Internal vs External focus of attention

If you're not familiar with the difference between internal and external focus of attention, then you are missing out. There's a mountain of research evidence showing that external and holistic focus cues being superior to internal ones. I won't go too in depth on explaining what they are, resources on them are widely available on the internet and in the context of other popular sports. What I will focus on is using these cues in a Judo context which I have found a limited resources on. I have experimented on my students with all the cues I mention here.

Understanding focus of attention

Focus of attention describes where an athlete directs their mental energy and cognitive resources during training and competition. Traditionally, this concept is divided into three categories:

1. Internal Focus

2. External Focus

3. Holistic Focus

Internal focus of attention

Internal focus involves concentrating on your own body movements, physical sensations, and technical execution. In Judo, this typically sounds like coaching cues such as:

• "Bend your knees"

• "Keep your wrist up"

• "Keep your legs closer together"

• "Pull with your hand more"

• "Relax"

• "Monitor your breathing"

External focus of attention

External focus shifts concentration away from your body and towards the surrounding environment. In Judo, effective external cues might include:

• "Pay attention to what the opponent is doing"

• "Assess the entire competition space"

• "Imagine you're drawing a sword"

• "Push the ground away as fast as possible"

• "Bring your elbow up towards the ceiling"

• "Bring your butt towards the ground"

Holistic focus of attention

This concept was suggested relatively recently, and is used when an external cues is not suitable or desirable. This approach focuses on concentrating on the overall feeling of a movement rather than specific components. In Judo this may be telling your students to

• give your partner a piggy back ride

• Pretend you're throwing a ball

• focus on feeling explosive when throwing

• pretend you're sitting on a chair

• hug your partner tight

Rethinking Traditional Coaching Cues

How many times have you heard or used the classic coaching phrase "Bend your knees" without seeing improvement? This internal cue is often ineffective. Instead, try:

• External cue: "Bring your butt towards the ground"

• Holistic cue: "Pretend you're sitting on a chair" (or on a stool for an even lower position)

• Similarly, replace generic instructions like:

• "Pull more" → "Bring your wrist towards the ground"

• "Turn your head more" → "Look towards the door" or "Look behind you"

"Relax, don't be stiff and go 50%"

Simply telling students to "relax" or "go at 50%" rarely works. It's like telling someone who's scared to just not be scared. Everyone's perception of "going light" differs. A more effective approach? Tell students to:

• "Imagine fighting a toddler"

• "Pretend you're sparring with a teenager"

• "Practice as if you're working with a 65+ senior"

I personally don’t believe giving cues are the best way to tell people to go light or to relax and not be stiff, I prefer to use constraints. But if you have to use cues, I suggest trying these instead.

Important Caveats

Not all cues will work universally across all your students. If you tell your student to sit on a chair but they sit down in an unusual way then it might not give the effect you desire. What if the student comes from a culture where they mostly sit on the ground and can't really relate to sitting on a chair much?

What if your cue brings up some embarrassing memories or bad experiences? Or if you tell them to imagine giving the other person a piggy back ride but they never gave anyone a piggy back ride before then it might be a good idea to have them give someone a piggy back ride first. This is why as a coach you have to be creative and experiment.

When Internal Focus Might Be Beneficial

There are some cases where internal focus of attention may be better than the other two.

• absolute beginners who are learning basic mechanics of a movement

• for simple tasks that are largely automatic already

• Injury rehabilitation where focusing on specific part of the body or muscle is needed

• Precision focused training

Some Judo examples would be if you are training for kata, or if you just want your uchikomi and nagekomi to look beautiful. I must emphasize that you must not confuse "learning basic mechanics of a movement" with uchikomi. It is instead more akin to things like put your arm around the other persons waist for ogoshi, or tuck your chin when you fall.

Conclusion

I hope this article convinces you to at least try and experiment using external and holistic cues in your practice if you are not already. Most Judo instructors out there are using mostly internal cues.

Have you tried these techniques? Share your experiences, unique cues, or personal focusing strategies in the comments below!