The Zen term “Mushin”, meaning empty or no mind and what sports psychologists call “being in the zone” is to me, one in the same. The Japanese maxim “Tatakawa zushite katsu” declared by some Masters to be the true meaning of Budo states, “Winning without fighting by overcoming the enemy within”, for me holds true.
The terms "Mushin" is also something that Lyoto Machida talks about. It's no surprise because Machida grew up in an intense traditional martial arts environment with his Karate background, and with his father having Japanese ancestry, that Japanese concept is something that Lyoto uses right at the moment of combat:
Along the same lines, Icelandic UFC welterweight star Gunnar Nelson, takes a similar approach. He has a remarkably calm disposition that makes those taking a stroll through a park look intensely stress. He has found that when he is not thinking and worrying about competition, he performs best. He realized this when he competed in grappling and didn't realize he was going to be able to compete again in an absolute division bracket and was just hanging out with friends and having a laugh. But then suddenly his name was called to compete and he just went out there and had possibly his best submission grappling match of his life. So Gunnar Nelson stumbled upon a very effective sports psychology tool that day which he continues to use in the UFC:
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