Can you teach Dead stroke?

[whitewolf]

Let me go a step further, when your tired, and sleepy, If you have the endurance this is when you will play the best, WHY? your body becomes relaxed, your eyes target longer, you brethe deeper, you just cant keep pace long because your mind is telling your body its time to sleep. At what point did this happen? it hits you suddenly then you maintain this feeling until you do what is ask of you, you sleep. well entering dead stroke is just the same, except instead of needing sleep your mind wants that ball... and its going to continue wanting that ball because you have also trained your body to enter a routine everytime you step up to the table, right? so in theory if you can stick to a routine you could have dead stroke, from the moment you grab your cue till you put it away..Or untill your Brain says now you need sleep, or you need food, your thirsty, or you need to potty....lol...

Understandable? did I explain clear enough that you can see this isnt your average routine? and that its differnt from what your teaching? Im not bashing you, I think what your teaching is important as I said, but thats not exactly what I call dead stroke.

Wheeeeew, you know it is very hard to explain this, what the hell was I thinking?

SPINDOKTOR

No wonder I play so well in my sleep .

All kidding aside, nice post. And also on a serious note, I play well in my sleep and even practice there. If I miss a shot, I repeat it over and over in my mind until I can make it with no effort.

 

[JoeyA]

stroke the shot, back swing as you brethe in, forward as you brethe out, let this set your rythem, like while playing a guitar, you can double an tripple the rythem, but you must first have a constant and steady beat to go from. This is your Key when you want to enter dead stroke, after you mind and body is relaxed, all you need to do while playing is Brethe, let this set the tone, this is your Rythem, this opens the door for you to become who you really are.

The ability to erase all thought and concentrate on the air you brethe has for centuries been the key to many things, pool is no differnt. Yes, I was having some fun with ya, but, did you do it? could you visualize the things I ask? if you try you can. and if you can do that that you can do anything.

There is no Magic not really, if anything its you, your are the magic, you can do things no Animal on this planet can do, you have a gift... If you learn to use it, you may forget pool, you may never get any better, but you will go places and do things you never thought possible.

If my fun bothers you, ahhh, whatever, I stick some truth in my BS, and who knows it might work for someone, but thats not the point, the point is you never loose a stroke, you loose the spirit to compete. So get off your butt, grab your cue, head to the hall, and find what dead stroke really is. some things contained here within are keys to me playing dead stroke. you find whitch ones..

SPINDOKTOR

Dont say I never gave ya anything, at least you have somone to talk about right? lol

Don't sell yourself short. Some of what you are attempting to communicate will help someone.

There is a lot of data on "the zone" or dead stroke and breathing is definitely one of the main corridors.

As in most things, it is fairly easy to know what needs to be done but it is far harder to actually do what you know needs to be done.

Nice thoughts. REP to you for putting your thoughts out there.
JoeyA

 

[JoeyA]

Ok, but why dont you let me try? did you read my intital post? no, you scanned it, because you knew it was BS. right? well, let me explain, when I enter dead stroke, I do it on command, whitch really isnt that often, I have no one to play on a regular basis, I mean it takes the fun out of it for me, it really does.

When I want Dead Stroke, I brethe, I match my stroke to the natural rythem, then I double it. this is where Im happy. This alone must be worth a couple million, (pay me NOW!! please?,,,,hahaha) anyways, this alone will not make you super man, or ( Wonder woman) but it does help..

you are going to do this right? you pretty much volenteered, so appease me... now let me continue..

When you are going through your eye pattern, do not flash your eyes, smoothe and steady your eyes go back and forth, whitch is also in rythem with your breathing..

give me honestly 10 balls, exactly as described and tell me this isnt working.. you wont be in dead stroke just yet but your headed that way.

First do the lil song and dance in the original post, then shoot 10 balls this way, come back, and tell me Im wrong, I'll shut up and admitt Im a dummy. but If you start to feel it comming, then Im going to take you a step further, and further, till you hit dead stroke, If I cant do it, ok.. bbut what if I did? you have to be honest, either way, and you must give me a 100% Prove me wrong! cool?

I love a challenge, please accept.

SPINDOKTOR

The smooth and steady eye motion is big for me. Thanks for reminding me.
JoeyA

 

[3andstop]

I mentioned what I thought about obtaining dead stroke in some other post, a while ago, but I'd like to offer a few thoughts on it here also.

Blackjack has hit the nail on the head with his reference to confidence and focus.

The longer you play this game, the more familiar you are with your abilities and the less likely you are at expecting more than you can deliver. Those expectations lead you down the path of confusion and chance outcomes. Both the exact opposite of confidence.

Anyway, primarily you need to have tons of experience at the game first.

Second you need to have experience experiencing "dead stroke" specifically.

Also, you have to be in the mood to play and to play well. You have to be looking forward to the feel and sounds of the game itself. And, a little killer instinct and desire to win won't hurt either. This, for me is my biggest roadblock these days.

IMHO ... the initial road to achieving experiencing dead stroke, is better served by playing a game that will allow you to "be in" dead stroke for longer periods of time. Just like obtaining more experience playing pool comes from playing pool for longer periods of time.

Therefore, I contend that while becoming familiar with the feeling of dead stroke (whatever it may be for you) don't focus on a game that will have you in and out of your rhythm a thousand times a session. IE 9 ball or even 8 ball. I believe those games will net a much slower road to realizing dead stroke.

To speed the process of obtaining the feel of dead stroke and the ability to call on it, play 14.1. Become immersed in the game.

Try not to think of pocketing individual balls as the puzzle, but rather obtaining a shot on the ball prior to your keyball as the puzzle.

For me, I find myself kind of automatically getting through the rack when I'm playing well, not really conscious of doing so. Sort of like driving your car to a destination. Getting there, but not remembering the stop signs or pot holes along the way specifically. Your focus is on the goal of getting to your destination. Thats why I try not to make my goal pocketing a ball or two in the run, but rather envision a bigger picture.

Just like no driver with a year or two experience can feel completely comfortable driving down a highway, neither can a pool player with limited experience play with the needed surety and confidence to obtain dead stroke.

I think you can teach the concept, but it is unachievable. Once it is an achievable thing, there is no need to teach it. It just happens.

 

[SPINDOKTOR]

I agree you need to have good basic fundamentals, if you have this, and have 3 years at the table, talking to the right people you can enter deadstroke as it is associated with pool.

you can look at shots and balls, and banks all your life, and never see what a player does entering dead stroke, people tend to try to use intelect rather than emotion, you think therefore you miss. you can look at the table, you percieve what nees to be done, but you do not think about it.

you can see a spot on the cloth, or target the rail for position, but you dont say to yourself, ok, high right, medium speed, 30* cut to the right, hmm, now let me compensate for throw, no, your just aware what you need to do, in most cases, there are some situations and methods for kicks, and banks, if its a shot that is strange to you, if you own that shot however the same rule applies, and this is what you practice.

Certainly you cant practice every situation, so some thinking is envolved, so it would be a good idea to buy a book or DVD to show you shots that are important, 99 cridical shots in pool by Ray Martin, may be a great book to do this, Ive never read it, but I have heard alot of good things, and an easy way to learn banks.. (someone was telling me about how the book describes one rail banks.. I think its acurate from what I was being told)
This you take to the practice table, and you own those shots, that way you need not think about these shots, because you have burned them into your memory.. If you see someone calculating everyshot, they have no confidence, bet... they may make a few tough shots, but if you hang with them they will likely self destruct, they incorporate Pressure, the wrong kind. Positive pressure is what you feel when the crowd around you feels pressure. That is shear motivation...and you can feed from that.

Why are Home teams tougher to beat? hmmm.. What about the third string lineman, setting on the bench, does he feel it? ofcourse.. you cant alienate pople because they may not have the hours in that you do.. honestly I think the best student would be a person in thier first year of playing.. you can eliminate the fear, and replace it with a positve emotion, instead of seeing certain death, they will realize this is a speacial moment and embrace it.

There is always going to be Professionals, and they are always going to be a winner and a looser in every match. Why not give yourself a fighting chance? whats going to happen? more hill/hill matches? I dont see a problem..


SPINDOKTOR

 

[AuntyDan]

Whilst bing in Dead Stroke/The Zone etc. is a desirable state, it cannot elevate your play any higher than the best game you are actually physically and mentally capable of playing.

In other words, whilst trying to figure out a mental excersise that will help you get into The Zone is good, improving your physical playing skills and increasing you knowledge of tactics, patterns and table control must take precedence IMHO.

 

[justnum]

The last time someone "teached" me something I ended up selling cheap shots of myself for public entertainment.

Dead stroke can be diffused from other players after many many practice matches and quality time together. Teaching someone dead stroke cannot occur, most likely will not occur.

Dead stroke is a natural development from years of active competition.