I found the basics of a proper stroke a while ago and describe it in this post (towards the bottom) but was never able to really put any power into it. It was almost always a finesse type of stroke. I did see my accuracy improve greatly though and have been trying to work on making every shot this way, but I still had some issues maintaining it. Well again thanks to Gene, I was able to work out some timing kinks in my stroke and can now put some real power into it.
After we worked out the issues, we just shot a variety of power stroke shots, including these:
It was really amazing to see that cue ball dance around the table, knowing that it was *ME* that was doing it. I was almost giddy shooting these things.
I gotta say, I absolutely LOVED the amazing difference in the sound of my cue - it has such a distinct *PING* to it when it's stroked.
I really can't wait to get back on a table and continue shooting these shots - along with the others from the last time we had a learning session.
I feel like the roadblock I mentioned in this post has finally been overcome. I had a strong feeling I was on the verge of a new breakthrough, and I think this could be it.
Now, only the last of my very serious areas of concern remain: speed control. Just lagging up and down a table is fine, but I have to be able to quickly and knowledgeably adjust speed based on my perceptions of the table-speed, the cut angle and the english I'm using. I think now with my new skills and the existing drills I have, I can seriously work on this last, largely misunderstood, area.
I think I'm in prime shape to prepare myself for the tournaments coming up later this year. :)
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