Oates is hoping to use some of his new found mental skills

Judo fighter Colin Oates will use this weekend's European Cup to improve the mental side of his fighting.

The British number one at under 66kg will travel to Hamburg to take part in the competition.

The 27-year-old told BBC Radio Norfolk: "I have performed at a lot of these types of tournament this year so a result is not quite as important."

He has been visiting a sports psychologist for the past year to prepare for bigger events.

"I'm using it more as a training exercise to practise some of the new mental skills I have been given ahead of the world championships," he said.

"These B tournaments, or the European Cups as they are now called, are not quite the top level but this one is as close as it can be. It's always a tough tournament because it's the last one before the world championships so you get a pretty strong entry."

Oates' form has steadily improved over the last two years following his failure to qualify for the 2008 Olympics.

"Beijing came a little bit soon for me, in British Judo you tend to blossom a little bit later. At ages 27 to 29 you aim to peak," he said.

The World Championships take place in Tokyo between 9 - 13 September.

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