Sumo wrestling is a part of Japanese culture. To be a sumo wrestler (rikishi) is of high nobility. A status no rikishi is willing to let up. There exists a hierarchy within the sumo culture. It is this hierarchy and culture that is impeding the integrity of the sport. Being a Yokozuna in sumo wrestling is the pinnacle. The pay. The adornment. The treatment. To be at this level is not to be messed with. The sport has appeared in the headlines many times due to the corruption of match-fixing. Ensuring that those at the highest levels of the sport remain there. Only those at the top of the sport are paid. The less ranked rikishi live in the heya (stables) with the top seeds. They are provided food and water, but none of those other luxuries. Performance to a sumo wrestler is important. Winning is everything.
The Greatest Miss
Kobe Bryant had one of the greatest statistics of all time. It wasn’t his five NBA championship wins. Bettered by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen’s six with the 1990’s Chicago Bulls. He wasn’t the all-time NBA point scorer with a total figure of 33,643. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with 38,387 topped that list. Kobe Bryant tops the charts in what some may consider being the worst of all records. He has the most missed field goals of all time with 14,481. Some–I believe many–would have considered this figure to belong to a clumsy, huge, ogre considered one of the worst players. Not one of its star children. Not Kobe Bryant. The funny thing about the all-time top ten list of greatest missers in the NBA is that Lebron James, Michael Jordan, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar all belong to it too. All these players are considered to have been the best ever. If we took this statistic at face value without any consideration of total shots taken, we would have to question the greatness of Kobe Bryant and the rest of the gang. The problem is many of us do use these statistics to support our decisions. This mentality may be costing you immensely.
An educational psychologist, named Carol Dweck, has spent many years understanding the differences in mindset. She took young participants and set them away on a series of attainable tasks. All the children completed them with aplomb. The next series of tasks that the children attempted were unattainable. In the break between both series of tasks, the children were primed with either praise for their natural ability to succeed, or, for their ability to persevere. In the final series of tasks, the children were offered the option of doing more attainable ones or trying some of higher difficulty. The findings showed that the children praised for their natural ability weren’t willing to try the harder tasks. However, those praised for their continued efforts were excited at the opportunity to try the more difficult ones. Dweck identified two mindsets. A fixed and a growth. The fixed mindset believes in a finite level of ability. Places more emphasis on natural ability. Controlled by external factors. The growth mindset was the complete opposite. Believing that they were in control of their own destiny. They could expand their ability, their knowledge, and their circumstance.
Analysis Paralysis
Measuring performance can help identify an area of weakness. Highlight our strengths. Provide us insights to any threats and uncover potential opportunities that may exist. We use this information to tweak, amend and shift our actions in the hope of diverting the performance into more rewarding and handsome success. At a team level, we gain an awareness of the overall performance. Telling us- ‘well done, you’re doing great’, or- ‘what are you doing? You’re dreadful’. We can utilise this information however we see fit. We can even break this information down to the individual level. Highlighting the best and the worst performers.
Let’s consider the ramifications. We are rewarding the players with the best statistics and penalising those with the worst. Adulation goes to the best. The penalty for the worst- not being selected. Coaches use this information differently. Some send the poorer performing players into no man’s land. Ignoring their existence until they are to be used again. Some take the information and help develop and nurture the individual. We are moulding mindsets whenever we react to the information we gather. Using a ‘stick and carrot’ approach (the most used method) to these statistics demonstrates to the player that there is a wrong and right way. Therefore, creating what Dweck calls a fixed mindset. Contrary to this, creating a safe environment for the players to explore the skills being assessed develops a growth mindset. Using the information to guide and nurture the talent.
Potential energy is a scientific concept in physics. Stored energy is based on its position relative to another object. An elastic band that is stretched ready to spring into action. Players being assessed based on certain statistics aren’t prepared to put themselves into a position of potential energy. Evading situations that would place them in a position of other objects i.e. a 115kg (18 stone) no.8 rugby forward running at full speed. I believe we are making some players smarter with this level of analysis paralysis. They find positions of ease never having to reduce their statistical performance. Not standing out with blemishes on their records.
The True Values
This erroneous culture that has been created in sports has become all about winning. The scoreline. The percentages. All we need do is turn on the TV and watch a sporting event and we will be engulfed with success rates, completion numbers, errors, etc. Highlighting how the individual or team is performing. This construct is what has led to the corruption within a rikishi’s world. A sumo wrestler can not afford to lose their status, as they would also lose their livelihood. Therefore, they are easily influenced in fixing their performances, in reward, they can continue their existence. We need to instead start measuring our players and teams based on their effort, their perseverance, and their resilience. These are the values that promote growing minds. These are the values that are true measures of performance.
All the top ten NBA missers of all time are also ranked within the top 20 highest scorers of all time. This correlation suggests that these players felt safe. Safe to take the shots. Safe to miss and try again. Try until they succeed. They epitomised a growth mindset. It should be celebrated to be on this list of missers. Just as it is celebrated to be on the list of all-time scorers.
