Back problems and CB Last.

boogieman

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
I've been having upper back problems, which are affecting my stance and fundamentals. Tonight I lined up in my normal way and just had one heck of a time making anything. I normally find the line from the ball to the pocket, then line up while standing, coming down onto the shot line. I make adjustments for CIT and all the minute aspects of sphere manipulation through HAMB while standing. I normally look at OB last and only take a quick glance at the CB.

The back problems were causing jerking and just no consistency. It felt like I just couldn't see the shot or that I was lined up wrong. Out of pure desperation I decided to line up in my normal way then focus on the CB and pay very little (if any) attention to the OB. I was pretty much just fed up with playing since I was doing so bad. When intently focusing on where my tip was on the CB and how to stroke it, the balls started obeying and the cue started "singing." My stroke was pure and my fundamentals/stance felt very good. It's as if the fundamental problems caused by back problems didn't exist. Anything from thin rail cuts to banks were sinking wonderfully with shape.

I'm thoroughly confused. I've never had much luck with CB last. I'd like to hear some of you guys' opinions on this. I'm trying to decided if it's just the act of intent focus on the CB, trusting my stance without adjustment or something else. Maybe my vision isn't in the regular place with the back deal? I just don't know. Does this make sense to anyone? Does the focus on CB eliminate some of the stroke problems? Is it just "new aim syndrome?" Why is this working? :unsure:
 

bbb

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
My two cents answer is
if your alignment is good you can make the shot with your eyes closed
Looking at the Q ball last with no adjustments stopped you from any steering you may have subconsciously been doing
Perhaps because your back hurt you may not have felt you were really in line and we’re making subconscious adjustments
So basically you trusted your alignment got down and shot
took a lot of variables out of the picture
I am not an Instructer and don’t play so good either
Jmho
Icbw
 

CocoboloCowboy

Cowboys are my hero's
Silver Member
Back problems are not fun, do you, or have you consider a foam, or gel shoe incerts in shoes.

Pool table sit on hard surfaces. Bad on back.
 

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
... My stroke was pure and my fundamentals/stance felt very good....
Have you ever tried looking at a video of yourself playing? Very often long-time players have significant problems with their mechanics that they are completely unaware of.
 

chefjeff

If not now...
Silver Member
Aging requires constant tinkering with one's stance so as to keep pain away AND one's game at the same level.

That means one's Set-up step changes, too, sometimes quite dramatically.

Every summer, I work on one improvement to my game. Some years, that is merely changing my Set-up to compensate for my aching body. It takes a while to know if a change helps or not.

Jeanette Lee said "patience" is important. She know backs.


Jeff Livingston
 

boogieman

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
My two cents answer is
if your alignment is good you can make the shot with your eyes closed
Looking at the Q ball last with no adjustments stopped you from any steering you may have subconsciously been doing
Perhaps because your back hurt you may not have felt you were really in line and we’re making subconscious adjustments
So basically you trusted your alignment got down and shot
took a lot of variables out of the picture
I am not an Instructer and don’t play so good either
Jmho
Icbw
Sound about right, I think I was making adjustments, nothing felt right and I had to keep resetting a lot while looking at OB last. I also think the act of looking at CB last made me focus and take my time since it was different. No adjustments to OB aim because I wasn't looking at it.

Back problems are not fun, do you, or have you consider a foam, or gel shoe incerts in shoes.

Pool table sit on hard surfaces. Bad on back.
I've got to where I wear crocs while playing pool. They look goofy but 6+ hours on concrete and looks matter much less! :)

Have you ever tried looking at a video of yourself playing? Very often long-time players have significant problems with their mechanics that they are completely unaware of.
I've not. This seems like very good advice, I recently watched the Mark Wilson clinic on Accustats, I have a tripod and plan on doing so just to see what I can learn. I also seen some things on that video I never knew about and will be trying them to help tune up my fundamentals. I really wish they just taught Pool 101 to anyone who starts playing, it would avoid so many bad issues. When and where I started playing, pool lessons weren't really a thing. It took years for me to develop what I considered good mechanics, relying on books and such. Watching "good" players (at bars, no pool halls), trying to remember how the pros on ESPN did it etc. After watching that clinic, I realize I've been real close on some things, but I need to get a video of myself and do some evaluation. I've definitely come to REALLY realize in the last few weeks that pool is all about fundamentals. When I'm on, I'm ON, when I'm not, it feels like I'm a joke! The only way to have consistency is with consistent fundamentals. I'm really hoping to get this nailed down so I can quite having off days, or take hours for everything to fall into place. I know I have real work to do, but I'm working at pool anyway, might as well do it correctly.

I was also at the Midwest Billiards expo, and I noticed a few things about all the good players. They didn't rush (dang it I like playing fast... too fast), their mechanics looked the same on every normal shot, minus shooting over balls, rail shots, etc. The players that did well all had solid fundamentals, even if they had a personal style, it was consistent.

Aging requires constant tinkering with one's stance so as to keep pain away AND one's game at the same level.

That means one's Set-up step changes, too, sometimes quite dramatically.

Every summer, I work on one improvement to my game. Some years, that is merely changing my Set-up to compensate for my aching body. It takes a while to know if a change helps or not.

Jeanette Lee said "patience" is important. She know backs.


Jeff Livingston

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I'll tell you one thing, don't ever split wood with a dull axe in an effort to split better than others! I won the contest but my back was never the same. It felt like hell and made my whole body weak, like a heart attack in your back. I guess it taught me a valuable lesson about bravado and it's results lol. ;) Good back to ruined back in a couple of minutes.
 

Boxcar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
When you're in the batter's box and the pitcher fires, do you look at the ball, or third base?
When you've go a 27 foot putt on a contoured green, do you look at the ball, or the cup?
When you you're hitting driver for distance, do you look at the ball, or the fairway?
When you're kicking an extra point, do you look at the ball, or the goal posts?
 

boogieman

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
When you're in the batter's box and the pitcher fires, do you look at the ball, or third base?
When you've go a 27 foot putt on a contoured green, do you look at the ball, or the cup?
When you you're hitting driver for distance, do you look at the ball, or the fairway?
When you're kicking an extra point, do you look at the ball, or the goal posts?
Point taken. I don't think I'll stick with the CB last, but I was surprised it worked so well. I belive (maybe wrongly) that if your stance and aim is correct it doesn't matter as much where you look. One way to test your stance and aim is to close your eyes and shoot your final shot. If everything is correct the ball goes in.
 

Boxcar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Point taken. I don't think I'll stick with the CB last, but I was surprised it worked so well. I belive (maybe wrongly) that if your stance and aim is correct it doesn't matter as much where you look. One way to test your stance and aim is to close your eyes and shoot your final shot. If everything is correct the ball goes in.
Depending on the location of the CB on the table, your stance, will by necessity, always change a little. Nothing is truly constant on a pool table except the exact location of the cue ball and the exact location of the OB. They are sitting very still. If I know the shot line and trust it implicitly, the only reason I will miss is because I missed striking the cue ball exactly where I wanted to strike it.
 

Poolmanis

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Look what works! It could be that you crook your stroke and looking cueball will help on that. Maybe later you fix your stroke and you don´t need to do that. Could be other reason too. Don´t let other say what best for you.
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
When you're in the batter's box and the pitcher fires, do you look at the ball, or third base?
When you've go a 27 foot putt on a contoured green, do you look at the ball, or the cup?
When you you're hitting driver for distance, do you look at the ball, or the fairway?
When you're kicking an extra point, do you look at the ball, or the goal posts?
When you pitch a baseball do you look at the ball or the strike zone?
When you shoot a basketball do you look at the ball or the hoop?

I don't have an opinion about where to look, but these analogies aren't like pool.

pj
chgo
 
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