rhythm of the stroke...your thoughts

Dan White said:

Fran, regarding your juggling analogy earlier, maybe a closer analogy would be the motion of a piston in an engine. The cylinder end moves back and forth like the cue tip, while the other end is attached to a crankshaft and moves in a circular motion, as the elbow would in a stroke where the elbow doesn't experience a start/stop type motion.

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I like the piston analogy - it's a vivid comparison of the two types of motion. The piston's physically connected to the crankshaft, so its straight-line motion precisely mirrors the rotating crankshaft's motion along that same axis. The crankshaft never stops moving, so the piston must not either.

I have found that the pause triggers me to think about relaxing those muscles completely just before the forward stroke begins.

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It's a natural trigger at exactly the right time and place for one - it triggers greater all around focus for me. I'm sure it's programmable to some degree.

pj
chgo

Dan White said:

I think the trick is that if you understand that the pause actually yields real benefits that you can see, then you will start doing it all the time.

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This has been my experience. :thumbup:

I can't explain why but I am more accurate and get better results with a pause. It could be just enough to eliminate tension. It could be improved focus.

gregcantrall said:

This has been my experience. :thumbup:

I can't explain why but I am more accurate and get better results with a pause. It could be just enough to eliminate tension. It could be improved focus.

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I was trying to make a point based on what Fran said, but I realize I never really made the point. I wonder if a pause is REQUIRED in order to achieve that little extra bit of relaxation in the hand. Fran talked about potential interactions between upper arm muscles that control the pause, and forearm and hand muscles. Maybe if those upper muscles are always in motion in one direction or another the lower and hand muscles can't really relax.

It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open... kind of like that.

Patrick Johnson said:

I like the piston analogy - it's a vivid comparison of the two types of motion. The piston's physically connected to the crankshaft, so its straight-line motion precisely mirrors the rotating crankshaft's motion along that same axis. The crankshaft never stops moving, so the piston must not either.


It's a natural trigger at exactly the right time and place for one - it triggers greater all around focus for me. I'm sure it's programmable to some degree.

pj
chgo

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The piston analogy works great for the free-flowing practice/preliminary strokes, but that final stroke is something different. It doesn't end the same because the cue is accelerating through the cb, and so it seems natural that it should also not begin the same. The pause is like a, "Ok, I'm set, here it goes" moment in time. It may only last a fraction of second. Maybe no one sees it, but feeling it seems to work for me.

Pause

The best pause I've seen in years is Jeffrey Ignacio. It's the transition point when the eyes come up and lock on your object ball. Within that split second, your mind takes a muscle memory pic of the shot.

BC21 said:

...that final stroke is something different.

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I've been experimenting with deliberately pausing on practice strokes, especially the one or two just before the shot stroke, to more closely rehearse the shot stroke. Still working out the details, but I like it so far.

pj
chgo

BC21 said:

The piston analogy works great for the free-flowing practice/preliminary strokes, but that final stroke is something different. It doesn't end the same because the cue is accelerating through the cb, and so it seems natural that it should also not begin the same. The pause is like a, "Ok, I'm set, here it goes" moment in time. It may only last a fraction of second. Maybe no one sees it, but feeling it seems to work for me.

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Have the greatest respect for many of your postings matey- but you ve shown up with something, which would give Food for a completley different *Topic*--
The "OK" which you described can be at the cueball itself (Point of no Return, Analogy of PSR taught by most of german Coaches), then it also depends what Kind of a PEP you are using (Person eye pattern, cb last, ob last, and and and. )-- if you for example have a super Extended Pause at the end of the backswing-- some Players gettin here their "ok"- (if that is a good advice, ...not worth to discuss now here).
Just wanted to say, that is not so a good example you came up with Buddy.

have a smooth stroke

Bob Jewett said:

Belt and suspenders and duck tape.

She has a long pause at the back at which time her eyes move from the cue ball and focus on the object ball. And, then, pow!

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So does Neils. I love watching them play but can't actually do it myself.

So what makes a person a 'natural' in sports? It's that hand-eye coordination thing they've got going called 'timing.' A natural athlete moves with great timing.

So those of you who feel like you want to work on your 'pause' in your stroke, I think it would be better if you think of it more in terms of developing your timing.

FranCrimi said:

So what makes a person a 'natural' in sports? It's that hand-eye coordination thing they've got going called 'timing.' A natural athlete moves with great timing.

So those of you who feel like you want to work on your 'pause' in your stroke, I think it would be better if you think of it more in terms of developing your timing.

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Very well chosen words- l like these sentences a lot.
Timing is important- and furthermore hard to develope..

FranCrimi said:

So what makes a person a 'natural' in sports? It's that hand-eye coordination thing they've got going called 'timing.' A natural athlete moves with great timing.

So those of you who feel like you want to work on your 'pause' in your stroke, I think it would be better if you think of it more in terms of developing your timing.

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I agree with this statement 100% ALL great "natural" athletes and I mean ALL of them have ONE thing in common- every single one of them has the ability to have EXTREME FINAL Focus at the point of execution- as the golfer strikes the ball, as the batter swings at a pitch, as a basketball releases from the hand, as a tennis player releases the racket, etc. etc. IN billiards, as Max Eberle once described, and one of the very best pointers I ever heard on the game- you need to be visually present in the extreme to focus on the shot making, while INTERNALLY present to execute the correct stroke at the proper speed to bring the cue ball to the next desired position. Each person can work out their OWN mechanics to help achieve BOTH of those elements simultaneously, but it is always the most naturally gifted ones that will achieve this most consistently, hence they are the CHAMPS! If you are one of the majority who NEEDS to WORK on this to achieve it, then it is just a matter of discovering what method WORKS MOST CONSISTENTLY for you - that REQUIRES a lot of private time on the table to figure it out

mikemosconi said:

I agree with this statement 100% ALL great "natural" athletes and I mean ALL of them have ONE thing in common- every single one of them has the ability to have EXTREME FINAL Focus at the point of execution

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Yep. We used to say they play every shot like the match depends on it - and in a sense it always does.

If you are one of the majority who NEEDS to WORK on this to achieve it, then it is just a matter of discovering what method WORKS MOST CONSISTENTLY for you - that REQUIRES a lot of private time on the table to figure it out

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It's the main thing I work on.

pj <- getting there
chgo

FranCrimi said:

So what makes a person a 'natural' in sports? It's that hand-eye coordination thing they've got going called 'timing.' A natural athlete moves with great timing.

So those of you who feel like you want to work on your 'pause' in your stroke, I think it would be better if you think of it more in terms of developing your timing.

Click to expand...

Was listening to the young announcers, not pros, talking about Shanes break speed/results compared to his peers in a match I just watched. They were trying to understand ''why'' he gets ALLOT more with the same forward speed. During this match, one time Shane made 6 balls, often 3 and twice 4 ''on the break''.

They were correct, his swing speed was about 80%....his results were over 100%. He's like a cat, who pounces/times their entire body weight on to one single target.

Island Drive said:

Was listening to the young announcers, not pros, talking about Shanes break speed/results compared to his peers in a match I just watched. They were trying to understand ''why'' he gets ALLOT more with the same forward speed. During this match, one time Shane made 6 balls, often 3 and twice 4 ''on the break''.

They were correct, his swing speed was about 80%....his results were over 100%. He's like a cat, who pounces/times their entire body weight on to one single target.

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I don't think "getting body weight into" the shot has anything to do with the speed of the CB - the soft flesh of the hand prevents getting even the arm's weight into it. Might help with his stroke timing, though.

I think his main "trick" is standing up as he delivers the shot stroke, so he can use his whole arm propelled by his shoulder muscles.

pj
chgo