Breathing

Jason Robichaud

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Do you change your breathing during play? I never thought about it until the other day. I ate a lot and got down on the shot... didn't feel right. I did a big exhale and little breaths while down. I felt more steady. Works even better when not stuffed.

I did a search with no results. Anyone have info on breathing while under pressure?
 
Do you change your breathing during play? I never thought about it until the other day. I ate a lot and got down on the shot... didn't feel right. I did a big exhale and little breaths while down. I felt more steady. Works even better when not stuffed.

I did a search with no results. Anyone have info on breathing while under pressure?

I've heard if you exhale (from your belly, not just simply breathing out) while down on a tough shot, it helps immensely.
 
breathing

Do you change your breathing during play? I never thought about it until the other day. I ate a lot and got down on the shot... didn't feel right. I did a big exhale and little breaths while down. I felt more steady. Works even better when not stuffed.

I did a search with no results. Anyone have info on breathing while under pressure?

First off, let me say it is something I am fond of, breathing. When I am doing something of very fixed duration I have found some advantage to a set breathing pattern and perhaps a half breath and a pause as I fired. However when doing things like shooting pool while I use the same basic timing and patterns it isn't exactly the same from shot to shot. I find that breathing moderately deeply, slow and smooth, works best. I don't try to time the breathing to the shot. I played around with holding my breath with the half sip of air but I seriously found I sometimes wasn't ready to shoot and ran out of air before I was comfortable with the shot.

Hu
 
IMO, if you're not holding yor breath long enough to pass out...dont worry about it. There are a lot of things in pool worth thinking about other than breathing. We're not swiming here people. Straight stroke....=very important. Johnnyt
 
There is a relaxation technique known as "centering". I'm sure if you do some searching you can find an excerpt from my 9 Ball book that covers that subject in depth, and explains how to apply this technique to your game.
 
IMO, if you're not holding yor breath long enough to pass out...dont worry about it. There are a lot of things in pool worth thinking about other than breathing. We're not swiming here people. Straight stroke....=very important. Johnnyt

Well, IMO, we are shooting pool!!! Go read what a sniper or pro shooters do and then let me know what you think! And all they do is pull a trigger, they don't even need a stroke.

I don't over look anything that might help me improve. IMO changing my breathing... controlling heart rate will do that.
 
Well, IMO, we are shooting pool!!! Go read what a sniper or pro shooters do and then let me know what you think! And all they do is pull a trigger, they don't even need a stroke.

I don't over look anything that might help me improve. IMO changing my breathing... controlling heart rate will do that.

I was in Cold Weather Special Forces. Yes, I was a trained Army Sniper. I know how to breath when I shoot a rifle or handgun and when I shoot pool. What I was saying was there are a lot of things to worry about in pool before how to breath on a shot. Tired of all this nit shit. Johnnyt
 
I was in Cold Weather Special Forces. Yes, I was a trained Army Sniper. I know how to breath when I shoot a rifle or handgun and when I shoot pool. What I was saying was there are a lot of things to worry about in pool before how to breath on a shot. Tired of all this nit shit. Johnnyt

For those that can get something out of it, here are some videos that explain the centering technique to refocus. These are some videos from a clinic that was put on by Dr. Dan Gould, and the techniques covered apply to all sports.

How-to-Refocus-with-Breathing-in-Sport-Part-1

How-to-Refocus-with-Breathing-in-Sport-Part-2

If you are looking for some tips on the mental game that can be directly applied to your game, there are many videos available on this video site.
 
I was in Cold Weather Special Forces. Yes, I was a trained Army Sniper. I know how to breath when I shoot a rifle or handgun and when I shoot pool. What I was saying was there are a lot of things to worry about in pool before how to breath on a shot. Tired of all this nit shit. Johnnyt

LOL, is there anything you haven't done? I love your post. Smorg = funny... JonnyT = must read. I give you the thumbs up for most interesting. I have a feeling the boring parts of your life would top my most exciting.
 
I too am also fond of breathing. I try to do it as much as possible.

Tanden breathing. Fill your tummy up first and as your tummy expands, continue upwards until your lungs are full. Breath out thru your mouth.
This is how we should breathe anyway, but doing this during a match has a way of both centering and grounding. For some strange reason when I get wound up during play, I sometimes find myself mildly hyper ventillating and I tanden breathe to slow myself down and relax.
 
I was in Cold Weather Special Forces. Yes, I was a trained Army Sniper. I know how to breath when I shoot a rifle or handgun and when I shoot pool. What I was saying was there are a lot of things to worry about in pool before how to breath on a shot. Tired of all this nit shit. Johnnyt
A sniper was asked after he took out an individual holding a hostage what he felt after he pulled the trigger. He looked the person in the eye without blinking and said, "Recoil".:p
 
LOL, is there anything you haven't done? I love your post. Smorg = funny... JonnyT = must read. I give you the thumbs up for most interesting. I have a feeling the boring parts of your life would top my most exciting.

Is there anything I haven't done? I haven't died yet. But all kidding aside, I have done just about everything I wanted to do. Jumping out of the plane with a shute was not something I'd do again. Needed to change underwear after I landed safely. I enjoy your post also Jason. Johnnyt
 
Is there anything I haven't done? I haven't died yet. But all kidding aside, I have done just about everything I wanted to do. Jumping out of the plane with a shute was not something I'd do again. Needed to change underwear after I landed safely. I enjoy your post also Jason. Johnnyt

Hey Johnny, I plan on jumping out of a plane in 2 months for my 30th Bday and I am scared to death of heights, the thought of high places and looking over an edge gets my palms sweaty, I might have to wear Depends! :eek:
 
I did a static line many years ago. I was hanging from the wing strut and the jumpmaster had to pry my friggin hands off.
 
Hey Johnny, I plan on jumping out of a plane in 2 months for my 30th Bday and I am scared to death of heights, the thought of high places and looking over an edge gets my palms sweaty, I might have to wear Depends! :eek:

From what your saying here I'd pick something else for your 30th. I really don't think you will enjoy jumping. Then again, maybe it will be the cure? Johnnyt
 
From what your saying here I'd pick something else for your 30th. I really don't think you will enjoy jumping. Then again, maybe it will be the cure? Johnnyt

I am hoping it will be Johnny, to be honest I do not even like roller coasters as I almost died on one. This might be the closest I will be to death since I went through the back window of a car at 90MPH! :cool:
 
I am hoping it will be Johnny, to be honest I do not even like roller coasters as I almost died on one. This might be the closest I will be to death since I went through the back window of a car at 90MPH! :cool:

Would you mind telling the story on how you almost died on a roller coaster and the story of 90 mph out of a back window?
 
JohnnyT, you should be old enough to remember Dutch Harrison. He was a pro golfer, but he was mainly a golf "hustler", who played for cash with many of the pro's back in the early days of the PGA. (and could beat most of them)

He was also a top notch "sharker" (like Ronnie Allen, but much less obvious)

Sam Snead tells the story about he and Dutch having a big money match, early in Sam's career.

Sam was getting the best of Dutch, early in the round. They were standing on the tee box, waiting for the group in front to clear. Dutch said, "Boy son, you really have a sweet swing, maybe the best I've ever seen".

Sam thanked him for the compliment, and just as he was teeing up his ball, Dutch asked him, "Just curious son, on your backswing...do you inhale, or exhale" ?
Sam answered "Well gosh Dutch, I never really thought much about it".

As Snead tells it, he never hit another good shot that day, and Dutch took down the cash.

Moral of that story is.... Don't let yourself be distracted, by things that really have zero significance in how you play YOUR game.

Dick
 
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Would you mind telling the story on how you almost died on a roller coaster and the story of 90 mph out of a back window?

Sure Donny. Well the roller coaster I was on when I was about 9 or 10 years old I would say and was at Six Flags in NJ on a ride called Lightning Loop which went forward in one big loop and then did the big loop in reverse. I was next to my cousin who was about 13 and we were all ready to go but I was not secured into place by the safety harness. I told my cousin and showed him the harness could go up and down and did not and would not lock in, but it was too late we started to move forward so I grabbed onto what I could and made it through the loop, the bad thing was I had to go through the loop in reverse. A girl died on that same ride because of the operator not securing her properly. Here is the video of the accident the young lady was in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kONWwpo_rwY


The car accident took place when I was 20 and me and a friend left a party, both intoxicated and I passed out in the passenger seat with no seat belt on and the seat in the down position. He was on a mile straight away with a donut on the car and decided to do a 100mph, the curve came up and he just went straight through it hitting a culvert pipe and lauching us 30 feet in the air taking out some tree branches, I was ejected through the rear of the car.

I do not remember the accident but the noise of the crash and a few things after. I was covered in blood on a backroad a few miles from home and thought this is a shitty way to die on a backroad. My friend was still in the car with it on its roof and the car running, I could not get him out through the drivers door but did get him out through the other side. He did not have a scratch on him amazingly but he was in shock and crying as he looked at me and my mangled face.

I was calm like usual and asked for a smoke and he gave me one and I smoke it with smoke coming out of the holes in my face. A firefighter who knew me did not recognize me because I was so mangled but then realized who I was and was thinking I was not going to make it. I had to have 2000 stitches during 6 hours of surgery costing about $75,000, I talked to the surgeon the whole time and he was stunned I was so calm.

After I was stitched up and test done I signed myself out and went home against the recommendations of the hospital but I wanted to go home. I had a full head bandage on and was taking pain killers and whatnot by the handful and watching Casino over and over again for days. I am lucky to be alive but have a bunch of scars to show for it and nearly lost my right index finger which still has limited use.
 
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