subject: Definition of Gamesmanship [print this page] Definition of Gamesmanship Definition of Gamesmanship
THE FORMAL DEFINITION: Make the opponent look or think in one direction, while you move in another.
True gamesmanship in action is as elegant as watching ju-jitsu or kung fu between two experts. It occurs between minds and is a way of playing sports at a level beyond the necessary physical skills. It is a way of thinking that deserves its own field of study, to be researched, tested, validated, and finally documented in sports playbooks around the world.
When competing one on one or in in a team environment, you have a shield that helps to protect your intention to win. It is comprised of focus, intention, and concentration. When at its strongest, it protects your mindset, allowing you to think and do nothing else but compete at your best level. It is strongest when you are in the zone. It is weakest when you can be distracted.
Yes, trash talk, visual confusion and other juvenile tricks are part of gamesmansip. But those are relatively easy to learn to ignore. When you are repeatedly exposed to the same tricks, they lose their power to affect your mind, and become just so much background.
Most of the best tricks and traps of gamesmanship are buried in playbooks. These are specialty plays designed to fit certain sets of circumstances. The full court press in basketball, the "hail mary" throw, and dozens of other "surprise" plays. Even the quarterback sneak is gamesmanship. Another collection of tricks are tacked onto other plays as options, to be triggered when the circumstances are right. All of these are designed to advance towards the win in an unexpected direction.
Then there are the dances that people do along the edges of sportsmanship. Some are more acceptable than others. There are conversational distractions, behavioral distractions, and even tricks that can be played before the game begins. Sometimes the tricks do not succeed, and oftentimes they are successful - often because people do not recognize them for what they are and are not prepared to properly respond.
The general learning curve consists of the bitter experiences of lost games. Much better to understand what gamesmanship really is and how it can become a tool under your control.
