Pro Pool Workout #1
There are four different areas of the physical game that demand to be managed if
a pool player is to fulfill his potential.
They are the fundamentals, execution, equipment, and physical
conditioning. The most
important area for the amateur player, and the one which will give the largest
return on time and attention invested, is the fundamentals:
stance, grip, bridge, aim, and stroke
If your fundamentals are more dependable than an opponent of similar skill
level, you are likely to win in the long run.
If your fundamentals are
consistent and correct, you should be able to play consistently under a variety
of conditions. If you don’t have
well-trained fundamentals, however,
you will not hold up under pressure.
Unfortunately, the fundamentals
of pool are almost always approached and presented from a beginner’s
perspective. What this means, is
that once a player has a rudimentary grasp of how to stand, how to form a
bridge, how to aim, etc., he is off and running with his attention fully fixated
on execution, never to consider the ramifications of proper fundamentals
again.
This is amazing when one realizes that
even the most advanced professionals are constantly working on stance, bridge,
grip, aim, and stroke and always looking to refine and improve them.
Buddy Hall once said that his greatest improvement came from a small
change in his bridge that he discovered in a dream.
In this column, over the next few months,
we’ll take a look at the fundamentals of pool from a fresh perspective.
We’ll sort out the crucial elements that either allow or prevent you
from getting your “A” game out. We’ll
shine a light on the underlying principles that determine whether your stroke
and stance will hold up under pressure.
If you’re looking for someone to tell
you how to make a closed bridge, contact me at Bebob Publishing and I’ll get
you a good, elementary instructional book. If you want to take a “powerful” look at fundamentals, watch this column over the next few months.
To set the stage, lets take a look at “Power of Distinction.”
The
Power of Distinction
One of the greatest trainers of all time once said that
“power
lives in the ability to make distinctions.”
What this means is that mastery of any discipline, sport, art, or field
is dependent on the ability to recognize fine lines between things that are the
same and things that are different. The
deeper your understanding of a subject, the finer are your distinctions.
For example, if a person had never been exposed to snow, he would not know snow. If he was eventually exposed to it, he would come to know it simply as snow. If he moved to a cold climate and lived there for a year, his greater experience would allow him to see finer distinctions such as slush, powder, good-packing, and icy. If he traveled to the Arctic and lived with the Eskimos, he would come to recognize over 30 different names for snow, just like they do.
In pool, powerful and dependable fundamentals come from having done the work to accumulate a vast knowledge of distinction, an understanding of what works and what doesn’t. Fundamentals work best if they conform with certain basic principles and knowing those principles can help you organize your study of fundamentals. In the next issue we’ll begin to explore the “Principles of Effortless Function.”
Bob Henning is the author of the Pro Book, widely considered to be the most advanced training resource for competitive pool players. It brings the latest techniques of the top coaches and trainers of all sports, into pool. It is intended for those who wish to prepare physically, mentally, and psychologically, for pool competition. Bob is also the author of the Pro Book Video Series, a complete, on-the-table training system.