Improve your game without really trying

[Bob Callahan]

Improve your game by not really trying

Some recent research applies to pool:

At the time, she had no particular interest in the flow state. But Wulf and her colleagues found that they could quickly improve a person's abilities by asking them to focus their attention on an external point away from their body. Aspiring skiers who were asked to do slalom-type movements on a simulator, for example, learned faster if they focused on a marked spot ahead of them. Golfers who focused on the swing of the club were about 20 per cent more accurate than those who focused on their own arms.

Wulf and her colleagues later found that an expert's physical actions require fewer muscle movements than those of a beginner - as seen in the tight, spare motions of top-flight athletes. They also experience less mental strain, a lower heart rate and shallower breathing - all characteristics of the flow state (Human Movement Science, vol 29, p 440).

These findings were borne out in later studies of expert and novice swimmers. Novices who concentrated on an external focus - the water's movement around their limbs - showed the same effortless grace as those with more experience, swimming faster and with a more efficient technique. Conversely, when the expert swimmers focused on their limbs, their performance declined (International Journal of Sport Science & Coaching, vol 6, p 99).

Wulf's findings fit well with the idea that flow - and better learning - comes when you turn off conscious thought. "When you have an external focus, you achieve a more automatic type of control," she says. "You don't think about what you are doing, you just focus on the outcome."

[Bold added]

From: http://www.newscientist.com/article...-zone-fast-track-to-pure-focus.html?full=true

I think embeded in that research is a pretty good explanation for why lots of things that may not make scientific sense in the world of pool actually work anyway--a change of focus, or different biomechanics. This could explain a lot about aiming systems, for example.

When I was learning Chinese martial arts, I was taught to develop ch'i...now. I'm not so sure that I believe in ch'i, but I do believe that the techniques for developing it are useful. One of the things I learned to do do was put out a candle flame from 4 feet away by waving my hand at it. It sounds magical, but it isn't. The scientist part of me realizes that what I'm doing is creating a vortex that snuffs the candle out. The training allowed me to relax the muscles that opposed the necessary movement, and increase my speed. Just biomechanics and physics. I used a similar technique to increase my break speed in the old days when I thought that was important.

 

[JarnoV]

This sounds very similar to the central theme of Timothy Gallwey's The Inner Game of Tennis. Highly recommended.

 

[Cameron Smith]

This sounds very similar to the central theme of Timothy Gallwey's The Inner Game of Tennis. Highly recommended.

I thought so too. The concept, for those who haven't read it (and I hope I remember correctly), is that you have a self 1 and a self 2. Self 1 is your conscious mind that makes the decisions, what shot to shoot, where you want the cue ball to finish etc. Self 2, is the unconscious which is in charge of executing. Essentially after you've decided on what you want to do, you let your muscle memory do all the work. When self 1 gets involved in the execution by thinking too much about what you are doing and the movements you need to create, the process begins to break down.

 

[Mr. Wiggles]

Ditto

This sounds very similar to the central theme of Timothy Gallwey's The Inner Game of Tennis. Highly recommended.

Absolutely, and no shock therapy! Every pool player that plays for a few years will eventually fall into dead stroke and run and tell all their friends. But how do you replicate that feeling again. That's the hard part. People talk about focusing but I think it's more about not focusing and not THINKING. Falling into that fog. Ask anyone about their dead stroke experience and they will not say they were really thinking hard and figuring things out that day. It just happens! Like magic. Mr. Gallwey's book is (HOLD ON) $15. Two hour read. Above all don't share this book with anyone! People talk about the trouble with pool. If all pool players were always in dead stroke it would be the end of pool forever. Other than you I have only shared this with Shane Van Boening!

 

[Andrew Manning]

Some recent research applies to pool:



[Bold added]

From: http://www.newscientist.com/article...-zone-fast-track-to-pure-focus.html?full=true

I think embeded in that research is a pretty good explanation for why lots of things that may not make scientific sense in the world of pool actually work anyway--a change of focus, or different biomechanics. This could explain a lot about aiming systems, for example.

When I was learning Chinese martial arts, I was taught to develop ch'i...now. I'm not so sure that I believe in ch'i, but I do believe that the techniques for developing it are useful. One of the things I learned to do do was put out a candle flame from 4 feet away by waving my hand at it. It sounds magical, but it isn't. The scientist part of me realizes that what I'm doing is creating a vortex that snuffs the candle out. The training allowed me to relax the muscles that opposed the necessary movement, and increase my speed. Just biomechanics and physics. I used a similar technique to increase my break speed in the old days when I thought that was important.

I wonder if this is the true value of aiming systems. Perhaps those who use systems are aiming by feel, just like those of us who don't, but the system acts as an external focus point to keep the conscious mind from interfering with the subconscious. Food for thought.

-Andrew

 

[thintowin]

what do i tell self 3 and self 4? Self 5 won't care but self 4 can be a bit#h.

 

[Cameron Smith]

I wonder if this is the true value of aiming systems. Perhaps those who use systems are aiming by feel, just like those of us who don't, but the system acts as an external focus point to keep the conscious mind from interfering with the subconscious. Food for thought.

-Andrew

The external focus point would be focusing on the movement of the cue rather than the muscles or the movements in your arm moving it forward. I believe the concept refers to execution rather than planning as I feel aiming systems would be catagorized as.