Chuck Norris Imagery

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Chuck Norris is a very iconic figure in America; well known for his portrayal of Cordell Walker in the series Walker, Texas Ranger.  Norris reveals his childhood experiences, and his journey from impoverished child to World Karate Champion and film star, in his autobiography Against All Odds: My Story.  The first time that Chuck Norris attempted to receive his black belt in tang soo do, a form of Korean martial arts, he failed.  When it came for him to execute the moves which would determine his reception of his black belt, he could not remember how to do it, even though he had practiced many times (Norris, 2004).  However, he did not give up and went back 3 months later to take the examination again.  This time he visualized himself executing all moves correctly and earning his black belt.  Norris (2004) states, “I played out in my mind the scenario for any exhibition the examiners might come up with.  More importantly, I saw myself completing the test successfully” (p. 41).  This visualization is important in many aspects of Norris’s life, especially during martial arts competitions.  Whenever Norris was in a competition, he would visualize himself in a match with each prospective opponent, “taking his strengths from him while maintaining my own” (Norris, 2004, p. 60).  This gave him confidence that he would remember all of his moves, and know what he would do for each counter-move.  Norris (2004) states, “I knew I could beat him because I had already visualized the bout in my mind and was prepared for his attacks” (p. 61).  This visualization not only kept his mind sharp, but helped him remember his karate forms, and gave him confidence during the match.  

Cover of Black Belt, December 1977

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The concept shown here is mental imagery, defined as “the ability to recreate the sensory world in the absence of physical stimuli” (Goldstein, 2011, p. 270).  What makes mental imagery different from perception is that with perception, the stimuli are physically present, while with mental imagery there are no stimuli to perceive (Goldstein, 2011).  The ability to imagine is very useful, because there will not always be stimuli available.  Voice actors use mental imagery to imagine a scenario, so their voices can reflect the emotions they would be feeling in a specific situation.  The power of mental imagery is that one does not have to be in a certain situation to feel the emotions, or experience the situation; one can imagine it (Goldstein, 2011).  Chuck Norris uses this to his advantage in order to prepare for martial arts matches and demonstrations.  He does not have to actually be participating in a match beforehand to prepare himself mentally for the match (Norris, 2004).  He is able to recreate the match, without physically participating in the match. 

I believe this is an accurate example of mental imagery.  Chuck Norris had difficulty passing his black belt examination the first time because of nerves; he was unable to recall the information he had been studying for months for the examination.  This is similar to the “test anxiety” that is felt by many students (Danskin, 1989, para. 1).  However, using mental imagery helped him to imagine what would happen beforehand, and prepare for it.  So, in effect, he had already been through everything, making it more familiar.  It is far easier to complete a familiar task, even if it is difficult, than it is to complete an unfamiliar task (Goldstein, 2011).  Norris used mental imagery to his advantage in order to prepare for matches (Norris, 2004).  Without the mental imagery, he would not have had the positive outlook towards the matches, and might not have won as many.  Norris’s use of mental imagery was very beneficial. 

References

Danskin, D. G. (1989). I know the material, but when I take the test I go blank!.  Retrieved from http://www.k-state.edu/counseling/topics/stress/strestst.html

Goldstein, E. B. (2011).  Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research, and everyday experience (3^rd ed.). Canada: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Norris, C. R. (2004).  Against all odds: My story. Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman & Holman Publishers.