The secret to a high level of consistency

[JoeW]

I have been playing for about 25 years now and only found this secret a few days ago. I suspect it is a secret because many others do it without thinking and perhaps some others do not know how to articulate the concept. It is the kind of thing that I have only heard others speak of in a tangential sort of way. It is not emphasized in the instructional literature that I have read though it may have been there and I just passed over it without really understanding or appreciating the concept.

In some instructional materials the student is told to “freeze” when they are ready to shoot. But what does that mean? When we are setting up for a shot we need to be stable and flexible. You have to have a good platform from which to shoot but you also have to be able to move the cue a little bit to get the exact line for your aim. That is you have to be flexible so you can line up the shot perfectly.

A few days ago I found that when you are ready to shoot you have to literally freeze all other parts of your body that you had been using to make adjustments for the shot. There needs to be a little tension across your neck and shoulders, in your hips and especially your legs. It is difficult to put into words but what it comes down to is the idea that your whole body, except for your swing arm and elbow, have to be held rigid. That is you have to literally freeze in position.

I have found it best to move my body back just a little because this helps me to stay down on a shot. After two warm up strokes I freeze (make rigid) everything else for the third and last warm up stroke. In this context “freeze” means to make everything else tight, or locked in place. If everything looks and feels right my next stroke is used to strike the cue ball and nothing moves until the cue ball strikes the object ball.

I wonder how many others have been playing like this for years and simply figured that everybody else does the same. I remember that a friend told me several years ago to lock my legs but I only half listened as it seemed that such things made the game uncomfortable. Now I find that once learned "freezing" becomes a natural way to play. It is somewhat like setting your hips when shooting a pistol or a rifle.

I think the freeze is important because for many shots the margin of error is small and any slight movement contributes to a miss. While there is a larger margin of error for easy shots one must have the freeze as part of every shot for long term consistency.

Have other highly consistent shooters found other ways to use this idea? I have started writing a book on the mental aspects of the game and would like any other ideas along this line that others might have. Perhaps there are better ways to explain this idea.

 

[DaveK]

Consistency should be measured across a longer time than a few days, imo. Not saying you are not onto something, just that a few days are insufficient to claim "consistency" ... a few months is a better test imo.

Dave

 

[Nostroke]

Consistency should be measured across a longer time than a few days, imo. Not saying you are not onto something, just that a few days are insufficient to claim "consistency" ... a few months is a better test imo.

Dave

Exactly- When i was playing, I found 'the cure' every 2 weeks or so.

 

[bdorman]

Exactly- When i was playing, I found 'the cure' every 2 weeks or so.

I find the "cure" every four shots, or so. :grin: Problem is that I can't replicate it for the next shot!

Seriously, I agree with the OP. I think that's what most people are talking about when they recommend "a pause" at the end of the last backstroke. At that point every part of the body has to go silent (except the elbow and forearm). Easy to say, hard to do.

 

[Neil]

I have been playing for about 25 years now and only found this secret a few days ago. I suspect it is a secret because many others do it without thinking and perhaps some others do not know how to articulate the concept. It is the kind of thing that I have only heard others speak of in a tangential sort of way. It is not emphasized in the instructional literature that I have read though it may have been there and I just passed over it without really understanding or appreciating the concept.

In some instructional materials the student is told to “freeze” when they are ready to shoot. But what does that mean? When we are setting up for a shot we need to be stable and flexible. You have to have a good platform from which to shoot but you also have to be able to move the cue a little bit to get the exact line for your aim. That is you have to be flexible so you can line up the shot perfectly.

A few days ago I found that when you are ready to shoot you have to literally freeze all other parts of your body that you had been using to make adjustments for the shot. There needs to be a little tension across your neck and shoulders, in your hips and especially your legs. It is difficult to put into words but what it comes down to is the idea that your whole body, except for your swing arm and elbow, have to be held rigid. That is you have to literally freeze in position.

I have found it best to move my body back just a little because this helps me to stay down on a shot. After two warm up strokes I freeze (make rigid) everything else for the third and last warm up stroke. In this context “freeze” means to make everything else tight, or locked in place. If everything looks and feels right my next stroke is used to strike the cue ball and nothing moves until the cue ball strikes the object ball.

I wonder how many others have been playing like this for years and simply figured that everybody else does the same. I remember that a friend told me several years ago to lock my legs but I only half listened as it seemed that such things made the game uncomfortable. Now I find that once learned "freezing" becomes a natural way to play. It is somewhat like setting your hips when shooting a pistol or a rifle.

I think the freeze is important because for many shots the margin of error is small and any slight movement contributes to a miss. While there is a larger margin of error for easy shots one must have the freeze as part of every shot for long term consistency.

Have other highly consistent shooters found other ways to use this idea? I have started writing a book on the mental aspects of the game and would like any other ideas along this line that others might have. Perhaps there are better ways to explain this idea.

Joe, I agree with you. One thing I want to make plain though, is that you shouldn't tighten up too much. You don't necessarily need to tighten muscles, as much as make sure you don't use any other muscles. If you repeatedly tighten too much, you will tire quickly.

Another way to look at the same results, is to just relax everything but the parts you want and need to move. If they are truly relaxed, they don't move either. You are essentially separating the arm from the rest of the body for any allowable movements.

 

[pool101]

I do not remember if it was the monk (Tim Miller) or Kinister or someone else who talked about when you were a kid and you would run a foot race, The Ready, Set, Go...
It applies to pool and if you will say those words out loud or to yourself as part of your routine, the pause between Set and Go is the time you are referring to.
Try it.
Ready is as your falling into the shot, set is the practice strokes in particular the last drawing of the cue to the set position and the Go is the stroke...
I had been meaning to PM this to you for your opinion anyway, so there you have it now..
Mark

 

[Renegade_56]

Good thread, and this I believe is key in the teachings of many top instructors,,,,,,,,set, pause, finish is the way it was introduced to me, (thanks Scott), but I think true consistency over an extended period of time is at least, if not more, mental. A solid PSR, coupled with your notion of "freezing" will surely help most anyone in the amateur ranks, but way too many suffer the same faults I do I suspect, which is the ability to really bear down and make respectable efforts on difficult shots, and then immediately after a successful hard shot take a much easier shot for granted and blow the run. Mental focus is much harder in my opinion.

 

[JoeW]

Another way to look at the same results, is to just relax everything but the parts you want and need to move. If they are truly relaxed, they don't move either. You are essentially separating the arm from the rest of the body for any allowable movements.

Thanks Neil. Freezing the body needs to be differentiated from relaxing the arm. This is not a difficult thing to do and could be incorporated into the differential relaxation approach I have taught in the past.

Pool 101, I like the "Ready, Set, Go" idea where "Set" is the freeze as in set your body. Verbal triggers are useful in many ways.

While I can't really speak to the SPF method, from what I remember the Set in SPF includes some fiddling. In my extension it would be more Set, Practice, Freeze, Pause, Finish.

 

[CJ Wiley]

routine for establishing your pre shot body angles BEFORE you freeze?

I have been playing for about 25 years now and only found this secret a few days ago. I suspect it is a secret because many others do it without thinking and perhaps some others do not know how to articulate the concept. It is the kind of thing that I have only heard others speak of in a tangential sort of way. It is not emphasized in the instructional literature that I have read though it may have been there and I just passed over it without really understanding or appreciating the concept.

In some instructional materials the student is told to “freeze” when they are ready to shoot. But what does that mean? When we are setting up for a shot we need to be stable and flexible. You have to have a good platform from which to shoot but you also have to be able to move the cue a little bit to get the exact line for your aim. That is you have to be flexible so you can line up the shot perfectly.

A few days ago I found that when you are ready to shoot you have to literally freeze all other parts of your body that you had been using to make adjustments for the shot. There needs to be a little tension across your neck and shoulders, in your hips and especially your legs. It is difficult to put into words but what it comes down to is the idea that your whole body, except for your swing arm and elbow, have to be held rigid. That is you have to literally freeze in position.

I have found it best to move my body back just a little because this helps me to stay down on a shot. After two warm up strokes I freeze (make rigid) everything else for the third and last warm up stroke. In this context “freeze” means to make everything else tight, or locked in place. If everything looks and feels right my next stroke is used to strike the cue ball and nothing moves until the cue ball strikes the object ball.

I wonder how many others have been playing like this for years and simply figured that everybody else does the same. I remember that a friend told me several years ago to lock my legs but I only half listened as it seemed that such things made the game uncomfortable. Now I find that once learned "freezing" becomes a natural way to play. It is somewhat like setting your hips when shooting a pistol or a rifle.

I think the freeze is important because for many shots the margin of error is small and any slight movement contributes to a miss. While there is a larger margin of error for easy shots one must have the freeze as part of every shot for long term consistency.

Have other highly consistent shooters found other ways to use this idea? I have started writing a book on the mental aspects of the game and would like any other ideas along this line that others might have. Perhaps there are better ways to explain this idea.

This is a good idea, I'm just curious your routine for establishing your pre shot body angles BEFORE you freeze? Pool isn't natural to the human body so do you establish these angles above the ball exactly like they will be when you're down on the shot?

It makes sense to freeze, just from my experience you better not freeze incorrectly or the heat may "thaw you out" rather quickly. I've found the "margin of error" has as much to do with the pressure as the difficulty of the shot, they can be the same, or vastly different.

 

[ENGLISH!]

Mr. Joe I know exactly what you mean.

I persoanlly don't like the word freeze. If I had to pick a word off the top of my head in this short amount of time, I would say 'brace'.

In football & hitting a baseball & I guess even at times when fielding a ball one has to brace oneself for the 'hit' or catch.

I think what you speak of is sometimes a factor why one misses a simple shot. It's simple, so we step in, set up & stroke just like always but we rush just a bit & don't freeze or brace for the shot because we have taken it for granted.

Good post & food for thought,
Rick

 

[Neil]

Thanks Neil. Freezing the body needs to be differentiated from relaxing the arm. This is not a difficult thing to do and could be incorporated into the differential relaxation approach I have taught in the past.

Pool 101, I like the "Ready, Set, Go" idea where "Set" is the freeze as in set your body. Verbal triggers are useful in many ways.

While I can't really speak to the SPF method, from what I remember the Set in SPF includes some fiddling. In my extension it would be more Set, Practice, Freeze, Pause, Finish.

Joe, I didn't mean to relax the arm, I meant that one can also relax everything BUT the arm. Whether relaxed or intentionally tightened, muscles don't want to react right away, causing stiffness, or freezing. The arm should be the only part of the body that is ready to react, and, as you said, should be kept separate from the rest of the body.

 

[JoeW]

This is a good idea, I'm just curious your routine for establishing your pre shot body angles BEFORE you freeze? Pool isn't natural to the human body so do you establish these angles above the ball exactly like they will be when you're down on the shot?

It makes sense to freeze, just from my experience you better not freeze incorrectly or the heat may "thaw you out" rather quickly. I've found the "margin of error" has as much to do with the pressure as the difficulty of the shot, they can be the same, or vastly different.

Yeah the heat will get ya.

I establish the angles from one step behind the shooting position lining up the cue ball and then step into the shot line.

I agree the word "freeze" is not he best one and thank you English for the word "brace." It is probably closer to what is done in this phase. Brace, implies setting the foundation for the shot in a firm manner. As Neil pointed out too much emphasis on muscle tightening will lead to fatigue over time. Bracing one's self is the idea. It implies locking in position.

 

[JoeW]

Joe, I didn't mean to relax the arm, I meant that one can also relax everything BUT the arm. Whether relaxed or intentionally tightened, muscles don't want to react right away, causing stiffness, or freezing. The arm should be the only part of the body that is ready to react, and, as you said, should be kept separate from the rest of the body.

One of the things I have found with this idea is that when the body is "braced" for the shot and the lower arm is swinging practice swings the arm feels more relaxed, loose, and flexible in the swing. It is almost as if you can feel that the arm is on a straight line relative to the body. It leads to more confidence in one's shot making.

This whole thing is difficult to discuss because we simply don't have the words to convey this type of differential bracing and relaxing.

 

[CJ Wiley]

"tighten the bolts, drive the nails" and prepare for the "storm of competition"

Yeah the heat will get ya.

I establish the angles from one step behind the shooting position lining up the cue ball and then step into the shot line.

I agree the word "freeze" is not he best one and thank you English for the word "brace." It is probably closer to what is done in this phase. Brace, implies setting the foundation for the shot in a firm manner. As Neil pointed out too much emphasis on muscle tightening will lead to fatigue over time. Bracing one's self is the idea. It implies locking in position.

Yes, it all begins with the feet, which is the foundation and works it up to the "penthouse" which is the head. As long as all the "floors" are in place it's a good idea to "tighten the bolts, drive the nails" and prepare for the "storm of competition".

Pool can be full of metaphors, I like yours, Joe....Play Well :thumbup:

 

[LAMas]

Is it good to hold your breath?

 

[TATE]

With me it's more like this: keep the head as still as possible but let the body flow. When I see a player who allows his head to rise more than an inch or so, I know they will have consistency problems. Usually they don't realize they are doing it. It's literally impossible to hold your head still if you are not stable.

The freeze is just a pause of the cue. This gives you a chance to aim precisely where you want to with minimal distraction - to zero in or take dead aim.

 

[JoeyA]

I have been playing for about 25 years now and only found this secret a few days ago. I suspect it is a secret because many others do it without thinking and perhaps some others do not know how to articulate the concept. It is the kind of thing that I have only heard others speak of in a tangential sort of way. It is not emphasized in the instructional literature that I have read though it may have been there and I just passed over it without really understanding or appreciating the concept.

In some instructional materials the student is told to “freeze” when they are ready to shoot. But what does that mean? When we are setting up for a shot we need to be stable and flexible. You have to have a good platform from which to shoot but you also have to be able to move the cue a little bit to get the exact line for your aim. That is you have to be flexible so you can line up the shot perfectly.

A few days ago I found that when you are ready to shoot you have to literally freeze all other parts of your body that you had been using to make adjustments for the shot. There needs to be a little tension across your neck and shoulders, in your hips and especially your legs. It is difficult to put into words but what it comes down to is the idea that your whole body, except for your swing arm and elbow, have to be held rigid. That is you have to literally freeze in position.

I have found it best to move my body back just a little because this helps me to stay down on a shot. After two warm up strokes I freeze (make rigid) everything else for the third and last warm up stroke. In this context “freeze” means to make everything else tight, or locked in place. If everything looks and feels right my next stroke is used to strike the cue ball and nothing moves until the cue ball strikes the object ball.

I wonder how many others have been playing like this for years and simply figured that everybody else does the same. I remember that a friend told me several years ago to lock my legs but I only half listened as it seemed that such things made the game uncomfortable. Now I find that once learned "freezing" becomes a natural way to play. It is somewhat like setting your hips when shooting a pistol or a rifle.

I think the freeze is important because for many shots the margin of error is small and any slight movement contributes to a miss. While there is a larger margin of error for easy shots one must have the freeze as part of every shot for long term consistency.

Have other highly consistent shooters found other ways to use this idea? I have started writing a book on the mental aspects of the game and would like any other ideas along this line that others might have. Perhaps there are better ways to explain this idea.

You bring up some great points as usual Joe.

Many people don't know what they do or how they do it. Some of us, that "think" we know what we do and how we do it, occasionally forget what we should be doing and "remember" what we used to do before things went bad. It seems that the journey of pool is about discovery and re-discovery.

I too have toyed with the idea of writing a book of sorts, discussing the things that people do to increase their chances of pocketing balls or making shape. Often times, these things that they attempt to do, make little sense to others but the results for some of us speaks loudly. For many of these "techniques" I believe that they merely increase a person's ability to focus.
Other techniques like "freezing" the rest of the body except for your "swing arm & elbow" work for some while others apparently don't need to do it or already do it but don't know that they do it as you mentioned. There's no doubt that your technique can help some people. It's helped your game. If it's temporary or permanent, well that's a discussion for another day.

One of the things I saw in a video by Coach Lee Brett got me to thinking about why certain things work when they might not make initial sense on the surface. The reason many of these things work is simply that some of them just help us to focus better.

Wishing you much success with your book.
JoeyA

 

[Quesports]

With me it's more like this: keep the head as still as possible but let the body flow. When I see a player who allows his head to rise more than an inch or so, I know they will have consistency problems. Usually they don't realize they are doing it. It's literally impossible to hold your head still if you are not stable.

The freeze is just a pause of the cue. This gives you a chance to aim precisely where you want to with minimal distraction - to zero in or take dead aim.

You got there before I had the chance. Your head weighs approximately 8% of your body weight, (here's a link for the non believers) http://www.strangequestions.com/question/How_much_does_the_human_head_weigh%3F_36

If your head is moving while you are shooting you'll never be consistent, I cannot remember who told me that but it has stayed with me all these years..

 

[CJ Wiley]

no one actually does this AFTER THEY CONTACT THE CUE BALL

With me it's more like this: keep the head as still as possible but let the body flow. When I see a player who allows his head to rise more than an inch or so, I know they will have consistency problems. Usually they don't realize they are doing it. It's literally impossible to hold your head still if you are not stable.

The freeze is just a pause of the cue. This gives you a chance to aim precisely where you want to with minimal distraction - to zero in or take dead aim.

Keeping the head perfectly still sounds great and looks good on paper. The reality is very few actually do this AFTER THEY CONTACT THE CUE BALL - I've watched Efren when he's playing his best raise up on practically every shot. It seems like the better he plays the more he does it, and I think it's pretty common to allow the head to come up with the body after contact.

 

[lfigueroa]

I have been playing for about 25 years now and only found this secret a few days ago. I suspect it is a secret because many others do it without thinking and perhaps some others do not know how to articulate the concept. It is the kind of thing that I have only heard others speak of in a tangential sort of way. It is not emphasized in the instructional literature that I have read though it may have been there and I just passed over it without really understanding or appreciating the concept.

In some instructional materials the student is told to “freeze” when they are ready to shoot. But what does that mean? When we are setting up for a shot we need to be stable and flexible. You have to have a good platform from which to shoot but you also have to be able to move the cue a little bit to get the exact line for your aim. That is you have to be flexible so you can line up the shot perfectly.

A few days ago I found that when you are ready to shoot you have to literally freeze all other parts of your body that you had been using to make adjustments for the shot. There needs to be a little tension across your neck and shoulders, in your hips and especially your legs. It is difficult to put into words but what it comes down to is the idea that your whole body, except for your swing arm and elbow, have to be held rigid. That is you have to literally freeze in position.

I have found it best to move my body back just a little because this helps me to stay down on a shot. After two warm up strokes I freeze (make rigid) everything else for the third and last warm up stroke. In this context “freeze” means to make everything else tight, or locked in place. If everything looks and feels right my next stroke is used to strike the cue ball and nothing moves until the cue ball strikes the object ball.

I wonder how many others have been playing like this for years and simply figured that everybody else does the same. I remember that a friend told me several years ago to lock my legs but I only half listened as it seemed that such things made the game uncomfortable. Now I find that once learned "freezing" becomes a natural way to play. It is somewhat like setting your hips when shooting a pistol or a rifle.

I think the freeze is important because for many shots the margin of error is small and any slight movement contributes to a miss. While there is a larger margin of error for easy shots one must have the freeze as part of every shot for long term consistency.

Have other highly consistent shooters found other ways to use this idea? I have started writing a book on the mental aspects of the game and would like any other ideas along this line that others might have. Perhaps there are better ways to explain this idea.

With all due respect, Joe, there is so much more to it than one little thing like that. I hope it's still working for you a week from now.

Lou Figueroa