renard said:Mjantii seems to be more in dead stroke when he is in rhythm I would guess. His breathing and taking the same time for every shot means an unbroken rhythm. Another key element he alludes to is feel. Straight pool requires exact position and the feel of the stroke is very important. By concentrating on his arm he is essentially concentrating on the feed back that occurs to the brain. My guess is that Mjantii is a higher skilled player...
-Form your own subtle reminders to suit your game.
-Find the reason for every missed shot.
-Be very methodical and analytical in dissecting those reasons. Don't beat yourself up for every miss. Pull yourself out of body as if you were analyzing someone else's game for them. Don't belittle yourself or your confidence.
This is good stuff and a very good analysis on my game. Kudos to renard ! With my list I bring out the unconscious level of my skills and renard guessed right that I am a "feel player". My rhythm and pre-shot routine happen automatically if I keep concentrating on my list. Also I've noticed that I can make some amazing shots in pressure situations. I'm not a talented player nor is my stroke "text book" but yes, I can punish some world-beater anytime
I've been playing for 17 years and the problem is that I've already got the stroke so my list won't necessarily work on a player whose mechanics haven't developed enough yet. If you haven't been playing much, your list should consist more details on mechanics such as "keep your elbow steady", "stay down on the shot", "don't squeeze the cue" etc. When your skills and mental game get better, you can drop a few things on your list and add new ones to reach the higher level of concentration and shot execution.Remember that high level of concentration consumes a lot of energy and you will need some water and nutrition to keep your level of concentration up. Your brain consumes suprisingly lot of energy.
