Ekkes is a genius!!! (long post...)
I gave it a try...and man am I happy that I did!!!
Let me start with the beginning (I think this will be a long post lol).
I love pool but I can not seem to be able to play consistent...have days when I play great and days when I can not seem to be able to make 2 consecutive shots...I tried all the training gadgets I heard of, I purchased all the training DVDs and books out there...but still could not reach a consistent game...
I even started to think I have a problem with my eyes, I became so frustated with the game that I started to want to quit...sell my table sell my cues sell everything
My main problem comes from the fact that my eyes lie to me...I mean when I play bad it seems that I don't hit the cue ball where I think...I look at the shot, it seems right, it seems I am hitting the cue ball where I want, but then boom, there comes some unintended english and the shot is screwed...some will say it can be my stroke - well then how can anyone explain that I have days when I sight the balls perfectly and I can align perfectly and have the straighest stroke possible...I mean really if my stroke is crooked then it should be like this every day right? But it's not, so I'm pretty convinced that the main problem that we as pool players are confroted with is getting the right sight picture before placing our bridge hand behind the cue ball - if the bridge is placed right and the shot looks good then the shot goes in 90% of the times, no matter how I stroke, either pendulum or piston / elbow fixed or elbow down...really this is the case, at least for me...
Going back to the SEE system - initially I did not trust it too much, when I heard of shadows used for aiming I started laughing, I never trusted this kind of aiming methods...but I purchased the initial version of the system after Ekkes guaranteed me that I can get my money back after 14 days if it doesn't work for me. I said hey, what can I lose right?
Well after trying the initial version of the SEE system for some days, I decided it was not for me - too many lines, too many reference points on the cue ball and object ball, hip alignment, I did not understand how to get down behind the cue ball and keep everything aligned, sickle moon movement of the cue (but where and when to stop the cue?) etc.
Still despite not being able to make the system work for me, I did not ask for a refund - the amount of information Ekkes put in his book was impressive, and I found out many new things that I did not find in any book or video out there, so I considered it would not be fair to ask for a refund.
A week or two ago I noticed this new version of the SEE system posted by Ekkes here on AZ forums. I played the video just out of curiosity, to see what he changed with the initial version. I noticed everything seemed easier now: shadow of cue ball to center of object ball orientation line, place lead foot and dominant eye on this line, the other foot pointing at the target pocket where the object ball goes, BEND YOUR BODY, HEAD AND DOMINANT EYE DOWN IN THE DIRECTION OF THE CENTER OF THE OBJECT BALL (keeping the dom eye along the orientation line): THIS MUST BE ONE OF THE BEST ADVICES THAT I EVER READ ANYWHERE, it helps keep your head going down straight and avoid switching eye dominance, this dominance switch is something which destroys your alignment without you even realizing!!! - for all the shots in the first category (0-22 degress) (and by the way you would be surprised how often these shots appear in a pool game - actually only with this 1st category you could run games in pool, because these angles are the ones everybody would chose to shot and they appear everywhere in a game of pool).
I thought come on, how can one make such a large category of shots using the same simple method, it doesn't make sense...but I said let's try it to see what happens...after one hour I was like WOW...what is happening, what is this sorcery
.
I said no, it must be one of my good days and I could probably shoot good using other methods as well...or it could only be the placebo effect of trying something new and be concentrated on how I align etc.
I forgot about it for a couple of days, busy with work etc. - then one afternoon I had a couple of free hours and I went to my table to try it again. Again WOW...it's still there, everything works great, I shoot so straight, balls fall everywhere...I said again, another good day, it can't be just because of this simple orientation line that Ekkes is using...
And then yesterday I worked with it again - and again WOW. Really I just hope that it never ends, and that I will be able to keep it working like this...I didn't shoot so good for some time...everything seems so easy, I sight the shots perfectly.
I think I begin to undersatnd what is happening - and I relate it also with Gene Albrecht's Perfect Aim - what this SEE system does is helping you get your eyes in the most perfect position to SEE the shot clear, and from there everything is easy...this is why it must be working despite how simple it is. It helps you keep your alignment all the way from a standing position until you bend down (again - the advice of how to bend down is GOLDEN!!!), and then when you are down at address position everything looks clear, it's so easy to place the bridge correctly and it looks as though you cannot miss!!!
Anyway this post is too long so I won't continue, but I'm so enthusiastic right now, I just hope I can make it work like this constantly, I pray that the magic won't stop!!!
And I look forward to receiving the completed updated 3rd version of the system - Ekkes do you know when it will be readyt? Can't wait to try the larger angles and the thin cuts as well...
Reading all the above again makes me realize that it sounds a bit like marketing - so I have to emphasize now that I have no affiliation with Ekkes, don't know him personally (actually here on AZ forums is where I first heard of him and his system - so thank you AZ!!!), I only exchanged some e-mails with him (by the way he replies so fast and is so willing to help!).
Mristea
