John Danaher has long advocated a counterintuitive approach to competition preparation by treating the biggest stage exactly like any other training day. In an old interview, Danaher explained his philosophy of normalization rather than amplification when preparing athletes for high stakes competition.
“I do not hype (). I do not say, you know, this is it, this is your big chance, you are on the stage now. I go the exact opposite route. For me, it is about normalization.”
The renowned Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach challenges the idea that competition is an extraordinary event separate from daily training. While many coaches emphasize the magnitude of upcoming matches, Danaher deliberately reinforces the opposite message.
“My whole emphasis is that there is no difference. As the competition gets closer, I remind them more and more that what they do on the stage is exactly what they do here in the basement every single day.”
To illustrate this principle, Danaher shared a formative childhood memory from rural New Zealand in the 1970s. A visiting stuntman performed tricks for Danaher’s small school, culminating in walking across a plank suspended between two buildings. The children watched in awe. The performer then placed the same plank on the ground and asked the students to run across it, which they did effortlessly.
“He looked at us and he said something I never forgot. He said the plank is the same. I put it up higher and so it took your breath away, but you guys just ran across the plank. The plank did not change. Your perceptions of it did.”
This parable forms the foundation of Danaher’s coaching methodology.
“That is the difference between the gym and the stage. There is no difference. The plank does not change. Only your perceptions change.”
Danaher acknowledges that promoters and crowds naturally want athletes to view competitions as monumental occasions. He believes this perspective serves promotional interests rather than performance.
“The athlete has to go one hundred percent the opposite way and see the smoke, the music, the lights, the strangers’ faces. That is the illusion. The reality is a man, a referee and a man across the stage.”
Danaher has noted that he has never had an athlete completely collapse under pressure and attributes that consistency to an unwavering commitment to normalization rather than dramatization.
