Developing Expertise In Pool

[CJ Wiley]

As with most descriptions, the wording is mapping terminology and not exactly the actual thing.
A pistol fired from the hip often fails to align the vision center to the barrel and upright stances, have that sense of the gunslinger.
The instructors using the sniper analogy are moving the player towards the head and shaft alignment.
The extreme interpretation of that is one eye down at cue level.
An analogy is still a mapping tool.
The key is to take the upper body structure into the aiming position consistently.
Footwork is just part of the start of that process.
Pulling that process back into consciousness at some time during setup assures the expert he can move from ready to aim and finally the fire stage.

The analogy is to stress that the eyes work together when the body is perfectly aligned with shoulders level. This reminds me of that the legendary golfer said when ask about "dominant eyes" (they called them Master Eyes) - Bobby simply said he doesn't know if he uses one eye more than the other, he does know that he plays better with two than he does with one.

The game is the teacher

 

[Imac007]

The analogy is to stress that the eyes work together when the body is perfectly aligned with shoulders level.

When taking the straight cueing priority to the table as prioritized over the aim line I’ve become aware of two things.
The relationship of the cue, the head (vision center) and shoulders set the one piece unit that leads the alignment.
The exactness of this configuration doesn’t have the luxury of the margin of error afforded the aim line, at the pocket mouth.
If you‘re off on alignment the ball doesn’t go exactly where you think you are pointing.
We need to trust that otherwise we don’t know how to adjust the aim line.
For me the eyes and shoulder behind my head both on plane with my cue give me the one piece setup where the ball goes where I’m looking.
I used to get to that plane a variety of ways when aligning my body and stance to the shot line, but all of those tweaks are no longer needed when I start there and then find the target.
The game is still teaching.

Addendum: misinterpreted what CJ meant and was triggered by the word shoulders.
The point about starting with level shoulders and a level eye plane sets a consistent reference point perspective.

 

[Imac007]

I now real eyes that muscle memory becomes more my friend by finding the straight shooting slot first.
My previous routine was to find the aim line and put my cue on it.
The mantra from there was to move the body to the cue when aligning, otherwise moving the cue to the body slot pulled away from the shot line.
The logic is sound and it works until it doesn’t.
In the flow of the game when everything is feeling good, the slotted stroke is where you live.
The instinct that pulled the cue off line wasn’t wrong, it was still in a straight cueing slot.
Where it was pointing was no longer the desired target, and already being down on the shot, that awareness was outside consciousness.
Putting the aim line first was the culprit.
When the one piece shooting unit is included in finding the target, it starts to become seamless and the connection grows.
Previously, in this thread, the idea of the extended self was introduced.
In flow, the zone, or just immersed in the game, the connection is part of the process.
The aligned self, the balls and the pocket merge into performance chunks and wholes, extensions of our selves.

 

[Bigkat]

Need to have some TALENT and then WORK HARD!!

 

[CocoboloCowboy]

If you wish to be great at any sport, it is a easy path to follow.

All you need do is work your behind off, some people have natural talent. Their path may not be so long.

Friends nephew spent 24 years on Navy SEAL TEAMS. He said many thought they want to be a SEAL.

Only those who really wanted it, and did not quit made it. They became SEALS.

Friend nephew is now retired, and building custom knives.

 

[Imac007]

I’m into my second week of the transition from using the aim line as my primary reference for taking the stance, to one in which the straight cueing alignment becomes my primary focus, and then finding the aim line, that points me at the target.
As with anything new it is a work in progress.
I can say my grip stays neutral, I stay down better, my confidence in picked aim lines is higher because the always straight stroke gives highly reliable trusted feedback.
This frees me to better mentally manage my game.
However successful, finding a very precise aim line, taking the time to get my body aligned to deliver a straight stroke down that line and control my perceptions to generate subconscious engagement can become mentally exhausting.
I am now in more of a
Ready
Aim
Fire
process and routine.
It’s so easy, to get into a flow and that can be a trap.
Straight cueing allows for precise contact, with pace and height of contact your main variables.
You see top players tapping the table with their tip or some other indicator such as a phantom bridge to position not yet attained.
The subconscious does the work but the conscious mind outlines the task.
Our sense of self evaluates the certainty of that being in our wheelhouse.

Mental management takes that up a notch into the arena of shot commitment.
Uncertainty creates hesitancy, reluctance and the physical traits to go with the state.
Absolute certainty produces confident physical actions matching that state.
Triggering that state as part of total commitment to a shot, can do no harm.
Adding a pinch of trust suspends any disbelief that might be lurking.
Learning about anchors and triggers introduced in NLP, lets you streamline that process down to a simple action trigger that induces the desired state.
If dissonance still persists rethink the shot.
Ask the contrary part, creating the dissonance, what it suggests.
Giving it its moment in the sun, then deciding to go back to the original option, allows us to commit fully now, having given other options time to make a case.

A mental toolbox of essential skills becomes more important as physical skills allow our expectations of successful execution grow.
Bringing reliable confidence to a wider range of shots raises our expectation of our play level.
Engaging up to our potential, provides realistic challenges helping us fine tune expectations realistically.
Old expectations need to be reshaped using techniques like reframing.
These are paradigm shifts of another type, self reflective in nature, turning the spotlight inward towards self appraisal.

 

[bbb]

Shouldnt the straight cueing alignment and aim line be the same?
Sorry i do not read all the posts

 

[chefjeff]

Shouldnt the straight cueing alignment and aim line be the same?
Sorry i do not read all the posts

I'm confused about that, too.

There's gotta be something to set up to.

I am trying some of this to see, but not sure what the hell to actually do.


Jeff Livingston

 

[boogieman]

Shouldnt the straight cueing alignment and aim line be the same?
Sorry i do not read all the posts

My goal is to be aligned on the aim line and cue straight. If the cue is wandering, your body isn't lined up to the line right. Unless I'm not understanding correctly it kind of seems contrary.

I recently went through a huge change on getting correct stance and alignment. Lots of work. Now that I've burnt that stuff in decently I get down into the shot while burning a hole in the OB aim with my eyes while getting down. 90% of the time the cue action is straight. If not, I do a little Dr. Dave shuffle and see if it fixes it. If not I get up and re set myself.

Where the eyes lead, the body follows. If it's not, it's time to figure out why.

@chefjeff advice about "soft shoulder" helped and strangely enough paying attention to my belly button and slightly tightening my stomach/core muscles has gave me a better idea where my body is. Your belly button should be at center of your body, it's a good reference, just don't tell anyone or they'll think you're insane!

 

[bbb]

My goal is to be aligned on the aim line and cue straight. If the cue is wandering, your body isn't lined up to the line right. Unless I'm not understanding correctly it kind of seems contrary.

I recently went through a huge change on getting correct stance and alignment. Lots of work. Now that I've burnt that stuff in decently I get down into the shot while burning a hole in the OB aim with my eyes while getting down. 90% of the time the cue action is straight. If not, I do a little Dr. Dave shuffle and see if it fixes it. If not I get up and re set myself.

Where the eyes lead, the body follows. If it's not, it's time to figure out why.

@chefjeff advice about "soft shoulder" helped and strangely enough paying attention to my belly button and slightly tightening my stomach/core muscles has gave me a better idea where my body is. Your belly button should be at center of your body, it's a good reference, just don't tell anyone or they'll think you're insane!

my belly button sticks out from the center of my body
what should i do?

 

[boogieman]

my belly button sticks out from the center of my body
what should i do?

Suck it in!

 

[ShootingArts]

my belly button sticks out from the center of my body
what should i do?

This is a much more serious problem than you realize, it indicates your core is not in balance with your zen being. You could have a plastic surgeon convert your BB to an inny, but that would just mask the problem. Afraid you are going to have to take twenty years of lessons with a true zen master to find you center. After that, the real secret is to adjust your belly button to a position one-half of the way to under your nondominant eye. Now you will be able to walk up to a table in complete darkness, get down on the shot, and when the lights are turned on find that you are perfectly aligned with just that critical touch of inside. Some may be touched more than others though and need greater adjustment. Putting a half-skip into the second step before reaching the pool table will take care of this.

Hu

 

[bbb]

This is a much more serious problem than you realize, it indicates your core is not in balance with your zen being. You could have a plastic surgeon convert your BB to an inny, but that would just mask the problem. Afraid you are going to have to take twenty years of lessons with a true zen master to find you center. After that, the real secret is to adjust your belly button to a position one-half of the way to under your nondominant eye. Now you will be able to walk up to a table in complete darkness, get down on the shot, and when the lights are turned on find that you are perfectly aligned with just that critical touch of inside. Some may be touched more than others though and need greater adjustment. Putting a half-skip into the second step before reaching the pool table will take care of this.

Hu

Hu
you always give such great advice.,,,,,

 

[Imac007]

Shouldnt the straight cueing alignment and aim line be the same?
Sorry i do not read all the posts

I'm confused about that, too.

There's gotta be something to set up to.

I am trying some of this to see, but not sure what the hell to actually do.

CJ set a hierarchy of importance with straight cueing at the top when assuming the stance.
My criteria at the time was the precedence of the aim line.
My view was that it doesn’t matter how straight you stroke if you are pointing in the wrong direction.

I would put the cue on the shot line then everything about taking the stance was committed to arranging the body to the cue, finding a configuration which kept the head on line and got the body into a straight stroke position.
It works until it doesn’t.
In the flow of play, the slotted cue and its muscle memory pull us into that subconscious state, and we return to it, the balls just going in.
Then without realizing it we slot the cue by pulling it into place but don’t realize we just pulled it off line. OOPS!

CJ revealed he slots the cue first then points it at the target.
You still need to find the straight cueing slot and the ideal stance acts as your reference.
Once the upper body is in place you keep it in one piece and find the target line.
I describe it as the old ready, aim, fire, trio.

I‘ve been bringing it to the table for just over a week.
I needed to be patient because results were inconsistent, as with most changes.
My alignment wasn’t always ideal and without a straight cueing delivery with eyes exactly on line the cue ball intended line doesn’t always match actual travel.
I tweaked my stance reference so that my setup aligns my vision center with my shoulder on plane behind it.
Of course the bridge and cue complete the one piece unit.
The ball goes where I’m pointed without fear I’m going to pull off the target line, because that alignment comes next.

The initial awkwardness of trying to bring this together at the table starts with the feet as CJ says.
Having your feet roughly in position means there is not a lot of repositioning to finding the target line through the cue ball, after you have your slotted straight cueing unit in place.

Another reason to using the straight cueing first, comes from our margin of error knowledge.
An aim line has a tolerance for misalignment provided by the pocket opening.
An off aligned cue has very little chance of success except on very short shot scenarios.
A slow rolling shot, straight or just off straight reveals misalignment the best.
There is a difference between your expected contact and subsequent path and the actual path.

Level of play has finally returned to my aim line primacy levels.
Shot success is starting to exceed that level and flow is easier because so much attention capital was expended trying to bring all the parts into alignment based on table dynamics, when the aim line came first in importance.
Alignment is more of a whole, less a pulling together of parts, however successful.
I’ve been enjoying the effortlessness of just going from shot to shot.

Hope this helps your understanding of the perspective change.

 

[bbb]

i started an old thread in the ask the instructor forum regarding stance when behind the shot
this was my question
i have bolded the part that i think is relevant to this discussion if i am understanding it right
if you stand like you are shooting you are getting into straight cueing position and finding the shot line
your thoughts?

..................................
...........................
.............................................
whats the best way??
or pros and cons of each?
some seem to advocate standing square to the the shot
ie your body perpendicular to the shot line
some players seem to stand angled along their shooting stance
behind the shot
is one way better than the other??
your opinions appreciated
This is an edit
To be clear I am talking about how you stand when you address the shot line before you step into the shot
My question has nothing to do with when you are down on the shot on the table
I apologize for any confusion to my question
...........
..............
here is a link to the thread
some players seem to stand angled along their shooting stance
behind the shot

 

[bbb]

CJ set a hierarchy of importance with straight cueing at the top when assuming the stance.
My criteria at the time was the precedence of the aim line.
My view was that it doesn’t matter how straight you stroke if you are pointing in the wrong direction.

I would put the cue on the shot line then everything about taking the stance was committed to arranging the body to the cue, finding a configuration which kept the head on line and got the body into a straight stroke position.
It works until it doesn’t.
In the flow of play, the slotted cue and its muscle memory pull us into that subconscious state, and we return to it, the balls just going in.
Then without realizing it we slot the cue by pulling it into place but don’t realize we just pulled it off line. OOPS!

CJ revealed he slots the cue first then points it at the target.
You still need to find the straight cueing slot and the ideal stance acts as your reference.
Once the upper body is in place you keep it in one piece and find the target line.
I describe it as the old ready, aim, fire, trio.

I‘ve been bringing it to the table for just over a week.
I needed to be patient because results were inconsistent, as with most changes.
My alignment wasn’t always ideal and without a straight cueing delivery with eyes exactly on line the cue ball intended line doesn’t always match actual travel.
I tweaked my stance reference so that my setup aligns my vision center with my shoulder on plane behind it.
Of course the bridge and cue complete the one piece unit.
The ball goes where I’m pointed without fear I’m going to pull off the target line, because that alignment comes next.

The initial awkwardness of trying to bring this together at the table starts with the feet as CJ says.
Having your feet roughly in position means there is not a lot of repositioning to finding the target line through the cue ball, after you have your slotted straight cueing unit in place.

Another reason to using the straight cueing first, comes from our margin of error knowledge.
An aim line has a tolerance for misalignment provided by the pocket opening.
An off aligned cue has very little chance of success except on very short shot scenarios.
A slow rolling shot, straight or just off straight reveals misalignment the best.
There is a difference between your expected contact and subsequent path and the actual path.

Level of play has finally returned to my aim line primacy levels.
Shot success is starting to exceed that level and flow is easier because so much attention capital was expended trying to bring all the parts into alignment based on table dynamics, when the aim line came first in importance.
Alignment is more of a whole, less a pulling together of parts, however successful.
I’ve been enjoying the effortlessness of just going from shot to shot.

Hope this helps your understanding of the perspective change.

thanks for the reply and explanation
i really appreciate the paragraphs.....

 

[Imac007]

i started an old thread in the ask the instructor forum regarding stance when behind the shot
this was my question
i have bolded the part that i think is relevant to this discussion if i am understanding it right
if you stand like you are shooting you are getting into straight cueing position and finding the shot line
your thoughts?

..................................
...........................
.............................................
whats the best way??
or pros and cons of each?
some seem to advocate standing square to the the shot
ie your body perpendicular to the shot line
some players seem to stand angled along their shooting stance
behind the shot
is one way better than the other??
your opinions appreciated
This is an edit
To be clear I am talking about how you stand when you address the shot line before you step into the shot
My question has nothing to do with when you are down on the shot on the table
I apologize for any confusion to my question
...........
..............
here is a link to the thread
some players seem to stand angled along their shooting stance
behind the shot

Dr. Dave has changed how he sets up his stance.
He no longer steps into the shot, he presets his feet then describes a variety of approaches.

I think it depends on whether you bend from the waist or from the hip plane.
I use a standard sheet of paper to explain.
Put it portrait style in front of you and grasp the lower left corner.
Pull that corner up and over to the right edge so that the bottom edge can be aligned with the right edge.
Smooth the paper with the edges aligned.
A crease is created diagonally.
Any other crease will fail to align the right side.

Bending from the hips creates a crease based on the hip line.
If the shot line is off my right side and my body at 90°, bending at the hips makes it impossible to get my head over the shot line.
Shifting my head to the right and aligning my shoulder behind it on the shot line, the hip line fold needs to be angled towards the cue line.
In my case, my right foot is roughly pointed straight ahead and my left foot shoulder width apart and the left foot if advanced straight ahead half the length of my shoe, lets me rotate my hip line so that my vision center can move to the line.
The rotation also pivots on my right hip bracing back its knee as weight shifts to the right.
Bending from the hips and locating my bridge on the shot line when the flat back is folded towards the right edge completes the setup.
If the right side does not align, to provide a straight stroke, one handed style, adjust the hip line, so that it does.
Note the foot position, the folded hip crease relates to foot placement.

Players who shift their hip plane by turning their whole body and bending from the hips still have to line up the head, cueing arm and cueing line, just starting from a different foot position.
The point of all this is to find the one piece unit alignment for the UPPER BODY.
Keeping that configuration intact the lower body is now given license to adjust to the table as long as that alignment can be retained.
The upper body gets some license as well for situations like forced stretches.
That said, the number of pros using extensions suggests they don’t like that and would extend their bridge length rather than lose a straight cueing slot.
I am comfortable with a rest so choose that over most reaches.

With my change of approach I still want my head over the line and my feet follow.
I‘ve noticed that my left foot is still advanced, my right foot is no longer square but the toe is angled slightly to the right.
The shot line is In background awareness as I align my vision center to my cue with my shoulder behind my head.
Obviously the bridge is holding the cue but unless the cue’s movement is not straight I never think about it.
If not straight it must subconsciously find the proper alignment, as I never think about it in process.

The slot for straight cueing becomes entrained.
The foot placement helps set the standard.
When on the rail, grip length changes to maintain the one piece structure.
Front of the ball awareness occurs when the face is obscured.
The initial straight cueing targeting still takes place and is trusted as a secondary awareness of the front of the ball contact generated by the straight stroke emerges.

I use the hip fold because it is consistent and I like the more upright head position vs a waist bend which is upright to keep a horizon line or humped looking down with limited horizon view.
I like my upper body one piece dynamic based on my standard foot positioning.
Find the one that allows you to deliver a straight cue and hold the upper body in one piece as you move around the table.
I suspect the angled feet at address is anticipating the head, cueing arm and cue alignment process about to unfold.
Most players let the head lead and the angled body creates a space for it to bend into.
Lee Brett would caution you about that as it is a table hugger trait.

 

[Imac007]

 

[ShootingArts]

Hu
you always give such great advice.,,,,,

I cudda been a doctor!



In all seriousness, those that start with a rough alignment and then refine it still have to have references to get that rough alignment. If we were to blindfold them would they set up at the first part of the table they touched? You can't even hit the cue ball without some references and alignment to begin with.

I think some that make the stranger sounding claims have been doing something so long that they combine steps without thought. I used to put the text in place and draw the pictures for procedures in a nuclear plant. It really could take ten or twelve pages to detail how to change a light bulb. However, leave one tiny step out and the lightbulb couldn't be changed until the procedure was amended. So goes it when writing to another that isn't looking at the same thing at the same time too. My written instructions to carry out jobs were painfully detailed too. Otherwise my entire crew would gleefully find an excuse to sit on their butt!

I talked to Lee Brett some when he first came over to the dark side. I don't know if they are best for pool or not, genuinely don't know, but his stance and alignment have to be first class. Tons of centuries on a snooker table and some 147's. That should be respected by anyone that swings a cue stick. I guess we will have to find a lady to get him to raise his shirt so we can see if his belly button is an inny or outty and exactly where it is located though!

Hu

 

[boyraks]

This is a much more serious problem than you realize, it indicates your core is not in balance with your zen being. You could have a plastic surgeon convert your BB to an inny, but that would just mask the problem. Afraid you are going to have to take twenty years of lessons with a true zen master to find you center. After that, the real secret is to adjust your belly button to a position one-half of the way to under your nondominant eye. Now you will be able to walk up to a table in complete darkness, get down on the shot, and when the lights are turned on find that you are perfectly aligned with just that critical touch of inside. Some may be touched more than others though and need greater adjustment. Putting a half-skip into the second step before reaching the pool table will take care of this.

Hu

"the real secret is to adjust your belly buttonto a position one half of the way to uder your non dominat eye "pls elaborate