Overthinking it...

[Kim Bye]

So I`m making adjustements to my stance, stroke and grip and I`m seeing big improvements in my mecahanics, but I spend som much time thinking about stance, grip and stroke, so I sometimes wind up missing the shot.
i know muscle memory takes a long time to set, but being impatient i still wonder if there are any ways to speed up the process...?

 

[crazysnake]

Once you're down on the shot there's no more thinking. Trust your body to do what you have asked it to do. Quietly observe the result with out judgement or praise and adjust when necessary.

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[bdorman]

I like Tor Lowry's stroke drill where you just stroke balls from the headspot into a footspot corner pocket...one after the other. You're not trying to make a ball; just practice your stroke. Do at least 60 in a session (4 racks of 15 balls). About midway through, you begin to "feel" your stroke and know when you've deviated from it.

Do 500 of them and you won't have to think about it anymore.

 

[Pidge]

This is exactly the best way to implement such a drastic change as you are in the process of doing. The problem with using your new stance, grip and stroke to pocket balls is when you keep missing you eventually revert back to what you did previously or get into some bad habits such as not cueing straight but instead cueing in a side was sweeping motion. If the reason is purely because you haven't mastered aligning correctly in your new fundamentals, then that's fine, as long as you are cueing straight.

By hitting hundreds, even thousands of balls into a pocket, by this I mean directly into a pocket like hitting the CB from the foot spot into a corner pocket at the other end of the table, you don't pick up nearly as many bad habits. You just concentrate on cueing in a straight line. Once you have your new fundamentals set in stone you can start implementing potting balls. This really does suck, but all the great snooker players I know of have had to do it when starting out.

 

[Petros Andrikop]

Meditate about that "non thinking" status during execution...
Start thinking about it, imagine yourself doing it, going there and taking each shot at a time without any disturbing mind process. Then just repeat it at the actual field, just do it...
Petros

 

[x3dnd3x]

So I`m making adjustements to my stance, stroke and grip and I`m seeing big improvements in my mecahanics, but I spend som much time thinking about stance, grip and stroke, so I sometimes wind up missing the shot.
i know muscle memory takes a long time to set, but being impatient i still wonder if there are any ways to speed up the process...?

I feel the only way is to keep practicing them shots and drills. I'm still in the process of changing my cue stroke to a slip stroke. As I don't have a pool table at home, everyday I'll use the dining table(so happen dining table's height is the same as pool table) to practice the slip stroke for an hour.

 

[nobcitypool]

Practice some drills where you are giving a great deal of thought to your mechanics. Hitting the CB into a corner pocket, the straight drill where you put the CB on the spot, hit to end rail and try to get the CB to come straight back to your tip is another. Be very methodical and even mechanical. Then shift to practice where you give zero thought to these things and just execute letting your subconscious take over. In a relatively short period of time, you'll start to see the new things you are trying to incorporate become subconscious for you. It won't happen 100% over night but will evolve. How fast that evolution occurs depends upon how disciplined you are with your practice and the number of repetitions you go through.

 

[SmoothStroke]

So I`m making adjustements to my stance, stroke and grip and I`m seeing big improvements in my mecahanics, but I spend som much time thinking about stance, grip and stroke, so I sometimes wind up missing the shot.
i know muscle memory takes a long time to set, but being impatient i still wonder if there are any ways to speed up the process...?

Muscle memory and second nature are not 2 of the same.
Missing is normal, especially when working on stance and grip changes.
Your left and right brain are colliding.
Make sure your changes are correct or you can screw yourself really bad, especially mentally.

 

[SmoothStroke]

So I`m making adjustements to my stance, stroke and grip and I`m seeing big improvements in my mecahanics, but I spend som much time thinking about stance, grip and stroke, so I sometimes wind up missing the shot.
i know muscle memory takes a long time to set, but being impatient i still wonder if there are any ways to speed up the process...?

Muscle memory and second nature are not 2 of the same.
Missing is normal, especially when working on stance and grip changes.
Your left and right brain are colliding.
Make sure your changes are correct or you can screw yourself really bad, especially mentally.

 

[Kim Bye]

I like Tor Lowry's stroke drill where you just stroke balls from the headspot into a footspot corner pocket...one after the other. You're not trying to make a ball; just practice your stroke. Do at least 60 in a session (4 racks of 15 balls). About midway through, you begin to "feel" your stroke and know when you've deviated from it.

Do 500 of them and you won't have to think about it anymore.

Sounds like a good dill, I`ll try that tomorrow.

This is exactly the best way to implement such a drastic change as you are in the process of doing. The problem with using your new stance, grip and stroke to pocket balls is when you keep missing you eventually revert back to what you did previously or get into some bad habits such as not cueing straight but instead cueing in a side was sweeping motion. If the reason is purely because you haven't mastered aligning correctly in your new fundamentals, then that's fine, as long as you are cueing straight.

By hitting hundreds, even thousands of balls into a pocket, by this I mean directly into a pocket like hitting the CB from the foot spot into a corner pocket at the other end of the table, you don't pick up nearly as many bad habits. You just concentrate on cueing in a straight line. Once you have your new fundamentals set in stone you can start implementing potting balls. This really does suck, but all the great snooker players I know of have had to do it when starting out.

Yes I`m forcing my self to use my "new" playing style, but i constantly have to fight of old habbits and it`s very distracting.
I also record myself with my GoPro once in a while to see how I`m doing, It`s very strange seeing oneself playing, all the flaws you think you have under controll is exposed, but even though I look like an ass, It`s a very helpfull tool.

Muscle memory and second nature are not 2 of the same.
Missing is normal, especially when working on stance and grip changes.
Your left and right brain are colliding.
Make sure your changes are correct or you can screw yourself really bad, especially mentally.

Yes I`ve spent quite some time thinking about that - What if I substitute one bad technique for another...
I record myself playing and try to watch Pro players that have a similar playing style and build as myself and sort of model my game around that.
Judging from what i see, my stance, arm, grip and bridge looks alot better now, but it just does not feel that way,

 

[Johnnyt]

If any of the thinking is negative (I'm going to miss this shot) it will get you. Johnnyt

 

[Allen Brown]

Practice some drills where you are giving a great deal of thought to your mechanics. Hitting the CB into a corner pocket, the straight drill where you put the CB on the spot, hit to end rail and try to get the CB to come straight back to your tip is another. Be very methodical and even mechanical. Then shift to practice where you give zero thought to these things and just execute letting your subconscious take over. In a relatively short period of time, you'll start to see the new things you are trying to incorporate become subconscious for you. It won't happen 100% over night but will evolve. How fast that evolution occurs depends upon how disciplined you are with your practice and the number of repetitions you go through.

Excellent advice.

Get some lessons from a certified instructor and you will be very surprised. I'd recommend Scott Lee for this.

 

[buckshotshoey]

11 good responses with good advice. But all of you are missing the first step. Whenever you change something in your form, you have to incorporate it in your pre shot routine. A pre shot routine is essential and once you incorporate your new stance or grip into it, you won't think about it anymore.

 

[CK6Speed]

I like Tor Lowry's stroke drill where you just stroke balls from the headspot into a footspot corner pocket...one after the other. You're not trying to make a ball; just practice your stroke. Do at least 60 in a session (4 racks of 15 balls). About midway through, you begin to "feel" your stroke and know when you've deviated from it.

Do 500 of them and you won't have to think about it anymore.

I agree. This is my favorite warm up drill now, or anytime I think my stroke is starting to get out of line. I wasn't a believer of drills before, but I'm a strong believer in this particular one. You get so much feedback that it is easy to make corrections. Sometimes the corrections take a coupe of racks of shooting those balls into the pocket and touching the tip to the table, but after 2-4 racks it starts to click together. I now do a couple racks at least of this drill before I shoot a single ball in with the cue ball.

 

[naji]

So I`m making adjustements to my stance, stroke and grip and I`m seeing big improvements in my mecahanics, but I spend som much time thinking about stance, grip and stroke, so I sometimes wind up missing the shot.
i know muscle memory takes a long time to set, but being impatient i still wonder if there are any ways to speed up the process...?

Main thing ensure your backward swing go 100% straight do it very slowly like sketching a straight line look at butt hand and shaft at first while backswingging. Follow throw in forward stroke.