Great Breaking Tips From Charlie ' HillBilly ' Bryant

ironman said:
Charlie is a character and if you ever meet him at a tournament and ask him anything about this, he will stand there and go over it again and again until he feels he has answered your question. He is just that type of guy.

A couple of years ago he was playing in one of my events in Houston and towards the end faced Jeremy Jones. I'd never seen Jeremy so frustrated as Charlie for 4 consecutive breaks made two ball on the break and hung the 1 ball in the opposite end corner each time with the cue ball right in the middle of the table.

Jeremy in his frustration looked at me and asked, "can't you do something"?
My reply was, "What am I going to do, give him a speeding ticket?"

The only other person I've seen break as hard as him was a young Danny Medina. I would love to have seen them ssqaure off in a break contest when both were about 35.
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He seems like a very nice guy and it would be great to meet him in person and gets some first hand lessons .

Larry
 
Hey guys, this is Heather, Hillbilly's wife. I was reading your comments and just wanted to pass on a little FYI.

Charlie's first book is with the editor who is doing it as a favor in his spare time (which is why is has not gone to print yet... God bless Bob Dominguez). As soon as it comes out, we are working on getting a cue line done which will include a line of break cues so be watching for them sometime next year... I hope.

Also, I forced him to sit down and put his break routine on paper for when he does lessons. From there, we decided to try and do a break DVD. During hurricane Ike, we sustained minimal damage but what we did get was in the game room. The Diamond was not damaged (Thank god we didn't leave for the storm or it would have) but we do have some cosmetic repairs to do before we can start filming.

I know that his attempts at this subject in the past have been a little hard to follow but I covered every angle and had him break it down complete with drills for the DVD. When it comes out, you will have a better understanding of the process which should make it a little easier to learn.

I hope we can count on all of you to pick up a copy and maybe even a new break cue when it all comes out on the market.

God bless and I hope you all the success in breaking...
 
hillbilly said:
Hey guys, this is Heather, Hillbilly's wife. I was reading your comments and just wanted to pass on a little FYI.

Charlie's first book is with the editor who is doing it as a favor in his spare time (which is why is has not gone to print yet... God bless Bob Dominguez). As soon as it comes out, we are working on getting a cue line done which will include a line of break cues so be watching for them sometime next year... I hope.

Also, I forced him to sit down and put his break routine on paper for when he does lessons. From there, we decided to try and do a break DVD. During hurricane Ike, we sustained minimal damage but what we did get was in the game room. The Diamond was not damaged (Thank god we didn't leave for the storm or it would have) but we do have some cosmetic repairs to do before we can start filming.

I know that his attempts at this subject in the past have been a little hard to follow but I covered every angle and had him break it down complete with drills for the DVD. When it comes out, you will have a better understanding of the process which should make it a little easier to learn.

I hope we can count on all of you to pick up a copy and maybe even a new break cue when it all comes out on the market.

God bless and I hope you all the success in breaking...
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He's so smart with so many different aspects of the game. A group of us were relaxing in the bar at DCC and he allowed me to ask a few questions. I wont tell you the questions or answers because I don't want to ruin anything that might be in the book; however, I was sitting there smiling. Smart man.

I like what he says about playing by systems. There are back-and-forths between feel and system players on here a lot. It's nice to see a top player swear by them.

Heather, if you get a chance, ask Hillbilly more about systems in general. Does he use systems for aiming, banking, speed, etc.? If so, why? Would be an interesting read.
 
on systems...

Feel is a great thing if you have been playing for a really long time and have a great natural ability. Systems on the other hand, can help even those with no natural ability to develop a stronger sense of feel faster and gives a solid foundation. Have you ever had a day when you just didn't 'feel' the game and played bad? With systems, you don't have that and you also have the ability to recognize and correct mistakes effectively.

I, personally, use systems for everything such as aim, banking, kicking and even pre-shot routine which I believe is what has made me the player I am today. Without them, I know I would not be able to do the things I do on a table.
 
hillbilly said:
Feel is a great thing if you have been playing for a really long time and have a great natural ability. Systems on the other hand, can help even those with no natural ability to develop a stronger sense of feel faster and gives a solid foundation. Have you ever had a day when you just didn't 'feel' the game and played bad? With systems, you don't have that and you also have the ability to recognize and correct mistakes effectively.

I, personally, use systems for everything such as aim, banking, kicking and even pre-shot routine which I believe is what has made me the player I am today. Without them, I know I would not be able to do the things I do on a table.
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Chalk one up for systems. If Charlie uses them that's good enough for me.
 
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