Negative Effects of Aiming.

RD3P

RD3P

Banned
ok...here it goes

i did a drill the other day that Geno Machino was talking about in a thread

its the one where the cueball is in the middle of the table one foot above the side pocket, and the object ball is on the rail at the first diamond below the side pocket. you set up and shoot 25 times keeping track of misses then you switch sides and cut up the other side of the table for 25 shots.

i shot the balls like i normally would and I missed 2 shots on each side. not bad....at least im even.
the stroke i was using the cue ball was going back off the opposite side rail and landing in the rack area 80 percent of the time.

the 3 shots i missed were in the jaws they just didnt fall (35 year old Brunswick 8 footer, not really tight pockets but they are deep, and they have that oldschool angle cut that spits balls out)
anyway.....
the very last shot of the drill, ball 50 i missed horribly....
for whatever reason i started thinking about my aiming....(i think geno mentioned 1/4 ball hit for this shot???)

so i got an idea......
 
Last edited:
i reshot the drill thinking about my aim/headposition with everyshot....
i missed a total of 12 times 5 on rightside and 7 on leftside.

ive always been an instinctive shooter and ive came to the conclusion that
thinking about aiming gives me a sort of target panic or un-sure-ed-ness about what im dooing. its like the consious is sucking all the natural abillity and feel out of my game.

the only time i really recognise myself aiming is like a half ball hit(center to edge)....

but usually i just see the shot....then shoot the shot...plain and simple
i dont have to think about my aim because ive shot the same shots over lots of repetition

anyone else have a problem with thinking about their aim or using systems??????
 
Last edited:
Try this.

Try this if the shot is truely a 1/4 ball shot.While you are standing line up the 1/4 of the cb at the edge of the ob,this will give you a 1/4 ball hit on
the ob.So your sighting the cb 1/4 at edge of ob,your body should be off the center of the cb kinda on the 1/4 line of cb.Now walk into the shot on
that line an address center cb with tip.

Now keep shooting the shot till it goes,once it start going remember that shot picture.
You will be surprised what reppution will do.
Pay attention after the balls start dropping to the edge of you tip in
relationship with the ob.(THE GAP).

Do not shift the head after down on the center of cb.

I hope i didnt confuse the hell out of you.
 
I can't play with the same consistency while thinking about my aiming. I learned using what I guess would be described as fractional ball aiming (I think). I eventually stopped conciously aiming and all adjustments and alignements became automatic.

If anything these days I just recognize the angle, as I've made them a million times before.

I personally believe that you need to let subconcious and muscle memory do as much of the work as possible as you improve your game. I liken it to playing a musical instrument, you'll never be able to play complex pieces if you have to think about every note and fingering.
 
Thinking and executing at the same time is inconsistent at best,I have Genos dvd also and the longer I thought about what he said,my mind just went their after a week or so,not practicing it just thinking about it,now when I line up I am aware of it but not thinking about it and some of the shots I just dont miss anymore ,it is very hard to learn something new and go straight and apply it,once I learn it in my mind its already in my hands Good luck
 
You don't THINK about aiming when you aim. If you do, you'll miss, alright. Everybody aims, whether they think they do or not, whether it's conscious or unconscious.
 
Argh i feel you brother....
When i really think about aiming it always turns out bad.... Esp when i play people better than me.
When i play people i play all the time or people who are of lower skill levels i shoot quick and accurate! Its just the strangest thing

curiouser and curiouser !
 
I think about aiming on every shot. I think about where the CTEL is, where my instep goes, my bridge placement and my arc. I try my best not to guess or feel anything. Not saying I use zero intuition - I do. I just try to minimize the intuition.
 
SpiderWebComm said:
I think about aiming on every shot. I think about where the CTEL is, where my instep goes, my bridge placement and my arc. I try my best not to guess or feel anything. Not saying I use zero intuition - I do. I just try to minimize the intuition.
Click to expand...

these things are stance and stroke/solid bridge.....very important to have a comfortable and balanced stance....and a good stroke. when these two things are good the rest of the things are much easier....

you can take a average banger that say makes 3-5 balls after breaking and might run out 5 times a year and usually if you look at the bridge they use its unstable/inconsistant.....you tell them to make the most solid /stable bridge they can and consentrate on it mabee for 5 minutes before they start playing(the bottle drill is good exercise for it) and they will improve quite a bit in a very short time like to making 4-6 balls....

one thing you can do to people with a off balance stance is....walk up to them while they are down on the ball and tell them to shoot the ball dont worry about me......when they are in there backstroke just give them a little nudge/push ....if they move alot they are off balance... then just tell them too be as balanced as possible while down on shot....if you need to adjust your aim....then you need to reajust your feet too usually...

they dont have to stand like the guy on the top of the trophy(you ever notice the old tymers that were really good had this stance)

the younger shooters today dont really have that classic stance anymore.
i dont have that stance myself


......just be balanced....is really what matters in your stance.
 
Last edited:
I feel this too. I am working with Geno's stuff currently also and it's too early to say how it will affect my game. But I do find that I am uncomfortable trying to consciously aim using some formula or system.

For the record, Geno's stuff isn't a traditional aiming system, it's more of a method for sighting shots correctly and accurately, and letting your dominant eye help you out instead of working against it.

The problem I run into is this... I have a million shots built in from repetition, as Cameron mentioned.

Now I have someone else's system telling me where to aim and occasionally my experience and their system are not quite agreeing. Then you get all the questions and doubts... am I doing the system wrong? Is my experience wrong? Is my experience right but I'm seeing it wrong, and maybe I just steer the shot to the correct line? If I miss is it because I chose to go with one over the other? Or did I just happen to hit the ball bad? Maybe I made the right choice in aim but missed due to a stroke flaw. Maybe my experience in 'seeing' a shot has the stroke flaw built into it, if that makes any sense. So the entire catalogue of a million memorized angles is a little off.

All this doubt and questioning feels like overthinking it. It's not that I don't believe aiming methods can work, I just don't know if they can fight ten years of shooting the ball differently. I dunno if I have the patience to give 10 or 40 or 200 hours to the system.
 
Last edited:
Long time lurker, first time poster (I think). I really do hope that this thread can be furthered as this concept of 'just shoot the ball' has befuddled me for months. Although I have banged balls for decades, within the past 5 yrs. I have become quite a bit more serious about the game. It is weird, but the more I read and attempt to utilize the incredible amount of aiming related data I have garnered on this and similar resources, the worse I shoot. If I simply play the table, I comfortably compete with some excellent players. I am beginning to believe that my 1-2 hrs. of play daily only has to be increased by, oh, maybe 1-2 hrs. more, to realize some 'instant' gratification. Or, it could just be any number of weird things going on with my stroke/mind......Whatever, it is beer thirty here in OH and about time to kick my ass in some 8 ball on the old valley
 
I ask Earl the Pearl once about how come he is such a good shotmaker and he told me that aiming is "instinctive" and you shouldn't be thinking to much except when applying spin, but even that becomes "instinctive" after you have famliarized yourself with a consistent system or way of making the shot.

The key is making sure you are consistent in your eye movement and your approach on the shot, Oh and having a good stroke
 
center pocket said:
I ask Earl the Pearl once about how come he is such a good shotmaker and he told me that aiming is "instinctive" and you shouldn't be thinking to much except when applying spin, but even that becomes "instinctive" after you have famliarized yourself with a consistent system or way of making the shot.

The key is making sure you are consistent in your eye movement and your approach on the shot, Oh and having a good stroke
Click to expand...


BINGO....

id give you green for that...but i just cant do it


Welcome clovis....dont be afraid to post man.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top