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When I first began playing pool and my husband found out about how much I knew about right vs. left brain thinking, he wanted for the two of us to write a book one day on this very topic, which I have yet to do. I had explained to him that the initial techniques of pool are very much left brained, but once learning the mechanics, a right-brained person would have an advantage. I was just a beginner at pool then, although I had achieved excellence in other sports like tennis and karate.
I told him that because I was right brained, pool would initially be harder for me to learn, because there are so many sequential aspects to the learning of pool, which is not something the right brain can so. Processing and learning by sequencing is a left-brain function. I had learned, however, how to program, gain some proficiency in computers, which is very left brained. I really took programming for the express goal of strengthening my weaker left side of the brain. That gave me some balance, but still learning in a left brained fashion is more difficult for me than someone who is innately left brained. OTOH, my progress in pool in the learning of techniques is faster than a person who is very right brained and has not developed the other side because they cannot see the sequence of play and are not as good as seeing pattern play and we all know that a person has to be able to see sequences and patterns to read the table and to be capable mentally of consistently running out.
While not an expert in pool, I am quite adept in analyzing why certain players are having difficulty in terms of how their brains are interfering with their play, either due to non-development of the other side or not being able to switch back and forth between right and left functions at the appropriate time.
I studied this kind of thing about different brains for years as a psychologist, this bled into seeing how this affects sports early on, before I even picked up a pool stick.
This is a huge topic. It is rather simple really, but would be rather lengthy to explain. I was thinking about some of this this morning while reading a book which just touched on this.
At the tournament yesterday, I watched a very adept six get beat by our 4 because he went into choke. This six was literally shooting lights out with superb shots, superb shape before he went into choke. I went up to him after the match and knowing in all likelihood, I would never see him again, I asked him if he wanted for me to tell him why he did not win. So I told him where he began the choke. His play had shifted from the right, where it needs to be played over to the left which knows nothing about the execution of shooting pool, it just knows how to fill us with ‘shitty’ thinking.
Anyway, we bought this book called ‘the 8 ball bible’. This is such a great book. It does touch on the right/left thing a bit and also much wisdom about safety play and has very advanced safety plays and positional plays that take you to the next level, a level that is rarely seen at the league level at all. The safety/ Positional level it can take you to approaches the A level of play.
I have had teachings about when to do the right left switch and also it is in the book but what I will tell you is that they are all wrong about the timing of the switch. The concepts are right, some of what they say is right but the timing of the switch is all wrong. I have talked to FL about lots of this stuff and I am pretty sure that he knows when this switch occurs, but have yet to meet an instructor, except for him that knows this.
Some excellent players do the switch in the right timing, because it is natural to them, but I am here to tell you as a person who has studied and written quite a bit on this subject that the instructors and pool schools are teaching it wrong.
IMO the left-right switch is a crucial part of the mental game which needs to be mastered for excellence in any sport, but there are other aspects too, in attaining that mental prowess, so the switch, though crucial is not the whole ball of wax by any means.
There is no book out there which addresses this switch correctly, in terms of the ones out there on the mental side of pool. I know that FL is writing a book on some of the mental aspects, which I will be getting my hands on before it has cooled from the printing and will see if this is addressed in his book. If it is, then this will be the first time that anyone got it right. Now if he will get on with it, that would be nice, so the rest of you who do not have this knowledge are not left hanging for very long.
Laura
[ Edited by bluewolf on 2004/7/18 13:35 ]
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Playing pool on the right side of the brain
#2
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Posted 18 July 2004 - 01:35 PM
I do have all the answers and the final breakthrough, if people keep messing with me in the pool world which they are, I just may tell these secrets to the lid of me coffin and take it with me to heaven and tell it to the boys in the pool hall up there instead. My attitude continues to decline on this to the point the book l/3rd written has laid untouched for 6 months and I seem to now have zero desire to go back in and finish it.
They beat me up, beat me up and I get to the point I don't want to do nothing for nobody any more. Maybe I'll snap out of this one day, who knows.
:-D :-o :-o :-P
They beat me up, beat me up and I get to the point I don't want to do nothing for nobody any more. Maybe I'll snap out of this one day, who knows.
:-D :-o :-o :-P
"Fast Larry" Guninger
The Power Source Traveling Pool School. To see my web page come alive click here: www.fastlarrypool.com
The Power Source Traveling Pool School. To see my web page come alive click here: www.fastlarrypool.com
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Posted 18 July 2004 - 04:01 PM
Well Larry, I see it like this.Let's be practical and forget who 'screwed' you. Jettison the frustration and other self-defeating thoughts and/ or emotions. It should have nothing to do with your decision. The decision needs to be based on logic and the almighty dollar that makes the world go round. Let's look at the business, practical aspects of whether or not to write it.
If the book will make money for you,then it is probably worth doing. It is nice to do things for others, but realistically, we must all pay our bills and when a person has something to offer that no body else has, they deserve to get rich on it. Nuthin wrong with that. So if you are going to put a lot of time into writing that book, then that is time that you are not making money doing lessons, trick shot shows and so forth. So, in that vein, indeed, for it to be worth your time, you do need to make a considerable amount of money off of the book.
If the time put into the book will not give you payback, then why bother? Why not just pass some of the info to your students who are paying you for lessons and want to learn a few of the things you know about the mental game. That is something you can do in lessons or even do some, but not all of it in a dvd format, if you think that it will bring in revenue.
I know some, certainly not all, of what you are talking about and it can be done in dvd. It would just require a little creativity to make it interesting. Remember the vhs I have of the lady doing the breathing techniques? She is demonstrating the techniques and explaining what she is doing and how it can benefit the student. Then if you add some music and perhaps some visualization things to it, it could actually be quite captivating.
This is how I would teach some of the things I know how to do if I were making a dvd, but then I am a meditator and zen practitioner, so this kind of thing would appeal to me. only you know what might appeal to some others who are not quite like me.
Back to your book. If no money is made, it is not worth the time because time=money.Nothing in life is free. If somethings ever look like they are free, they just look that way.
Laura
If the book will make money for you,then it is probably worth doing. It is nice to do things for others, but realistically, we must all pay our bills and when a person has something to offer that no body else has, they deserve to get rich on it. Nuthin wrong with that. So if you are going to put a lot of time into writing that book, then that is time that you are not making money doing lessons, trick shot shows and so forth. So, in that vein, indeed, for it to be worth your time, you do need to make a considerable amount of money off of the book.
If the time put into the book will not give you payback, then why bother? Why not just pass some of the info to your students who are paying you for lessons and want to learn a few of the things you know about the mental game. That is something you can do in lessons or even do some, but not all of it in a dvd format, if you think that it will bring in revenue.
I know some, certainly not all, of what you are talking about and it can be done in dvd. It would just require a little creativity to make it interesting. Remember the vhs I have of the lady doing the breathing techniques? She is demonstrating the techniques and explaining what she is doing and how it can benefit the student. Then if you add some music and perhaps some visualization things to it, it could actually be quite captivating.
This is how I would teach some of the things I know how to do if I were making a dvd, but then I am a meditator and zen practitioner, so this kind of thing would appeal to me. only you know what might appeal to some others who are not quite like me.
Back to your book. If no money is made, it is not worth the time because time=money.Nothing in life is free. If somethings ever look like they are free, they just look that way.
Laura
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Posted 18 July 2004 - 09:25 PM
It's not worth the time if it doesn't make money ?
Hmm, that seems like a shame to me, to take that attitude.
Perhaps Fast has an opportunity to take mankind's understanding of ourselves forwards significantly, to break new ground.
Surely that kind of legacy, that kind of impact, is worth something ?
Did Hilary and Scott seek financial reward from scaling Everest ? Well, maybe they got their financial reward, but wouldn't they have done it anyway - just to challenge a new frontier, break new ground and push mankind forwards ?
There are a lot of a**holes out there, and every time one of them hurts you, abuses you, it does diminish your faith in mankind. I've been there.
But they're still in a minority, don't let them warp your view of the rest of the world - most of us are better than them.
Maybe pool is a magnet for lowlifes, or maybe it can just bring out the worst in people, but for the most part people are good, respectful, compasionate.
It's just that the lowlifes make more noise.
Hmm, that seems like a shame to me, to take that attitude.
Perhaps Fast has an opportunity to take mankind's understanding of ourselves forwards significantly, to break new ground.
Surely that kind of legacy, that kind of impact, is worth something ?
Did Hilary and Scott seek financial reward from scaling Everest ? Well, maybe they got their financial reward, but wouldn't they have done it anyway - just to challenge a new frontier, break new ground and push mankind forwards ?
There are a lot of a**holes out there, and every time one of them hurts you, abuses you, it does diminish your faith in mankind. I've been there.
But they're still in a minority, don't let them warp your view of the rest of the world - most of us are better than them.
Maybe pool is a magnet for lowlifes, or maybe it can just bring out the worst in people, but for the most part people are good, respectful, compasionate.
It's just that the lowlifes make more noise.
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Posted 18 July 2004 - 09:33 PM
Bluewolf - the sides of the brain thing, I've heard a little about it, but I'm not that clear on the science.
Is it right side (controlling left of body) for creative thinking,
left side (controlling right of body) for logical / procedural thinking ?
Also, which side controlls the inner voice of conscious thought ?
And which pool-related tasks are on that side of the brain ?
(I ask as I've been working on shutting off conscious thought during play, and I'm intersted in what else i could be shutting off, if I'm simply moving out of that side...)
Is it right side (controlling left of body) for creative thinking,
left side (controlling right of body) for logical / procedural thinking ?
Also, which side controlls the inner voice of conscious thought ?
And which pool-related tasks are on that side of the brain ?
(I ask as I've been working on shutting off conscious thought during play, and I'm intersted in what else i could be shutting off, if I'm simply moving out of that side...)
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Posted 18 July 2004 - 11:42 PM
It's not worth the time if it doesn't make money ?
Hmm, that seems like a shame to me, to take that attitude.
Perhaps Fast has an opportunity to take mankind's understanding of ourselves forwards significantly, to break new ground.
Surely that kind of legacy, that kind of impact, is worth something ?>>
I once thought as you and begged FL to write his knowlege because I believe it to be vast and I did not want it to end with his life. A book is eternal and the writer becomes eternal because the words and the wisdom outlive their frail human bodies.
AS Fl shared some of his ideas about the book with me, I began to see how much of a major undertaking it was and how much time it would take. i was at one time ,so anxious that his book comeout , that i offered to assist him but I could not really be of assistance to him because most of it was simply out of my ball park. I have 20 years of experience researching some mental things while he has 50 or so and also has quite a bit of knowlege I know nothing about.
He has to pay his bills just like the rest of us. The book would take time away from other sources of income. I know for a fact that many writers have gone broke, while they were writig their book, with no money coming in.
So, in not seeing the whole picture, but only seeing the idealistic part, I was not looking at the logic of the thing. The fact is that he has to feed his family, plan for retirement, and so forth and IMO could not devote all his energy to writing a book, which took all attention and cut off other sources of income, because writing a book is a lengthy, difficult process , which is difficult to do part time.
I also have a couple of books I am working on ( not pool realated) but my situation is different. I have a husband who has a relatively high paying job so that I do not have to work. therefore I have more time to pursue such things.
Most people have no idea what is entailed in getting a book out. Getting the words down is just the beginning. Then there are costs involved which add to the problem , if no money is coming in.There are all kinds of things and publishing companies can be brutal. One can always do 'vanity publishing' paying money for copies made, but only in volume of books sold, is there any prayer of recouping costs and making up for money that did not come in while the book was being written.
i guess i was initially not seeing the whole picture. i was just seeing that I wanted the knowledge and for the rest of the pool players to have it without calculating the cost.
My sister has a type of sculpture she does which is very time consuming. She is the only one who can do this type of art in the same way that larry has knowlege that noone else possesses. It takes her many hours to create even a small one. Then she travels to shows to sell these, motel expenses, food, travel expenses. then she sells some of these at the show. By the time she get back home and sutracts all of these costs in addition to material costs, she is barely breaking even.When I say breaking even, I am not even talking about the hours she spent, while no money was coming in. I mean that when she sells the sculpture and you subtract the costs of the materials and all of the expenses involve in marketing her art, she is breaking even. If you consider the money that is not coming in while she is doing the art, she is in the hole.
Unless you hit on a goldmine and sell books in great volume, the writter is in the hole. We, most of us writers, are not fortune tellers, so do not know what will happen when the good comes out.
Once I got out of myself and saw the logical and economic questions, this is a whole nuther ball of wax. Sure we would love to get fast larry in print. But only he knows his situation and whether he can keep things afloat while he is writing, going though the marketing expenses and so forth.
So if you want the knowlege, perhaps he would be generous enouth to pass a little of this to students who are paying for lessons. his cost for lessons are very reasonable, considering what others I know are charging.
But then it is after all his book, his decision and something only he can decide after counting the costs.
Realy I understand this delima in a deep way that only a writer or artist would. i am writng two books which are nearly finished with a few more coming down the pike in the next 2-3 years and I too, even though i certianly am not writing the things larry knows because I do not have the knowlege to do so,will face this same dilemma and decison to make.
laura ps sorry for the typos and rambing, I wrote this quick and it is past my bedtime.
laura
Hmm, that seems like a shame to me, to take that attitude.
Perhaps Fast has an opportunity to take mankind's understanding of ourselves forwards significantly, to break new ground.
Surely that kind of legacy, that kind of impact, is worth something ?>>
I once thought as you and begged FL to write his knowlege because I believe it to be vast and I did not want it to end with his life. A book is eternal and the writer becomes eternal because the words and the wisdom outlive their frail human bodies.
AS Fl shared some of his ideas about the book with me, I began to see how much of a major undertaking it was and how much time it would take. i was at one time ,so anxious that his book comeout , that i offered to assist him but I could not really be of assistance to him because most of it was simply out of my ball park. I have 20 years of experience researching some mental things while he has 50 or so and also has quite a bit of knowlege I know nothing about.
He has to pay his bills just like the rest of us. The book would take time away from other sources of income. I know for a fact that many writers have gone broke, while they were writig their book, with no money coming in.
So, in not seeing the whole picture, but only seeing the idealistic part, I was not looking at the logic of the thing. The fact is that he has to feed his family, plan for retirement, and so forth and IMO could not devote all his energy to writing a book, which took all attention and cut off other sources of income, because writing a book is a lengthy, difficult process , which is difficult to do part time.
I also have a couple of books I am working on ( not pool realated) but my situation is different. I have a husband who has a relatively high paying job so that I do not have to work. therefore I have more time to pursue such things.
Most people have no idea what is entailed in getting a book out. Getting the words down is just the beginning. Then there are costs involved which add to the problem , if no money is coming in.There are all kinds of things and publishing companies can be brutal. One can always do 'vanity publishing' paying money for copies made, but only in volume of books sold, is there any prayer of recouping costs and making up for money that did not come in while the book was being written.
i guess i was initially not seeing the whole picture. i was just seeing that I wanted the knowledge and for the rest of the pool players to have it without calculating the cost.
My sister has a type of sculpture she does which is very time consuming. She is the only one who can do this type of art in the same way that larry has knowlege that noone else possesses. It takes her many hours to create even a small one. Then she travels to shows to sell these, motel expenses, food, travel expenses. then she sells some of these at the show. By the time she get back home and sutracts all of these costs in addition to material costs, she is barely breaking even.When I say breaking even, I am not even talking about the hours she spent, while no money was coming in. I mean that when she sells the sculpture and you subtract the costs of the materials and all of the expenses involve in marketing her art, she is breaking even. If you consider the money that is not coming in while she is doing the art, she is in the hole.
Unless you hit on a goldmine and sell books in great volume, the writter is in the hole. We, most of us writers, are not fortune tellers, so do not know what will happen when the good comes out.
Once I got out of myself and saw the logical and economic questions, this is a whole nuther ball of wax. Sure we would love to get fast larry in print. But only he knows his situation and whether he can keep things afloat while he is writing, going though the marketing expenses and so forth.
So if you want the knowlege, perhaps he would be generous enouth to pass a little of this to students who are paying for lessons. his cost for lessons are very reasonable, considering what others I know are charging.
But then it is after all his book, his decision and something only he can decide after counting the costs.
Realy I understand this delima in a deep way that only a writer or artist would. i am writng two books which are nearly finished with a few more coming down the pike in the next 2-3 years and I too, even though i certianly am not writing the things larry knows because I do not have the knowlege to do so,will face this same dilemma and decison to make.
laura ps sorry for the typos and rambing, I wrote this quick and it is past my bedtime.
laura
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Posted 18 July 2004 - 11:58 PM
Bluewolf - the sides of the brain thing, I've heard a little about it, but I'm not that clear on the science.
Is it right side (controlling left of body) for creative thinking,
left side (controlling right of body) for logical / procedural thinking ?
Also, which side controlls the inner voice of conscious thought ?
And which pool-related tasks are on that side of the brain ?
(I ask as I've been working on shutting off conscious thought during play, and I'm intersted in what else i could be shutting off, if I'm simply moving out of that side...)>>>
Simplistically, the left brain talks to us in words and thinks in words. the right brain 'thinks' in images and picture. When down on the shot, we do not want the left brain to be saying words to us. The right brain is the part of the brain we want to do the execution of the shot.
recognizing how to do this is a start but learning to do the switch and keep that left brain shut up when we are shooting involves the learning of some mental techniques. I know the ones that work for me but not what would work for anyone else. i figured some of this out on my own and some of it by lengthy conversations with FL. he says he knows these techniques that will enable a pool player to learn the techniques. So we will just have to see what he comes up with.
IMO, the mastering of these techniques he has in his partially finished book, just based on what he told me, would take some dedication and it would work best with players who are really wanting to get better and are serious about being better players.
The reason why I do not go into great detail is because what i do know is from a psychologist prospective rather than the prospective he has of years in the sports, developing hypotheses, testing them and finding what worked with students who were taught. I really do not know what these methods are, since I have not the knowlege base of an instructor with lots of experience. i also do not shoot pool all that well. LOL. Just a psychologist who sees things from that point of view only.
I do hope that there is a way for this book to come out because players want to learn from an instructor with experience rather than from a psychologist without excellence in the particular sport, IMO
Laura
Is it right side (controlling left of body) for creative thinking,
left side (controlling right of body) for logical / procedural thinking ?
Also, which side controlls the inner voice of conscious thought ?
And which pool-related tasks are on that side of the brain ?
(I ask as I've been working on shutting off conscious thought during play, and I'm intersted in what else i could be shutting off, if I'm simply moving out of that side...)>>>
Simplistically, the left brain talks to us in words and thinks in words. the right brain 'thinks' in images and picture. When down on the shot, we do not want the left brain to be saying words to us. The right brain is the part of the brain we want to do the execution of the shot.
recognizing how to do this is a start but learning to do the switch and keep that left brain shut up when we are shooting involves the learning of some mental techniques. I know the ones that work for me but not what would work for anyone else. i figured some of this out on my own and some of it by lengthy conversations with FL. he says he knows these techniques that will enable a pool player to learn the techniques. So we will just have to see what he comes up with.
IMO, the mastering of these techniques he has in his partially finished book, just based on what he told me, would take some dedication and it would work best with players who are really wanting to get better and are serious about being better players.
The reason why I do not go into great detail is because what i do know is from a psychologist prospective rather than the prospective he has of years in the sports, developing hypotheses, testing them and finding what worked with students who were taught. I really do not know what these methods are, since I have not the knowlege base of an instructor with lots of experience. i also do not shoot pool all that well. LOL. Just a psychologist who sees things from that point of view only.
I do hope that there is a way for this book to come out because players want to learn from an instructor with experience rather than from a psychologist without excellence in the particular sport, IMO
Laura
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Posted 14 December 2007 - 12:54 PM
We want to see this book and the secrets of the zone. How about an update on where this is?
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Posted 14 December 2007 - 12:57 PM
biglouieone, on Dec 14 2007, 12:54 PM, said:
We want to see this book and the secrets of the zone. How about an update on where this is?
FL just had a post on this in the Ask FL section. Apparently the deal to publish it fell through, so who knows what's going to happen now.
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