way cool update!!!
i ran into Matt on Tuesday night, and he suggested we play a game, which he said he needed to do before giving me a lesson anyway. we talked a lot about strategy while playing. unfortunately, my shot making and position play left a lot to be desired.
after he'd trounced me, he said he'd noticed my stroke wasn't stable, and tried to work on my arm motion, but just after he started, he was holding my elbow from behind and all of a sudden said "whoa, whoa!! your Stance is all screwy!"
if you watch the Ortmann/Martin match on the 2011 World 14.1 videos, you'll see a pretty good illustration of what Matt said i was doing: leaning my body across the shot, with a tendency to a chicken wing. only unlike Oliver, i don't have perfect compensation for it, so what i ended up doing was swiping slightly across the shot. i was good enough at it that much of the time i'd get away with it and make the shot, but i'd always noticed that i didn't seem to be getting the kind of action on the ball that other people did, or when i did, it was random.
so he had me try to exaggerate the opposite by suggesting that i straddle the shot, almost snooker style, trying to put my right foot actually across the shot line. i guess the net result was just to make me actually straighten out for a change, rotating my body almost 45 degrees to the left and forcing my arm into an upright position with my body limiting it on one side. the accuracy difference was immediately noticeable, even the Sound of the hit was totally different. i practiced for a little while that way to try to drill it in, then called it a night.
next night, i walked in and almost immediately ran 31, my personal best! and even then, i just came up a little short on position for my 3rd break, leaving an insanely-wide cut, and barely missed, leaving it bobbling at the edge of the hole, with the rack wide open. could easily have done another rack if that one went!
then Matt came in, and we played again to 150, and sure, he kicked my ass, but i did get 40 off him before he went out at 150, so i didn't feel like a complete dunce.
the change has clearly increased my shot accuracy, but just as importantly, my position play is much more accurate; i don't have the cue ball squirting off in some goofy direction when i thought i'd just put draw on it, or tried to punch it a bit sideways.
anyway, i'm waaaay encouraged and excited already, and can't say enough about how helpful Matt has been. he doesn't even call this much a lesson yet, so i'm looking forward to that!
i ran into Matt on Tuesday night, and he suggested we play a game, which he said he needed to do before giving me a lesson anyway. we talked a lot about strategy while playing. unfortunately, my shot making and position play left a lot to be desired.
after he'd trounced me, he said he'd noticed my stroke wasn't stable, and tried to work on my arm motion, but just after he started, he was holding my elbow from behind and all of a sudden said "whoa, whoa!! your Stance is all screwy!"
if you watch the Ortmann/Martin match on the 2011 World 14.1 videos, you'll see a pretty good illustration of what Matt said i was doing: leaning my body across the shot, with a tendency to a chicken wing. only unlike Oliver, i don't have perfect compensation for it, so what i ended up doing was swiping slightly across the shot. i was good enough at it that much of the time i'd get away with it and make the shot, but i'd always noticed that i didn't seem to be getting the kind of action on the ball that other people did, or when i did, it was random.
so he had me try to exaggerate the opposite by suggesting that i straddle the shot, almost snooker style, trying to put my right foot actually across the shot line. i guess the net result was just to make me actually straighten out for a change, rotating my body almost 45 degrees to the left and forcing my arm into an upright position with my body limiting it on one side. the accuracy difference was immediately noticeable, even the Sound of the hit was totally different. i practiced for a little while that way to try to drill it in, then called it a night.
next night, i walked in and almost immediately ran 31, my personal best! and even then, i just came up a little short on position for my 3rd break, leaving an insanely-wide cut, and barely missed, leaving it bobbling at the edge of the hole, with the rack wide open. could easily have done another rack if that one went!
then Matt came in, and we played again to 150, and sure, he kicked my ass, but i did get 40 off him before he went out at 150, so i didn't feel like a complete dunce.
the change has clearly increased my shot accuracy, but just as importantly, my position play is much more accurate; i don't have the cue ball squirting off in some goofy direction when i thought i'd just put draw on it, or tried to punch it a bit sideways.
anyway, i'm waaaay encouraged and excited already, and can't say enough about how helpful Matt has been. he doesn't even call this much a lesson yet, so i'm looking forward to that!
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