Point of Contact or Point of Aim

[Martin76]

I've got sort of a basic question:
When pausing at the backstroke and focusing on "the object ball", what point are you focusing on?

The main reason for focusing on the object ball when playing a shot is (as I understand it) to benefit from the "natural aim" so to speak. That is, when playing a shot or firing a gun or something similar the body tend to align itself in the direction your focusing on.
Another benefit is that by focusing on the object ball, you tend to play through the cue ball better, similar to when marshal art people break bricks by focusing below the bunch...

Obviously, once the contact point on the object ball have been identified the objective is to make sure that the cue ball center, the object ball center and the middle of the pocket (usually) is in a direct line at the moment of impact.

When aiming a shot, the natural thing ought to be to visualize a line going through the cue ball center where the cue ball currently is and the point where the cue ball center need to be at the moment of impact and then align your cue on that line. The problem for me is that this Point of Aim is a bit tricky to see (or visualize), since it is typically just a point in space, whereas I normally find it fairly easy to confidently identify the Point of Contact. So I typically focus on that when playing the shot, and I sort of hope that my brain will automatically correct for the fact that the cue ball is a globe...

So, should you focus on the Contact Point on the object ball or the slightly more vague Point of Aim?
If you should focus on the Point of Aim, how do you pick it out in a systematic way? Project the Point down on the felt to get something tangible to focus on?

Ok, that was more than one question... I hope I make sense (at least grammatically)...

[Belloz22]

get behind the line of he shot, walk into the line of the shot, get town on the shot, and look at the tghe white and make sure you are center striking, then as you come back for your last pause, change your sight and focus onto the contact point of the object ball, then stroke the shot

it is a bit hard because it needs to come naturally, and if you think about it too much it feels unnatural

[Martin76]

Hey, Belloz22. Thank you for your answer.

Am I interpreting you correctly if I say that you use the Point of Aim (mainly) as you're getting down to play the shot and lining up the cue, and then at the backstroke you switch your focus to the Point of Contact before striking the white?

[Belloz22]

hi, the best thing to do is as you are lining up the shot, you should know in your head the contact point on the object ball you are intending to hit, so as you are getting down on your shot you should be looking at the contact point on the object ball, this is because you will naturally aim where your eyes are sighting. When you are downa dn begin you stroke you should put your attention onto the point on the white you intend to hit, feather at this point a few times, so you know in your mind that you are going to hit that point.

As you come back for your final backstroke, and as you pause, shift your attention to the contact point on the object point again and you should keep your sight here until you have finished playing your shot. Resist the urge to move your eyes after you have hit the white as this can cause a slight movement in your cue action. Really, don't try looking where the hite is going, just concentrate on the imaginary point in mid air. Also remember to keep your head down.

Hope this helps clear it up for you, any other help feel free to email me or add me on msn