When do you feel your speed?

[mnorwood]

I try to visualize as much of my shot before I get down. While I am down I try to feel the speed in my practice strokes.

My question is this: when practice stroking is feeling the speed excessive thinking that can lead to a missed shot? When I am down on a shot I try to purge my mind of verbal thoughts I try to feel the speed in my arm.

Does anyone understand my thoughts or am I an idiot?

 

[CaptiveBred]

I decide my speed while standing. I look at the distance needed and use the appropriate speed/tip placement to get there.

As to your querry, you must do what works for you. I know that is a common response but in this case it is true. You must work within *your* system. If you can only determine *speed* by practice stroking, then you need to do it until you find a more efficient way of doing so.

If you are to have thoughts running through your head, speed, contact point, and tip placement are acceptable things to think about. I would even recommend thinking about those right before you pull the trigger.

 

[scottycoyote]

i think of all that stuff before i get down into my stance. Over time i think you just get to the point where you visualize and know the shot and then you have to trust your body to do it. If im down in my stance thinking about speed or grip or anything else i will tend to get off track and either miss or do the exact thing i was trying not to do lol

 

[Andrew Manning]

I try to visualize as much of my shot before I get down. While I am down I try to feel the speed in my practice strokes.

My question is this: when practice stroking is feeling the speed excessive thinking that can lead to a missed shot? When I am down on a shot I try to purge my mind of verbal thoughts I try to feel the speed in my arm.

Does anyone understand my thoughts or am I an idiot?

Your thoughts make sense to me.

If you're thinking about "feeling the speed" of the shot, that is excessive thinking while you're down on the shot, in my opinion. Instead you should only be thinking about where you want the cue-ball to go.

I've always subscribed to the theory that you should think about your fundamentals when you're practicing, but when you're in a match, you should just let them happen. As far as computational ability goes, your subconscious mind puts your conscious cognitive abilities to shame. When you're playing your best, your subconscious is taking inputs from your eyes and from the decision you made before you got down in your stance about how you're going to play the shot. It does a truly awe-inspiring amount of computation almost instantly and sends the outputs of this computation directly to your muscles, and the best thing you can do is let it happen without over-riding this process with the far-less-reliable outputs of your conscious mind.

So in order to keep my conscious thoughts out of the way, and let the most powerful part of my brain come up with what exactly my muscles need to do to execute the shot, I like to visualize the shot. Picture the cue-ball travelling its path from the cue-tip to the object ball to its final position. I feel this visualization, to the exclusion of ANY "thinking", is the best way to tell your subconscious to do its thing. When I'm in the zone, I feel that I'm just thinking about what I want to happen, and then watching it happen, and NEVER thinking about how or why.

Of course this is easier said than done, but there's a lot of literature about how to hold a visualization in your mind and clear everything else away, since this is a basis for many kinds of meditation. I think it's both the easiest way to achieve high levels of performance, and the only way to achieve your highest level of performance.

-Andrew

 

[pete lafond]

I decide my speed while standing. I look at the distance needed and use the appropriate speed/tip placement to get there.

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I decide cue ball position while standing and speed as I'm stroking. Don't think about it so much, just more or less have a feel about it.

 

[TheConArtist]

This same thing mess'ed me up last night, i knew where i had to be with the cueball and there was about five inches of space where i had to be, so if i didn't get enough speed i was either going to be hook'd or had no shot. Down over the shot trying to feel the speed to hit the cueball with and used to much engish and got my self hook'd. So while standing up i know and can feel the speed but when i am down over the shot its hard for me to feel my speed.

 

[pete lafond]

This same thing mess'ed me up last night, i knew where i had to be with the cueball and there was about five inches of space where i had to be, so if i didn't get enough speed i was either going to be hook'd or had no shot. Down over the shot trying to feel the speed to hit the cueball with and used to much engish and got my self hook'd. So while standing up i know and can feel the speed but when i am down over the shot its hard for me to feel my speed.

I think it is a personal thing. I do know that I almost never think about how hard or soft, just know it and feel it.

You know those thin cut shots that you need to go straight back and forth from side rail to side rail that travel fast? Just before I get down, I see it in my head going back and forth stopping were I need it to. I then get down and just feel it in my stroke.

 

[TheConArtist]

I think it is a personal thing. I do know that I almost never think about how hard or soft, just know it and feel it.

You know those thin cut shots that you need to go straight back and forth from side rail to side rail that travel fast? Just before I get down, I see it in my head going back and forth stopping were I need it to. I then get down and just feel it in my stroke.

Well Thanks Pete, that might be my whole problem, i just try to adjust on how hard to hit, rather then seeing it in my head. I am going to give this a try. Thanks Again. Cole.

 

[Egg McDogit]

Yes, one major goal of your practice strokes should be to get your final stroke speed down. I'm not a very good player though. Just my opinion.

I try to visualize as much of my shot before I get down. While I am down I try to feel the speed in my practice strokes.

My question is this: when practice stroking is feeling the speed excessive thinking that can lead to a missed shot? When I am down on a shot I try to purge my mind of verbal thoughts I try to feel the speed in my arm.

Does anyone understand my thoughts or am I an idiot?

 

[CoolChicky]

When I get down over a shot I already have an idea of what I want to do. My practice strokes (about 2 or 3) get me comfortable and allow me to fine-tune things. They (practice strokes) have nothing to do with speed. My brain and experience compensates for that. That's why, for me, focus and concentration are the greatest aspects of playing well. I know this because if I don't concentrate, I can make the shot but there's no telling where the cue ball might end up!

 

[supergreenman]

When I get down over a shot I already have an idea of what I want to do. My practice strokes (about 2 or 3) get me comfortable and allow me to fine-tune things. They (practice strokes) have nothing to do with speed. My brain and experience compensates for that. That's why, for me, focus and concentration are the greatest aspects of playing well. I know this because if I don't concentrate, I can make the shot but there's no telling where the cue ball might end up!

Why call it a practice stroke if it's not the stroke you plan on using when you make contact with the cueball. I use my practice strokes to get the feel of the shot I'm committing myself to(speed included), if nothing else, it gets me into the frame of mind that I need to be in, shutting everything else out.

I would compare this to my golf game. I don't take a practice swing when I play except when I'm faced with a less than full swing close to the green or to gage how the club will go through long grass.

There's no difference with pool, it's part of my visualization process and works well.

 

[cheesemouse]

Mnorwood,
Your not an idiot. I just finished a lesson and this is what I was helping the guy with. I have him using as a final review in the up position the speed or excelleration he needs to follow thru with to get the job done.

 

[pete lafond]

Mnorwood,
Your not an idiot. I just finished a lesson and this is what I was helping the guy with. I have him using as a final review in the up position the speed or excelleration he needs to follow thru with to get the job done.

I agree 100% that in the up position all decisions are made; Desired position, speed, cut, .. everything.

You however need to be in the down position to engage feel and aim -this is were you solidify all of your decisions that were made while standing. Feel gets the CB where you want it and aim gets the OB into the pocket, assuming your not playing safe here.

Just my thoughts...