Rugby Psychology

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Session Notes The Duelist
Addressing:

Contact Anxiety

That visceral hesitation before committing to tackles or carrying into contact, where your body instinctively wants to protect itself despite your mind knowing what needs to happen. Players describe going through the motions but "pulling out" at the last moment, making half-hearted contact that increases injury risk and undermines team defence.

How The Duelist Can Override Contact Anxiety in Rugby

Posted on December 9, 2025 ~ min read
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For: The Duelist athletes in Rugby
Focus: Session Notes - Contact Anxiety
Read Time: ~10 min
Session Notes December 9, 2025
Profile: The Duelist
Sport: Rugby
Challenge: Contact Anxiety

In rugby, contact anxiety is the visceral hesitation that grips your body milliseconds before collision. Your legs slow. Your shoulders pull back. Your timing fractures. The Duelist iconThe Duelist (IOTA) sport profile supposedly analyzes their way past fear. This belief is dangerously wrong.

Contact anxiety in rugby operates beneath conscious thought. It hijacks your nervous system before your tactical mind can intervene. Athletes with intrinsic motivation and analytical processing styles often experience this hesitation more intensely, not less. Their habit of thinking through scenarios becomes a liability when the body needs pure commitment.

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Vladimir Novkov

M.A. Social Psychology | ISSA Elite Trainer | Expert in Sport Psychology for Athlete Development

My mission is to bridge the gap between mind and body, helping athletes and performers achieve a state of synergy where peak performance becomes a natural outcome of who they are.

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