06.26.06
Posted in Practicing at 12:33 pm by Cherry Bomb
In the movie The Karate Kid, an eager Daniel-son can not see the value in the tasks he’s been asked to do. Mr. Miyagi has accepted him as a student and has him performing repetitive chores. In the beginning, Daniel spends his days waxing Mr. Miyagi’s car and painting his fence using very specific hand and arm movements. Ultimately, Daniel would become fed up with the tedious repetition. Fortunately for him, it was not before he had logged in enough hours to condition his body to act out the skillful movements he’d learned.
Daniel had in fact been unknowingly learning defensive blocks, the fundamental first step in karate training. By continuously performing specific actions, he had trained his body and muscle to memorize those movements. Those same actions then carried over from his chores to karate where during the big tournament, even as an underdog, he was able to utilize those skills to make it to the semifinals. I won’t ruin the rest of the movie for you if you have not yet seen it. I will, however, let you know that all the painting and waxing he did is not unlike the alignment and stroke work we can do to improve our pool game.
The following are just a few examples of some painting and waxing you can do without actually playing. These are only some of the many ways to train your body and develop the essential skills to perform when needed. Remember, Daniel did hours and hours of painting and waxing, so the more time you can devote, the better.
- Find a table and form your bridge at the edge and freely stroke your cue. Find a straight line on the floor or lay a broomstick down directly below your cue. When looking down, your pool cue should completely cover the line or stick below you. If any part of that line is exposed, then your cue is not moving in a perfectly straight back and forth motion. This exercise also works well when placing your bridge hand on the pool table rail and stroking directly over the line where the wood meets felt.
- Find a table in front of a mirror. Make sure you are able to see your profile (a mirror to the right side for righties and to the left side for lefties). With your average bridge length and a level cue, check in the mirror to make sure your stroke hand is perpendicular to the playing cue. This won’t be perfect or exact for each shot depending on how far away you are bridging, but it’s a helpful reminder.
- If you’re able to film yourself, that’s always a great tool. Set up a tripod directly behind you and set up a series of the same shot. Make sure your stroke comes directly back and forth and not side to side. Most people have never seen themselves play before and may not be aware of any subtle quirks. (You’d be amazed at the many things you catch yourself doing on camera!)
- When you have some time to kill, instead of turning the TV on, find a mark on the wall or an object within five feet of you. Find a pinpoint spot and focus your eyes on it for as long as you possibly can. Try not to allow any other thoughts to seep in. Try not to think about anything. This was a task the monk had given me a couple years ago to help increase my focus level. It’s much more difficult than it may sound.
- Of course all relaxation and breathing exercises, or anything to strengthen your mind and body when you’re away from the table, are always great ways to stay sharp.
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Posted in Misc at 1:05 am by Cherry Bomb
I recently had the privilege, honor, and delight of working with a local junior’s league. This was, by far, the most rewarding experience I’ve had in my pool education so far. I think I’ve found my calling. Well, there were only six of them and I was only brought in to do a brief hour-long presentation but every time I opened my mouth to say anything they all stopped what they were doing and listened to every word.
They asked great questions and were incredibly patient and respectful. They were a remarkable group of kids and I can’t wait to go back!
I made sure that I incorporated my fundamentals training with touches of etiquette knowledge. It was very exciting for me because this can be a delicate subject for many adults. Most of them are set in their ways. Many of them have terrible habits that they’ve picked up from who-knows-where and they can be very tough to break.
At the young, impressionable ages of 8 to 14, I made sure I instructed them on:
- Laying the cue down on the table while racking so it doesn’t fall over.
- Staying in their seats while their opponent is at the table.
- Not taking the chalk (especially when it’s the only piece) with them to their seat when they are not shooting.
- Placing the chalk right-side-up on the table as to not get chalk all over the place.
- How to properly chalk their cues.
Basically, I molded them on how to not become a D Player.
I think I’m going to put together some juniors groups at Table Steaks East. It’s too fun not to. Ugh… I really need to get caught up first. I’ll be back.
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06.18.06
Posted in Practicing at 12:01 am by Cherry Bomb
“Practice, practice, practice,” we’re constantly told. “Practice makes perfect,” we’ve also heard. Well, is there such a thing as too much practice? Is it humanly possible to over-practice? I’m not ashamed to admit that there is and I’ve been guilty of it. I’m sure we all have on occasion. I’m not talking about the years we’ve been practicing. I’m referring to the time frame of each practice session. Of course, we may not realize it at the time, but I’ll share with you some indications of when enough should be enough. Over-practicing can have almost as much of a negative effect as not practicing at all. The point of over-practicing is unique for each person based on your stamina and learning curve. During a productive practice session, you might reach a high where your performance is at its best and you’re doing everything you set out to do. This may mean that you just ran multiple consecutive racks, shot 100 perfect stop shots, or just have not missed a ball in a very long time. Whatever it is you’re working on, you’re mastering it and it feels great.
Naturally, when this happens, our instinct is to maximize this feeling. We want it to last forever. We don’t want to stop. Sometimes we just feel invincible. Unfortunately, this climax ultimately finds an end and we discover ourselves struggling to hold on. When this happens, we lose focus, our purpose shifts, we miss, and we are no longer performing at our best. Have you ever had the best practice of your life only to end it on a sour note because you couldn’t leave well-enough alone? When I pass that window of practice ecstasy but still push myself anyway, I feel greedy for not walking away ahead. It’s like not leaving when you’re up at the Blackjack table and just losing all your winnings back, and more. Of course, I don’t realize it until the practice is over already, but by then it’s too late.
You, however, don’t have to make the same mistake. When you catch yourself missing consecutive shots after a long run of not missing any shots, it may be time to call it a night. Don’t sit through a string of bad cards. When you’ve had a quality practice and complete the perfect run out, be proud of that. Take your money and run. Practice ending your sessions on a positive note. Set out to work on something specific (i.e. shoot 100 stop shots, successfully shoot a particular pattern 25 times, or run 75 balls without touching a rail). Complete that task and move on or wrap-up your practice. When you catch yourself aimlessly trying to top your last benchmark then your purpose has shifted from the skill you’re working on, to just practicing to practice. It’s more productive to accomplish your practice goals in an hour than to have a mediocre four-hour practice session. Quality is better than quantity.
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