A couple of months ago I saw a thread on AZ billiards forum about making spot shots without hitting the bottom rail. One approach was to hit the cue ball so softly that it would pocket the object ball but not continue to the bottom rail. The other approach was to hit the cue ball with so much draw that it would draw into the side rail, never hitting the bottom rail.
All of this discussion got me interested, and I tried the soft shot approach and was able to do it without too much trouble. Then I saw a video of some Filipinos doing the draw shot approach, and that was just completely amazing to me. Such a beautiful stroke, and so much juice on the ball... I never even tried it, and just assumed that I could never match such a shot.
It's amazing what limitations we put on ourselves. Our beliefs hold us back from ever experimenting to learn the truth of our preconceived ideas.
OK, now fast forward to last night, (a night of the Full Moon), when I was working with the Playing Ability Test (PAT), Level 2. As I got to drill #9, which is set up shots, and especially the third shot in the series, I almost laughed because here it was, the same shot I already convinced myself that I could not do: the spot shot without touching the bottom rail...
I had no escape. If I were going to complete the PAT Level 2, then of course I would have to perform this shot. This was now out of the realm of beliefs. I had to try it. I had to find out how to do it. I could no longer simply ignore it.
The video below is actual footage from last night's practice session, of the first two times I ever tried this shot. If you have your speakers turned on, you'll hear my utter amazement. What a wonderful lesson to learn again... As Paramahansa Yogananda so wisely said: "The results can not be achieved unless the experiment is made."
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