After reading StraightPool 99’s post on TOI I thought I would share my experience using CJ’s Touch Of Inside (TOI). I have had the opportunity to see CJ a few years back and the things he has thought me has brought me to playing the best pool of my life after 25+ years of playing pool. Of course all the hard work got me there as well.
Let me start by saying TOI is real and it works. Unfortunately CJ’s video is slightly misleading and is missing some information. CJ admitted this to me. He said he left some things out because he felt most wouldn’t understand some of the finer details. I think there is a misunderstanding I what TOI is and is not. It is not creating the whole angle with TOI. It is not an aiming system. You still have to aim your way to get to the pocket. With TOI you are simply creating a very small angle that finishes the cut from the outside of the pocket to the center of the pocket. This is a very small amount TOI. This is maybe 1/4th or less of a tip to achieve this deflection. This is not for those that are learning. You must have a solid and accurate stroke to use TOI effectively. Overall it is a system that provides a slight statistical advantage and increases margin for error.
To experience this small deflection amount that is use in TOI, set up an object ball about half way between the spot and the corner pocket. Put the CB on the spot and adjust the OB or CB until it is a straight shot to the right side of the corner pocket. Line up to shoot into the right side of the pocket and move your whole cue to the inside (left). Do not pivot to the inside! Move the bridge and back hand in unison to the left. Shoot straight through on this new parallel line and watch the CB deflect to the right and the OB to the left into the center of the pocket. Experiment and find how much TOI you need to achieve the finishing cut from the outside of the pocket to the center of the pocket. This is all the deflection you will need and is your TOI amount you will use on most shots. I general the farther you are away for the OB the less TOI you will use. To start using TOI aim like you normally do to the outside of the pocket move to the TOI position and deflect the ball into the center of the pocket.
It took a long time to figure how it really works. I went through a lot of hard times to learn all that he shared with me. My game went down for a couple of years but I came out the other end a much better player and with a better understanding of the game general. I kept looking for the things he shared with me in pro players to confirm his teachings. These subtle things are there in many pros and are powerful when you can apply them unconsciously. There were lots of these little changes that added up in my game. I think most people’s aversion to TOI, CTE, or anything new is it takes a lot of work to figure these things out. Most people give up too soon to ever see the results because as it hurts the ego and many go back to their old ways. Changes are hard to do and will difficult in the interim.
A major change for me was going from looking at the OB last to looking at the CB last. It was hard but key to my new success. This is still personal preference for many. Lots of pros shoot this way but not all. CJ is right; the game is all about hitting the CB accurately. All your aiming, however you do it, is done in the standing position. This has been confirmed by many pros I asked about this. Johnny Archer talked about this in detail in his TAR match with SVB. Check it out.
Another change is trust in the idea that you are hitting with the cue offset and not at center CB. This becomes your new center. What is weird is this is counter intuitive to the way most are taught to shoot. Many players look straight down the cue like sighting a gun and aim with this. However, after learning from CJ, Stan Shuffet, and extensively talking with many pros I now realize that the cue is usually across the sight line in some form or another. Many players do this now and don’t realize it. TOO is a great example of this. The cue is across the shot line not inline with it to make the shot. Shane and Earl are TOO players. Shane has told me he uses TOO on most of his shots. This is where the crazy accuracy comes into play with TOI or even TOO, because the unconscious mind makes the adjustments for you in the aiming process. Yes, it seems like you are relying instinct but we all do the same when using TOO. So this concept is something most of us are already familiar with to some extent.
Here is where TOI gets interesting for me. As you move inside to the TOI position with your tip, the tip/shaft is now pointing toward the contact point/shot line instead of out in space. This is where CJ talks about simply connecting the dots for the shot to happen unconsciously. All you have to do is align your tip or part of your shaft towards the contact point/shot line, set and shoot. CJ told me his cue points towards the contact point. And this works powerfully. Now I just align part of my shaft to the contact point/shot line from the TOI position and let the unconscious mind work for me. It seems like magic but I am making more shots more accurately then ever in my life. I know shaft aiming has been talked about before but it has a solid application with TOI.
One subtle advantage TOI offers is a neutral cue ball after the CB/OB hit. It makes it easier to move the ball around with precision and control. Yes, I still spin balls to create different angles off the rails but not as often, maybe only 10-20 % of the time. TOI is not about English or spin! It is about deflection with the parallel shift. Any tiny amount of spin you get from hitting off center is cancelled out by the contact between the CB and OB giving you a nice neutral cue ball that is controllable. The hardest adjustment with TOI is you now have new set of speed control drills to practice, as the CB seems heavier. This took time.
Overall TOI for me has been a hard journey with moments of struggles on my way to shooting bliss. It really has brought me awareness into how a slight off center hit changes the out come of the shot and that hitting the cue ball accurately is so important. I have found shooting heaven with TOI. I don’t feel like I would have learned as much if I did not go though those struggles. All I can say is I now feel like I can’t miss and TOI has gotten me there. However, I do miss, we all miss, now I just miss less and I am a more consistent player with all the techniques CJ shared and TOI.
Let me start by saying TOI is real and it works. Unfortunately CJ’s video is slightly misleading and is missing some information. CJ admitted this to me. He said he left some things out because he felt most wouldn’t understand some of the finer details. I think there is a misunderstanding I what TOI is and is not. It is not creating the whole angle with TOI. It is not an aiming system. You still have to aim your way to get to the pocket. With TOI you are simply creating a very small angle that finishes the cut from the outside of the pocket to the center of the pocket. This is a very small amount TOI. This is maybe 1/4th or less of a tip to achieve this deflection. This is not for those that are learning. You must have a solid and accurate stroke to use TOI effectively. Overall it is a system that provides a slight statistical advantage and increases margin for error.
To experience this small deflection amount that is use in TOI, set up an object ball about half way between the spot and the corner pocket. Put the CB on the spot and adjust the OB or CB until it is a straight shot to the right side of the corner pocket. Line up to shoot into the right side of the pocket and move your whole cue to the inside (left). Do not pivot to the inside! Move the bridge and back hand in unison to the left. Shoot straight through on this new parallel line and watch the CB deflect to the right and the OB to the left into the center of the pocket. Experiment and find how much TOI you need to achieve the finishing cut from the outside of the pocket to the center of the pocket. This is all the deflection you will need and is your TOI amount you will use on most shots. I general the farther you are away for the OB the less TOI you will use. To start using TOI aim like you normally do to the outside of the pocket move to the TOI position and deflect the ball into the center of the pocket.
It took a long time to figure how it really works. I went through a lot of hard times to learn all that he shared with me. My game went down for a couple of years but I came out the other end a much better player and with a better understanding of the game general. I kept looking for the things he shared with me in pro players to confirm his teachings. These subtle things are there in many pros and are powerful when you can apply them unconsciously. There were lots of these little changes that added up in my game. I think most people’s aversion to TOI, CTE, or anything new is it takes a lot of work to figure these things out. Most people give up too soon to ever see the results because as it hurts the ego and many go back to their old ways. Changes are hard to do and will difficult in the interim.
A major change for me was going from looking at the OB last to looking at the CB last. It was hard but key to my new success. This is still personal preference for many. Lots of pros shoot this way but not all. CJ is right; the game is all about hitting the CB accurately. All your aiming, however you do it, is done in the standing position. This has been confirmed by many pros I asked about this. Johnny Archer talked about this in detail in his TAR match with SVB. Check it out.
Another change is trust in the idea that you are hitting with the cue offset and not at center CB. This becomes your new center. What is weird is this is counter intuitive to the way most are taught to shoot. Many players look straight down the cue like sighting a gun and aim with this. However, after learning from CJ, Stan Shuffet, and extensively talking with many pros I now realize that the cue is usually across the sight line in some form or another. Many players do this now and don’t realize it. TOO is a great example of this. The cue is across the shot line not inline with it to make the shot. Shane and Earl are TOO players. Shane has told me he uses TOO on most of his shots. This is where the crazy accuracy comes into play with TOI or even TOO, because the unconscious mind makes the adjustments for you in the aiming process. Yes, it seems like you are relying instinct but we all do the same when using TOO. So this concept is something most of us are already familiar with to some extent.
Here is where TOI gets interesting for me. As you move inside to the TOI position with your tip, the tip/shaft is now pointing toward the contact point/shot line instead of out in space. This is where CJ talks about simply connecting the dots for the shot to happen unconsciously. All you have to do is align your tip or part of your shaft towards the contact point/shot line, set and shoot. CJ told me his cue points towards the contact point. And this works powerfully. Now I just align part of my shaft to the contact point/shot line from the TOI position and let the unconscious mind work for me. It seems like magic but I am making more shots more accurately then ever in my life. I know shaft aiming has been talked about before but it has a solid application with TOI.
One subtle advantage TOI offers is a neutral cue ball after the CB/OB hit. It makes it easier to move the ball around with precision and control. Yes, I still spin balls to create different angles off the rails but not as often, maybe only 10-20 % of the time. TOI is not about English or spin! It is about deflection with the parallel shift. Any tiny amount of spin you get from hitting off center is cancelled out by the contact between the CB and OB giving you a nice neutral cue ball that is controllable. The hardest adjustment with TOI is you now have new set of speed control drills to practice, as the CB seems heavier. This took time.
Overall TOI for me has been a hard journey with moments of struggles on my way to shooting bliss. It really has brought me awareness into how a slight off center hit changes the out come of the shot and that hitting the cue ball accurately is so important. I have found shooting heaven with TOI. I don’t feel like I would have learned as much if I did not go though those struggles. All I can say is I now feel like I can’t miss and TOI has gotten me there. However, I do miss, we all miss, now I just miss less and I am a more consistent player with all the techniques CJ shared and TOI.
