Oh, the power of the pause…

Now, where was I? Oh, yes, pausing of course. That brief moment when the whole world seems to stand still; a temporary inaction, while we focus on the future and prepare to commit our next move is called a pause. Why do we need to do this when playing pool?

Simply because when we pause we allow our energy and thoughts to collect and then gracefully unwind into fruition. When we pause we create a moment of freedom in the mind so that what comes next is pure poetry and as natural as possible.

After every pause, comes something anticipated and hoped for. We see this happening during a championship match when all of a sudden there is a tipping point; a change in the landscape that we all instinctively know will mean something special is about to happen. It is the pivotal moment in a game when the crowd holds its breath and becomes silent and waits. The atmosphere become thick with tension and expectation as the next chapter of the event unfolds. What will happen? No one knows, but you can be sure that the pause introduced that special moment.

Like the calm before the storm, the pause introduces the next event in our quest for victory. So embrace it and use it to your advantage.

According to the dictionary, a pause is a point in time where there is inaction, but I would prefer to say that a pause represents a smooth transition between two points in time. You see, when we pause in our stroke there is never a point in time where there is inaction. Rather, there is just a smooth transition and a slowing down of time as we move through our stroke.

I like to imagine that there is a natural loop as the arm slows down such that it appears as if it has stopped but in actuality, it continues to gradually loop back in the tiniest of increments. There is no actual stopping in the action, but rather a continual (albeit, very, very slow) smooth transition from the backswing to the final forward stroke.

When we make a conscious effort to slow this part of our game down so that there is a pause on the last backswing, we allow the muscles to relax so that they can spring into action gracefully with the most natural and pure motion.

The art of pure motion is the science of transition from one position to the next. Just like the ballet dancer, Brazilian Jujitsu fighter, or the professional race car driver, all of them at every moment will be working on smooth transitions from one situation to the next.

The untrained eye may see erratic disconnections, but the expert will see the beauty and logic of each move. The same has to be said of a smooth and graceful pool player.

In pool, the action is very simple. In fact, it couldn’t be more simple and yet we tend to complicate things and allow our emotions and nerves to get in the way. If they do, we need to slow down and learn to flow more. As I explained in my last article, develop a rhythm around the table as you play. And good rhythm necessitates good transitions. Good transitions necessitate a pause. It may be subtle, it may be brief, but it must be there.

Slow down “grasshopper”. Breath, flow and pause before every major transition in your routine, of which the transition between the back swing and the final stroke is paramount.

If you watch play, you will see that I can pause up to 3 seconds before my final stroke. It certainly hasn’t hurt my game and I encourage you to try it out.

(c) 2007 The Billiards Training Company