The Dreaded Yips

[Shockerz]

Actually I was better at snooker when I first started solo practicing myself . Once I started getting advice and reading books etc my game fell apart hahaha

I don't have yips but in matches my hand feels alien lol

Last night I got frustrated and went into Drago mode . Playing fast and free . I could feel how relaxed my arm and grip hand were .

Don't know if I'd risk it in a league match tho haha

I've done it in a league match. The guys were always giving me stick saying I have two games (well that's obvious), one in the club and one in the league.

I tighten up in the league as it's a long way to come for a single frame but git cheesed off with them one so went for it. It wasn't the same for me tat night as it was strange table and certainly didn't flow.

I'd had other frames where you get a solid scoring start and then go for it but that's not the same.

It tenser because it's worth more to you.

[Shockerz]

Well, first league game last night on an old billiard table with tight pockets and a dog slow cloth, just the combination you love in a 1 frame match.

Last on and one of the guys just lost on the black so needed to win to avoid the draw.

Nice tight game with all the reds going on the cush and the guy doesn't want a re-rack.

20 or so up on the yellow and what happens, little wrist twitch (on no, here we go!!).

Relaxed, loosened everything and hit from the elbow to roll it in and then took that and the brown to leave a 3/4 blue into the middle. Oh, another wrist twitch in the feathers, let arm go loose again and concentrated on hitting from the elbow, stroked it in and then a half ball pink to finish.

As much as I thought it's cured the other day in a thread, it seems not. If you put the same circumstances back in place and revert to type without realising it I guess it will always be there; I had forgotten to keep everything loose and hit from the elbow; gotta try and forget that now for the next game, what a game!

[Catch 22]

Well, first league game last night on an old billiard table with tight pockets and a dog slow cloth, just the combination you love in a 1 frame match.

Last on and one of the guys just lost on the black so needed to win to avoid the draw.

Nice tight game with all the reds going on the cush and the guy doesn't want a re-rack.

20 or so up on the yellow and what happens, little wrist twitch (on no, here we go!!).

Relaxed, loosened everything and hit from the elbow to roll it in and then took that and the brown to leave a 3/4 blue into the middle. Oh, another wrist twitch in the feathers, let arm go loose again and concentrated on hitting from the elbow, stroked it in and then a half ball pink to finish.

As much as I thought it's cured the other day in a thread, it seems not. If you put the same circumstances back in place and revert to type without realising it I guess it will always be there; I had forgotten to keep everything loose and hit from the elbow; gotta try and forget that now for the next game, what a game!

Do you have a rear pause ? If so have you tried laying without it ?

[Shockerz]

Do you have a rear pause ? If so have you tried laying without it ?

Yeah I have a rear pause. I didn't used to and had it then so not a lot of difference either way.

I know the pause can add to the issue but it actually gives me time to go through loose if I feel it.

What a game eh...

[jonny66]

Sounds cured to me. If you can keep it out of the actual delivery, even under pressure, it's not an issue is it?

[Catch 22]

Was talking to someone tonight about yips and they said they lengthened their backswing a lot so they could excelerate more gradual

[Shockerz]

Sounds cured to me. If you can keep it out of the actual delivery, even under pressure, it's not an issue is it?

I'm pretty much there I think, just very occasional. The thread isn't just about me it was for other sufferers to maybe say what they did to get over it or what they are going through.

I guess it's still an issue when you miss the important ball. (fingers crossed)

[Shockerz]

Was talking to someone tonight about yips and they said they lengthened their backswing a lot so they could excelerate more gradual

I like the sound of the longer backswing. I was toying with that Friday prior to the league game and it was great, come the league game the long back swing had disappeared and it all became a bit tense.

Obviously you'd have to practice, practice, practice a long backswing until it became natural but It certainly felt good in practice. It makes you commit a bit more!

[vmax4steve]

Cueman

try hitting balls straight into the pockets instead of trying to pot balls with the cue ball.
Do this for an hour a day for a couple of weeks, all different shots, along the cushions, off the cushions, into open pockets, play swerve shots into pockets, use side to spin them in off the jaws, use check side to prevent them going in.

Sounds daft as it's really, really easy to do, but your mind will switch off as this will take you back to the raw basics and could help to plant a new neural pathway or open up the previous one that was in place before your affliction developed.

Your targets will be the cue ball and the pocket, no object ball to worry about, this is how Walter Lindrum started, his dad gave him one ball to play with for the first six months when he started to learn billiards, then he gave him a second, and much later on the third.

[Catch 22]

Cueman

try hitting balls straight into the pockets instead of trying to pot balls with the cue ball.
Do this for an hour a day for a couple of weeks, all different shots, along the cushions, off the cushions, into open pockets, play swerve shots into pockets, use side to spin them in off the jaws, use check side to prevent them going in.

Sounds daft as it's really, really easy to do, but your mind will switch off as this will take you back to the raw basics and could help to plant a new neural pathway or open up the previous one that was in place before your affliction developed.

Your targets will be the cue ball and the pocket, no object ball to worry about, this is how Walter Lindrum started, his dad gave him one ball to play with for the first six months when he started to learn billiards, then he gave him a second, and much later on the third.

Ths sounds interesting ...question though . If you have a bad habit of putting a little unintentional side on the ball (or cut across it ) . The ball will still make its destination to the pocket unknown to the player . Could this not engrain bad habits ?

[Shockerz]

Lots of good ideas here my friends so I appreciate your help.

I get to a table around 4 times a week at present so not too bad so will try some of the suggestions.

If I'm honest I don;t feel too bad in general but with the odd time when it's tense and it gives me a little reminder.

I have a century breaker on my snooker Facebook group who has struggled to find a cure so much that he has virtually quit and used to be a very high standard.

He feels he has tried everything so hence trying to build a list of things that may help before he finally takes up bowls!

[vmax4steve]

Ths sounds interesting ...question though . If you have a bad habit of putting a little unintentional side on the ball (or cut across it ) . The ball will still make its destination to the pocket unknown to the player . Could this not engrain bad habits ?

I coached a team mate who had the yips and he could do this very easily, could shoot a ball past two balls that were partially blocking the pocket and also play the delivery stroke at an object ball with his eyes closed, but once that object ball was in vision on the delivery stroke it became part of the equation and back they came.
And before INMB chips in, his yips were only on screw shots because on screw shots he stared at the cue ball, on run throughs no problems because he looked at the object ball although he didn't believe that he did.

I proved it to him by making him hit balls straight into the pockets with extreme bottom on the cue ball, no problems there as he looked at the pocket, I watched him very closely and told him so, but put an object ball in the way and he looked at the cue ball, twitched and miscued almost every time, yet he argued with me that he always looked at the cue ball and had always done so and therefore I left him to it.
Still doing it now a couple of years later.

You can see that this exercise simply takes the object ball out of the equation, back to the very simplest raw basics, starting from scratch, learning again, developing new neural pathways and maybe opening up the old one, the one without the yips.

Playing across the cue ball is a marker that you're not looking at the correct target when getting the cue on the line of aim or on the delivery stroke or both, and the former is a major cause of one form of the yips, the body reacting when the eyes know the cue isn't on the line of aim, causing movement on the delivery stroke, extreme when it's done every time, becoming habit, hence the yips.

This should give you only two targets to worry about, get this right and then move on to the third and most important target which is the object ball, though some will argue against that.

[Big Splash!]

Lots of good ideas here my friends so I appreciate your help.

I get to a table around 4 times a week at present so not too bad so will try some of the suggestions.

If I'm honest I don;t feel too bad in general but with the odd time when it's tense and it gives me a little reminder.

I have a century breaker on my snooker Facebook group who has struggled to find a cure so much that he has virtually quit and used to be a very high standard.

He feels he has tried everything so hence trying to build a list of things that may help before he finally takes up bowls!

Good sport that bowls. The best bowls are made from lignum vitae, beautiful things.

If nothing else works he can get someone to whack him around the head with a casee. The pain will take away all the anxiety bud, guaranteed. He won't care if he pots or misses.

[Shockerz]

Still trying the hitting from the elbow thing at the moment with a longer stroke.

Going ok but takes me a while to get the rhythm as totally different to my normal feathering.

Knocked loads of 30's and 40's today and a 69 toward the end so not too bad. Had good periods where longer stroke felt natural but as anything else, need more table time.

No real yips today which is good.

[Shockerz]

Good sport that bowls. The best bowls are made from lignum vitae, beautiful things.

Had a game in our club once when they were short back in the 80's Couldn't see what to do so fired one down there as hard as I could, knocked them all over the place and mine was left right by the jack, pure luck.

Did I get some looks, apparently it's not the done thing!