How to break someone.

I think sports psychology is a pretty interesting. I took a university course about it years ago and don't remember much from that course except that the professor was a flamboyant guy.

I was reading The fighter's mind : inside the mental game by Sam Sheridan and he tells the story about a chess teacher who grouped players into two piles: 1) Entities and 2) Cumulatives.

Entities believed that they were born with innate chess talent and skill. Cumulatives believed there was a step-by-step process to follow that would slowly improve their skills.

The coach gave both groups and impossible chess task. Both groups failed. But on the next problem he gave them, the entities were devastated. They shut down. They tended to fail again.

The cumulatives, on the other hand, did better.

I'm not sure how true this story is because I heard the exact story in another book phrased as a scientific experiment. Pretty interesting though.

Then he talked about "big punchers" in boxing. These are guys who have one huge, invincible punch. Like Mike Tyson.

If a big puncher hits a guy and he can take it, and the big puncher does it again and again - the opponent taking all the punishment with no problem - eventually the puncher's spirit breaks and he gives up.