The Monk's Four Points to Power Programme: The Warrior Learning Stage

If all you do is seek knowledge, you will not take time to develop your skills.

You can pile knowledge upon knowledge and then have too much knowledge. Sometimes we can know too much. There is serious danger in the Warrior Learning Stage for knowledge is not the answer. Knowledge will not deliver a stroke. Knowledge will not pocket a ball. There are players who know exactly what a draw stroke is yet they cannot deliver it. They know exactly what a bank shot is, but they have a poor success rating when it comes to banks.

You cannot lean over the table and intellectualize about a draw stroke. You cannot lean over the table and mentally go through all that is necessary to deliver the cue ball four rails to a desired location. Knowledge alone will not help us. We need skills to do that.

I have a student in NY who has every book written about pool. When I arrived at his house to work with him on my two-day training program I found my books sitting on top of a stack of books. I am sure when Bob Henning shows up to give him a lesson my student will switch books and put Bob's books on top of my books.

This Warrior Learning Stage student is still playing at the same level he was many years ago. He has not improved. He is stuck in the second stage, clinging still to traces of the Lonely Conflict stage and can't get out. He knows a lot about this game but his knowledge did not make a difference in his winning average.

I had a fine student who won a big tournament in Las Vegas and was well on her way to world class. She was ready to move into the third stage, but she decided to take further lessons from a stranger in California. When she returned she was ruined and never really competed again. We could not find out what had happened to her. She obviously learned something that led her to her own destruction.

It is from our experiences we form perceptions. Our perceptions then are formed as mindsets. From our mindset we act, we think we perform.

I picked up my friend at the airport. It has been twenty-five years since we saw each other. He was a little nervous. Life had not been kind to him. There were times when he was homeless and other times when he struggled along. Now as he neared retirement he had become somewhat paranoid about everything.

We were traveling at thirty-five miles per hour down a steep hill with a curve at the bottom. As we neared the curve, he fidgeted around in his seat and actually held on to the dashboard. His knuckles were white. We rounded the corner with no problem at all. The van didn't even tip. He perceived that we would skid, or tip over and acted on that perception. His reaction was based upon a faulty perception. I explained to my friend that I knew the road very well, had passed this way many times and he had nothing to worry about. Still, he was nervous and insecure. When we came upon another corner, he once again grabbed the dashboard. There was no danger as we rounded the curve without incident. Once again, his reaction was based upon his perception of danger. His heart rate shot up, his nerves were on end and he took action to protect him self from a perceived danger.

From his experiences, he formed his perception and this built his mindset and from this mindset, he acted. Thus it is with us. We learn from our experiences. Through out our pool playing times we absorb information, which is based upon our perception of things, and this establishes a mindset from which we perform.

Most of us are left to form these perceptions without any guidance. We pick up a cue and begin to form our mindset based upon our experience. If you go through the Bronze Level first, before you ever pick up a cue, you will become a fine player in no time at all.

After we form our mind set from faulty perceptions, we go to a coach or read a book and hope to find our way out of the mess we find ourselves in. I am glad you have joined me in this series. I can help you build those mindset strengths so you will be served time after time by your own abilities. As you work through this program you will graduate with incredible abilities to perform with the freedom it takes to reach the winners circle.

You must pass through the Warrior Learning Stage as soon as you can. You must find a coach or mentor who will share his knowledge of the fundamentals and then point the way for you to move to the third stage. You can learn too much. I want to help you through this stage and into the third and fourth. Your success means a lot to me.

I have seen fine Warrior Learning Stage players refuse to learn something after a touch loss. They have retreated back to the Lonely Conflict Stage. These players however, crawl out of hiding and will learn from their mistakes after a while. This is why I call them Warrior Learners because they are tough, and will face the man in the mirror. Learn from your mistakes, or you will be making the same mistake again. Losses are not set backs, they are opportunities for success.

You must flee from this second stage for in its halls lie the image of the senses that cast a shadow upon the eternal light. In the Warrior Learning Stage we can be deceived by false teachings that will snare us forever. We become slaves in the second hall. Learning is temporary. It is a probationary time and then self must give itself to non-self and enter in the third hall. Knowledge applied becomes wisdom.

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