December 06, 2004
Introducing Two New Features
Beginning this week, we are pleased to introduce two new pieces.The first pieces touches the lighter side of the game, entitled “You know you’re a D Player When…” which defines the characteristics of a D Player, not by his/her caliber of play, but by his/her traits and mannerisms. You can be the best player in the world and still find yourself with some D Player characteristics. We will list a few each week for the next couple months. Enjoy!
The second piece is entitled the ShOW (Shot of the Week). Each week, we will be highlighting a shot or exercise from The Lesson which is full of wonderful drills and exercises for improving your game. It is described as the “index to pocket billiards excellence.” You can download an e-book version of "The Lesson" discounted $10 right here:
You know you’re a D Player when…
1. You bang your cue against the side of the table (to get the dust off???) after chalking.2. While racking, you lean your cue against the side of the table (where it inevitably falls over) versus laying it on the table.
3. You are looking around the table while you’re already down on your shot.
4. You have a hole drilled so deeply in your chalk you could drink beer from it.
The ShOW (Shot of the Week)
To master the punch stroke is to master the game.
The punch stroke gives you natural track lines. In other words, the cue ball goes where it wants to go. This is why Willie Mosconi used the punch stroke over seventy percent of the time. This is another reason to choose the punch stroke. It gives you natural speed. With the punch stroke you do not alter the natural track lines, and you do not alter the natural speed. Line up for Lesson Five and deliver a nice crisp punch stroke. Listen for the wonderful sound of a committed stroke. You do not have to slam the ball. And watch the cue ball travel around the table for perfect position on the winning nine ball.
If you travel three rails, and scratch in the corner pocket, give yourself added bonus points. You have just delivered a perfect punch stroke. This is a good lesson for working on your trust skills. You are close to the object ball. You have a cut shot. It looks like you will scratch in the side pocket. It looks like a hard shot to make. Yet you are required to trust yourself and deliver a punch stroke. The stroke does all the work. I talk about trust skills in my book I Came to Win. If you can trust yourself to do the right thing, you will experience better results. Too often we hold back, when a full commitment is required for success.
Tournament Preparation
Step 10
The final thing you must do to be ready to play is to feel like you are a winner. No one is going to win a tournament if they feel like they should not win. You need to be the path in order to follow the path. Make up your mind you will “Come to Win” in every event, in every match, in every shot.We Travel First Class
In your league you can begin your training by learning to be first class in everything you do. This will reduce the tension you feel when you begin your competition. In the world of karate a combatant learns to reduce tension simply by respecting his opponent. A bow is a kata itself. Some Karate experts take years to learn the art of the bow.
The art of a bow is in the attitude. If you thank your opponent for being here, you reduce the effect he/she may have on you. You cannot fear someone you appreciate. Learn to see your opponent as an opportunity to love this game.
Without your opponent, you have no chance to express yourself as a pool player. There are three things you will receive in every match. You will learn, you will perform and you will socialize with your teammates.
The Mid-Term Exam
Ready for a Mid-Term?
I have an exercise I call the mid-term exam. It is in The Lesson book and in my
videos. In 9-ball, you will break the rack. If you do not make a ball, take the two lowest balls off the table. Take ball in hand, and begin to run out. You should have seven balls on the table, if you did not make three balls. Run out. A successful run gives you one point and you are STILL IN THE SAME INNING.
You break again and take ball in hand with seven balls. Run out. A successful run out in the second rack gives you three points for a total of four points in that inning. If you fail to run the second rack, you have one point and move on to the second inning. If you fail in the first rack, you have no points, and move on to the second inning. You can only go for a four pointer when you successfully complete the first rack.
You will post five innings. A perfect score would be twenty. HOWEVER, you will get one point for a nine on the break. You are allowed one nine ball break per session. So a perfect score would be twenty one. HOWEVER, you can also “DECLARE” one time during your session. A DECLARE is when you break, make a ball, have a clear shot at the one, and think you can run out. This can only happen in the first rack of any inning. If you run out, you get five points. So a perfect score, with a nine ball break and a DECLARE is twenty two.
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GOALS FOR THE MID-TERM
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Practice Makes Perfect
You should always score your practice session. You need to measure your progress and make adjustments in order to strengthen you game. Set up some numbers to shoot for. (Profile of a Master) Than take action and develop the skills that will give you the abilities you seek. Nothing comes to us without hard work. You and I are together because we both believe in our games. Score your practice session. Don't waste time banging balls around the table.
Nice going, Matt Edwards!
I want to congratulate my friend and student from New Zealand, Matt Edwards for getting a spot in the World Junior 9-ball Championships this year.He also won the South Island Junior 8-ball Championships, beating another student of mine, John Whelan. I think Lititia “Stormie” Nenewale must be proud of this sixteen year old sensation. It is great to see all this hard work paying off.
Email this week:
“Dear Tim,Hello from Baltimore. This is R.S. touching base with you. I just wanted to say I have read I Came to Win and it has helped my game but I also wanted to say that the DVD of your MONK 101 course has helped me more than anything else by far. It is a great lesson and has helped me become more clear on the things you covered in your Eight Ball book. I see a definite improvement in my game and my focus on what I want to do.
My wife is also on my team and is a skill level 2. She watched the first DVD and won her first match against a higher skill level player. Thank you again for helping Point the Way and I look forward to start my learning on the 2-7-2 shots.
Sincerely,
R. S.”
May all the rolls go your way!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We measure our ability by how many balls we can run. We measure our worth by how many players we can beat. The problem is, we should not measure anything.
The Monk
“I Came to Win”-titude
(A side note from Samm’s Side Pocket)
Last week, I wrote about times when you play well, but do not win. What does “I Came to Win” mean?!? I Came to Win is an attitude, a mindset, even, a way of living. When you come to win, it does not mean that you will always win first place, although, that ideally goes along with it.
To show up with a winning attitude goes beyond winning the tournament. If every player in the tournament is an “I Came to Win” player, there can still only be one winner. I will not get too deep on what an “I Came to Win” player is because there’s a great book that talks all about it. I would, however, like to give you something to think about.
If you can not identify what “winning” means to you, then you may be better off just flipping a coin. If you define winning as simply not losing, then you may not truly be appreciating the art of the game and coming to win. As the Monk has previously written, it is important to define what your purpose is. What this game means to you identifies why you want to win. Knowing what winning means to you will help you understand and sustain that I Came to Win attitude.
An I Came to Win attitude means more than just encouraging yourself and not losing. An I Came to Win attitude means you show up with a high level of integrity and respect for the game and for your opponent; you arrive prepared for every match and have the knowledge and skill to perform the stroke required; you (as the Monk reminds us) “see the shot, know the stroke, and shoot the shot” with no preoccupation with the outcome; you have the wisdom to make the right decisions and the wisdom to know when you displayed a fine performance, even though you may not have won.
Do you have the “I Came to Win”titude?
