I'm pretty sure Johnny talks about about how he uses the edge of the CB to CCB in the podcast of he and Shane. Either around minute 34 or 44. He explains it to some degree.
That's cool then I missed it. I will go back to watch.
I'm pretty sure Johnny talks about about how he uses the edge of the CB to CCB in the podcast of he and Shane. Either around minute 34 or 44. He explains it to some degree.
I.....God hooked those noggins up to be very very special. To reach their level, you will have to find and develop your own synapse connections. How long this takes will depend on a lot of things, not the least of which is choosing the right sport to go along with your natural skill and abilities.
....Silly huh?
www.KryptoArt.com
I always find these conversations regarding the scientific approach to pool very interesting. As an artist, I enjoy watching and studying how and why people do things, and in this modern era, everyone is always eager to find a formula--if you will--on how great people do great things. I understand the quest. We all want to learn the A,B, C steps to shoot and aim just like Johnny, Stevie, or Earl. And a lot of very educated people, many on this AZ Forum, have made great strides in providing this information. But as an analogy, please briefly consider a great sculptor approaching a slab of marble and taking that first chip from the rough stone. A book can tell you to chip away everything that does not look like the subject you are carving, and the book would be correct. But we all know it's not that easy. A great sculptor doesn't have analytical diagrams and measurements in his head like some super computer. His work is from inspiration and talent (be it hard-earned or God given). Yes, the sculptor will use some measuring devices to guide his direction as he proceeds, but most of the finished work will come from special insight within his mind, an innate sense that guides him and miraculously flows complex information from his mind to subtle movements of his hands. Many times, an artist will finish a great masterpiece and wonder how he could have accomplished the work. It is as if someone else worked from within their body to manipulate the chisel.
A great pool player is the same as a great artist. In the beginning, he probably found boundaries through experience or reading systems such as those described. With time and talent, a player will eventually stop the mechanical aspect of applying these systems to every shot and allow his mind to free-flow. Any exceptional player knows the feeling when a billiard shot is locked in. It just is. You can't explain why. It doesn't matter what English you are using or what step one's motion is at. The unconscious mind is powerful enough to account for all of those variables and execute the shot perfectly. It is called being in stroke. Some minds adapt to this more easily than others. That is why we have professional players in every sport. It is their gift.
No one will ever write a book or a system that will teach you to aim a tennis ball, a basketball, or a billiard ball with the same consistency and skill as a pro. That comes with talent, hard work, or a combination of the two. These systems can give a player a head start at an early stage in their development. Teaching them to aim at clearly defined points and noting the effect of throw and squirt are all advanced concepts that would take an average player years to develop on his own.
So, yes. I have no doubt Johnny aims by feel. I think Machine Gun Luc Salvas also does. That's why he shoots so fast to keep from thinking about the shot too much and losing the flow. This skill comes to these two like raising a fork to their mouth at dinner. But they likely started with sound fundamentals at some point. Then they worked and learned. They just learn much quicker than the average pool-playing bear, and they didn't take any wrong turns early on. Both are men of remarkable skill, talent, and intellect. You could say the same for Salvador Dali, Rembrandt, or Quentin Tarantino. You can try to science out the genius in these folks forever, but you won't succeed. God hooked those noggins up to be very very special. To reach their level, you will have to find and develop your own synapse connections. How long this takes will depend on a lot of things, not the least of which is choosing the right sport to go along with your natural skill and abilities.
Okay, it's out to the pool room to line up point X with tangent line B for a planned trajectory to pocket A4 with side spin of 37 clockwise revolutions per second. Silly huh?
www.KryptoArt.com
Great response JB. And I love your work by the way.
You remind me of a very good friend, a rocket scientist for NASA. He too takes science as his faith, and I respect his choice as he does mine.
I also believe, as you do, that many people can learn and develop into great players. None of us would play if this were not true. The huge field of young stars that has emerged since the advent of the internet is also a testament to this theory.
But back to the essential point. I agree that learning basic parameters from someone else will advance your skill set much faster than trying to learn on your own. I disagree with you that anyone can become a Johnny Archer caliber player. No matter how hard someone works, most will never be able to approach this level of play. It is only natural.
If the word "God" upsets you, or the ideal of creationism is ridiculous to you, that is fine. Again, I respect your right to believe what you wish. But please consider natural evolution theory. Species evolve based on their needs within the natural environment. That is why some of us are naturally faster than others, stronger than others, taller or shorter. Even Einstein has recently been shown to have possessed an extra fold or two in the area of the brain that controls his creative contributions. No matter how much one works or trains, one will never change their "Natural" composition to the extent that someone naturally "Gifted" can. Johnny Archer and other greats in the sport of pool have a special mix of gifts that allow them to excel above all others. No amount of training can take an average man--one without the natural necessary components--and bring him to that level.
Aiming and other skills in pool can be taught--to a point. Then one's natural abilities and unconscious mind will take over. You could probably break everything down into a formula of some kind, but a great mind doesn't usually see it like that. Their approach is more savant like. They see things differently because their "noggins" are wired and connected in a way that makes it easier for them to process the information.
Someone is probably more efficient with a fork than you JB. Their Dad probably taught them the same way you were taught, but their brain and body is set up just a little different than you--a setup that is ideal for fork handling. And no matter what you do, or how hard you work, you will never be the fork handler that they are. And they will never make the beautiful cue cases that you can.
It just is. Science is a ***** or a blessing, depending on your perspective.
....
But back to the essential point. I agree that learning basic parameters from someone else will advance your skill set much faster than trying to learn on your own. I disagree with you that anyone can become a Johnny Archer caliber player. No matter how hard someone works, most will never be able to approach this level of play. It is only natural...
Aiming and other skills in pool can be taught--to a point. Then one's natural abilities and unconscious mind will take over. You could probably break everything down into a formula of some kind, but a great mind doesn't usually see it like that. Their approach is more savant like. They see things differently because their "noggins" are wired and connected in a way that makes it easier for them to process the information....
It just is. Science is a ***** or a blessing, depending on your perspective.
I have mentored many young engineers how to create the detail drawings and assemble them into assemblies in Pro-E. The young engineers learn this CAD tool in college, but lack the the knowledge to design a product...my job is to teach them the elements of good design. Some have excelled and others can not even after years of mentoring be me and others. It'sl not about their desire to learn, but more that they lack the ability to visualize, accept, study, retain and apply design elements. For those that can't design, we give them other tasks like documenting change papers, manufacturing support etc., or make them managers.:wink:
The inability to do a required task can be either a physical limitation or a lack of desire even if desire is outwardly expressed. Just because someone tells you that they really want to learn something does not mean that they really do. People often say that they want something to please others, to keep a job, for social acceptance, not to appear stupid, etc...but inside they don't really want it and so they actually have no drive to learn it.
When I used to tell me my mom I couldn't do something she would fire back "can't or won't?". Moms know what science is just now able to explain.