Order of importance

[itsnoteasy]

If you were making a list from most important to least, to practice, to get your technique perfect, what would it be.?
Just interested if there is a list to go through or is everyone different .

[greatwhite]

what great post!!! cant wait to see what the results are

[j6uk]

Agreed, it is..
There is a little list with a question as the title:

Why are you following the donkeys into their stable if your a wannabe race horse?

what great post!!! cant wait to see what the results are

[Byrom]

I would say this is subjective. It does depend what type of level you are at for example if you are a beginner then you should practice the basics hard until they become ingrained.
As for me I am more target driven I am always looking to add new routines that I have noted pro's or other good players, coaches doing and I set myself little targets to beat and keep my own little records. I have had a number hundred breaks in practice and about nine or ten in games and I regularly get over 50 so I would say I am just an average club player who can occasionally shine. I am quite happy with my game and have reached a level I am content with given that I just enjoy playing and do not take it that seriously really. Even so you have to treat the game with respect at the table and in practice. I think you never really stop learning this game and I always think it is good to go back to basics too at any level and experiment with different grips pause stance and especially alignment and sighting every now and again but I never advocate at my level or above becoming obsessed with technique or changing anything during a real game and feel this is a fault with a lot of players I have seen play, even some at the top of the game.


For myself I do work on technique in practice and the like but I actually don't think you should try to hard to correct your technique during a game really though because I think it can be counter productive, as correcting one thing can throw your game off in other ways you see.

For this reason I have separated my lists for technique in practice and in a game.

So here is what I do in practice.

1. Spread balls out try and clear up to get warmed up, if I miss one put two back on table until I clear up.
2, Set up various routines I have seen keeping a check of previous targets I try and beat them. Sometimes I change something like grip or pause or sighting and so on - so if I do the same routines with slightly different technique I can tell by checking my previous averages at the particular routine if it suits me to adapt this new technique into my game or not - I also think it important only to work on one or two things during any particular session.
3. Work on weakness - set up a particular shot and repeat it many times - blind pocket shots are a particular weakness of mine for example.
4. Try a few different flair shots with side,check,power,screw, cannons, pack smashing, Judd Trump specials, Alex Higgins blue, Jimmy White bananas, trick shots and things like that just to entertain myself.
5. I always finish by clearing the colours.

I do have a few habits during the game though.

1. I concentrate on keeping still on the shot and delivering the cue straight. I have my own technique for this.
2. Set off at my normal pace and try and keep the same rhythm and keep the same routine and mannerisms around the table as I think this helps my timing.
3. If I get negative thoughts during a game I just hum my favourite tune to myself - as I said I believe when you get to a certain level it does more harm than good to over think the game and try correcting technique as you play so I find doing this it helps free my mind. I believe that a players technique does not leave them during a game I think it is only your confidence and concentration that has ebbs and flows during a game or a session and I think this is what causes your technique to fail. People may disagree but I honestly think way too many people over think the game too much when they should not beat themselves up or be afraid of missing a shot or get annoyed with themselves after a bad shot - I think having negative thoughts are counter productive and disturb your confidence levels. I work on just keeping calm, I can now accept a miss or a bad positional shot or a bad shot and quickly move on most of the time which I think helps me immensely - after all we are all human - I think If I can do this without letting any negative thoughts creep in and just get on with the next shot in front of me then I will have more chance to regain my focus quicker.
5. If it is still going wrong I try to play a few more good safety shots to play my way in and congratulate myself on doing this.
6.If all else fails and I am having a bad day I just speed everything up and tell myself if I am going to loose then do it with style - its amazing how often my game can just come back when I remove doubt and just go for it.
7. If none of it works and I loose I just accept it remember the shots I missed or the poor position shot that cost me and tell myself the same thing - You gain more from a loss than a win! As I now have weakness and things that I can work on in practice, as I don't notice any of these things when its all going well. Therefore I am always looking to take a positive even from a bad performance.
8, Etiquette is very important to me. I'm a nice guy so I feel it important to keep smiling keep happy but I try to be modest in victory and in nice and complimentary in defeat. Creating a good impression is very important I feel.

The End.

[Terry Davidson]

I think it's the 4 to 7 things I've posted here before (as far as technique is concerned):

1. No upper body movement throughout feathers, backswing and delivery (keep your head down).
2. Relaxed grip, not too loose but never tight.
3. Slow and straight backswing, slow enough so you can perfectly control it and keep it straight.
4. Rear pause if you can develop one but not too long.
5. Start delivery slow building up acceleration, eyes on OB at time of strike.
6. Accelerate through and beyond the cueball.
7. Stay still at the end of the delivery with the grip hand against the chest.

Terry

[mythman69]

Etiquette is very important to me. I'm a nice guy so I feel it important to keep smiling keep happy but I try to be modest in victory and in nice and complimentary in defeat. Creating a good impression is very important I feel.

Great post!



One question: how do I do a Jimmy White banana shot?

Thanks!

[itsnoteasy]

That's a very intricate post Byrom, thanks for taking the time, I agree with etiquette , I am always nice when I lose and try to be humble when I win, although the big grin on my face may give my mood away.
J6, I am trying to follow the racehorse not the donkey, I just hope I end up in the right stable .
Terry is that list in order of importance, that's what I was after, if there are things to do before others to help you improve (not so much quicker)but better
No tension, when I cue without it ,it feels great, and my game is on a higher level,cue ball reaction is treble with easier cueing, the cue feels different in my grip as well , even slight tension and its all over, this is the thing I am working on,especially shots with eight to ten feet between ob and cue ball, my brain thinks hit it hard, when I want to stun across the table or hold for the black, but I know it's nothing to do with it,it's technique .

[j6uk]

My approach is holistic then, focused in on the individual because, there is no time to waist..
Seen enough players over the years, with more or less talent that, just kinda, took everything and nothing at the same time on there journey and, what did they ended up with!? A whole lotta nothing.. Their game simply flat-lined and In a lot of cases with a horrible spouse and siht job to boot..
Things could be better clarified.. I don't know If you remember but look at this post from sid a while ago, really worth a read: http://www.thesnookerforum.co.uk/boa...-clips-FINALLY

There are many words on here from people pretending they know what is what (the go along to get along crew) but, only armed with the knowledge they've gleaned from the few, the few on here who've genuinely done the work and know what their talking about.
So what's it about? Its about caricature, caricature can be the donkey and, you can't train a donkey to be a race horse.
enjoy

J6, I am trying to follow the racehorse not the donkey, I just hope I end up in the right stable .

[Byrom]

Here is a selection of some Jimmy White shots for you Mythman69 I tried most of the snooker ones.

There is a good example of the banana shot at the end - You play one by striking the ball with extreme top to play a pot and then after when the white hits the cushion the spin on the ball actually reverses banana ing the ball back to the cushion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3t0Fm-sK9g

[Terry Davidson]

itsnot easy:

Yes they are in order of importance however you should be doing all of them in your technique. The way to do this is to choose the most important point (body movement) and work on that ONLY and then once you have that mastered move on to the next one, and so on.

Never, ever work on more than ONE point at a time as otherwise you can't discover where you're going wrong. You may already have some of these mastered and if that's the case just trial it for a bit and then move on to the next one.

Terry

[itsnoteasy]

itsnot easy:

Yes they are in order of importance however you should be doing all of them in your technique. The way to do this is to choose the most important point (body movement) and work on that ONLY and then once you have that mastered move on to the next one, and so on.

Never, ever work on more than ONE point at a time as otherwise you can't discover where you're going wrong. You may already have some of these mastered and if that's the case just trial it for a bit and then move on to the next one.

Terry

That's what I was after, it's a very hard game, you have to do a few simple sounding thing right, but within those simple things other things can go wrong, and each one can spoil it, also when playing well its hard to say why(apart from tension)and it can be just as hard to figure out why you are playing poorly, especially by yourself. I feel I will talk myself out of my good form, it has lasted quite a bit now.
J6, I can get very lazy with my technique , I can pot 8 long blues, then miss 2 or3 in a row ,give myself a shake, concentrate and be away again, apart from the ****e job and missus, I think I'm a Donkey, which annoys me as when it clicks I can pot with the best of them.

[vmax4steve]

The very first thing that any new player has to get right is sighting before getting down into the stance.
See the shot, focus on the contact point of the object ball when sighting before getting down into the stance, focus on it again when using a front or rear pause and keep that focus during the strike.

The correct sighting will allow your brain to subconsciously lead you into the correct position to get your cue on the line of aim. Focussing on the contact point at the right times during the cue action will make your hand follow your eye and keep your cue on the line of aim.
Focussing on the contact point during the strike will minimise head and body movement as this usually happens when the eyes leave the contact point.

The very basis of snooker is hand and eye co-ordination, get that right and the rest will follow.

[j6uk]

Lol okay, but be a wise one, a wise donkey is a fast donkey

I think I'm a Donkey, which annoys me as when it clicks I can pot with the best of them.

[mythman69]

One question: how do I do a Jimmy White banana shot?

Here is Jimmy White explaining how he does a banana shot: