Gold Crown IV

Gold Crown IV
FastMikie's Fun House, Del Mar, California

Friday, December 15, 2006

It's Alive!



Many times in our practice sessions,
when the occasion called for it,
El Maestro would encourage me to use my left hand,
instead of a bridge,
but every time I would pass on that,
explaining that my left hand was
completely useless, unfeeling, inert, uncoordinated.

And besides...
(my father, a wise man in such matters,
says that a person's real reason
always comes after "...and besides...")
I would be mighty embarrassed
to miss a feeble
lefthanded poke.

The Irish have this saying:
"Tis better the devil you know,
than the devil you don't know."

I prefer to use a bridge,
than to expand my skills?
Doesn't make sense does it?
For 3 years I never even tried.

But a few months ago,
in the privacy of my solo practice,
I actually tried a left handed shot,
and it went in.
Of course it was a very straight, short shot.
And it felt really strange.
But it went in.

Over some weeks,
I found a new freedom from the bridge
and learned to focus and trust my left hand.

About a month ago,
in a match with El Maestro,
and in a public pool hall,
for all the world to see,
I took a left handed shot,
made it,
and got position.

Now, don't get me wrong,
there is still much work that I can do
to get a natural, fluid stroke with the left.

But I am On The Path...

(blog top)


1 comment:

Robert Johnson said...

I still surprise myself when I shoot wrong-handed (left handed) when some people might use a bridge. When the aim, stroke and follow-through are straight, then it seems to work fine, almost like magic. In fact, my aim is good because I am left-eye dominant, so I sight down the stick better wrong handed. Even draw, top, and side english shots work correctly if I focus on the mechanics as I shoot.