Let’s be honest: in Canoe Slalom, what you do is crucial, but what you don’t do is just as important. In our sport, inaction is not a lack of response; it is another tool in the tactical repertoire. Knowing when not to intervene can make the difference between success and failure.
In my last entry, I discussed Daniel Kahneman and how certain cognitive biases affect decision-making within teams and organizations. Today, I want to delve into a bias that directly impacts training and competition management: the action bias.
In Slalom, we train to make our actions as automatic as possible. The goal is to avoid relying on conscious decision-making, which would waste valuable time during a race. We can’t afford to stop and analyze every situation as if we were taking notes or solving equations on paper.
However, automatizing movements is not enough. We also aim to develop a refined perception of our surroundings — a sensitivity that allows us to process multiple stimuli and respond instantly to each one.
This is where many athletes — and coaches — misinterpret the concept of instant response. Because responding does not always mean acting. In Canoe Slalom, the key lies in the intelligent management of stimuli. And managing does not necessarily mean intervening in every instance; sometimes, the best decision is inaction, waiting, and listening.
Action Bias and “Tactical Inaction”
The action bias drives us instinctively to do something rather than remain still. During training, we analyze and prepare so that on race day, decisions are already made, and we can act without hesitation. But there is a key variant within this preparation: tactical inaction.
This is where the eternal dilemma between our primitive nature and our evolution as rational beings comes into play. In competition, we face two approaches:
1. Forcing action at all times, compulsively reacting to every minor change in the water, which leads to stress, fatigue, and muscular tension. This results in an overloaded mental state, incapable of processing all the necessary information.
2. Waiting for the right moment, trusting that the natural flow of the water will present opportunities to intervene with minimal effort and maximum efficiency. In this scenario, our mind and the water seem to merge into one.
The second approach is the highest art of Canoe Slalom: doing less, but doing it better. Those who master tactical inaction not only conserve energy but also ensure that every movement is an optimal decision, aligned with the dynamics of the water and the course.
This is why the true challenge is not only training action but also training the ability not to act when unnecessary. The key to success is not doing more but doing exactly what is needed at the precise moment.
