Here is a unique way to look at sighting and your approach to shot making. There are a few elements that must be
in place if we are to succeed with the shot at hand. The feet must be in proper alignment to the target. Your brain
will not allow you to deliver a committed stroke if you are not lined up to the shot. It is almost as if the brain says,
“You are not lined up so you are on your own. I want no part of this shot”. The most important part of the alignment
is your feet. For right handed players, your inside right leg must connect to the line you intend the cue ball to
follow. Once you go down in your stance, you should be able to draw a line from the inner right part of your right
leg to the spot on the object ball you want to hit. This part of the set up can be done through the intellectual part of
our brain. In other words, we can do this just about every time we go down in our stance.
In the first article I talked about Myelin and it affects our game. Myelin is a chemical that wraps itself around your
brain and remembers exactly what you did to succeed with a shot. When you practice your stance, you are building
this substance that will bring your game to a higher level. Before we understood this very real substance we called
it "muscle memory".
Without proper feet alignment we are forced to over ride the brain and shoot the shot on our own. This can be
done but you will wear out before the tournament is over and fall by the wayside exhausted and overcome with
fatigue. Now you need to move from the intellectual side into the instinctual side. This is where most players come
up short. They try to shoot the shot with the intellectual side of the brain and this does not work in the game of
pocket billiards.
We shoot the shot with another eye. When we have contact with this other eye, the minds’ eye, we see several
things when we are in our stance. This is the sequence a master goes through when he is shooting a shot. First he
sees the line from the pocket to the object ball. This line goes into the head part of the object ball and out through
the back part. We want to hit that back part of the object ball. The object ball must travel along that line you drew in
your mind from the back of the pocket to the object ball. Draw another line parallel to the object ball pocket line
from the cue ball. Make sure they run parallel just like train tracks. Where that line connects to the front of the cue
ball is the spot that makes contact with the back part of the line through the object ball. As you go down in your
stance, your well trained instinctual eye sees the line through the object ball and the line through the cue ball. The
eye sees the back part of the object ball and the front part of the cue ball. In other words you line up the front part
of the cue ball to the back part of the object ball. This is done through your well trained instinctual abilities. You
must be well trained in this art if you are to become a real fine player. In your training, make it a point to go through
this sequence. Amateurs do not look at the front line of the object ball. They do not look at the front line of the cue
ball. They only look at the back lines and are hoping that they get it right when they deliver the stroke.
Monk Note: I will be traveling a lot this summer. If you would like to book a private lesson feel free to call me. We
will work on this sighting technique for four hours.
The art of sighting is found in the instinctual side of our nature therefore it is difficult to teach. During these
classes we actually train in seeing the shot with our instincts. It takes a little time and a lot of trust. Many students
are not ready to turn their intellect over to their awareness nature. During this transition they fail and then revert
back to their old ways.
Faith booked a session with The Monk so she could get her
alignment straightened out and learn ways to practice to
make the most out of her time. Call The Monk and find out
if he is going to be in your area or make plans to visit him
in Orlando Florida. It will be well worth your time to get it
right and add value to your training. The Monk will work
with you for three hours for just three hundred dollars. Fly
in, work and fly home. This is the best deal offered in the
world of instruction. The Monk has been teaching pool for
almost thirty years. Take advantage of this special chance
to work with one of this games premiere teachers. The
Monk gives you over $200.00 worth of books and dvd's to
help you continue your work. This is a limited time offer.
Call The Monk today 1-603-566-6229
for more info click here
alignment straightened out and learn ways to practice to
make the most out of her time. Call The Monk and find out
if he is going to be in your area or make plans to visit him
in Orlando Florida. It will be well worth your time to get it
right and add value to your training. The Monk will work
with you for three hours for just three hundred dollars. Fly
in, work and fly home. This is the best deal offered in the
world of instruction. The Monk has been teaching pool for
almost thirty years. Take advantage of this special chance
to work with one of this games premiere teachers. The
Monk gives you over $200.00 worth of books and dvd's to
help you continue your work. This is a limited time offer.
Call The Monk today 1-603-566-6229
for more info click here
SLUMP BUSTERS
Not long ago I went into one of my sad disappointing career ending slumps. I struggled for every shot. My draw stroke was
completely gone. There was no point in shooting power shots because they would rattle the pocket. My game skills were tested.
If you are to be a winner you still need to win when you are in a slump. The great performers find a way to win even when they do not
have their good stuff.
I had to play within myself. Even though I thought I would miss every shot, I could still make balls. Without cue ball speed I was
reduced to the first stage, that of shot making. This was the best I could do.
So I took that. At least it was a chance. Two times in a row I willed myself to the third spot in a tournament. If you don’t have a curve
ball, then you play without it. Rely on what works during a slump. In my case, a soft follow stroke was the only thing I could do. So I
played position for long shots and used my mantra “I might miss or I might make, I am not sure which one, but I am sure I will look
good shooting the shot”. In other words, I used what I had at the moment.
Will skills are essential to winning. There are times you simply have to trust yourself to make the ball. You can never give up. You
must always fight hard. The difference between an amateur and a pro is the pro works hard for the shots while the amateur
sometimes does not try hard when he thinks he will miss.
How many times have you given up on a shot because you thought you could not get position on the next ball? And how many times
have you missed the shot only to find out if you had made it you would have run out? Use your will skills.
The slump buster I used was to re read my book on the stance. I will give you a FREE copy as a Download if you email me at
monkbilliardacademy@yahoo.com I will sent it to you free of charge via email. I read the part about the stance and noticed that I was
two inches behind my normal position. Two inches changed my entire game!
Now I moved up and bingo the power draws were back. Here is my advice. When you get into dead stroke and able to hit all the
strokes, make sure you absolutely realize exactly how you are standing. Note all the stroke mechanics that work for you and write
them down. Show your stance to a trusted friend and ask him to watch you. This way he/she knows what works for you and if you get
out of line he/she can help you.
THE CAUSE OF ALL SLUMPS IS PHYSICAL, A STANCE PROBLEM.
We turn it in to a mental problem which only digs a hole deeper. Once while I was running out my opponent told me “Monk, you don’t
have a cue in your hand, you have a shovel. You’re digging a big hole”.
With my new stance discovery I gave up the shovel and picked up my cue.
Not long ago I went into one of my sad disappointing career ending slumps. I struggled for every shot. My draw stroke was
completely gone. There was no point in shooting power shots because they would rattle the pocket. My game skills were tested.
If you are to be a winner you still need to win when you are in a slump. The great performers find a way to win even when they do not
have their good stuff.
I had to play within myself. Even though I thought I would miss every shot, I could still make balls. Without cue ball speed I was
reduced to the first stage, that of shot making. This was the best I could do.
So I took that. At least it was a chance. Two times in a row I willed myself to the third spot in a tournament. If you don’t have a curve
ball, then you play without it. Rely on what works during a slump. In my case, a soft follow stroke was the only thing I could do. So I
played position for long shots and used my mantra “I might miss or I might make, I am not sure which one, but I am sure I will look
good shooting the shot”. In other words, I used what I had at the moment.
Will skills are essential to winning. There are times you simply have to trust yourself to make the ball. You can never give up. You
must always fight hard. The difference between an amateur and a pro is the pro works hard for the shots while the amateur
sometimes does not try hard when he thinks he will miss.
How many times have you given up on a shot because you thought you could not get position on the next ball? And how many times
have you missed the shot only to find out if you had made it you would have run out? Use your will skills.
The slump buster I used was to re read my book on the stance. I will give you a FREE copy as a Download if you email me at
monkbilliardacademy@yahoo.com I will sent it to you free of charge via email. I read the part about the stance and noticed that I was
two inches behind my normal position. Two inches changed my entire game!
Now I moved up and bingo the power draws were back. Here is my advice. When you get into dead stroke and able to hit all the
strokes, make sure you absolutely realize exactly how you are standing. Note all the stroke mechanics that work for you and write
them down. Show your stance to a trusted friend and ask him to watch you. This way he/she knows what works for you and if you get
out of line he/she can help you.
THE CAUSE OF ALL SLUMPS IS PHYSICAL, A STANCE PROBLEM.
We turn it in to a mental problem which only digs a hole deeper. Once while I was running out my opponent told me “Monk, you don’t
have a cue in your hand, you have a shovel. You’re digging a big hole”.
With my new stance discovery I gave up the shovel and picked up my cue.