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TRANSLATION IN PROGRESS

Billards and psychoanalysis - from Walter Kortanek

BILLARDS AND PSYCHOANALYSIS (part 1)

part 2 - part 3 - part 4 - part 5

I don´t know, if Sigmund Freud was slave to play billards, but I think it´s intersting and legitimately to consider our sport "psychological" to bring the psychological maxim nearer to the nosy laity, which means:

Billardplayer - recognice yourself!
Sense and purpose of my explanation is the illustration of the inner-mental processes, which succumbs to every billardplayer, but often do not conscious him as subjective experience: "what happens - and why happens ?"
My report will - probable planned in four sections - drive at psychological consideration of the basics of psychology. So there is an explanation with the following emphases:
  • mental factors and their influence on the player
  • mental functions and their influence on the game
  • psychology and psycho-analyses for player
  • expressions and
  • postures of playertypes from analytic sight
    • The "psychology" distinguishes two components, which will have effect of all of us, which are:
  • mental factors (instincts, interests, intention and emotions)
  • mental functions (detection and feeling, memory and thinking)
    • The mental factors stamp the billardplayers behaviour in manifold manner. We differ:
  • reflexes und instincts
  • sprouts
  • interests and conservation of values
  • affections and emotions
  • intention
    • Within the area which is under the level of consciousness " reflexes" and "instincts" work - clearly recognizably from tournament players, with those the so-called "stress loads" vegetative reflexes (e.g. sweats, goose skin, trembling) hand in hand with psychological processes (like fear, anger) to go leave. Who doesn't know itself the lively Persaltik (= intestine movements), "on the stomach striking" in such cases? In addition, in normal portions the instincts can work:
    "paternal ones" players do not play with full being able, in order to protect the weaker partner morally, give advice and assistance, while with the "rivaling" play "destroying" the opponent, who uses so-called "killer instinct". Under instincts, which we often regain enough in the animal realm (e.g. the hand vibrating with the schimpansen) fall " over branch movements ", with which two actions block each other in an instinct conflict, by an apparently senseless third action however are also solve : One believes to see a play error with the partner, jumps up, wants on its impact to concentrate, it detects however that the POINT was obtained and - around not as impolite or hastily to apply, availed itself extensively of the queue chalk, calls exaggerated according to "wonderful" (particularly with "sows") or pretends in any way its innocence . Among the instincts, which become effective without direct outside attractions often contrary to the reflexes, also the "impressive affectation" ranks, which shows itself with many players by the exterior (e.g. luxurious queue bags, impressing behavior, loudmouth talking).
    On the other hand gestures of applause, heading nodding, etc. suggest characters of the obedience (admiration), the sympathetic consideration and the politeness.
    The "impulses" belong to the most important psychological forces, their target are a reduction or a removal of voltages by the "satisfaction" of the impulse desires.
    This shows itself particularly easily by the so-called "vital impulses". These also "preservation impulses" of forces mentioned contain above all the "sexual impulse" (each club is anxious to consult and promote new generation) and the "food impulse". And even this is it, on which each caterer sets, which puts its premises to a billard club as homestead at the disposal. Also the desire for protection is satisfied, because not few players see the second home, which offers warmth and security to them in the club restaurant. Typically for the playerplayer player also the "social impulse" (= society impulse) is with all its accompaniments such as grouping (→ Club), prevailing craze (→ Hierarchy of the executive committee and the remaining club members) etc.. Crucially however the so-called "hedonistic impulses" (or benefit impulses) coin/shape the playerplayer player, whose extreme excrescences are already called "crazes".
    Billard is expressed a desire-stressed play, which leaves also sufficient clearance to the satisfaction of other desires and benefits:
    The pleasantly calm club tendency (if one does not blow the card player to the attack...) does not promote the recovery and relaxation, one is not at home and nevertheless at fresh air, one gives themselves the nicotine benefit (and sates thereby phallic desire actions), enjoys in, two glasses of wine (or so-called "infusions") or three, four coffee (particularly often recognizable with tormented coaches, who the word "stress" not) and proves thereby also the existence of that fourth group of impulses, which one calls "culture impulses" (or interests). Because one often turns, attaches enough away from the billard play personal-private contacts and leaves others at its culture consciousness sharings (particularly artistic coined/shaped humans e.g. art educators for it suitable study objects are).
    That the billard play offers also place for "crazes", is however a bad-willing slandering. Or you are players well-known, who indicate signs of "play passion"?

    BILLARDS AND PSYCHOANALYSIS (part 2)
    part 1 - part 3

    The so-called "interests and value attitudes" take a broad space in the life of the billardplayer. They appear to me as those important items, which bring humans to the billard sports. Generally one can assume that everything that is a target for humans takes more or less value for him. Which therefore one is art, politics, religion etc., the other is billard. The value system of the Viennese of existence analyst U.E.Frankl, who differentiates between the following values, is particularly impressive:

  • Creative values (viz. you for example the play area of a Johann Scherz - he is satisfied only rarely with the most obvious solution, but looks themselves up again and again for new "creative" ways)
  • Experience values (you observe in addition players and their reactions to complicated, almost "aesthetic" points)
  • Setting values (it express themselves in the commitment, in the ambition, in the training will or in the play behavior)
    • A particularly rich area are the mind statuses (feelings, tendencies, emotional acts) of a billard player.
    Feelings develop as the forces discussed so far autogenously, i.e. without conscious effort, but their origin are often not conscious to us. It would lead too far to state all important manifestations of the feelings on behalf is some the most frequent in connection with visible player actions or typical utterances to be brought here:
  • Religious feelings ("my God!" - view to the sky - "Jessas naa!")
  • Aesthetic feelings ("super", "wonderful", "very beautifully, well")
  • Sympathies (" poor/good Toutou ", shoulder knocking, hand vibrating, regret of a defeat, celebrations of a victory, etc..)
  • Tact feeling (e.g. "very beautifully played - however unfortunately!")
    • A special form of the feelings are the "emotional acts", which particularly expresses itself in rage or anger.
    Here accumulated feelings in suddenly occurring physical modifications make themselves air: one grumbles, reacts themselves at the play material off ("shit queue", "Krax'n") and sees God and the world placed against himself. Very often the emotional acts are based on the "frustration feelings", which become recognizable with those players particularly, those cannot reach the self set limit in spite of large efforts (e.g. intensive training, convulsive/desperate concentration). This disappointment can be contained some time by self-check, leads however usually already after short one to an aggressive and afterwards into a resignative phase.
    In extreme cases that means that players are satisfied with the achieved level and operate the billard sport in the future without performance thoughts, which look-up for back-up satisfaction (e.g. chess, pack of cards, kiebitzen) or to the club at all are lost. Such losses to avoid is the function of the club line - high-performance sport and play pleasures may not obstruct each other.
    Therefore itself each club has to explain with "wanting ", which mentioned psychological strength last here. The club offers the play possibilities against payment (= membership dues/play fee). Now if more is to be required (e.g. more participation in the club life, more sporty ambition) by the player, it is necessary to awake about possible "motivations" of the player. Only like that the harmonious club life is to protect....
    A sample of possible motivations to win referees.....

    BILLARDS AND PSYCHOANALYSIS (part 3)
    part 2 - part 4

    I am looking forward to meet your interests again after the long summerbreak. At this time I want to deal with the psychic funktions, namely with seeing, memory and learning.
    Frequently enough a billardplayer makes the experience with strong vacillations in his play, which can not be traced back to the facts of psychic fortitude discussed before but very well on a great deal of annoyance on psychic functions, all ahead the function "seeing".
    Even provided that sight is out of question, there might be facts complicating to a point. Often the fault is to aim with one eye - at unfavourable poisition of the balls it occures what is proved by the "Mariott´s Test".
    By closing the right eye and fixing ball two with the left eye, so ball three hides at a distance of about 25 cm (because of the so named "blind spot", that means the light non-sensitive exit of the optic nerv).
    "Seening" becomes possible by the reflections of light beams - so an important precondition for billardsport are optimal lightning cercumstances. Also deciding are the colors of the balls and the kerchief. Problematic only for red-green-color-blinds (observe: about 40% have a red-green-failing often without knowing it !), the red-green-contrast is one of the most important color-contrast we know. Colorquality (=colorpurity), colorquantity (red and green have similar impulses) and colorequilibrium (red and green are complementary colors) make a balanced harmony between red ball and green kerchief. But the contrasts might be derogated to the player by external lights - not only incoming sunlight - a problem is the direct look in a bright light-source: everyone knows the flickering lightpoints which make troubles at our visual gaze, named "successive contrast" (=after-image).
    In this case you can only close your eyes and wait for the slow-down of the retina.
    One more problem is the "accomodation", it means to focus, specially at far apart lying balls - human can only see sharp near OR far things, never both at the same time. Therefore such positions determine special concentration and accomodation to fore- and background.
    Frequently so far too little results considered difficulties also for eyeglass wearers. Because the differently strong cross section of the glasses does not only lead antireflection coated glass at the edge of the looking field to unscharpen, etc., also not impaired by unpleasant light reflexes precise aiming, at all not to talk about the disadvantages of careless eyeglasses. Most badly however the eyeglass version can make itself noticeably - if the visual field is limited, particularly with balls removed far, often leads this to face setting, which the partner possibly make smile, the player to be however not conscious to have.

    In connection of seeing and thinking, we come upon the "shape psychology", whose meaning cannot be appreciated sufficiently for the billiard player. If one assumes it namely, that the billiards bases Triplé, quart, line pickpocket on a series of elementary infinitives and figures (for example Doueblé), that in the game, even if in always varying consequence, always returns, so it is the task of the player to memorize itself/themselves the most important Stellungs"gestalten" and her/its/their solution possibilities. Therefore this fact is particularly for trainers from importance since stubborn slips can originate not only with beginners in this sense. "Untalented" players often, equally clumsy students, try to study certain positions "by heart" with repeated training - with it can itself the playful success only with "even recognizing" = "understanding" puts in. Not, "that" a ball belongs so played, is important but this "why" and in the consequence the technical one "like".
    We are with it already with the topic memory and learning. Each trainer should over the most important bases of the learning, as shortly of Einprägung motivation, Lernrhytmus, through repetition and alternation, difficulty degree, - and long time memory, practice and forgetting, summons knows. If is also traded usually intuitively right at appearance of Lernproblemen, however, there are difficulties in the teaching and learning process again and again. Above all, if learning lacks the Assotiationsvermögen, the imagination is accepted or the Perserveration starts, i.e. if in the head of the student, against whose wills, distracting thoughts work and disturb the concentration.
    The task of the teaches passes in it,
  • To explain problems and difficulties,
  • To offer problem solutions,
  • To stimulate productive and autonomous thinking,
  • To control Lernfähigkeiten and Lernfortschritte,
    • The most important psychological bases are outlined with it, in the next part, first Tiefenpsychologische contemplations are employed at the example of figures of speech and postures of the players in the BSK-Union.

    BILLARDS AND PSYCHOANALYSIS (part 4)
    part 3 - part 5

    As already in the foreword indicated, lack of time and billiard-external obligations don't leave me any room for a consistent continuation of this series at present. I hope to come again upon your valued interest in the next number and allow me to prepare you for it with a few observation tasks. In the next sharing, I liked become be beschäftigen.Es myself with the depth-psychological aspects of the billiards the speech from it, has closed like very again and again belonged figures of speech on our subconscious mechanisms, as very seemingly harmless little words reveal sexual repression. A topic, that fits furthermore far better into the Fasching time, then into the present Christmas euphoria. If you, dear reader, find fun in following even such considerations, you increasingly keep an eye on remarks like: "To short - like at home" or "my God streams", who can!. Also the repertoire at gestures and mimischen gestures offers helpful grounds - according will confront you also with appearances of the body language I in the next year. However, a psychological assumption speaks the posture davon,daß the attitude to the environment again-shines. In the hope, to have awakened your interest, please I you, to give me your attention also in the next year.

    BILLARDS AND PSYCHOANALYSIS (part 5)
    part 1 - part 4

    Also those, that the word "Psychology", rather still "psychoanalysis", hunts cold shivers over the back, know about the term "Freud'scher slips of the tongue." Even in the everyday life, one speaks of it if somebody confuses concepts together contrary to his/its reason (usually loud-similar) and his/its subconscious announces so. It is allowed in the Fasching time to give up theoretical explanations. Should rather be returned in the consequence of remarks, whose to equate ambiguity easily with definiteness is and clearly becomes everyone, that allows to read the following lines freely according to the motto, their sexual change mechanisms,: "As the prankster is, so he/it thinks about others"... Maybe the fullness results alone at examples already from the fact that billiard is a domain of the men in these parts. There, one can already speak more easily, so to speak from man to man. And there already the animalistic Urinstinkte sometimes come through if an athletic match degenerates to a ritual duel: often enough finishes such, initially verbal, jibes in downright physical strength acts, for example in the endeavor, the ball the most often commute as well as, to let run the farthest. On the other hand: Maybe the sexual component emerges already through the word "Queue", that would be to be translated in the German with "tail",........ As it also is him/it, only vicious tongues claim that energy-loaded the buddy custody ness of the club co limbs, which a word creation, enough in order to find the necessary "heat" of the boards autonomous is. Because the handshaking before a part gets more meaning only for those, that the wish frequently used to it push" "property! a dirty-imagination-stained association with "Stellung"sspiel and "push repertoire" made possible. Even the Titulierung of the partner with verbal caress like "Schatzi" or "Hasi", one heeds the sodomistischen background on that occasion, is morally free of last end from reservations. Oder? Of course one always becomes conscious for oneself the slipperiness of his/its wording, but exactly in it, however, the attraction of the matter is to be sought: "Prohibited", therefore "ill-mannered" thoughts cannot be denied completely - what therefore the consciousness unpleasant runs, is pushed into the subconscious one, but doesn't forget - and again and again, this so-called "repression mechanism" is led ad absurdum: like otherwise, one could explain still today that thigh-slaps whole legions adult those words, that they strive her/its/their offspring to prohibit, with straight bellows - if it is more like-minded only about a round, to which one (for example with the new) can prove, that one has been not so prudish long ago, as "one" has being everyday just. And not least exactly those areas are put in our society, around which the life rotates itself (according to Woody Allen), under taboo: Love (sexuality) and death. Whom does it still surprise there if the uptight ness of our present can be read in the protuberances of the men's imaginations? You/they my, I exaggerate? Does too much interpret in things, that only should be "simply funny" for last end? Maybe. Also not maybe. I only try to understand also those motives, that make possible laughing about trivial Zoten. Is that the most appealing not exactly which is prohibited? And whoever already didn't laugh the most about those jokes, that were the "most ill-mannered", from us? Doesn't run out same with everyone of us: Laughter frees from fears, laughter relaxes? If it is not called: "Harm joy is the biggest joy?" Well therefore, you are spiteful if you experience others, on which the subconscious plays a practical joke. But laughs her/it/them also that happens you same! No, no, it is not at all necessary on that occasion comparing a billiard part with a love act - although the attraction of the Spieles plays a big role with both. But one already must "be careful like a Haftelmacher" which Haftel is probably meant there?), in order to lift his/its play over the level of a "helpless Gestochers". At each push, the concentrated "Einegeh'n" (into the ball, like "at home with the mommy",) follows on the "Eineschau'n", if possibly "deeply and long" only rarely, "fast and short." , Sometimes, I wonder how long it will still last until the Ödipuskomlpex is managed broadly so far that adults cover her/its/their Ehepartner no more with the attribute of the parents...). However, the buddy custody ness continues in that patronizing procedure if the own partner is taken opposite others with the words in protection: "Well goes, has now finally pushed" him/it, however. This stirs the heart, real compassion is this. Even the doppelbödige remark becomes there: No one is adequate" for "him/it to the stimulating praise - one likes to also leave as billiard-moderate vibrator calls with the sentence: "He/it (it) does like a machine." God, which a wonderful player, which an endowed man. Only sometimes, the game ruins him/it: There, one push already sometimes becomes "too long" or "too short, one meets "too thickly" or "too thinly", yes even "too little" or there already is supposed to have "too much." However occasionally goddess intervenes Fortuna to and in the action, some Point is achieved on extremely happy way, enough reason, to put the partner as "Tröpfler" or "Rinner"...
    This doesn't do the game itself any demolition, however, - billiard must do fun, a source of the desire custody ness is, an activity, with which also the appealing sigh repertoire of some players cannot seduce to wrong ends, - with the frequent scream: "Jeah, exactly into the hole"!.