Friday, January 30, 2004
Finesse
I probably should write "Awards, Part II", but I just don't have the patience right now, so that'll have to wait. I know, I know, my legions of fans will be disappointed, but it'll build character.
I do want to write about my complete lack of finesse, at least when it comes to sports, or, rather, pseudo-sports. This is on my mind because I went bowling tonight. I enjoy bowling, but I'm not particularly good at it. Part of this is likely due to my unconventional form - I don't use the holes. Rather, I palm the ball (and this have to use an 8-lb ball, lest I break my wrist), and chuck it down the lane. You'd think this would be a terrible method, but surprisingly enough, I usually score around 110-150. Not great, but not horrible.
This frustrates me on some level because I probably could be better. Would I be better with the proper form? Maybe. I believe that the effort spend learning the proper form would be just as likely to make my improper form more effective. Nevertheless, I don't think I could ever learn the finesse part of bowling, and be able to pick up spares on a regular basis. I do think I could learn to chuck the ball really hard and more accurately, and pick up more strikes, though.
This approach extends to other pseudo-sports. Like darts. Every else kind bends their elbow and kinda flicks the dart at the board. Not me. I throw the dart like a baseball. Once again, you'd think this would be a horrible method, but it's not. It's certainly not great, and it's pretty inconsistent, but it works better than you'd think. I actually won a darts match this past weekend, and hit the final two bullseyes to win the game. Of course, it took a while, and we were fortunate that the other team wasn't playing very well, either.
I think I've always been this way with sports - high on power, low on finesse. Sometimes, I can direct my power - like in softball, I can hit the ball somewhat hard, and usually hit liners. I can throw the ball hard and accurately. I can't pitch very well, though - that relies on finesse and putting the ball in the right place, with the right spin, and the right arc, and the right speed. Not for me. No, I'd rather just fire the ball at the catcher and let him catch it and tag a guy out. So softball works for me - very little finesse is required.
I stink at pool. No really unconventional form, just a lack of ability to consistently make good shots, which, of course, is what the game is all about. I remember, my senior year in high school, I was on the local pool's diving team. (They were desperate for 16-17 year old boys.) Same thing - I was willing to try pretty much any dive, but when I hit the water it was like a depth charge went off. I didn't even point my toes. I did learn a double flip, though - jump, and throw yourself into a ball as hard as you can. Right up my alley.
People (usually Shear) say that if I practiced at these skills, with the proper form, I might get a lot better. Maybe, maybe not. There is something to be said for achieving moderate success using my own methods. I imagine if being a pool shark or a bowling, er, penguin (why not?) was really my goal, I would try to do it properly, but it's not. I think it comes down to having fun, and in these cases, having fun for me is more about trying to succeed doing it my way. Furthermore, all of these things are usually individual sports, or at least, I don't play on a serious team. In softball, though, if I were to just do what I found fun, instead of trying to do things the right way, I'd be letting my teammates down, which is probably why I take it more seriously. Anything worth doing is worth doing well...unless that makes it not fun.
I do want to write about my complete lack of finesse, at least when it comes to sports, or, rather, pseudo-sports. This is on my mind because I went bowling tonight. I enjoy bowling, but I'm not particularly good at it. Part of this is likely due to my unconventional form - I don't use the holes. Rather, I palm the ball (and this have to use an 8-lb ball, lest I break my wrist), and chuck it down the lane. You'd think this would be a terrible method, but surprisingly enough, I usually score around 110-150. Not great, but not horrible.
This frustrates me on some level because I probably could be better. Would I be better with the proper form? Maybe. I believe that the effort spend learning the proper form would be just as likely to make my improper form more effective. Nevertheless, I don't think I could ever learn the finesse part of bowling, and be able to pick up spares on a regular basis. I do think I could learn to chuck the ball really hard and more accurately, and pick up more strikes, though.
This approach extends to other pseudo-sports. Like darts. Every else kind bends their elbow and kinda flicks the dart at the board. Not me. I throw the dart like a baseball. Once again, you'd think this would be a horrible method, but it's not. It's certainly not great, and it's pretty inconsistent, but it works better than you'd think. I actually won a darts match this past weekend, and hit the final two bullseyes to win the game. Of course, it took a while, and we were fortunate that the other team wasn't playing very well, either.
I think I've always been this way with sports - high on power, low on finesse. Sometimes, I can direct my power - like in softball, I can hit the ball somewhat hard, and usually hit liners. I can throw the ball hard and accurately. I can't pitch very well, though - that relies on finesse and putting the ball in the right place, with the right spin, and the right arc, and the right speed. Not for me. No, I'd rather just fire the ball at the catcher and let him catch it and tag a guy out. So softball works for me - very little finesse is required.
I stink at pool. No really unconventional form, just a lack of ability to consistently make good shots, which, of course, is what the game is all about. I remember, my senior year in high school, I was on the local pool's diving team. (They were desperate for 16-17 year old boys.) Same thing - I was willing to try pretty much any dive, but when I hit the water it was like a depth charge went off. I didn't even point my toes. I did learn a double flip, though - jump, and throw yourself into a ball as hard as you can. Right up my alley.
People (usually Shear) say that if I practiced at these skills, with the proper form, I might get a lot better. Maybe, maybe not. There is something to be said for achieving moderate success using my own methods. I imagine if being a pool shark or a bowling, er, penguin (why not?) was really my goal, I would try to do it properly, but it's not. I think it comes down to having fun, and in these cases, having fun for me is more about trying to succeed doing it my way. Furthermore, all of these things are usually individual sports, or at least, I don't play on a serious team. In softball, though, if I were to just do what I found fun, instead of trying to do things the right way, I'd be letting my teammates down, which is probably why I take it more seriously. Anything worth doing is worth doing well...unless that makes it not fun.
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