#290991 - 11/23/09 11:41 AM
Re: The yips.
[Re: cushioncrawler]
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Soflasnapper
journeyman
Registered: 03/19/08
Posts: 87
Loc: South Florida
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I think the yips are a specific kind of thing-- not just dogging a shot, or choking on game/set/match ball-- because I think you can do those things and not necessarily have the yips. It isn't a one-off kind of thing, but an enduring pattern that recurs when you're in yip mode.
Yips to me means a psychological reaction to a game situation that destroys playing accuracy once you get into that situation-- either particular parts of the game (say, the key ball before the winning ball, or the winning ball alone, or the dreaded break yips which are very bad!), particular kinds of shots (long straight in, or using the bridge, etc.) or all your play once you get into that mode.
I think it's almost the equivalent of getting very flustered, and then trying to play through that level of upset, plus the psychic pain of prior failures that color the expectations of further humiliation one has in that situation.
Pretty tricky since it is all about what goes on in the head.
Here's one thought, echoing what was said about confidence in the repeatable stroke: Don't make the kind of embarrassing miss that can trigger a yips session in the first place.
By which I mean situations such as when you have very easy shape, or perhaps ball in hand, and you take it so lightly that you short-circuit your full pre-stroke routine (it's so EASY, why would you have to aim, check your alignment, and do your SPF for THIS shot???) But experience shows ANY shot is missable if you do not give it full attention and use your entire pre-shot routine, and IF you miss such a shot, it can harm your confidence and result in an inability to pocket for a while or longer.
I had some trouble with making some relatively easy 9s in 9-ball because I wasn't putting in my full effort on such 'easy' shots, and began shooting earlier than usual to end the anxiety I was experiencing more quickly. Took too long to analyze it, but now with reminding myself to take a complete pre-shot routine, those yips are gone for me for the time being at least.
_________________________
A medium sized fish
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#291000 - 11/23/09 01:50 PM
Re: The yips.
[Re: Scott Lee]
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cushioncrawler
Pooh-Bah
Registered: 10/23/05
Posts: 2047
Loc: Ballarat Australia
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Like Brian said, the cure for the "yips" is to be able to trust your stroke. Without that deep-seated trust, you'll never get rid of them. Trust in your stroke builds confidence in pocketing, which brings more consistency...which builds more trust. It's a circle...Scott Lee
And the yips i am talking about iz really the kind where everyone in the room can see that u havem -- really ugly.
I suspekt that a person who suddenly (iz it sudden???) gets the yips might in fakt sometimes hav been improoving out of sight beforehand (not important). He'she might hav had lots of good'circles on the go -- but there woz one bad'circle in there all the time, and it won.
Perhaps the yips are like a bad stammer.
I remember stammering on at least one occassion -- ie just for a few brief seconds -- but it never ever developed into a permanent thing.
Do people with stammers hav more problems with other sorts of yips ?????? (not important).
madMac.
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#291082 - 11/24/09 01:39 PM
Re: The yips.
[Re: KellyStick]
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bradb
old hand
Registered: 01/07/07
Posts: 795
Loc: Abbotsford BC Cananda
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Pool Shooter with the yips:
Doc, I karnt make a ball as I stand and squink my eyes and make all sorts of faces and body languages whilst I shoot?
Pool Dr:
Well, don't do that.
There is wisdom in those words.
Hi Kelly, some very good posts here especially from doc Joe, but you hit the nail on the head!
I'm the classic yips player... or I was! I was able to conquer it (not completely but close.)
We come to the table on a critical situation and we know that trouble is brewing the second we get down on the shot. We feel a tightness in our chest... its like an animal in fear when in danger. We know we have to execute but our body is saying "know way!" and the tendency is to quickly hit it and just get it over with.
What I finally figured out to do was "back away!".... get up from the shot and walk to another angle and study it. Then come back and try it again.... if its still there... get back up and Walk around again. Focus your mind on relaxing. What you are doing is giving your body time to drain off the adrenelin. (my amatuer term.) Also you are giving your mind a chance to ignore the suroundings and settle in.
Keep doing this until you can get down on the shot and your body finally feels comfortable.... then you sort of say to yourself... this is'nt so tough, I've made this shot a thousand times... I know what to do.
This routine has saved my bacon many times. I don't worry about what people watching will think, I saw Johnnie Archer do this for about 5 minutes, we are all human.
Brad
Edited by bradb (11/24/09 02:15 PM)
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#291083 - 11/24/09 01:48 PM
Re: The yips.
[Re: bradb]
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cushioncrawler
Pooh-Bah
Registered: 10/23/05
Posts: 2047
Loc: Ballarat Australia
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.......Keep doing this until you are down and the fear is leaving and your body finally is comfortable.... then you sort of say to yourself... this is'nt so tough, I've made this shot a thousand times... I know what to do.......
madMac.
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#291084 - 11/24/09 01:55 PM
Re: The yips.
[Re: cushioncrawler]
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bradb
old hand
Registered: 01/07/07
Posts: 795
Loc: Abbotsford BC Cananda
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Then get back up Mac. You know you can do it.
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#291085 - 11/24/09 02:03 PM
Re: The yips.
[Re: cushioncrawler]
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JoeW
addict
Registered: 03/23/07
Posts: 432
Loc: Leesburg, FL
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When I think about it some more, I agree with Brad. Slowing down is one of the primary ways I get out of the Yips. I think that I start trying to figure out what I am doing that is making me miss. This of course requires me to slow down and more closely observe what I am doing.
Yeah, that is one of the solutions
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#291087 - 11/24/09 02:10 PM
Re: The yips.
[Re: JoeW]
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bradb
old hand
Registered: 01/07/07
Posts: 795
Loc: Abbotsford BC Cananda
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Thats right Joe, I find once I have conquered the yips situation I then can get back into a comfortable routine at my regular pace... but getting past that first hurdle is the key. If you don't you are toast for the rest of the match. Brad
Edited by bradb (11/24/09 02:13 PM)
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#291196 - 11/26/09 01:36 PM
Re: The yips.
[Re: cushioncrawler]
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wolfdancer
Carpal \'Tunnel
Registered: 10/31/02
Posts: 10585
Loc: north to alaska
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Mac, I once knew a player in his 50's, that couldn't pull the trigger....his pre-stroke count was was up in the twenties, and the sweat would be pouring off of his forehead, and then he might lift up, and begin all over. I've mentioned it before, but he knew and worked with Dr.R. Oppenheimer,in the past, and he then worked at the Lawrence Livermore Lab as a scientist.
Charles Barkley has a hitch in his swing, that Hank Haney can't seem to fix, wonder if that could be a relative of the yips?....I've never seen anyone with either putting or stroking yips, although Tom Watson went from the best putter on tour, to the worst, and despite getting help from the best instructors, didn't solve the problem. He did almost win the Senior Open this year...but I seem to remember another key, makable putt that he missed that cost him. I read in the past that it is the "fine motor skills"....the small muscles, that are affected. Maybe it is a psychosomatic illness, or disorder, that there is no cure for except Dr. Jim Beam's magic Elixir.
This also won't cure the yips, but at least you can temporarily forget that you have them.
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