Fear of Feel

I never considered the "pure use" of the arrow as ghost ball aiming either.

In my opinion aiming at a contact patch is not ghost ball.



I was talking about using the Cranfield arrow to learn to aim at the "contact patch", not about using ghost ball aiming itself. I am definitely a ghost ball shooter and have always been (even though I didn't realize it until somebody pointed out to me that's what I was doing), but I don't need any sort of a training aid to see where to put the ball. I never aim at the contact patch, I always just try to aim the CB into the ghost ball position on the shot line. Big difference.

It never even occurred to me to aim at the contact patch until I read an article about that arrow some years ago. It doesn't even fit the mental image of a ghost ball, which is the mental visualization of a ball sitting on the table, not a point that is set on the shot line 1 1/8" back from the back of the OB. To me, that is not GB aiming, but some sort of contact point aiming.
 
Ghost Ball

I never considered the "pure use" of the arrow as ghost ball aiming either.

In my opinion aiming at a contact patch is not ghost ball.

I think everyone develops their own use for the Ghost Ball that works for them, some envision it clear and align edges to reflect the cut on the ball with a contact point visible, some say it has to be milk white or its not a ghost ball, some aim it at the patch. One of most ridiculous arguments I ever had was with a guy over what was considered Ghost Ball.
 
I was talking about using the Cranfield arrow to learn to aim at the "contact patch", not about using ghost ball aiming itself. I am definitely a ghost ball shooter and have always been (even though I didn't realize it until somebody pointed out to me that's what I was doing), but I don't need any sort of a training aid to see where to put the ball. I never aim at the contact patch, I always just try to aim the CB into the ghost ball position on the shot line. Big difference.

It never even occurred to me to aim at the contact patch until I read an article about that arrow some years ago. It doesn't even fit the mental image of a ghost ball, which is the mental visualization of a ball sitting on the table, not a point that is set on the shot line 1 1/8" back from the back of the OB. To me, that is not GB aiming, but some sort of contact point aiming.

There is no way I could know you were talking about the Cranfield arrow, since you did not bring it up in your post. However, I agree...it does NOT fit the mental image of a ghost ball sitting on a table. With that said, training with the GB method is NOT a method to determine the exact distance from the center of the OB to the center of the CB. If it were, learning on a billiards table would not help you on a snooker table. GB training is more so an aid in perceiving how spheres collide. I used to ask someone fairly new to pool (even some who think they are good shots) to knock a quarter off the edge of the table (footstring) using the cue ball behind the headstring.
Nine out of ten people could not do it on their 1st try! Why? Because they have no clue how spheres collide and would aim at the quarter. If GB aiming was only about the distance between the OB (in this case the quarter) and the CB, they still would not be able to hit it because the distance would be considerable less. GB training is the best way to teach someone new to pool about how spheres collide! What they do with that training, after they have properly learned it, determines how well they will advance in shot making. Rarely, if at all, does one become a great shot maker by using the GB method and nothing but the GB method!
 
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I think everyone develops their own use for the Ghost Ball that works for them, some envision it clear and align edges to reflect the cut on the ball with a contact point visible, some say it has to be milk white or its not a ghost ball, some aim it at the patch. One of most ridiculous arguments I ever had was with a guy over what was considered Ghost Ball.

Ha! I never would have thought folks could argue about what a ghost ball really is, but hell, we're pool players. We argue about everything. Lol

Personally, I think the "milky white" visualization of a faintly defined CB just sitting in the correct spot on the table best fits my concept of the thing.

BTW I've done a lot of drugs in my youth, and had a lot a hallucinations, but my visualization of the ghost ball is not in that realm. It is just an attempt to fix the GB position in my mind while walking up to the spot where I make my stance. Once I am down on the shot (how I get there is a whole other topic on fundamentals) that image is no longer useful to me, so I just try to stroke straight along the shot line into the OB, almost as if it was a straight-in shot, even though I'm very aware of the angle away from the pocket.

I know this doesn't make much sense, but it's the only way I know how to describe what I do. I think I use the GB visualization as a kind of position holder to help keep the correct line in my mind as I walk around the table, then probably some sort of subconscious contact point aiming once I'm down on the shot. All I know it that it feels like I'm shooting straight into where the spot where the GB would would hit the CB.

There, Robin, I did it again... trying to describe how I aim in a thread on fear of feel. Oh, well, there's only so many things I want to hide in that folder on my desktop.:wink:
 
There is no way I could know you were talking about the Cranfield arrow, since you did not bring it up in your post.

You'd have to go back to post #722 to see where I first brought it up in a comment to Tony in MD, and then follow it from there. That's the problem with having an open forum discussion on a thread that has over 50 pages and over 750 comments. Only someone with severe OCD would bother to read every post, and not every one of them is necessarily directed at the general readership.

Hey, maybe we could have a TAR debate, where bangers like me and a lot of others could argue our points face-to-face, and the winner would get the cash. :grin-square:
 
If we shall continue the debate than you must state your credentials.
Do you own the dvd or ever study it.
Have you watched the you tube videos.
How much time have you spent on CTE at an actual pool table.
Any in person lessons from a reputable CTE instructor.

My answers:
I own both DVD's
I've watched all you tubes by Stan.
I have about 7 years of table time with CTE.
I've had lessons with Stan and shot and talked CTE with numerous people including Dave Segal and Randy G to name a few.

Your turn Rick

I had hoped we were finished with this 'childish' stuff.

Cookie,

We have been through this before.

Aristotle did NOT have to circumvent the earth to realise that it was not flat.

Paraplegics do not lose their powers of rational, logical, critical thinking ability just because they can not physically do something.

It's typical when one can not accurately & honestly dispute the points being made by an individual to attack the individual.

It seems to be a common practice by many if not most CTE advocates.

Playing while utilizing CTE for 50 years would not make one more qualified to discuss what is objective vs what is subjective.

To be quite honest IMHO, I & others have a better understanding of what CTE really is than you do. I can not prove that. I can only base my opinion on the things that you've said here in the past.

Others have spent nearly a year with CTE & have 'complained' about it.

I am not coming form just the keyboard. I have spent time on that table & have applied it objectively & found it lacking unless I also apply my subjective input based on my past experience.

The whole controversy is in regards to whether or not Stan is accurate in his description of what CTE is & NOT on the process of implementing it or whether or not it is capable of working or whether or not it is working but instead what is in play that allows the process to work.

You were close to being correct in one of your earlier post.

We can not have a discussion or a debate if one side does not even have a clue about what the discussion or debate is actually about.

This is a 'Fear of "Feel". thread.

What do you care regarding the nature of CTE? It's working for you. Are you afraid to possibly find out that you have been using a certain amount of subjective 'feel' even if subconsciously. If it is proven tomorrow that CTE is not 'a 100% totally objective system' but only a portion of it is 'objective', would you stop using it?

I hope you can see & understand my points.

Best 2 You & Yours & All,
Rick

PS How long had Mike Segel played & what were his 'credentials' when he said that there is no such thing as CB deflection (squirt)? I hope you can understand this point too.
 
I had hoped we were finished with this 'childish' stuff.

Cookie,

We have been through this before.

Aristotle did NOT have to circumvent the earth to realise that it was not flat.

Paraplegics do not lose their powers of rational, logical, critical thinking ability just because they can not physically do something.

It's typical when one can not accurately & honestly dispute the points being made by an individual to attack the individual.

It seems to be a common practice by many if not most CTE advocates.

Playing while utilizing CTE for 50 years would not make one more qualified to discuss what is objective vs what is subjective.

To be quite honest IMHO, I & others have a better understanding of what CTE really is than you do. I can not prove that. I can only base my opinion on the things that you've said here in the past.

Others have spent nearly a year with CTE & have 'complained' about it.

I am not coming form just the keyboard. I have spent time on that table & have applied it objectively & found it lacking unless I also apply my subjective input based on my past experience.

The whole controversy is in regards to whether or not Stan is accurate in his description of what CTE is & NOT on the process of implementing it or whether or not it is capable of working or whether or not it is working but instead what is in play that allows the process to work.

You were close to being correct in one of your earlier post.

We can not have a discussion or a debate if one side does not even have a clue about what the discussion or debate is actually about.

This is a 'Fear of "Feel". thread.

What do you care regarding the nature of CTE? It's working for you. Are you afraid to possibly find out that you have been using a certain amount of subjective 'feel' even if subconsciously. If it is proven tomorrow that CTE is not 'a 100% totally objective system' but only a portion of it is 'objective', would you stop using it?

I hope you can see & understand my points.

Best 2 You & Yours & All,
Rick

PS How long had Mike Segel played & what were his 'credentials' when he said that there is no such thing as CB deflection (squirt)? I hope you can understand this point too.

As I thought, just a spin answer. No proper credentials to debate the subject at hand
 
But that's exactly what many (not all) of the CTE "detractors" have been saying all along. It's just another system that works well on a pool table (but only a 2:1 ratio pool table) with the proper training and a lot of practice. It is not "The Holy Grail" as some would have it, just a well thought out system for aligning to the proper shot line. I can follow the teachings of Christ without believing he was the son of a deity and could perform miracles. And I do, for the most part... even though I'm basically a Buddhist.

Only the naysayers have called it the Holy Grail. Users just spread the good news and plant seeds.
 
I had hoped we were finished with this 'childish' stuff.

Cookie,

We have been through this before.

Aristotle did NOT have to circumvent the earth to realise that it was not flat.

Paraplegics do not lose their powers of rational, logical, critical thinking ability just because they can not physically do something.

It's typical when one can not accurately & honestly dispute the points being made by an individual to attack the individual.

It seems to be a common practice by many if not most CTE advocates.

Playing while utilizing CTE for 50 years would not make one more qualified to discuss what is objective vs what is subjective.

To be quite honest IMHO, I & others have a better understanding of what CTE really is than you do. I can not prove that. I can only base my opinion on the things that you've said here in the past.

Others have spent nearly a year with CTE & have 'complained' about it.

I am not coming form just the keyboard. I have spent time on that table & have applied it objectively & found it lacking unless I also apply my subjective input based on my past experience.

The whole controversy is in regards to whether or not Stan is accurate in his description of what CTE is & NOT on the process of implementing it or whether or not it is capable of working or whether or not it is working but instead what is in play that allows the process to work.

You were close to being correct in one of your earlier post.

We can not have a discussion or a debate if one side does not even have a clue about what the discussion or debate is actually about.

This is a 'Fear of "Feel". thread.

What do you care regarding the nature of CTE? It's working for you. Are you afraid to possibly find out that you have been using a certain amount of subjective 'feel' even if subconsciously. If it is proven tomorrow that CTE is not 'a 100% totally objective system' but only a portion of it is 'objective', would you stop using it?

I hope you can see & understand my points.

Best 2 You & Yours & All,
Rick

PS How long had Mike Segel played & what were his 'credentials' when he said that there is no such thing as CB deflection (squirt)? I hope you can understand this point too.

It would be best if you put the CTE storm troopers on your "ignore" list. In this way, you will never have to respond to their inane posts! It is simply a waste of time!
 
You'd have to go back to post #722 to see where I first brought it up in a comment to Tony in MD, and then follow it from there. That's the problem with having an open forum discussion on a thread that has over 50 pages and over 750 comments. Only someone with severe OCD would bother to read every post, and not every one of them is necessarily directed at the general readership.

Hey, maybe we could have a TAR debate, where bangers like me and a lot of others could argue our points face-to-face, and the winner would get the cash. :grin-square:

Sorry, I was at Bay Hill all day yesterday!:smile:
 
It would be best if you put the CTE storm troopers on your "ignore" list. In this way, you will never have to respond to their inane posts! It is simply a waste of time!

Mr. HOTAIR140.....yes sir this guy is a 100 ball runner!
His high run is 140 something....when he speaks...LISTEN...do NOT put him on ignore.
He has pro level skills...unless he dreamed up his high run.

One thing is for certain. He won't crow 140 in the 14.1 forum and give them a look at a 40/50 ball run on video. He figures he okay with his BS in this forum.

Stan Shuffett
 
I can pivot 4 whole tips worth if I want to. CTE is a visually driven system. The eyes lead the bridge V placement and one's back hand can turn the cue to knock chalk off the table and still go to CCB and the shot line.

My pivoting techniques video is primarily for those that understand CTE....and want to broaden their abilities of how to close the rotation to CCB other than by the foundational 1/2 tip basic pivot.

Stan Shuffett

Makes sense.

Backhand english. I understand the theory and it works for me on the table. With a fixed bridge, start at center CB and pivot horizontal away from center to apply english

The pivoting aspect of CTE interests me because it is different from other traditional aiming methods and I have experienced BHE pivots working.

Manual pivot with the bridge hand on the table, pivot to center CB. The fixed bridge hand and my 13mm tip being so close to the CB, I am confident I am reasonably accurate pivoting 6.5mm.

Pro one air pivot or sweep. Air pivoting or sweeping 6.5mm needs a lot of my estimation or "feel" and I question just how accurate my pivot is to 6.5mm.
 
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That is a good point. I truly believe that there are as many aiming systems as pool players. I still like to start with classic ghost ball for new players, as it naturally leads them to other systems. I believe in allowing a player to naturally gravitate to their own methods.

Of course the hardest part of this that most players I have worked with is the accurate delivery of the tip to the cueball. That is a whole other matter.:wink:



I think everyone develops their own use for the Ghost Ball that works for them, some envision it clear and align edges to reflect the cut on the ball with a contact point visible, some say it has to be milk white or its not a ghost ball, some aim it at the patch. One of most ridiculous arguments I ever had was with a guy over what was considered Ghost Ball.
 
Makes sense.

Backhand english. I understand the theory and it works for me on the table. With a fixed bridge, start at center CB and pivot horizontal away from center to apply english

The pivoting aspect of CTE interests me because it is different from other traditional aiming methods and I have experienced BHE pivots working.

Manual pivot with the bridge hand on the table, pivot to center CB. The fixed bridge hand and my 13mm tip being so close to the CB, I am confident I am reasonably accurate pivoting 6.5mm.

Pro one air pivot or sweep. Air pivoting or sweeping 6.5mm needs a lot of my estimation or "feel" and I question just how accurate my pivot is to 6.5mm.

I really hesitate at sharing information here......

Pivoting in general or rotating into the shot line is a natural occurrence resulting from playing the game over time. I could say a ton about this but this is not the time or place.

Actually there are 3 head/eye positions or one might even say 3 arm alignment positions.

The mid position is for the pure visual sweep which is always equal to the 1/2 tip pivot. The visual sweep refines itself over time....and experience is a factor but since the left or right move to CCB is always the same concerning visual closure to the shotline, it's very very potent.

The objective in and out arm positions are deadly accurate......I could detail this out but, honestly, I am not up for the stuff that follows me here on this forum when I explain or present info about the details of CTE.

Stan Shuffett
 
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Only the naysayers have called it the Holy Grail. Users just spread the good news and plant seeds.

What I actually said was "as some would have it", and I took care to word it that way on purpose.

The way the most ardent CTE supporters act here is exactly as if it is the one and only way to aim correctly, that everything else is a lesser method now that this perfect method has been discovered, that CTE is "inevitable" and that "nothing can prevent it's spread". Sure sounds like a Crusade of religious fanaticism to me, and it turns more off than it will ever convert.

If you really want to plant some seeds, try to not spend so much time poisoning the soil ahead of that.
 
What I actually said was "as some would have it", and I took care to word it that way on purpose.

The way the most ardent CTE supporters act here is exactly as if it is the one and only way to aim correctly, that everything else is a lesser method now that this perfect method has been discovered, that CTE is "inevitable" and that "nothing can prevent it's spread". Sure sounds like a Crusade of religious fanaticism to me, and it turns more off than it will ever convert.

If you really want to plant some seeds, try to not spend so much time poisoning the soil ahead of that.

I do NOT mind calling it like it is. REAL CTE is the ONLY system that geometrically connects to the pockets. The system takes the player to shotlines. Like it or not....over time, CTE will increasingly become more and more the standard of how the game is taught.
I stand unafraid to speak about what I know to be true....
Is this going spread everywhere overnight? No.....but CTE is now rapidly spreading around the world. It is what it is.....HAL made it very clear to me that I would be attached once I released all of the info......well...I am a few years deep into this and it is full throttle ahead.

Stan Shuffett
 
What I actually said was "as some would have it", and I took care to word it that way on purpose.

The way the most ardent CTE supporters act here is exactly as if it is the one and only way to aim correctly, that everything else is a lesser method now that this perfect method has been discovered, that CTE is "inevitable" and that "nothing can prevent it's spread". Sure sounds like a Crusade of religious fanaticism to me, and it turns more off than it will ever convert.

If you really want to plant some seeds, try to not spend so much time poisoning the soil ahead of that.

Really thats just what you want to here. No one is pushing CTE on anyone and once again its the naysayer group tying it to religion.
Happy you converted to Buddhism.
By the way you ready to provide proof of those gaps?
 
... PS How long had Mike Segel played & what were his 'credentials' when he said that there is no such thing as CB deflection (squirt)? I hope you can understand this point too.

I think Sigel's alleged misunderstanding had to do with the existence of OB throw, not CB squirt.
 
I do NOT mind calling it like it is. REAL CTE is the ONLY system that geometrically connects to the pockets. The system takes the player to shotlines. Like it or not....over time, CTE will increasingly become more and more the standard of how the game is taught.
I stand unafraid to speak about what I know to be true....
Is this going spread everywhere overnight? No.....but CTE is now rapidly spreading around the world. It is what it is.....HAL made it very clear to me that I would be attached once I released all of the info......well...I am a few years deep into this and it is full throttle ahead.

Stan Shuffett

The standard of how the game is taught? Do you really believe this is a system that should be taught to beginners? My feeling is that it's hard enough to get new players to get into the game as it is just showing them ghost ball. Forcing them to embrace such a cumbersome and difficult to understand system at the onset would surely decimate their ranks. IMHO.
 
It would be best if you put the CTE storm troopers on your "ignore" list. In this way, you will never have to respond to their inane posts! It is simply a waste of time!

Ready to post the names of your famous students yet.
 
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