kicking vs banking

I was over at a friend of mines house the other day. He happens to be a very good player (A+). He was showing me how proficient he had become recently at kicking the ball. I was very impressed by his consistancy with kicking balls into the side pocket on a fairly natural bank shot with the OB about 4-5 inches off of the long rail. But my question to him was.. why not just bank it??? his responce was that he thought that kicking the ball was actually easier than banking it. I told him that I thought that might be the case where he was concerned but I did not agree that everyone would see it the way he was... especially since I myself am a horrible kicker and would much rather bank a ball given the choice... any thoughts on this?? just curious if any one else thinks that kicking is easier than banking

[cheesemouse]

d0wnt0wn,
While being a good kicker is certainly a skill one should cultivate shooting directly at the object ball is nearly always the best way to control the cueball. In rare situations where you can hit the full ball would a players choice be the kick over a bank. When playing a safty that % may higher. IMO