The Zone and how to get there

Loretta,

Interesting idea about the 'zone'....

There is a book that I like to refer to about this 'zone'. The book is called "Golf is not a game of perfect" by a sports psycologist Dr. Bob Rotella.

This book and the author defines the 'zone' as a glimpse of how you are capable of playing when your practice and playing skill experiences meet.


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/068480364X/102-2446649-8869752?vi=glance

Also a lot of great golf stories.
 
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Getting into the zone is done by feel. You can't just meditate and then get on a pool table for the first time in one or two days and be in dead stroke. You warm up first, and if your feeling good, once you get the heat in a serious match, you may get into dead punch. There are many things that have to do with it. Being in dead-punch is not only mental but physical too. Some days your arm is just not working like you want it to.
 
The Zone

The zone is achieved through a combination of mental and physical conditioning. I highly recommend the book, "Psyched to WIn" by Dr. Robert Nideffer. Also, many sports, mainly tennis and golf, know about and respect this phenomenon as a key tool in peak performance.

Also,at this link, there are some great articles that can be applied to pool.

http://www.tennisserver.com/mental-equipment/me.html
 
Oh silly Larry!!!! I should not have teased Loretta!!! meditation is a very good thing to do. It does help to have that constant chatter in the brain shut down for short periods of time.

I dont know anything about that and the zone but meditation is a good thing. I did not know dogs would need this because I think they are constantly in this state.:rolleyes:

Laura
 
A little while ago, I read an interview of Mike Siegal, and I think it was in BD. He mentioned a player who I've never heard of who went into some kind of trance state before matches in tournaments. Mike said that the guy wouldn't speak to anyone just prior to the match because he was in the trance or whatever. Anyway, he said this guy just shot lights out and that he was very intimidating to play. I've never heard of the guy before so I don't know whatever happened to him.
 
That player was Louie (St. Louie Louie) Roberts. Past US Open 9 ball winner. Louie was stone-like in his presence at the table. Some players just didn't know how to handle Louie's concentration and focus. It was intimidating to say the least.
Louie has been missed. His life ended in the 90s.

Rickw said:
A little while ago, I read an interview of Mike Siegal, and I think it was in BD. He mentioned a player who I've never heard of who went into some kind of trance state before matches in tournaments. Mike said that the guy wouldn't speak to anyone just prior to the match because he was in the trance or whatever. Anyway, he said this guy just shot lights out and that he was very intimidating to play. I've never heard of the guy before so I don't know whatever happened to him.
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Oh for the love of Pete! LMAO

Talk about incessant chatter! Knowing full well that this has the potential to initiate yet another stream of inappropriateness (God bless the ignore feature)... Larry, doll, do you ever shut the hell up? LOL
 
Loretta said:
Oh for the love of Pete! LMAO

Talk about incessant chatter! Knowing full well that this has the potential to initiate yet another stream of inappropriateness (God bless the ignore feature)... Larry, doll, do you ever shut the hell up? LOL
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Talking to him on the phone is a trip!!! i am lucky to get in a word edgewize:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Laura
 
Larry, I don't think that post was necessary.What is it to you if the guy committed suicide ( if he did ).

The more you post, the more you show your true colours. You are about the biggest idiot on this forum.The reason people dislike you so much is because of post's like this.If you are this much of an idiot in person it's a wonder nobody has punched you in the mouth.

This is one of the best forums on the net, it is even better when you are not posting.The only one that puts up with your crap is Bluewolf, it's a good thing you have one friend in this world besides that flee bitten dog of yours.

Kent McGovern
 
Oh it's my fault. I got the old coot all riled up again by asking him if he ever shut up, just as he was about to leave us yungins' to play quietly amongst ourselves...

Sorry folks...
 
Tom,

You're absolutely right about that player being Louie Roberts. Thanks for the info. Too bad his life ended early.

I use the "ignore button" on Larry. It works like a charm until I read everyone's responses to him, then I have to take a look at what he said!
 
fast larry said:
Laura that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard, what are you, the pr lady for the Dali Lama. If you come up with any new idea that works and people buy it, you deserve to be rich. Fast:D
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Loretta said that. BTW, Maybe Tom did not realize that that poor zen guy or whatever he was to get into that trance, killed himself.

I read a book once by a guy who researched outer body experiences and it killed him in the end.

It is my opinion that when a person gets too deeply into that trance stuff, whether in pool or anything else, on a regular basis, they are taking a big risk.

Kind of like 'selling your soul for a mess of pottage'. You can have too much even of a good thing, even 'enlightenment'.

Laura
 
if you can meditate to a zen state, that's great! how this can be done, eludes me......

pool, especially a long drawn out tournament, has enormous lapses of time, so to maintain a zen state while your opponent is at the table, or while you wait for your next match is fantastic, if you can do it.

i think many players already go through their little rituals that prepare themselves for every shot. a lot of player look away while they sit, so that they approach the table "fresh", unaware of what their opponent did and focused on the table presented to them. and, of course, there is that preparatory time when the shooter waits until he "sees" the shot before he gets down on it. at that point he is focused on the moment at hand. a mini-zen moment....

truely great artists move in and out of that zen state easily and quickly. thing about pool is that zen state can be broken for most of us EASILY,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,it's when we miss. the great players don't miss, so it's easier for them to maintain. it's like the chicken or the egg thing.:):):) they can also shake off a bad break.

however i've seen great players lose their zone when fate seems to be with the other player. momentum in sports can humble even the best players.

btw,,,if anyone knows, can a player listen to his music while he is at the table, and what's the rule that says he can't?
 
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Originally posted by bruin70
truely great artists move in and out of that zen state easily and quickly.

btw,,,if anyone knows, can a player listen to his music while he is at the table, and what's the rule that says he can't? [/B]
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When I sit down to paint, it is instant zone, but then it is just me and the canvas and the paints.I can also zone in and out without side effects. With pool or any other sport, there are so many other variables,so many that I do not know if there is a solution. That is why I said whoever figures this out(if that is even possible) could be rich.

It is interesting that you bring up music. I had an sl7 apa female friend who wanted to be a pro. I think that they let her wear her headphones at local events. She said it helped her to be not distracted.She is now a semi pro and I do not know if she is allowed to wear these at those events. My brain works just the opposite. I use music to help keep me in a different way that has nothing to do with any zone.

Laura
 
fast larry said:
Lets see, sit in a dark corner, go ooooooouuuuuummmmmmmm until I pass out, then I'll feel good again.
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Are you going senile ? It might be an explanation for your bizzare behaviour.

" Its better to be thought of as an idiot rather than to open one's mouth and CONFIRM it " Oscar Wilde

Gabber
 
Bluewolf said:


It is interesting that you bring up music. I had an sl7 apa female friend who wanted to be a pro. I think that they let her wear her headphones at local events. She said it helped her to be not distracted.She is now a semi pro and I do not know if she is allowed to wear these at those events. My brain works just the opposite. I use music to help keep me in a different way that has nothing to do with any zone.

Laura
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the place i used to play pool at was incredibly noisy. that's why i started. when i did, one of my pool playing buddies was a bit annoyed,,,,like what the f**k does it matter to him. he can't hear what i'm listening to. and there was another friend who liked to chatter, so it bothered him that i was oblivious to his yak :):):):):). of course, i played my tunes even more because of it:):).

but i've never seen a player use headphones. of course, they don't have to deal with loud noises, and they probably want to hear the click of the balls and the sound of the tip. but say,,,what if they wanted to hear soothing music,,,is this not allowed?
 
Bruin,

I've seen people use headphones gambling before. Of course when they started getting stuck, they promptly took the headphones off.

I don't see why there would be a problem with it in a tournament either. If the music is not pulsating outside of the headphones, what possible problem could it pose to the other player?
 
I agree. Wearing headphones you are not affecting the other player. It is not sharking so why not. Lots of these tournaments have too many rules anyway, imo.

Laura
 
fast larry said:
Hi Laura, this is fast, yes I too was having out of body experiences, my soul would just leave and go on little trips.

Laura, may I dis agree respectfully with your saying about enlightenment, how can you have too much of that. That is the ultimate purpose of man to be on earth, to obtain that. Fast Larry
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Well, I am not going to go into here, what happens to me when i close my eyes to meditate as it is definately NPR and I doubt more than a handful of people here would find it interesting anyway. I might be wrong, but since this is a pool forum...I make the assumption that that is what most of them want to hear about.

As far as enlightenment...well again, not going into specifics, but depending on how you define that, I would disagree.

Laura
 
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