So when I feel good about the shot. And it still doesn’t work. I try to emulate Efren with the scratch of the head and smile.
Practice practice practice
- Thread starter gregcantrall
- Start date
I tried that, I still have a thin spot in my hair back there! I do something similar, acknowledge I did something dumb then put it behind me!
I didn't notice this was an old thread at first and was reading from the beginning, not a bad thing! Your post about the SR-71 brought back memories. I used to laugh, another country would announce they set a new speed or altitude record. Maybe twenty-four hours later the US would respond. "We sent up a Blackbird, this is the new record. Some of those records were set when it was officially an antique! I don't know that we ever revealed how fast or how high that thing could fly!
Hu
Ah the Blackbird. I took my physical for admission to USAFA at Beal Air Force Base in northern CA. I didn’t see any of them but did get to watch a U-2 take off go to a 45 degree angle and go up till out of sight.
The original designation of YF-12A indicates experimental fighter. Kind of hard to dogfight when it takes 8 states to turn around.
I have to wonder what we have now. The Blackbird was 1950s technology.
I have seen one but just parked on the ground behind a chain. Supposedly all Blackbirds are parked permanently. Last I knew there were a couple of the older U-2's still airworthy. It is hard to believe the Blackbird was a fifties design but that is the truth. Like you, I don't think we parked them without a better replacement. We seem much less inclined to acknowledge what we have now. I do believe in UFO's from outer space but I also strongly suspect that the military knows exactly what people see sometimes!
The negatives used in the cameras were twelve inches by however a roll was divided. A photographer got ahold of some of that film surplus and built a camera to use it. He printed out sharp and clear panels twelve feet tall! I don't think there was anything about those beasts that weren't amazing.
Hu
I have been asked a hundred times by mid level Apa players why they aren’t getting better. When I ask how much they play they say 3 times a week at leagues. i try to explain competing is how you test your ability to see if the work your putting in is making you better. unless your a idiot savant Stroke and position drills and strengthening your fundamentals is how you’ll get better And that only comes through practice.
I have added a qualifier to the “Hit A Million Balls” method. It is “The Right Way”. It is so much easier to start with good mechanics. Barry Stark provides excellent coaching in that regard. I have habits that work but are not optimal. It is an ongoing task to modify those habits to the new and improved methods. So my morning calisthenics on the table has me focused on the mechanics of the process and the slightest tendency to back slide.
Competition has a way of making me go brain dead. When I go to auto pilot I want it to be the methods that my practice has proved to be optimal. However the old has an incredible half life. Habits habits habits.
Competition has a way of making me go brain dead. When I go to auto pilot I want it to be the methods that my practice has proved to be optimal. However the old has an incredible half life. Habits habits habits.
The Power of Zeus:
Lightning builds from the ground up. Yoga is a good way for me to remember or is it Jieu Jitsu? Anyway the foundation/footing is where it starts.
Lightning builds from the ground up. Yoga is a good way for me to remember or is it Jieu Jitsu? Anyway the foundation/footing is where it starts.
From the Grip thread:
One more:
The Pool Gods said I could transmit classified information because the unworthy won’t get/believe it anyway 
''How to do it right:''
1. Why are you practicing? What are your goals?
1. To find where my errors are then....
2. Correct my errors
1. Why are you practicing? What are your goals?
1. To find where my errors are then....
2. Correct my errors
The Pool Gods said I could transmit classified information because the unworthy won’t get/believe it anyway
When I first started competing almost everyone had secrets they held onto zealously. Many people had the same secrets and some were even found in print! I soon adopted a policy of freely sharing anything that I hadn't been told in confidence. Few recognized the value of particular secrets and nobody had the exact same set I did, or very few did. The same could be said of most other people too, we all had our own combination of learning and experience. Some experience has to be just suggested trying anyway, what works for one person may not work for another.
One thing I have seen competing and in the work place. Two people may have been doing the same thing for twenty years but one may have twenty years of experience while the other has one year of experience repeated twenty times! I laughed the first time I heard that, a coworker talking about a man's abilities on the job. After a little thought I realized the truth of the statement. Some people learn just enough to get by and their learning stops there. After that it doesn't matter how many times or how long they repeat what they are doing. They have plateaued and with no serious desire to improve on their part or belief they can, they are stuck right where they are. Amazing how many people put a glass ceiling over their heads!
Hu
I am just practicing my break and playing the ghost. I have only beaten the ghost twice playing 9ball. But, my win-loss average is improving and thus I am improving. To beat the ghost, I have to break well, stay focused, and I have to keep my fundamentals and preshot routine strong. When I am consistently beating the ghost, I will start playing tournaments again. Then, I will have the consistency and focus for better execution to possibly cash in the events in which I play. I am practicing 1-2hrs daily.
What I espouse is hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Going back into competition after a lay off can require a relaxation of expectation. When I can play for the sport rather than the result I get my best performance. If I can put forward my best game then defeat is evidence of a superior performance by my opponent and I can sincerely applaud and congratulate.
I am capable of going brain dead at the onset of pressure. I try to be aware that I am the one creating that pressure. Through competing regularly I hone my ability to find and use the pressure relief valves.
Practice gives improved skills but it takes competition to make me efficient at utilizing those skills.
I admit to using classified as uh? The first thing I think of is Secret and Top Secret. In this case the classifications would be Important and Critical.
I have been the grateful receiver of both Important and Critical knowledge from various sources. All of which were generally and sometimes freely available. I have been adopted by mentors who gave me information that they did make freely available to students that they found worthy. Barry Stark has made some incredible knowledge available. A student of the game would do well to study his teaching well and often. Can’t help thinking of this Well and often .
That’s classified!Every time I see this thread title I wonder why people are talking about how to get to Carnegie Hall on a pool forum.
Question I ask myself:
Is it the flaw or a symptom?
My most common miss has an abbreviated pause at the back.
Well let’s see. My pause is supposed to give me the purest focus on my exact contact point and the path through it.
Ok back to the practice table. Will make a note to self here if I figure it out.
Is it the flaw or a symptom?
My most common miss has an abbreviated pause at the back.
Well let’s see. My pause is supposed to give me the purest focus on my exact contact point and the path through it.
Ok back to the practice table. Will make a note to self here if I figure it out.
I prefer Shot Making Routine to PSR.
Gets me in a positive mind frame.
My SMR has many data or check points. When focused on one check point the rest is left to habit. Oh gawd old habits are SO hard to break. That’s the fun of my scales practice. It consists of 17 shots with the most difficult being the last 2. Generally by the time I complete the calisthenics I am ready to play my best.
Seriously,
Gets me in a positive mind frame.
My SMR has many data or check points. When focused on one check point the rest is left to habit. Oh gawd old habits are SO hard to break. That’s the fun of my scales practice. It consists of 17 shots with the most difficult being the last 2. Generally by the time I complete the calisthenics I am ready to play my best.
Seriously,