Visual Alignment - a few comments

[mikepage]

Mike...why take the tip in from left vs straight in?

I don't like bringing the tip straight in, like when people put it straight up in the air and take it straight down in the line of the shot. The reason is when the stick is halfway or most of the way into place, your mind has two almost-but-not quite-the-same lines in front of it. It has the real shot line that you saw before bringing the stick into view and it has the approximate shot line that the moving stick represents. I fear that the player's mind can be biased by the almost-correct but meaningless line provided by the stick, in much the same way we are thrown off by the almost-vertical lines in that balance room in the fun house.

So I like having the stick out of view when determining the line and then rotating the stick into position the same way everytime

 

[mikepage]

But "the line" Stevie (or any CTE/Pro-One user) is finding initially is not the final line of the shot, it's the "visuals" for the shot (CTE line and edge-to-A/B/C line) to position the eyes/body prior to the rotation to the shot line.

Yeah, I'm not completely convinced of that.

But you're rotating to the same line you previously identified, right? With Pro-One, the final line is unknown until the rotation.

Again, not completely convinced

Obviously, CTE/Pro-One is a different animal from most other aiming methods. I just wondered how you felt about Stan's observation that pros approach the final shot line from an angle, and that this lends support to CTE/Pro-One.

I don't think that simple fact lends support to CTE/Pro-one. I rotating the stick in from the left is a good practice irrespective of CTE/Pro-one.

 

[(((Satori)))]

Mike,
On a more serious note the first post of the thread takes vision apart into pieces and lets you understand some things about it and you end it by simply saying....that its probably good to let vision do its work.

I agree. A few weeks ago someone posted a link somewhere to a Snooker site where the guy coached snooker players on their aiming. The link was awesome.

This guy took a mirror and taped up and covered everything but a small strip down the center and set it opposite a pool table behind the side pocket.

Then he put a camera on the opposite side and he had two players come in and get into shooting position to pot a shot in the side pocket.

The camera revealed how player #1 let his head move to the side before settling into position. Then he did player #2. Player number 2 went perfectly down into position and illustrated what he wanted done. Then he cross blended the 2 players and you could really see how far out that Player #1 was.

I had been having some trouble on selected days then had days everything was perfect and I thought on this for a long time.

The minute I made myself go straight down into the shot regardless of whether or not I was set up right, my game went up. If I was too far out I would just get back up resight my shot and get down again closer to perfect, make micro adjustments and let it roll.

The visual adjustments as you point out I found to be the first line of defense against a missed shot. If you are not visually aligned first your body will be contorted into a forced alignment as you adjust instead of a natural down position where everything is set, solid and more comfortable. I personally noted that when gross adjustments are made the body has to do things and this affects the shoulders which are attached to the body and then its possible to get your stroke swing off of a perfect line.

I will try to post the link if I can remember where I saw it.

Great post and great point.

View posts 52 thru 54 on this thread for the link you reffered to.


http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=302234&page=4

 

[Patrick Johnson]

I like having the stick out of view when determining the line and then rotating the stick into position the same way everytime

What do you think of placing the cue on the shot line (with the tip near the cue ball) before starting to get down? I like seeing the line so clearly while I'm coming down over it, and the precision and consistency it gives to foot placement.

pj
chgo

 

[336Robin]

Thats it! Thanks

View posts 52 thru 54 on this thread for the link you reffered to.


http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=302234&page=4

Satori,
Thats it thankyou. A great video.

 

[336Robin]

Shot Approach

I see a lot of comments about shot approach, Ive havent examined all of the posts but what I do is try to approach the shot from an angle of Acceptance walking into the shot. Ive found that walking into the shot gives me a look at how I want to hit the ball for my first recognition.

Then I look at the relationhip of the awaiting pocket and the Object Ball before I perform my aiming technique then I get down on the shot. It seems to be working for me pretty well.

As long as I keep what I do the same, get down on ball straight down making adjustments are very minor ones. If I find I am way off I will get up and start over again.

I found the power of consistency and going straight down was producing less abberations in my setup. It seemed to me that walking into the shot from various angles was a mistake and made it harder to find where I wanted to hit the ball.

 

[BilliardsAbout]

Robin, you're the man! Waiting for your second edition book as you know, buddy.

One complication is that different but very good players approach the aim line on a different basis--for an SOP, some like to start (standing erect before they bend to the full stance) from the CB and OB being full, some line up on the contact point or GB center, some even stand on the CB/OB "parallel aim" contact points line. But all kinds of "approach players" can still shoot great.

Another complication from a visual standpoint is that based on the final stance, for some right-handed players the stroke hand looks/feels like it's off the aim line to the right when they're aiming dead center ball along the aim line. I say one complication because there are others, especially when amateurs try to do it the pro way and "spin in" to the shot.

I agree with Robin. I stand erect to assess the shot and the intended contact point on the OB and then I make adjustments to hit the ball more thick which also helps bring the intended contact point a bit closer to the shooter, by way of compensation for the parallax aim difference between the CP on the OB as seen from on high and as seen from down low in the final, completed stance.

Oh, and one more complication for those who don't play CTE or some Houle-something-or-other. Many good players see the correct aim line as if they're going to hit the OB too thick to score and are then "surprised" when the ball cuts in anyway... and after some number of shots from the hundreds to the thousands, this kind of goes away and then they "see" everything is "on".

 

[336Robin]

Robin, you're the man! Waiting for your second edition book as you know, buddy.

and one more complication for those who don't play CTE or some Houle-something-or-other. Many good players see the correct aim line as if they're going to hit the OB too thick to score and are then "surprised" when the ball cuts in anyway... and after some number of shots from the hundreds to the thousands, this kind of goes away and then they "see" everything is "on".

Matt,
Im working with several things book wise. I was working on a rewrite but got side tracked on an project and the possibility of several different ways to get the information out there. It will come together eventually. I think Ive got some really good to let out when its all together.