Snooker Break....!

Its been a while since the last post.  So this post is about what is happening in my Snooker world.

Short story is I am not going to be playing Snooker competitions at least until July 2022.

I need a break.  For those snooker mates out there I am not talking about the snooker break but break from the Snooker :).  Why?  There are a couple of reasons for the decision.

I feel that I have hit a saturation level at game.  I see my performance is not going up much even though I put extra hours of practice on the club table.  I believe I have got into mindless playing hitting balls without a purpose and focus.  This happens when you do the same thing, anything for that matter for so long that at some point you forget the whole purpose of doing it.  

Another aspect is that to move to the next level I need to do more solo practice hours.  To make this possible I have to have my own snooker room.  As I got my new house in Gordon now, the plan is to build a snooker room to have my own table.  This will take an year or so to get this done and start hitting balls.  I have to have my own table to move to next level in the game.  Well, at least this is what I believe at this point!

Given the above two drivers I have decided to take a break from playing competitions and therefore serious snooker practice.  I will still go to the club and hit the balls socially with my mates.  I will watch snooker videos and be in touch with the game thru these routes.  

A problem aka opportunity arises out of this decision.  That is I am going to have a lot of free time due to this vacuum created by snooker absence.  What do I do with those extra hours?  I don't know!  Possible options are:

• reading 
• fitness
• play other sports like badminton, table tennis
• develop myself around career skills like new SAP modules thus making way for better earnings to sooner realize my future aspirations. 

Or probably a mixture of all these?!  I still have to figure it out. 

Bottom line is no serious snooker in the near-medium future until mid 2022.  What happens after that all depends on what all I do until July 2022.  How well I utilize this time to bounce back strong on Snooker table?  We will have to wait and watch.

Signing off Snooker.......bye.....for now.

God is in Your Genes!

Came across an interesting scientific explanation of Kula Deivam concept by Sadhguru.  Presenting it here…

****************

Sadhguru speaks about the science behind the system of gotras and kulas that were established in Indian culture, which show a deep understanding of genetics.

Indian culture is incredibly complex and may resemble a chaos of mind-boggling proportions. But beneath this seeming chaos is a scientific foundation that is thousands of years old. 

Questioner: What is the significance of giving one’s name, nakshatra and gotram while doing the abhishekam at Linga Bhairavi?

Sadhguru: These things were very significant and relevant when deities were created in a certain way. Indian culture was created with an understanding of the phenomenal complexity of life, but today this has become one big hotchpotch because invasions in the last 1800 years have seriously disturbed the instruments and institutions which transmitted this from generation to generation. Otherwise, this is a very sophisticated science.

At one time, every temple that was set up was a live temple. It was alive, not a doll that you go and worship!!. A live force was created of different calibers, categories, and qualities. People did not go to every temple. There were some temples which were for general wellbeing, where everybody went. But for specific purposes, people went only to their Kuladaivam (clan deity). This was a fabulous understanding of genetics and how it functions.

Today, scientists can dig up one little bone of someone who died a hundred years ago, take it to the laboratory, check that DNA and compare it with your DNA and say, “This was your grandfather.” You can do this even for someone who died ten thousand years ago. Science gives you this access. Similarly, for thousands of years, people maintained the genetic track in their own way – never mixing it up or doing anything which will disturb the track – so that their progeny come out well. Not only that, you can create a certain energy which travels through the track. Everybody in your kula (clan) need not go to the temple. You go and do the process and everyone benefits because everyone in that kula is connected. Right now, medical science is also heading in this direction. They can find something that works for your DNA, and all the people who have that type of DNA will benefit.

This was understood and genetic lines were maintained so strictly and an energy source was established for that particular DNA and genetic trend. When someone goes to the temple, they are not telling some God up there about their kula. They are just registering, “This is me, I belong to this line, this is my gotra, this is my nakshatra, this is my kula.” They are saying, “This is my DNA, do something for me.” It is the most scientific way of handling it. It is a wonderful understanding of life.

Courtesy: https://isha.sadhguru.org/au/en/wisdom/article/science-of-kula-gotra

****************

Now that I understand the significance of the Kula Deivam, I will take every effort to visit my Kula Deivam Mutharamman at Mavadipannai  on the river banks of Tamiraparani, with my whole family for the kovil kodai thiruvizha :)

Thanks for reading.

Spiritual Outing Dec 2019 - Jan 2020

This is to record the temple visits during the India vacation in Dec 2019 – Jan 2020.

The temples are the Energy Centers with heaps of positive vibrations.  The temples are like modern day Power Sockets for me, my device (body and mind) feel much more energized after spending quality time in them.  Like plugging in the mobile phone charger to power,  just have to tune in my brain frequency to receive the positive energy flow all around.

Dec 25, 2019 – Thiruvannamalai Annamalaiyar trip

Priya and I started in the morning around 7 am from Mogappair in Vijay’s car.  Did not take the kutties to make the trip light and easy.  Reached Thiruvannamalai 11ish.  The temple closes around 12 pm to be opened in the evening  around 4 pm.  So we decided to do the Girivalam walk first before the temple visit.  The walk around the hill is 14 kms and estimated walking time is 3 hours.  We decided to walk barefoot and it was a big challenge and I had developed two big blisters when we finished around 5 pm.  Of course we covered the Ashtalingams (8 lingams) and a brief visit to Ramana Ashrama during the walk. 

It was a Pradosham day so the crowd was in the higher side.  We stood in the queue for around an hour to get the Annamalaiyar darisanam. 

Jan 1, 2020 – Madambakkam Dhenupureesvarar temple

Priya, Sakthi, and I visited the Madambakkam temple near Selaiyur, Chennai in the morning around 9 am.  Sathya was sleeping at home so didn't want to disturb her.  Being the new year day, the temple was a bit crowded.  Seems to be a well maintained temple as ASI (Archaelogical Survey of India) is involved.

The temple was built during the reign of the Chola king, Parantaka Chola II, father of Raja Raja Chola I, who constructed the famous Peruvudayar Temple aka Periya Kovil in Thanjavur.

Jan 7,8, 2020 – Kumbakonam temple belt

Thiruvengadu, Vaitheeswaran Kovil, Pateeswaram, Darasuram, Tanjore Periya Kovil

Priya, Sakthi, Sathya, Athai and I visited the Kumbakonam temples.  Started from Mogappair in the morning around 7 am.  Visited Reddichavadi Kumar home and finished the lunch at Cuddalore OT Bal mama home on the way. 

Started from OT around 3 pm and reached Thiruvengadu around 6 pm.  Had tender coconuts on the temple entrance to reduce the heat a bit.  Nice temple with two temple tanks namely Agni Theertham and Chandra Theertham inside the temple.  It is the Bhudan (Mercury) stalam.  Also enjoyed the milagai bajji with tea in the temple entrance J. 

Reached Vaitheeswaran kovil around 8 pm and the temple was a bit busy.  The town market was lined up with lot of commercialised Nadi Joshiyam providers.  After the darisanam, we had two choices for the night stay either in Mayiladudurai which is 30 minutes away or Kumbakonam which is 90 minutes away.  We opted for the latter.  Hit the bed at MP Temple Inn Hotel around 11 pm.  Rooms were not bad, for 1850 INR we all were able to squeeze into the AC room.

Woke up a bit late in the morning, finished the breakfast in the attached restaurant and got ready by 10.30 am.  Reached the Patteswaram within 10 minutes and visited two temples which were not that far.  One is a Sivan (Thenupuriswarar) temple and another is Durgambikai.  The Durgambikai temple deserves special mention as it is well maintained in terms of cleanliness and paintings.  The temple has a tank with lots of fishes and swans that kept the little ones excited.

Darasuram is just 5 minutes away from Patteswaram and we reached the Airavateswarar temple complex with rich green grasses around that looked more like a temple and park, thanks to the ASI again.  Time was around 12 pm and the sastrigal was preparing to close for afternoon break.  Asked for a guide and the sastrigal called a ex-ASI person from his mobile.  The guide was very informative as he took us through the temple sculptures and explained various aspects of the story and history behind them.  The Darasuram temple speciality is its minute workmanship in sculptures.  For example, a pillayar sculpture in 2 inch height granite stone.  Also a few sculptures in black basalt stone were so shiny and thought provoking.

Optical Illusions:

Reached Tanjore after couple of hours drive.  Finished the lunch and entered the Peruvudayar kovil around 4.30 pm.  Pradosham day so the crowd was more than usual I guess.  The grandeur of the vimanam was astonishing.  We were immersed in the history and the architectural excellence for a while and started the trip back to Chennai around 6 pm. 

Reached Mogappair around 2 pm after short naps in couple of spots to evade the sleepy eyes.

Will wait now till the next temple visit opportunity.

Snooker – what is this game all about? ... as on 01 July 2019

Have been playing this beautiful game for more than two decades now.  Have gone through periods of up and down cycles in the sport and life but Snooker has been with me always.  Such a wonderful game!

If you had asked me a short definition of ‘What is Snooker’ it would have varied from time to time over the years.  It is part of the learning curve or infinite loop, I don’t know but my understanding of the game has gone through heaps of journey.  So here I am capturing my understanding of the game as on today to compare how far it changes in the years to come.

Mastering snooker comprises of 3 major skill areas – Alignment, straight cueing, meditativeness.  The first two are technical skills and the third is a mental skill.

Alignment is the first and foremost thing to perfect the game.  Alignment starts with sighting and involves stance, bridge, grip etc.  You can rightly align and still miss the pot due to other errors.  But you can hardly pot a single ball if you are misaligned.  Moreover, the effects of alignment error exponentially gets magnified in the long shots.  If you are able to strike the cue ball centre every time consistently, it means you are able to align right in various cue ball positions like near cushion, rest shots, deep cutting shots etc. during the game.

Once the alignment is done right to perfection, the next thing to perfect is the ability to cue straight.  Snooker is a game of straight lines – yes, it is.  Almost in all the shots the balls travel straight, baring a few where a cue ball is swerved or where the ball swings when out of the cushion when hit with power.  Straight cueing irrespective of cue ball position and striking i.e. cue ball on cushion, top ball, stun, screw shots etc. is a coveted skill in Snooker where the precision required is at millimetre level at times.  If God comes and offers me to select only one of the cueing skill as a boon, then I would opt for this ability to cue straight.  Such a difficult skill this one to master.  There are three major variants to master straight cueing:

1. Cue ball positions – near cushion, rest play etc.
2. Cue ball striking points – top ball, center, stun, screw back, side play
3. Power levels – soft, medium, hard/ powerful shots

Meditativeness is the ability to focus, be in the moment and stay concentrated throughout the duration of the match.  Meditativeness is the foundation on which the above two techniques (alignment, straight cueing) stand on.  If focus is lost, everything is lost! When concentration levels go down, you will start missing simple shots that you would normally pot 10 out of 10 times.  That is how critical this mental strength is.  Typically concentration slips when you are stressed or when fearful of losing.  Also focus tends to decline as the matches go for long duration.  Typically, a best of 5 match could last for 1 to 2.5 hours.  It is immensely important to stay focused at highest possible concentration levels all through the game.  Imagine you are in the Finals of the competition, which means you would have focussed already for 6 hours in Quarters and Semis put together, and now you need to do another 3 hours of intense focus.  Wooooooooh!  That demands insane levels of mental energy.  Have to be prepared with mental strategies to keep your mental energy battery charged to stay focused for such long hours of match play.

Meditation with bow tie, waist coat, shoes on and eyes open!

This post is debrief of the last competition and record of a few learning and observations for future reference.

I played the South Pacific National Ranking Snooker Tournament at Club Marconi over the last weekend 8, 9 September.  I have been practicing on the Shender table over the last month and have been cueing well.  So there were self-expectations to perform better in this competition. Also, first tournament after settling in Canberra and traveling to Sydney for the competition. 

Saturday morning 9 am was my first match.  I was fully focused and relaxed.  There were almost zero distractions to the extent I did not even know or bother to know who plays in the next table.  I did not often realize who my opponent is during the match play time of 1+ hours.  I insulated myself so much from anything outside the 4 cushions of the snooker table.   Consequently, I was playing so very well, cueing smooth and straight, and making regular breaks of 20s and 30s.  I did not show any loose balls to my opponent at all, playing excellent safety shots.  I took every chance given and punished the opponent with clinical precision in every given opportunity.  Final result was 3-0 in my favour!  Match got over by 10.15 am I reckon.  Do not under estimate the opponent though.  In fact he was cueing very well, had I played my ‘B’ game he would have taken me.

Next match was at 1.30 pm, meaning there was more than 3 hours of break.  In this idle time, the mind wandered and jumped on many different things like a monkey.  So many different thoughts, feelings and emotions that jumps around, comes in, vanishes and took me for a ride.  Consequently, when I started at 1.30 pm, I was not 100% mentally present in the table.  Mind was so laid back without focus and the hunger for attacking and the thirst for winning simply was not there.  This is the problem with the laid back mind as against the 'Switched ON' mind.  A laid back mind is relaxed and unfocused whereas a switched on mind is relaxed but focused at the same time.  Because of this laid back mind,

1.       I was looking around who plays on which table. 

2.       I was looking at my opponent, his body language, cue action etc. and thoughts were around that.

3.       ……

Ultimately, I was not switched ON, not tuned to the need of the moment.

Consequently, I went down 3-1 to this average player compared to whom I played in the morning !

Moral of the story are:

1.       Physical game/ technical game happens easy and natural once the mind stays within the periphery of the table throughout the match.

2.       Meaning, all that I have to do is to Switch ON myself once am in the table.  All the practice done will take over by itself and deliver the required goods.  Which still means, there is no alternate to rigorous practice sessions.  

In other words, for me, the success in the tournament majorly depends on my ability to Switch ON and Switch OFF myself as per my will.  This has to be trained during the training sessions as it cannot happen suddenly during the competition!

I should work on this one mental skill set i.e. to be able to switch ON myself as and when required and be there for hours together.  This switch that I am yet to figure out should be 100% under my control. 

Switch ON meaning – all your faculties are fully alert and focussed ONLY on the balls and within the table.  Faculties meaning mind, body, emotions and energies. 

In a way, what I am after is nothing but being in a meditative state during the tournament matches.  Thus justifying the blogpost title J.

My understanding of Snooker techniques

As in every sport, every individual player understands the methods of playing the game in various ways, levels and perspectives.  The way Sachin Tendulkar, The Master Blaster understands the cricketing shots could be different from the style The Captain Cool, Mahendra Singh Dhoni comprehends.  Similarly, the fashion in which the genius in The Rocket, Ronnie O’Sullivan cognizes the aspects of a perfect snooker stroke could be different from The Great Stephen Hendry’s comprehension.  Ultimately there is no right or wrong way in their approaches because anything that brings out the results is a right way in my opinion, which all these champions have done in their own ways in their selected sports.  What really matters is how well a player grasps the nuances of the game and then applies that knowledge into various aspects and scenarios of the sport, sometimes even outside of the sport.  Simply this is one major differentiator in these top sports superstars to have taken their game to the level to which they have taken to.

On the similar lines, having played the game of snooker for couple of decades now, I have gathered my own understanding of the cue sports.  Not to argue that my knowledge on the cue sports is comprehensive, but this attempt is to document my humble thoughts and opinions on my game at this point of time.  In other words, this post is just a reflection of my own understanding of the snooker techniques and may not be factually right always.  Read it as the viewpoints from an amateur player.

Taking a helicopter view of potting the ball, it all depends on 2 major parameters:

1. How exact do you hit at the intended spot on the cue ball?
2. How straight do you propel your cue stick to hit the cue ball?

To be able to consistently achieve both the above factors, there are 2 fraternities of the game that the player has to master– the mental part and the physical part.  I call the physical part as the techniques of the game and I will be talking only about this area in this post. Breaking it further down, the physical technique part comprises of 3 major components – the stance, the grip and the bridge, not necessarily in that order of importance. 

The stance to an extent dictates the effectiveness of the grip and the bridge, so I would say the stance is the foundation for a nice firm grip and a solid bridge.  The stance that works for me is something on the lines of photo below, i.e. right toe pointing at a direction 30 degrees to the cue line of aim and my left feet is parallel to the cue line of aim.  The feet are as far as possible but within my natural and comfortable standing position.  As much as possible the body weight comfortably and naturally falling forward, supporting on the table.

The grip is an interesting area for me as I have experimented with heaps of grip styles.  I would say if you have found your ideal grip then 80% of the battle is won, that is the kind of significance I would lay on this key technique item.  The grip should be able to accommodate the myriad of shorts like the top ball, middle ball, stun shot, stun follow, soft screw and the most aspired and dreaded deep screw shots.

At the moment, I am playing with a grip with major support on the thumb and the index finger.  Rest all the 3 fingers are just for support as needed.  The elbow swings like a pendulum to deliver the cue with little movement in the wrist.  Inspired by what Nic Barrow demonstrates here: http://www.kadasl.com/uploads/1/2/5/6/12565774/tsg_benefits_of_the_finger_tip_cueing_exercise.pdf.pdf

The best part of this 2 fingers grip style is that this is the only way I am able to keep the cue flat and low and more importantly able to generate more action in the cue ball with less power.  Eventually, the flat and fluid cue motion helps to play deep screws effectively.  Of late, I have been watching the cue action of Stephen Lee’s Rolls Royce cue action videos and trying to imbibe some of his techniques like squeezing the butt for deep screws.  Another interesting observation on timing the shot for long deep screws is the squeeze (with all 5 fingers on the butt) should happen for a fraction of the second exactly when the tip touches the cue ball.  This timing tremendously increases the action in the cue ball for deep screw shots.  The trick is in keeping the cue nice and low, accelerating smoothly without jerks/ jabs and a good long follow through. 

I found it true and interesting that I read in a blog that the cue action should be smooth and slow like the way one walks under the water, contradicting to the conventional thought that power is required for deep screws.  Experientially I would have to agree with this hypothesis. 

Back to the grip style, as Shaun ‘The Magician’ Murphy holds here, I try to grip the cue in a similar fashion.  This is as if I am going to grab the cue from the table bed and hit someone on their head! An youtube video coach says the grip on the cue should be as subtle as possible like holding a soft bird, which I can't agree more. This grip acts like a hinge for any length of straight line travel of the cue stick within the pendulum action from the elbow.

The bridge is the simplest among the 3 techniques but if not properly done can have humongous negative implications on the stroke delivery – so let us not under estimate the significance of the bridge!  Simply put, the bridge decides the height at which the tip addresses the cue ball and therefore the behaviour of the cue ball.  Apparently, the bridge should be flexible enough to raise high for a top ball shot and low down for a deep screw shot allowing the cue stick to be able to move in a straight line parallel to the bed of the table.  What is crucial about the bridge is to have a solid and firm bridge that does not move or slip which otherwise can lead to miscues.  The other argument is to have a short or long bridge i.e. the distance of the cue tip from the bridge.  I find more in control of the shot with the shorter bridges.  Simply because the margin for error is less with shorter bridges as it naturally restricts both the unintended vertical and horizontal cue stick movements.

Overall, it is of paramount importance to master these 3 pillars of the game for one to be able to excel in the green baize game.  As I am continuously working on fine tuning the techniques hopefully leading to my first century break soon, it is crucial to be more mindful of every minute detail that happens before, during and after the moment of cue delivery.  I will try and share more of my experiences and knowledge as I travel slowly but steadily the uphill journey filled with the moments of learning and joy.

The man with a bicycle and a snooker stick

As I start writing this post, I do not have clarity on what are the key points I am going to cover in this.  Though, I know for sure, this is a key post and close to my heart one.  Why?  Because I will be talking about my long time passion Snooker, the green baize game and how much I have traveled along with it.

I started playing this game of concentration, precision and patience during my engineering college days. In the year 1997, first year of college, one of my close friend Sarath Chandra Ivaturi used to take us to this MGM World Games Parlour in Besant Nagar, Chennai that had couple of English pool tables.  Per game costs 20 Rupees, if my memory is right.  There was this gentleman by name Shankar, who was the marker there.  He used to give us tips on the basics of the game.  That was my first meeting with the cue stick and cue games.  Pool table was fun to play.  We used to show off by banging the balls and feel proud of it!

I used to get excited by the basics of the game.  It is all basic geometry and angles and somehow I was able to grasp the theory well.  I was convinced that I am naturally good at it, though later I realized it is not true, which is a different story though!

I had a bigger appetite and pool was not challenging anymore.  I graduated to snooker.  We used to bunk college, and resort to snooker parlors (clubs) mainly because they are air conditioned.  They were the cheap alternatives to cinema theaters to escape the scorching Chennai heat and humidity.  My friend Jaykrishnan was my partner for ‘losers pay’ matches.  We used to frequent the parlors like Billiards Arcade in Rajabather Street, TNagar,  Cybercue in GN Chetty Road, In Strokes in Vadapalani, Snooker times in Tiruvanmiyur signal to name a few.  In fact, we used to go around the city and play in whichever club possible, just for the kick of it.

I was a typical amateur player.  Some days I play at my peak and most of the days I will not be able to replicate the magic.  I used to have my own excuses.  I never had a formal training or coaching but somehow firmly believed that I will make a century break one day.  Mind you, I never even did a 30 break those days.

Days went, months and years went, and I was still struggling with my sporadic form.  I was the champion in the Infosys Bangalore DC level tournament in 2009.  I wanted more.  When I lived in France in 2009-2010, I got a chance to do some sincere solo practice in the SafetyClub in a Parisien suburb.  I was able to improve my game to regular 20-30 breaks.  I was able to secure a trophy for ranking at the Paris district level.  This was my first major recognition for the sport.  The trophy gave a kick for sure.

Back from Paris onsite, had some savings in hand.  In 2011, decided to take a long leave from Infosys, took a sports quota yearly membership in KSBA Club, Cunningham Road, Bangalore.  One stupid mistake was that I did not engage a coach but was practicing on my own.  So, could not progress much on the game, though once in a while used to make 40+ breaks.  Got back to work within 6 months.

I could not digest the fact that I have not made a century break, or not able to get into the top 8 list at Tamilnadu and Karnataka state level.  I used to collapse mentally and miss even sitter balls when it comes to high pressure games, I told you I am a typical amateur!

In May 2015, I took a smart decision that gave a boost to my game.  I got into a coaching program with Nigel Lazor, supported by my good friend Freddy.  Nigel sir fine-tuned my techniques of the game like cueing, bridging etc.  He also pushed me for break building.  Within a month of training, I did make an 88 break in a practice session, which is still unbelievable for me!

In July 2015, landed in Sydney.  The snooker fire still within, but this time more forcefully backed by coaching.  I started regularly playing the weekly social competitions on Thursday evenings at Parramatta RSL Club.  One good thing that deserves special mentioning in clubs at New South Wales is that they are all free of cost for snooker.  This motivated me to be more regular to practice.

Commuting to the club was bit of a problem as the club was couple of kilometers away from home.  I bought this bicycle and also found a velcro tape mechanism to safely tie the cue box into the cycle for easy transportation.  Now you got the relevance of the post title, he he?

I must admit that this snooker season in Parramatta was the best ever I had.  I was in the finals of both the tournaments conducted at RSL this year.  Yes, I have become regular 50+ breaks player now.  Though on both of these tournaments I ended up as runner-up. Cracking the finals is something I am currently working on to improve.

Prize distribution by the Secretary and President of the RSL club, Henry and Bob respectively.

Balancing the family and snooker at the same time is a big challenge.  At this juncture, my wife Priya deserves special mention as she has been a big supporter in providing me the time and space for the game. I know she would prefer me spending time with her than on the snooker table.  But she subdues her own personal preferences and encourages me to do more snooker, just because it is my passion.  Thanks Priya, I love you more than anything, for this J.

I got the courage to play a couple of national ranking tournaments here at Sydney.  I also managed to do a 77 break in one of these tournaments at Marconi Club. 

Currently I am working on two key aspects of the game.  One, mental part - to stay relaxed and focused during the entire match of 5 or 7 frames.  Easy said than done.  But I am getting better.  Two, to practice on fast tables like in Marconi Club and Mounties for example.  This should make a difference while playing national ranking tournaments.

As on today, I am in the 142^nd rank in Australia.  Not bad, as I started Australian season only after August 2015.  Yes, just 5 months back.  My target is to hit the top 100 before the end of 2016.  Till that time, the cycle will keep rolling J.

http://absc.com.au/rankings.aspx

21/09/2017 - Updating the good news that my National Ranking has improved to 82nd position :).

28/03/2018 - 72nd position

21/12/2017 - Parramatta RSL Open - Runner up 2017.  Receiving trophy from Henry, Secretary of the club.

23/01/2020 - The dry period without 'Winner' Trophy has come to an end.  I did win the Parramatta RSL Open Championship 2019 :).

Also Winner of Southern Cross Open Competition 2019, Canberra.