Fresh Start, or, An Introduction

So, my pool billiards background is a familiar story for many. Started playing, had fun playing, but never got around to actually practice. It's a joke how many players know and say they should be practicing more, but how few actually do it. Sometimes I get the feeling that many people regard it more honorable for a person to become a good player without practicing. It's the half-jokingly said "wisdom" that you hear so often in the pool halls: "Only the people with no talent need practice."

Sure, most people do know that you need to practice to improve your skills. But, still, somehow most of us fail to actually do anything about it.

But for me, this time it's different. I'm going to practice.

For real.

(And I already have.)

I feel nothing in particular has changed for me. I've always known the importance of practice. I think I've known this more deeply than most pool players as I have read numerous books and articles about expertise in general. The message is clear: what matters is deliberate practice. Nothing else comes even close. But to transfer this knowledge into action requires, well, actions. It's fun to make theories and to analyze stuff intellectually, but it's all in vain if you don't do the stuff. Especially with a game like pool billiards.

So for couple of months, I've managed to arrange couple of hours of practice time per week and I've been getting into the feel of practice. And it's not that unpleasant as people sometimes make it to be. I, in fact, have enjoyed practicing. Practice doesn't feel fun all the time, but I think you can teach yourself to enjoy it nevertheless. I've been doing anything from basic stroke drills to playing games like Fargo and it has not felt dull at all.

I could go on a dozen different side discussions from this short introduction, but I will leave it at this for now. I hope to write on a number of different topics about pool billiards. I'm not representing myself as a expert on this subject, but with the background knowledge that I have, I hope to give some fresh insights into the practice of this game.

If I ever manage to get someone to read this diary.