Shaking your head and sighing when you miss position
- Thread starter AimingVoodoo
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Yeah, Appleton sure doesn't get down on himself. I think feeling a little emotion and showing is okay. Like I said, implosion is a whole different animal.
Efren smiles, but we all know what's really happening, he's laughing at himself. You might think, "yeah, that's the attitude", but it's his version of acknowledging the mistake or failure. It's the same as another guys sigh. I'm not going to spend my time focusing on never showing emotion, I have a game to play.
You claim that you should be thinking about WHY you missed that shot or got out of line, but that's just as likely to send you down the toilet. If you are in the middle of your match, it's not time to think about your mechanics and why you are missing shots, it's time to start making shots. You hear golfers talk about it all the time. If you are on the course playing a round and you're thinking about mechanics and fundamentals, you are ill prepared and you aren't going to play at your best. You need to be thinking about the target, going through your pre-shot routine and focusing on the task at hand, not on the last shot and why it may have gone awry. It's no time to start messing with what your body had better already know.
At each and every shot, I need to clear my mind of all previous shots and focus on what I'm doing. If I'm out of line, I don't need to sit there worrying about WHY I am out of line, no chance of making the next ball doing that. I let out a little sigh if I'm dissapointed, and it's on to the next ball, no regard for the previous shot. I sure don't want to be thinking 'ah, I shouldn't have sighed, it shows weakness'. Bleh, move on and focus on what you have to do.
I may replay that shot later in practice if I feel it's necessary and at that point I can think about why I missed my shape or the shot, but during the match I have to think forward and focus on my next shot or challenge.
Efren smiles, but we all know what's really happening, he's laughing at himself. You might think, "yeah, that's the attitude", but it's his version of acknowledging the mistake or failure. It's the same as another guys sigh. I'm not going to spend my time focusing on never showing emotion, I have a game to play.
You claim that you should be thinking about WHY you missed that shot or got out of line, but that's just as likely to send you down the toilet. If you are in the middle of your match, it's not time to think about your mechanics and why you are missing shots, it's time to start making shots. You hear golfers talk about it all the time. If you are on the course playing a round and you're thinking about mechanics and fundamentals, you are ill prepared and you aren't going to play at your best. You need to be thinking about the target, going through your pre-shot routine and focusing on the task at hand, not on the last shot and why it may have gone awry. It's no time to start messing with what your body had better already know.
At each and every shot, I need to clear my mind of all previous shots and focus on what I'm doing. If I'm out of line, I don't need to sit there worrying about WHY I am out of line, no chance of making the next ball doing that. I let out a little sigh if I'm dissapointed, and it's on to the next ball, no regard for the previous shot. I sure don't want to be thinking 'ah, I shouldn't have sighed, it shows weakness'. Bleh, move on and focus on what you have to do.
I may replay that shot later in practice if I feel it's necessary and at that point I can think about why I missed my shape or the shot, but during the match I have to think forward and focus on my next shot or challenge.
Great advice. I'll just not do that anymore...
Yeah, the hand flip is a strange pool mannerism. The one I hate the most though is the guy that misses, and as he walks away from the table feels compelled to let you know what he intended the outcome of the shot to be. For some reason that one irks me.
Or the guy that says "did you see that great shape" after missing. I've just heard it too many times.
Or the guy that says "did you see that great shape" after missing. I've just heard it too many times.
just the other day i was playing one pocket with a great 3cushion player. The show of weakness discussion came up and he related a story of a world tournament where the one player mishit a ball and just kinda winced a little. The other player was Blomdahl I think he said. Blomdahl saw the guys expression and later said he knew then that he was going to beat this guy. He steamrolled him.
The hand flip has been around since the stone ages and will never leave.:grin:
The one I really can't stand is the guy who stands at the table, after his missed shot, either tapping the table pointing to where he wanted the cue ball to go, or doing a complete demonstration of a Visual Auto Cad diagram of the entire shot with his cue, wincing all of the while, keeping you from getting to the table to start your inning.
I like the smile acknowledgment on errors and am going to fake it til I make it.
The head shake and the sigh is very common. I don't do it anymore but I have done it before. I've moved past that now as per the advice in this thread mostly because I now have a more positive and focused approach to my pool play and I want to stay in the mental pool zone.
I have a friend that does sometimes say "Perfect position!" when he misses.
But what he does much more often that isn't helpful is whenever he isn't in the best mood and misses he will say "Merry Christmas" or "there ya go" unless I am totally snookered, acting like he's left me an automatic runout.
I have a friend that does sometimes say "Perfect position!" when he misses.
But what he does much more often that isn't helpful is whenever he isn't in the best mood and misses he will say "Merry Christmas" or "there ya go" unless I am totally snookered, acting like he's left me an automatic runout.
Yeah, Appleton sure doesn't get down on himself. I think feeling a little emotion and showing is okay. Like I said, implosion is a whole different animal.
You claim that you should be thinking about WHY you missed that shot or got out of line, but that's just as likely to send you down the toilet. If you are in the middle of your match, it's not time to think about your mechanics and why you are missing shots, it's time to start making shots.
But if your missing shots there is ALWAYS a reason, why would one not want to process ones mistake and correct it ? I don't understand your logic, please explain:
Mistakes are Our teachers, you can either learn during play what changes need addressing or do it later, I prefer to adjust, committ, readjust and by the end of the match my opponent has felt my adjustments. Being extremely aware of changes gives you a Huge advantage. Sometimes an error in ones game may occurr (for example your approach), if your not able to address its needs, it will stay there for the rest of your match. An adjustment could be as simple as food intake and realizing it, room air changes because of spectator numbers/humidity increasing. It could start raining outside, or the heat of the day could be upon the moment and the swap coolers kick it if your in a dry climate. Your opponent could of put power on their hands and transferred it to the obj. balls (Morro, Mex jump bean. and on and on.
The concept is right, the time is wrong. If I'm playing in a match, particularly an important one, I don't have the time to think about why I missed one shot. I shot 7 or 8 before the one perfectly fine. Dismiss the miss, focus on what you have to do and move forward.
Reflect on it perhaps later in practice, but if you work on your preshot routine and having yourself prepared for the match, you don't need to worry about why you missed, you need to worry about what you need to do on the next shot. Rely on your practice and your training in the moment. More than likely the problem can't be corrected on the fly and your going to start missing by thinking about things you need to change, when really you just didn't execute properly on that shot.
That's been my experience. If you aren't playing well, you didn't prepare well. If you are using play time as your practice, then, well, go ahead and make adjustments, but your game will always be limited by the fact that you aren't practicing.
Reflect on it perhaps later in practice, but if you work on your preshot routine and having yourself prepared for the match, you don't need to worry about why you missed, you need to worry about what you need to do on the next shot. Rely on your practice and your training in the moment. More than likely the problem can't be corrected on the fly and your going to start missing by thinking about things you need to change, when really you just didn't execute properly on that shot.
That's been my experience. If you aren't playing well, you didn't prepare well. If you are using play time as your practice, then, well, go ahead and make adjustments, but your game will always be limited by the fact that you aren't practicing.
Not sure if I agree to this. Also because of the way its stated. Wouldnt it be possible that some people actually NEED to get rid of their emotion because it would otherwise interfere with their next shots?
Ofcourse being a zen buddha is best, but I think many people can play great while sometimes sighing and shaking their head. You can be annoyed when you leave the table and when the next shot comes up you clean your head and emotions and get back to business: whats the lay out, what is optimal and so on..
Ofcourse being a zen buddha is best, but I think many people can play great while sometimes sighing and shaking their head. You can be annoyed when you leave the table and when the next shot comes up you clean your head and emotions and get back to business: whats the lay out, what is optimal and so on..
A very wise prophet named GMAC once told me... "if you have one foot in the past and one foot in the future, you can only piss on the present."
For get your last shot, it already happened and you cannot change the outcome. It is what it is. Crying about it is not going to change the fact that it happened. Live in the present and focus on the present.
It occurs to me that the emotions that present themselves subsequent to failure, or unexpected outcomes, in any regard should be dealt with, as well as realizing possible effects on you and your opponent. Whether it be directed at your mistakes or your opponents seemingly undeserved good fortune, I've watched many situations altered by those expressed negative emotions, causing a player to sometimes fail miserably, and other times bolstering their opponents confidence. Conversely there have been obvious moments where expected reactions were not expressed, unnerving an opponents, rather easy, next shot. It would be my goal to strive for excellence, but appreciate every effort toward that end. Coming from a perfectionist that is much easier said than done !
Because they know they're not getting back to the table for a while. Much bigger penalty for missing in 14.1 than, say, 9-ball, unless your 9-ball opponent is capable of putting together an 8-pack.
I'll mumble " stupid mot*$%+(%-er" among other pleasantries when I do that. Is that allowed if the shoulders don't slump or if I shake the head in a vertical motion?
Thanks for the heads up though. I've done that and ill stop that immediately.
Sent from my phone. Lucky you, you get the abbreviated version.
Thanks for the heads up though. I've done that and ill stop that immediately.
Sent from my phone. Lucky you, you get the abbreviated version.
To better understand how to go about matters, I've inserted numbers 1-5 within your text....and have asked specific question below pertaining to each number above.
#1. When your sitting down after you have missed, why should the sitting player Not think about why they missed, and adjust so as not to do it again?
2. Why, when you get back to the table, should one Worry about the next shot, and like you said, you don't have the time to think about it. But if your sitting down, I would think you do have some time.
3. Why...you said... ''more than likely'' can't something be corrected on the fly?
4. So your saying execution is why one misses, and others factors besides execution could not be a cause of your miss? Why?
5. But if I am playing well, there must be a reason why I miss when my execution is perfect. Should I just not think about it, and if the same shot comes up again, which it will, then I should just shoot it the same way?
Sounds good, but that doesnt make it nescessarily true
Reasons why you should NOT show your emotion:
- it could make your opponent feel more confident
- admitting to the emotion could make you get into that state of mind even more.
A psychologist has said that if you are unhappy and you force a smile on your face for as long as possible, you will eventually feel more happy too.
Reason why you should show your emotion:
- getting rid of your emotion. If you hit your knee against a table you could hide your emotion. But you can also shout it out and swear appriopriatly. Shouting it out gives some pain relief.
So its not about changing your last shot, its about getting rid of frustration. Though I must admit that most people who start sighing and whining tend to stay in that state of mind and thus losing concentration for the next shot.
Question: is being calm and relaxed inherent to 'being in the zone'? Or is it possible to be in the zone get out of position.. sigh and shake head, and still remain in the zon?
Obviously if the problem is that you rolled the ball too short or too far for shape, then you need to adjust for that. The speed of the table is something that needs adjusting for as do many of the environmental variables on the table, but if it was just a simple miss and I've been pocketing balls and I've been playing with good speed control, why change it over a singular miss? I need to focus again, on what lies ahead in my match, not all of the misses along the way.
Though what you say is true, I was actually talking about when they are still at the table, always clucking about over running, or coming up short on position. It's like they (we) have this need to let you know they didn't really mean to play position that way.
Lou Figueroa
