Aiming without execution

Ralph Kramden

BOOM!.. ZOOM!.. MOON!
Silver Member
After reading some of the posts here I thought about some of them. Maybe it's not just aiming that causes misses.

A while back 1pocket John posted some pics of his weighted cue extension to help get the feel of pulling the cue.
I made an extension to try to see what he was saying about pulling the cue. The extension does help that feeling.

What I am thinking is some folks may be aiming correctly, but don't execute a shot as they think that it's being executed.
Some folks who play well at times, and play erratically at other times, may not have a repeatable stroke without knowing.

Something to try would be to line up the shot as usual, but think about pulling your stroking hand toward the Object Ball.
Doing this keeps your stroking arm and cue from swaying off line, thus making CB contact more precise with your stroke.

Play well....

.
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
After reading some of the posts here I thought about some of them. Maybe it's not just aiming that causes misses.

A while back 1pocket John posted some pics of his weighted cue extension to help get the feel of pulling the cue.
I made an extension to try to see what he was saying about pulling the cue. The extension does help that feeling.

What I am thinking is some folks may be aiming correctly, but don't execute a shot as they think that it's being executed.
Some folks who play well at times, and play erratically at other times, may not have a repeatable stroke without knowing.

Something to try would be to line up the shot as usual, but think about pulling your stroking hand toward the Object Ball.
Doing this keeps your stroking arm and cue from swaying off line, thus making CB contact more precise with your stroke.

Play well....

.
I do something similar: line my stick up visually with a "tip target" near the OB, them stroke the stick at that target. This works well for me because I aim by measuring how far my stick is pointed from the OB contact point - helps my aim and my stroke.

pj
chgo
 

One Pocket John

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
After reading some of the posts here I thought about some of them. Maybe it's not just aiming that causes misses.

A while back 1pocket John posted some pics of his weighted cue extension to help get the feel of pulling the cue.
I made an extension to try to see what he was saying about pulling the cue. The extension does help that feeling.

What I am thinking is some folks may be aiming correctly, but don't execute a shot as they think that it's being executed.
Some folks who play well at times, and play erratically at other times, may not have a repeatable stroke without knowing.

Something to try would be to line up the shot as usual, but think about pulling your stroking hand toward the Object Ball.
Doing this keeps your stroking arm and cue from swaying off line, thus making CB contact more precise with your stroke.

Play well....

.

Thanks for the mention Carl.

Ask yourself this question, is it easier (less effort or use of muscle) to pull the cue mass forward (mass/weight being behind the grip hand) in a straight line to and thru the cue ball. Or is it easier to push the the mass of the cue forward in a straight line to and thru the cue ball.

Pushing the cue forward involves quit a bit of tension in the grip and shooting arm.
Pulling the cue forward only involves the use of your grip hand fingers with no tension in the shooting arm.

Reminds me of something Lee Brett said in his DVD. The cue is held in place buy the index finger and thumb is the steering wheel the second finger, ring finger and little finger act as the engine.

I'm 6'-2" tall and have a wing span of 6'-2". Using a normal cue (58") my grip hand, while down into the shooting position was almost on the butt cap. This resulted in my having to push the mass/weight of the cue forward to and thru the cue ball. This caused tension in my grip hand and shooting arm. I also would like to mention that I'm 72 years old. Playing this game with less effort is great.

A good example of what I have noticed is that small players grip their cue some where in the middle of the cue wrap. Gripping the cue there has moved the mass/weight of the cue behind their grip hand allowing them to pull (maybe unknowingly) the mass of the cue forward.

My cue these days is 70" long (with the butt extension and mid-cue extension installed)
The weight of the cue is 24oz. (keeping in mind the balance of the cue is at 24" as measured from the butt cap. The extension is 8-1/2" long and has a weight of 5.7oz, the internal weight of the extension is located in the last 3" of the extension.
The extension design is a slip-on type extension allowing for me to easily pull it off (and stick it in my pocket) when faced with lack of room to stroke the cue or to deal with jacked up shots.
The factory weight was removed thus allowing for better feel of the weight behind my grip hand.

I'll tell you what Carl, email me a shipping address and I'll send you an extension for your use. (at no cost) I will send you my email address via PM.

The extension design is for taller players like myself. For smaller players its just a matter of changing the weighting system in the butt of the cue until they can feel the weight of the cue behind their grip hand.

Once again, thanks for the mention.

Have a good day. :)

John
 
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Ralph Kramden

BOOM!.. ZOOM!.. MOON!
Silver Member
.

Make sure you stroke with your forearm... Not with your shoulder... Your forearm only bends toward your shoulder. Your shoulder moves in circles.
If you hold your elbow high your forearm goes in line. If you drop your elbow before contacting the CB, the shoulder will turn your cue butt off it's line.

Pull your cue toward the shot line (your OB target) to keep your cue straight. Only let your elbow drop after the cue tip makes contact with CB.. IMO

.
 

Imac007

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
After reading some of the posts here I thought about some of them. Maybe it's not just aiming that causes misses.

A while back 1pocket John posted some pics of his weighted cue extension to help get the feel of pulling the cue.
I made an extension to try to see what he was saying about pulling the cue. The extension does help that feeling.

What I am thinking is some folks may be aiming correctly, but don't execute a shot as they think that it's being executed.
Some folks who play well at times, and play erratically at other times, may not have a repeatable stroke without knowing.

Something to try would be to line up the shot as usual, but think about pulling your stroking hand toward the Object Ball.
Doing this keeps your stroking arm and cue from swaying off line, thus making CB contact more precise with your stroke.

Play well....

.

Working with a student recently my objective was to get a quiet focus on the target area. The eyes do not settle easily they want to flit back and forth between the object ball, and cue/cue ball. In trying to train athletes "quiet eye" the original observer who noted the behavior in top performers, Joan Vickers, observed a second behavioral trait. Athletes with better targeting skills scanned the target line more precisely and completely, less off target line movement. The eyes did not flit around like poorer shooters.

Getting stopped before shooting, the player was instructed to start to slow the back and forth movement. In fairness to the poster, the preliminary instructions included finding the target line, aligning including a cueing straightness check before then stopping before delivering the final stroke. Working on the stop portion we used the time to get settled. That involved slowing things down first before the cue stopped. The eyes scanning the line indicated by the cue, were allowed to retrace once or twice more each time slightly slower and precisely. On the final scan, the target detail becomes the focus. Held there the player does not think about shooting, just waits for the body.

The slow down was part of a bigger picture starting with moving the cue slowly into place while positioning precisely. Moving the body slowly into position to avoid disrupting the cue on line. Then a quickening of movement testing cueing straightness and relieving tension. As preliminary test strokes start to resemble actual stroke, tempo is then slowed to an eventual stop, focusing on the shot feel. This allows the final stroke to be separate. Waiting for the body to act means giving up control and takes time to develop since as performance stress increases so does our mind’s tendency to assert control.

Getting down and stopping without shooting, then getting up is good practice. It works as a pattern interruption tool. The process of getting down, stroking a preset number of times then shooting can be habitual. If we don’t learn to interrupt the pattern, there is no possibility of stopping and getting up when we should. Practicing getting down, stopping the getting up without shooting is enhanced if the shot only occurs by releasing conscious control.

Good topic on so many levels.
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
A while back 1pocket John posted some pics of his weighted cue extension to help get the feel of pulling the cue. I made an extension to try to see what he was saying about pulling the cue. The extension does help that feeling.
I think it's more than a feeling. Added weight at the back end of the cue (the farther back the better) acts as "ballast" that resists sideways motion and physically helps to keep the stroke straight.

pj
chgo
 
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