Reading Pleasures Of Small Motions

[DrCue'sProtege]

I just thought that was an interesting statement. I won't bother trying to offer thoughts about it, because I don't think you'd listen, even if I had the best advice in the world.

yes, i would listen.
i ordered Pleasures Of Small Motions at the recommendation of some posters here. and ask Williebetmore, we have had some interesting conversations about the sport in Peoria at the WPBA event the last couple of years (not this year as i was not in attendance).

whats on your mind?

DCP

 

[catscradle]

i pretty much agree with what you say Willie. i highly doubt reading this book, or applying anything talked about in it, is going to catapult me to that next level.

when i get chances off of the break, and am in stroke, i can play pretty good. when the balls dont cooperate off the break (which is 98% of the time or more) there is nothing reading any book or doing anything can help you with.

for example, this past sunday in three (3) consecutive breaks of 9-Ball, off the break i made 4 balls, 3 balls, and 4 balls. two of those spreads i had no shot, nothing. the other one i had a very, very difficult shot to begin with - and missed.

guess the next step, after this book plays out, would be to find a qualified hypnotist.............

DCP

Try reading the "Tao of Sports". I'm not saying it will help your game, but it will put things in perspective. My game took a jump up after reading it, but it could very well be a coincidence. What was not a coincidence was that my attitude changed and I started enjoying my pool more after reading it.

 

[Icon of Sin]

Hey Icon, I ordered the book as well, I think the same day as DCP. It should be arriving any day now. Can I get in on that CC list?

You got it

 

[Williebetmore]

What was not a coincidence was that my attitude changed and I started enjoying my pool more after reading it.

CC,
Now THAT'S the benefit of the book in my view!!!! More people need to learn to enjoy the game - league night would be much better for everyone.

 

[pete-biker]

catscradle said it all.

It really depends of your knowledge about your mental side, if you don't know a s#it then even easier books will help to open your eyes and if you already are aware of something then go further.

 

[Cuebacca]

yes, i would listen.
i ordered Pleasures Of Small Motions at the recommendation of some posters here. and ask Williebetmore, we have had some interesting conversations about the sport in Peoria at the WPBA event the last couple of years (not this year as i was not in attendance).

whats on your mind?

DCP

Hi DCP. Well, I can't claim that I do have the best advice in the world, but I'll tell you what's on my mind. Certainly not a magic bullet, and there's no guarantee that I am any better than you at pool, so feel free to take it at face value. But you do sound sooo negative in a lot of your posts, that I think that is probably something you would benefit from working on.

I'm sure there are good books on this subject, but unfortunately, I don't have a specific recommendation. I'm looking forward to reading PSOM. Hopefully that will help you. Like someone also recommended, I have also heard that the "Inner Game of Tennis" is a really good one. I think you need to buy into the idea of positive thought, and try to dig up some good information on that.

If you use your creativity to figure out why you will fail, you will fail. Instead, you should use your creativity to figure out how to succeed.

Regarding that 98% thing, if balls aren't cooperating off the break, maybe you need more practice with breaking, instead of assuming it is just bad luck. Since you have a home table, you could consider investing in a BreakRak. I'm getting my table up soon, and I will definitely consider buying a BreakRak. With or without that tool, you might want to practice breaking, without necessarily playing out the games that you broke.

Maybe you need to take some power off of your break and work on control. If the cueball stops in the center of the table, there should be a good chance of having a shot on the 1. Joe Tucker has a book on breaking that tells you, among other things, how to stop the CB in the center of the table. I think its out of print, but its included in CeeBee's book, The Great Break Shot. Now, it sounds like I'm a salesman for CeeBee, so I should say, I'm not affiliated with him, nor do I know him personally. Joe Tucker, I believe, also put his break info out on DVD.

Sorry for the rambling style here, just "thinking out loud".

Good luck,
Cuebacca

Edit: Actually the part about how stop the cueball in the center of the table on the break, might have been from Charley Bond's (CeeBee's) section of the book, not Joe Tuckers. I can't remember. I think Joe Tucker's section in CeeBee's book is specifically on racking (Joe's out-of-print book is "Racking Secrets".)

 

[Cuebacca]

You got it

Thanks! I PM'ed you my email address.

 

[renard]

Im on chapter 9 now.

Im gonna put a list together for you guys that just purcased it of the parts that helped me out the most in my game.

How far into it are you? Also the book talks about concious and unconcious shots and how to practice. If you just started reading the book there is no way you had time to practice the way the book recommends.

Its not just read the book and you will be better, there are some parts of the book where you can immediately apply it, there are other parts you have to retrain your brain to think other things. This means specific drills and such.

I'll put a list of this stuff together hopefully this evening and email it to you guys. Keep in mind, Im no pro by any means, but I am a good enough shot for this book to help me. The parts I find useful may not be as useful to you, and the parts you find useful may not be helpful to me. Just gonna let you know what helped me the most. I highly recommend reading the book straight through first.

Good post Icon! I agree that you have to read it all to put it together. I have read it entirely once, and 3 to 4 times more in sections to further clarify points that were made.

All in all the book just tells you basically how the brain works. He offers no silver bullet. But with a better understanding of how your mind works you immediately see just how you were trying to tackle problems the wrong way.

People just dont work on thier mental game because they dont know how. This book gives you a place to start. Believe me you will have to try many different things to find out just what works for you in a particular area.

I'll post later just what the specifics were... gotta go to work now!

 

[u12armresl]

DCP,

,"when the balls dont cooperate off the break (which is 98% of the time or more) there is nothing reading any book or doing anything can help you with."


Who in the world barring you of course would do something that they have a 2% or worse success rate at?

For all of the people that say you help with your diagrams, etc, there are 100 of us who are tired of hearing about it.

GIVE IT A REST.........

This crap about how nothing goes right for you has reached the end of the line.

Of course a book on the mental side of anything wont help you, you don't even have the fundamentals of the physical part down. Your cage gets rattled if you break and don't make every ball on the break everytime.

 

[LowRight]

I thought there was too much emphasis on the mental edge and not enough focus on getting in stroke and rhythm, the physical part of the game.
John

What do you mean? The entire book is about the physical part of the game. As the author says "The mental game is 90% physical."

PSM is about how your brain works to control your body.

 

[oncepkt]

Hope this isn't a double post.

I haven't read the book in question, but it sounds like a look into the mind-body connection. "Resistance" could limit improvement, as with hypnosis. Resistance could be fear of loss of control or looking foolish, etc. Knowledge of this connection is helpful, along with learning self-hypnosis and a relaxation technique.

 

[Cuebacca]

Hope this isn't a double post.

I haven't read the book in question, but it sounds like a look into the mind-body connection. "Resistance" could limit improvement, as with hypnosis. Resistance could be fear of loss of control or looking foolish, etc. Knowledge of this connection is helpful, along with learning self-hypnosis and a relaxation technique.

Any recommended reading for this?

 

[Gage]

I think one of the most overlooked point Dr. Fancher makes in his book is:

Mental skills have mostly to do with how you inhabit your body during play. You won't improve your mental game simply by reading this book - but you can use the ideas here to guide your experience, which will develop and discipline your sensuous imagination, and therefore guide how you inhabit your body.

 

[Deadon]

your attitude sucks. play a good push, a basic safe, don't sit there and cry about your luck. next time i come to southern indiana i'm going to find you and take all your money and cues so you'll finally just give the game up.

-s

Don't be shy Steev, how do you really feel about DCP?

 

[catscradle]

I think one of the most overlooked point Dr. Fancher makes in his book is:

Mental skills have mostly to do with how you inhabit your body during play. You won't improve your mental game simply by reading this book - but you can use the ideas here to guide your experience, which will develop and discipline your sensuous imagination, and therefore guide how you inhabit your body.

IMHO... that's gobbledygook.

 

[NineBallNut]

DCP, This book, as any would be, should be used to gather information and try new things. No one would agree with everything in there, just read it and see if you can try to have a fresher outlook on some situations. I find it hard to believe that you would be able to read this book and come out with nothing useful.

Having said that, I see a lot of your diagrams and you are always playing for absolute perfect position and are devistated if you do not get it. Then your next shot is affected and you miss what was still a makeable shot. You need to be able to start taking what the table gives you and move on. You'll find that you will start making those shots that you missed while fretting about position and will run a few more racks. Once that happens, if you continue to have a more positive outlook, your game will jump up.

I tell you this because I used to be the same way, it was always woa is me, and I couldn't win. It took a lot of people basically telling me to get my head out of my ass and just shoot to cure me of this. Hope this helps you.

 

[LowRight]

Originally Posted by Gage

I think one of the most overlooked points Dr. Fancher makes in his book is:

Mental skills have mostly to do with how you inhabit your body during play. You won't improve your mental game simply by reading this book - but you can use the ideas here to guide your experience, which will develop and discipline your sensuous imagination, and therefore guide how you inhabit your body.

IMHO... that's gobbledygook.

It's not gobbledygook (although I can see how you might read it that way). What this is really saying is that you can use the ideas in the book to learn how to control your body better during pool shots (or during any other physical motion). Believe me, using the ideas in PSM can make a world of difference.

 

[predator]

I think Mind for Pool by Phil Capelle might be better for DCP like players. While that book hardly gives any real insight as to how mind works, it does teach you how to have positive attitude when it comes to bad luck, funny rolls, etc. All from player's perspective, without any psychological mumbo-jumbo. DCP seems to suffer from "I'm so unlucky" syndrome which so many players have. Technical term for this syndrome is actually called "whining".

Capelle's book really does a superb job dealing with other player's good roles and your bad ones. Luck always evens out in the long term.

 

[mnorwood]

Concentrate on the part where he talks about eliminating verbal thought and use more sensual thought. You need to see the shot and feel the shot not talk about the shot in your mind.

Speaking of not talking, if you think our advice sucks stop asking for it.

 

[oncepkt]

Any recommended reading for this?

"Intro to Yoga"/Richard Hittleman. There's a "Complete Breath" exercise.

To understand stresss/distress: "Stress without Distress"/Hans Selye

To learn self-hypnosis check the library or book stores, but stay away from the stage/night club authors. Look for credentials....M.D., Ph.D., Ed.D. Get 2 or 3 to compare approaches and to choose what you prefer. A quicker result would be to find a qualified professional to teach you. Hypnosis is probably best for stress management, but you can add other methods too, such as the breath technique. And, of course, hypnosis for putting your mind where you want it to be when shooting.