Not to offend Elroy, but I am having trouble following your posts. Could you PLEASE use more than one paragraph.
Also help me out here, how much English is a Tad?
Also help me out here, how much English is a Tad?
I haven't joined in this debate because I'd kinda like to see the title of this thread disappear from the first page of threads, but if I'm the "one other guy" your referring to all I can say is that when I first started using A tad bit of spin on the inside or outside of the ball it was because I simply couldn't shoot a center ball without producing unintentional spin. When I started putting a tad bit of spin I started controlling the spin and the unintentional spin stopped controlling me. This seemed to me to be completely logical. I started this after playing for about five thousand hours. So you may ask, If it's completely logical why to take you five thousand hours to think of it. It's because I took me that long perceive the effects of the unintentional English. If you shoot a basketball and it hits the back of the rim, you lighten up on the next shot. If you keep hitting the left side of the rim you start aiming more towards the right. It's easy to perceive the ball hitting the back or the side of the rim. You can see it. In pool the amount of unintentional spin required to miss a shot that has been perfectly aimed at is not perceptible to the eye. The only way to perceive the unintentional spin is to feel it as the ball leaves the tip and then relate that feel to the effects when the cue ball hit the object ball. It took me a long time to perceive this. Once I perceived this then I think it was quite logical for me to think that if there is going to spin every time I shoot the ball than I should intentionally put spin on the ball and controll the ball while using spin rather than losing control of the ball by hitting it with unintentional spin. The next logical step was to say to myself, "you know, the more spin you put on the ball, the more difficult it is going to be to control. I'll put as slight a spin on as I possibly can." So that's what I did and my game improved drastically. In fact, the idea is to make it as as close to a center ball hit as possible without being a center ball hit. Maybe that's why C.J doesn't like to call it english. My desire was to shoot a center ball. But when I tried to shoot a center ball unintentional spin would result. So it was almost like I was hitting a center ball, but then I would put juuuuuussst a taaaaad of spin on the ball - just enough so that I could control the spin and not let the spin control me and not one degree of a tad more. Now... From reading these forums I've learns that some lessons with you fine instructors can be highly beneficial. So maybe if I had taken some my instructor would have eliminated unintentional spin on my center ball stroke so drastically that it would not have been a logical step for me to put a tad bit of spin on my shots. All I can say then is that I'm glad I never had a lesson with any of you fine instructors. What you instructors teach is to hit the ball down the table to the cushion and have it come back and hit your tip. Then hit the ball again with no intentional spin on it. This time shoot into an object ball. If you aim correctly it will go into the pocket. Well: all that is true on paper but I really doubt there have been any great ball pocketers who have done it that way. I wish to be a great ball pocketer some day . I don't know if I'll ever get there, but I think I know the path. The path starts when you've reached a certain amount of skill with center ball and you've reached a certain amount of skill with a tad bit of spin. That's when the pool stroke turns into art. The art is in the meshing of those two strokes. I continue to hit center balls these days with no unintentional spin, but when I hit those center balls, 50% of the skill that I employ on those shots come from a touch that I developed from practicing the tad of spin stroke for so many years. When I hit a tad of spin shot 50% of the skill I employ comes from a touch I developed practicing the center stroke for so many years. Let me try an analogy. Imagine a tight rope walker walking with fused ankles. He might walk for a long distance, but when he loses his balance a little bit to the right he won't be able to lean his foot a little to the left because his ankles are fused. So he might walk for a long distance, but all he has to do is lose his balance a little and he falls off. What practicing the tad of spin stroke does is take whatever is fusing the ankles off and allow the feet to lean to the right and left. Hitting a center ball is just like walking on a tight rope. Upon impact the tip sticks straight on the center of the ball or the cue loses it's balance and moves to the right or left delivering unintentional spin as it does. When a player practices the tad bit of spin stroke they develop a certain touch. Then; when they hit a center ball and the cue loses it's balance and the tip moves to the right or left this touch enables them to regain the cues balance and move the tip back to the center. Conversely, when a players practice the center ball hit they develop a certain touch. When the hit a tad bit of spin shot an begin to put on too much spin this touch enables them to halt the spin at the right point and go straight. Someone reading this might be saying, "The tip is on the ball for such a short time. That's impossible." Well: this is what I'm experiencing." If it's not happening exactly this way, it sure feels like it's happening this way. So Neil; I'm not saying that center ball hitting is the wrong way to go. It's the right way, but I'm saying tad bit of spin is the right way too. I believe they both should be taught, with equal weight of importance given to both.
