Individual Sport Video
A sport is a controlled, competitive, pleasurable and skilled physical activity requiring dedication and fair participation, in which the victor can be defined by just play. Every type of sport is governed by a set of laws and traditions. The physical abilities and talent of the competitor when determining the outcome are fundamental. This paper focuses on the movie, Rocky, that talks about the life experiences of one boxer, Rocky Balboa. The personality characteristics, internal and external motivations, self confidence and concentration abilities among other traits are also discussed (Gross 21).
Rocky is an American sports drama film, directed by John G. Avildsen. It talks about the story of Rocky Balboa. He is an under-educated but very good-mannered debt collector for a loan shark in Philadelphia town, Pennsylvania. Also acting in the movie is Talia Shire, as Adrian, Burt Young as Adrian’s brother, and Burgess Meredith as Rocky’s trainer, Mickey Godmill and Carl Weathers as the champion. Here Rocky begins as the globe’s heavy weight, by getting a shot (Alfred Publishing, 1-2).
Rocky is brought out here as an insignificant boxer, living in the neighborhood of Philadelphia. Apparently, the opponent of a distressed heavy weight championship has an injury .He therefore comes up with the idea of fighting a local loser , who happens to be Rocky , due to his liking of Rocky’s nick name, the ‘Italian stallion’. Thus, he selects the infamous and writes, proclaiming it by saying, ‘Apollo creed meets the Italian stallion’.
Rocky finds himself in a situation whereby training is essential and therefore sets out to do so. During his training, he wrestles with an ex-bantamweight, gym-owner and wrestler, Mickey Godmill. This, in effect, gives him more motivation. Motivation is some kind of excitement that comes with enthusiasm and purpose that leads him to pursue and reach greater heights. God mill happens to be that derive in force that enables him pursue greater heights, Boobe Beijvg is a renowned fighter. At the same time, Pauline, a good friend to Rocky, who happens to be a meat-packing plant worker, offers Rocky some carcasses hanging on the freezer for him to use for practicing. This too, becomes a source of motivation for him to pursue his goals (Tasker 180).
During training, Rocky falls in love with Pauline’s timid, youthful, calm sister, Adrian, who happens to be operating nearby as a clerk. In the midst of all these, Rocky is able to regulate his arousal and attraction towards his girlfriend. Arousal is a physiological and psychological state where one is reactive to stimuli. During this time, there is active action of the reticular activating system in the brain stem, leading to increased heart rate and blood pressure. He is sexually attracted to her, but on the contrary, refrains from fooling around with her until the fight. According to (James 351), there is a relationship between arousal and task performance. He argues that there is an optimal level of arousal for performance. Task performance can thus be affected either positively or negatively by either too much or too little arousal. His level of arousal is regularized, and he is therefore able to perform well
In the night before the fight however, Rocky confides in Adrian that he does not expect to beat Creed. Being the renowned boxer that he was, Rocky does not expect to beat him in any way. This shows that his confidence level was not only low but also wanting. He is not assured of his ability to win the fight, despite having done some good training. According to…… the more self confidence one has, the more likely they are to succeed. He claims that self confidence is the belief in oneself, that one can make it in anything they have chosen to pursue. When one is confident he continues to say, they have a mindset that they have an ability to succeed. Overconfidence however, shows that one is too full of themselves to the point of not practicing, in sports, for example. Thus, optimal confidence is essential for the performance of any individual (Reemtsma 140).
The New Year day comes, and the boxing match begins. Creed initially does not put any seriousness to the match. He depicts some signs of over confidence here. Rocky, being a local underdog is very unlikely to win the match, according to him. However, Rocky unexpectedly knocks him off balance, and he finds himself down. The match in effect, gets intense. The crowd begins to cheer Rocky up, which as a result, motivates him the more. He encourages himself too, that he can last the 15 rounds, and this gives him an intrinsic motivation. Motivation therefore, according to (Myers 239), causes not only arousal and direction but also persistence of behavior.
The fight indeed, lasts 15 rounds to the amazement of many and as expected, to the detriment of Creed who vows, ‘ain’t gonna be no re-match’. Both fighters, however, suffer a number of injuries. Rocky also, mumbles, ‘don t want one’ and Andrian runs down the ring to meet Rocky after the match. Finally however, the results are announced and Rocky happens to lose the match to Creed. This, according to psychologists, could be as a result of the low self confidence he had before.
Rocky later marries Andrian, struggles with earning an income, but finally realizes that the best way he can make a living is by going back to boxing. He realizes that that is where his talent is. Creed on the other hand, is haunted by the results of the past match and challenges Rocky again. Rocky decides to give it another try. He, therefore, concentrates on training for this match. Concentration involves focusing the mind on one particular issue. He focuses to win the match. Concentration, according to (Myers 704), is purely a mental process. Here, one avoids tension, and the mind is focused on one main idea. Anyone who practices concentration possesses a very clear mental vision.
The match day finally comes. Rocky somehow knocks Creed to the ground and for the first time takes the heavyweight championship title. Rocky is overwhelmed by his victory. He is determined to go for more and greater heights. He gets intrinsic motivation and pushes forward. He not only becomes a celebrity but also a millionaire. He defends the title several times, but again takes advantage of his new found prosperity and reputation. His coach later unfortunately succumbs to a heart attack that leaves him confused and devastated. He however, is determined to go on, and does not give up at all. He defends the title for 16years, until he meets Drago, who fights him. He however refuses to lose the title and defends it almost to the point of death. Drago, however, gives him a thorough beating. After the fight thou, he is diagnosed with brain damage and is forced to retire, a victor, nevertheless (Hobar 150).
Thus, external and internal motivation, self confidence, concentration ability, ability to control the arousal of an individual, will and power as well as talent is an essential factor that affects the success of an individual in any sporting activity. One needs to not only optimize the above factors but also make good use of their talents in order to succeed. Nurturing of the talent t of an individual plus good training makes one successful in their endeavors (James, 203).
Work cited
Alfred Publishing. Rocky Balboa: The Best of Rocky (Piano Vocal Cords), New York: Alfred Publishing, 2007.
Tasker, Y. Film, Media and Cultural Studies, London: Routledge, 2003.
Gross, E. Rocky. The Ultimate GuideLondon: Dorling Kindersley, 2006.
Reemtsma, J. More Than a Champion, California: The University of California, 2000.
James, W. The Principles of Psychology, London: Cosimo Inc. 2007.
Myers, D. Psychology, London: Worth Publishers, 2004.
Hobar, R. Rocky, New York: Brunguera 2001.
