Research Paper on Anxiety in Chinese Sports

Introduction

From Olympics to football, chess, and other sports that are known within and outside China's borders, China has showcased incredible talent, hard work, strength and a will to do whatever it takes to keep the flag flying up the sky.. Speaking of the sky, Chinese women have gradually come to hold the sky for Chinese sports. For a patriarchal state, this is a tremendous advancement and adjustment, and it is just a beginning of the Chinese sport dynamics. Individuals, groups, societies and the nation at large have to redefine their national identity to that of triumph, pride and the creation of a winning culture. However, a few paces away from the tremendous victories accrued by Chinese sports, sport is gradually becoming as source of anxiety in China. At different levels of the nation's population, the impacts of competition, the emphasis placed on victory as well as the whole-nation Chinese culture that overemphasizes on the nation's pride and culture over the individual's needs of the athletes and other sports personnel have been sources of anxiety. Therefore, by analyzing the different levels of anxiety, the sports culture, sports globalization, and narrowing down to specific actors such as Yao Ming and the ping pong diplomacy, this paper seeks to expose the aspect of anxiety in Chinese sports, as well as propose a way that sports can be used to combat this phenomenon.

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Sports as a Cause of Anxiety in China

Anxiety is a common form of emotion experienced by many people in the world of sport, as well as those who are passive followers of different actions. Anxiety is defined as the onset of an unpleasant or undesirable psychological state as a result of perceived stress regarding the performance of a task under pressure.. Sports often puts every Chinese citizen, as well as the government at par as they wait for the triumph or the dreaded defeat of their athletes and sports people and this creates a cycle of stress and anxiety among the society. Athletes, however, have to face this issue as they indulge in their daily gymnasts, exercises, and competitions. Anxiety, therefore, occurs to them at different levels, one from the activities they engage in, from the aspect of competition and last but not least, from the expectations that the society has on them.

Intrapersonal Anxiety

Chinese athletes are often subjected to an interpersonal affliction that often results in somatic and cognitive anxiety. Somatic anxiety is a physiological element that relates to the different forms of autonomic arousals. It is often accompanied by negative symptomatic feeling such as muscular tension, nervousness, rapid heart rate, high blood pressure, sweaty palms, dry throat and butterflies in the stomach.. Cognitive anxiety, on the other hand, is the mental component comprised of negative attitudes, and expectations concerning the self-evaluation and success of an athlete. It is characterized by images of failure, negative self-talk, disrupted attention, performance doubts and the inability to concentrate.. Athletes experience anxiety before or after a match or a competition. Post-match anxiety includes their distress and disappointment due to low or unexpectedly low performance.

Competitive Anxiety

Competition is the one block that athletes cannot easily move, and hence they have to work their way up or around it. Growing up in a culture that attaches pride to victory, athletes embrace competition as a part of the struggle to success. These athletes, therefore, set high goals and expectations they need to achieve either in the Olympic Games, World Championships, Asian Games, and All-China games. . While setting such goals are crucial to success; the journey towards achieving them can be hectic, depressing and full of anxiety. High levels of anxiety might in turn impact negatively on the performance of athletes. Facing competition is a critical and compulsory aspect of sport, and therefore, to many athletes who have come to accept this factor, the journey is relatively smooth. However, other athletes face anxiety as a result of the nature and level of the sport they are involved in, or as a result of inadequate skill set and preparation. Athletes who have achieved a lot in their field of specialization, and have faced many competitors successful often develop an unwavering self-efficacy. Others are also regularly engaged in relaxing activities and exercises, and this makes the anxiety fade away.. However, to those who crack under the pressure of being in unique events facing incredible competitors, the future is doomed to them.

Social-Cultural Anxiety

Sports has not been a single entity in China, but rather one that is surrounded, complemented and compounded by other factors. The prevalent social and cultural traditions and way of life of the Chinese have therefore been critical contributors to the different impacts, effects, and contributions that sport has had on the Chinese people. The socio-cultural impacts of sports have also been a major contributing factor to the national culture and identity of China, as a group that identifies with pride, victory, and triumph. The Chinese social aspects of collective responsibility, as the view of Chinese social groups as a vertical collective aspect of their existence has often led to the overall overlooking of self, and the high upholding of social responsibility. Individuals are usually at ease sacrificing their needs, interest, and ambitions for the sake of the group.. Chinese fans and athletes alike are hence prone to face social anxiety once they value their roles, status, and interrelationships with their teams, organizations, and the nation more than their wellbeing at a personal level. . The groups that Chinese nationals identify with are meant to equip them with their emotional or affective, survival and identity needs. When in a group, the shielding effect is comforting, but at a personal level, everyone is often struggling not to let their entire pack down and this, unsuspectingly, breeds anxiety.

Yao Ming's Successes and Anxieties/ Stresses

From the first time he set his foot in the US soil in 2002 at the age of 21, Yao Ming had set himself as a gauge upon which the success and prowess of Chinese basketball. The 315 pound, 7'5" Houston Rockets player was not only Chinese first international basketball player, but also the first genuine basketball player that is a non-national to the United States.. His masculinity, physique, statements, personality shortcomings, strengths and sponsorships have been dissected alongside his nationality and ethnicity, and adaptability to cultural arenas and US sports. His exemplary performance sprouted from his home, when he led the Shanghai team into the CBA, and his successes afterwards have been outstanding. Even while in the United States, he has been a constant representation of Chinese culture of competitiveness, and has managed to give Chinese nationals the pride they so much identify with. In a match where he first encountered player Shaquille O'Neil, on January 17, 2003, there were 200 million Chinese viewers, more than the audience the superbowl often attracts.. With such high expectation, and having even developed his own basketball team in china, his unforeseen leg injury might have been the end of his glory. However, even before the career-ending injury as many term it, Yao had demonstrated stress during the defeat of the Houston rockets by Utah, 103-99, when he commented, I feel like I want to cry,"... That's very frustrating... I didn't do a very good job of rebounding. . Even to the most successful players, failure is a cause of anxiety and self-blame.

Chinese National Culture and Sports Anxiety

From the already explored sources and facts, anxiety in Chinese sports has been presented as an outcome of the societal, cultural and intrapersonal aspects of competition, expectations and group accountability. However, in play are other large-scale factors that have made it impossible for an anxiety-free sports nation to be achieved in China. First is China's whole-nation system that has had tremendous effects and influence in their world of sport.

Whole-Nation Sport System

The Chinese government has been actively involved in sport, from the very top administration via the sports ministry and other channels. It, therefore, develops a national strategic plan for sports and hence allocates the financial, and professional resources that would in achieving these plans. This involvement has been the most significant influence in competitive and elite athletics. Though the prioritization of collective interests, sport has been decorated as an avenue towards national glory and has often been utilized as a national interest more so when it comes to political influence.. Athletes are therefore subjected to collective responsibilities, targets, and expectations, and their victory is often regarded as a patriotic deed rather than self-accomplishment. The sporting world in this nation is also execute-led, and hence a majority if not all parameters that surround sports are either decided, stipulated or suggested by the administration. An instance of such an occurrence is the setting of medal targets for different national teams in the Olympic Games and provincial teams in All-China Games by the government. To the Chinese government, it is not all about hopeful anticipation of good results, but rather an execute order of the expected levels of excellence. An athlete is therefore not merely competing to win but rather by the fear of losing.

Sports Internationalization as a Cause of Anxiety

China is a communist nation, and under the leadership of Mao Zedong, it came up with a cultural revolution between the years 1966-1976 that regarded the different aspects of capitalism such as competitive sport an evil.. However, its decision, later on, to simulate an open door policy let in the western flaws of competitive and elite sports, and this was detrimental.. The hosting of the Olympic game was a clear sign of China's involvement in globalized sport, and this hence leads to the formation of WADA which is an anti-doping agent. This agent, to begin with, has continuously been an issue to China due to the constant withdrawal of Chinese athletes from the Olympics. Various scandals concerning Chinese athletes have been hectic to the Chinese government, as that have been forced, under the Asian Olympic Committee to come up with internal anti-doping policies aside from the ones contained in WADA. Global competition in football as with the case of World Cup has been a constant pressure on China.

Consequences of Sports Anxiety in Chinese Society

Competitive and excelling in different fields has been overly emphasized by the sports culture in China and this has led to the belief that anything short of excellence is undesirable. It is for this reason that parents in China have now embraced the advent of gene testing for their children to gauge their skill set and talents in different fields. . A study conducted by MIT technology review in a clinic at the China Bioengineering Technology Group in Shenzhen recorded a range of 100 to 200 parents testing their children each week on the 200 indicators of talent provided by the clinic.. These parents spend up to $4500 to ensure that their children are not behind their peers in terms of achievement in talent. The genetic talent testing is scientifically skeptical, but due to the anxiety and pressure parents feel to bring up the best children, the business is booming.. However, the future does not look great for China as many parents might just be pushing their children into fields they are not good at, or even interested in, and this will be ugly to the reputation China hig...