total" in your act of hitting and running, your mind stops worrying about a million and one things. Play the game as if it's your first time and drop all reputation, pride and expectations. You can only relax if you are enjoying the game. Enjoyment and relaxation go hand in hand.
就讓自己沉浸在打球的時光吧！專心在打每一球的瞬間，不用去擔心你的對手下一球會有多優秀的回擊。每一次的擊球都伴隨著你對壁球熱愛跟享受的感覺，彷彿擊球那的一刻是你最後一次打壁球。當把你自己的心緒投注在擊球跟移動步伐，你就不會去擔心成千上萬無關的事。打每場比賽猶如是你的第一次，拋下外在的聲譽，自傲和期望。惟有是你在享受比賽時，才能放鬆。放鬆跟享受的感覺是相輔相成的。
From the outside squash is an intense sport, but when you are playing at your peak performance, you will find a silence in you which can only be experienced to be understood. In that silence, the constant chatter of the mind stops, everything seems to be in slow motion, even the ball is moving slower. You experience every second so much more intensely. I believe many activities can take you to that space, but I reached it through playing squash.
壁球表面上看起來是一種激烈的運動，然而當你的狀態達到顛峰時，你卻能感到內在的寂靜，這種感覺只可意會不可言喻。在那樣的寂靜下，心緒停止波動，所有看到畫面都呈現慢動作，甚至你會覺得球速也變慢了，你會更強烈地感受每一秒。或許會有很多的活動會讓你體驗上述的境界，但我透過打壁球而得到那樣的感受。
Translated by Wendy
Copyright © [20/09/2011 by Hugh Kuo]
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