Perfect Practice Makes Perfect - How to Train your Tempo for Ideal Speed Control

CJ Wiley

ESPN WORLD OPEN CHAMPION
Gold Member
Silver Member
Have you ever heard you need better speed control and tempo? To master this element, and the speed control required to compete at the highest levels you want a way that guarantees improvement. I'm sharing the ultimate way to develop these skills so there's no excuse, when you commit to 3 hours this drill will guarantee your tempo will hold up under the most severe pressure! Let me know if you have any questions, this is your *gravy* for you pocket billiard biscuits!

Click here for the video - https://youtu.be/rDQjv6JakRw

The Game is the Teacher
 

HNTFSH

Birds, Bass & Bottoms
Silver Member
Thank you CJ. Makes a lot of sense, appreciate you taking the time and worth a run at the exercise. Is this more effective toward tempo than the Makers Mark in the video? :cool:
 

The_JV

'AZB_Combat Certified'
Interesting... So does the frequency of the tempo matter, or is it merely adhering to fixed rate...?

Personally I find 72bpm a bit fast for my comfort
 

kling&allen

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
CJ, I've found your discussions regarding the similarities between pool and golf to be very helpful. I never thought about the close parallel until one of your recent threads. As you probably know, golfers train with a metronome for tempo control. Lots of good pool players are also great golfers.
 

judochoke

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Mark Wilson did a video series on you tube, in which he timed Allison fisher at 17 seconds from start to finish as she got down to address the shot. Starting the clock as she got down on the shot, settling down, aiming, a couple of practice strokes, perfectly still for a few beats, then shooting the shot at 17 seconds. Do you feel this is too long?
I recently timed myself and i was 12-13 seconds. It’s working well for me to take that much time between shots.
 

CJ Wiley

ESPN WORLD OPEN CHAMPION
Gold Member
Silver Member
Interesting... So does the frequency of the tempo matter, or is it merely adhering to fixed rate...?

Personally I find 72bpm a bit fast for my comfort
You can feel free to change the bps's, 72 is not that fast, make sure you watch the video and see/hear how I'm doing the drill......Everyone has their own speed of doing things, many just lack the Tempo/Rythm to maximize the consistency of the results (especially in pool and golf).

1) Get Ready (Pre Stance Position)
2) Get Set (Go down to the shot using your hips to control your head, the hips have to clear to allow you to shoot out of the center of your vision
3) FOCUS (on the cue ball and freeze the tip where you're going to target the cueball)
then look at the object ball, pull the cue ball and Acc--elerate (release)
 

CJ Wiley

ESPN WORLD OPEN CHAMPION
Gold Member
Silver Member
Thank you CJ. Makes a lot of sense, appreciate you taking the time and worth a run at the exercise. Is this more effective toward tempo than the Makers Mark in the video? :cool:
When that Makers Mark hits someone just right they can have 2 left feet and dance like Fred Astaire.....Yeah, try the Metronome for an hour straight and you'll be surprised what it will do for your game. I recommend blending it with my "No Practice Stroke Drill" for maximum results.
 

CJ Wiley

ESPN WORLD OPEN CHAMPION
Gold Member
Silver Member
Mark Wilson did a video series on you tube, in which he timed Allison fisher at 17 seconds from start to finish as she got down to address the shot. Starting the clock as she got down on the shot, settling down, aiming, a couple of practice strokes, perfectly still for a few beats, then shooting the shot at 17 seconds. Do you feel this is too long?
I recently timed myself and i was 12-13 seconds. It’s working well for me to take that much time between shots.
17 Seconds is a LONG time if it stars when you she gets down on the shot. I'd say mine is between 5 and 8 at the most. I was taking 3 practice strokes, now I've cut down to 2 and playing a lot better.
 

HawaiianEye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
17 Seconds is a LONG time if it stars when you she gets down on the shot. I'd say mine is between 5 and 8 at the most. I was taking 3 practice strokes, now I've cut down to 2 and playing a lot better.

I see you are still using that cue you brought to Hawaii on your last trip.

I hit a few balls with it when we played here and I forgot who you said made it.

Can you tell us a bit about it?

Maker? (I think you told me it was a TX maker)
Length? (From what I remember it may have been a bit longer than 58” and the shaft had a long slim taper)
Weight?
Tip? (I think you told me Milk Duds a long time ago)

Did you retire the Blud?

I still have your Million Dollar cue in the closet if you ever want to hit some balls with it the next time you visit.
 
Last edited:

The_JV

'AZB_Combat Certified'
You can feel free to change the bps's, 72 is not that fast, make sure you watch the video and see/hear how I'm doing the drill......Everyone has their own speed of doing things, many just lack the Tempo/Rythm to maximize the consistency of the results (especially in pool and golf).
Oh I watched several times.... I can't say I've tried it yet. I will though.

At this point my pre shot back stroke is probably half speed of the contact stroke. Not sure how comfortable I'd find jerking back my back stroke, but hey..., you only live once.
 

CJ Wiley

ESPN WORLD OPEN CHAMPION
Gold Member
Silver Member
Oh I watched several times.... I can't say I've tried it yet. I will though.

At this point my pre shot back stroke is probably half speed of the contact stroke. Not sure how comfortable I'd find jerking back my back stroke, but hey..., you only live once.
Yes, if you feel comfortable "jerking" back your stroke. you will be comfortable with terrible tempo. The feeling is like you pull back a rubber band and let it release, the speed should be like pendulum, no "jerking" or your speed control will be inconsistent.
 

CJ Wiley

ESPN WORLD OPEN CHAMPION
Gold Member
Silver Member
I see you are still using that cue you brought to Hawaii on your last trip.

I hit a few balls with it when we played here and I forgot who you said made it.

Can you tell us a bit about it?

Maker? (I think you told me it was a TX maker)
Length? (From what I remember it may have been a bit longer than 58” and the shaft had a long slim taper)
Weight?
Tip? (I think you told me Milk Duds a long time ago)

Did you retire the Blud?

I still have your Million Dollar cue in the closet if you ever want to hit some balls with it the next time you visit.
I just got the cue I'm using now and don't know what kind it is, the shaft is one I had and don't know the brand of it either. All I know is when I put them together it's magical......I usually use a 58" cue with a professional taper to 12mm at the tip and the Milk Dud Mike Johnson has in Baton Rouge (Jenson Cues) is as good as any tip I've used. Bustamante used to buy all he had and I know Efren used a Milk Dud when he first came to the USA, I think it was a Elk Master......I use a Le Pro.
 

Gman***

Member
Have you ever heard you need better speed control and tempo? To master this element, and the speed control required to compete at the highest levels you want a way that guarantees improvement. I'm sharing the ultimate way to develop these skills so there's no excuse, when you commit to 3 hours this drill will guarantee your tempo will hold up under the most severe pressure! Let me know if you have any questions, this is your *gravy* for you pocket billiard biscuits!

Click here for the video - https://youtu.be/rDQjv6JakRw

The Game is the Teacher
Thanks CJ , I just got up from my pool table , played about an hour and I was having a great time . Exactly what your saying speed and tempo and concentration I had that as I heard you quote Dead stroke ! Came upstairs signed on and seen your new post what a coincidence ! Thanks CJ
 

The_JV

'AZB_Combat Certified'
Yes, if you feel comfortable "jerking" back your stroke. you will be comfortable with terrible tempo. The feeling is like you pull back a rubber band and let it release, the speed should be like pendulum, no "jerking" or your speed control will be inconsistent.
My point was your tempo (72bpm) in the video was way too fast on the back stroke for me. Maybe if it was double the length back to one forward, that would be comfortable.

Unfortunately I didn't make it down to the table today. I will give the metronome a try though.
 

CJ Wiley

ESPN WORLD OPEN CHAMPION
Gold Member
Silver Member
My point was your tempo (72bpm) in the video was way too fast on the back stroke for me. Maybe if it was double the length back to one forward, that would be comfortable.

Unfortunately I didn't make it down to the table today. I will give the metronome a try though.
72 beats per minute isn't fast, make sure you use 4/4 time......you can use your own speed of tempo, 72 is just a comfortable middle ground for anyone, I've went through it with several players for 30-45 straight minutes......this will also put the player in a nice trance-state.
 

CJ Wiley

ESPN WORLD OPEN CHAMPION
Gold Member
Silver Member
Thanks CJ , I just got up from my pool table , played about an hour and I was having a great time . Exactly what your saying speed and tempo and concentration I had that as I heard you quote Dead stroke ! Came upstairs signed on and seen your new post what a coincidence ! Thanks CJ
Developing a nice tempo for your game will make everything get better. You won't rush your shots, you will stay down on your shots (make sure to always watch the object ball hit the pocket) and, like any other art form you'll start to connect to the game at a level you never have. No matter how great a player's level develops they will Always be working on their tempo, which directly effects cue speed and cue ball control.

Play Well, the Game is the Teacher
 

The_JV

'AZB_Combat Certified'
72 beats per minute isn't fast, make sure you use 4/4 time......you can use your own speed of tempo, 72 is just a comfortable middle ground for anyone, I've went through it with several players for 30-45 straight minutes......this will also put the player in a nice trance-state.
Being completely clueless within the realm of music, I had to google what you meant by "4/4 time"....lol So you're suggesting that I don't time my back stroke at 72bpm but instead use 4/4 time, with 72bpm..? If I understand that correctly, that stretches out the duration between movements by a factor of 4. If that correct, then yes, it's certainly not fast.

For any wanting a metronome that also allows you to apply "time":
 

CJ Wiley

ESPN WORLD OPEN CHAMPION
Gold Member
Silver Member
Being completely clueless within the realm of music, I had to google what you meant by "4/4 time"....lol So you're suggesting that I don't time my back stroke at 72bpm but instead use 4/4 time, with 72bpm..? If I understand that correctly, that stretches out the duration between movements by a factor of 4. If that correct, then yes, it's certainly not fast.

For any wanting a metronome that also allows you to apply "time":
I would recommend doing the drill I show on the video, because it's not just the stroke that needs to be on tempo, it's from the standing position, to the "get set" position, focusing on the cue ball target, then look at the object ball, draw the cue ball and release or I personally use the word Accelerate.

When I've played my top speed I used "TOI / ACCELERATE" - I played the ghost on a table in Atlanta they called "JAWS" with 4" pockets and ran 27 racks in a row.......TOI / ACCELERATE on each shot....it works really well running balls in one pocket and straight pool too.
 

chasrwest

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
CJ, thanks for this video. I have been a musician my whole life and have applied this same technique for golf, shooting basketballs, helping my son with timing for pitching baseballs, fly fishing, even shooting, as you mentioned, but strangely, I have never applied it to my pool stroke. I have a pretty good rhythm in my stroke but sometimes rush the release step. I will spend an hour or two with my trusty old metronome in the next couple of days. I cannot believe that I have never considered this. If people have any musical instinct, it might help to use a specific, song that you know well, of the right tempo in your head when stroking the ball. That is how I timed my golf swing and other activities.
 
Top