Show a 0 y R CE THERE pHERE HERE are three major factors in competitive sport sport apart apart from such superior physical assets as speed and power As some sporting philosopher once remarked remarked the the race ma may not be to the swift swift nor nor the battle to the strong but that is where to look Usually Usually but but not always For the t three major factors referred to play playa a abig abig o 9 big part in naming the winner no matter matter mat mat- r ter what the sport These three leadIng leading lead lead- ly r ing lug elements are arc Form Technique Grantland Rice and Tactics They are the big winners where so many are so 80 well matched on the physical t side Bide They write most of the head head- lines And they are the least understood by the vast majority of those who play various games What They le Are re Just what is Form what Form what is Technique Technique Technique Tech Tech- and what are arc Tactics I put the matter up to P. P Hal Sims bridge player and golfer goUer who has put in much careful thought along these lines through 40 years of competitive tive effort Form says sas Mr 1 Sims is really really really real real- ly style the style the correct physical way of doing things It is the popular curre style which often orten changes as new nci champions come along with different t ways was of playing games Tec Technique ique is the best mathematical ical execution of form I should say that technique is eliminating as much as you can the margin of at error er er- er- er It demands that you give more consideration to the percentage side Tactics is the handling or direction direction direction tion of form and technique together Many i times the failure to observe observe observe ob ob- serve technique puts on added pres pres- sure All the mistakes you make Increase pressure In bridge for tor example the first mistake you make makein in bid bidding Ing or playing the hand band will increase the pressure enormously The same is true In hi golf goUt which opens with the tee shot If U you ou miss this stroke you OU wade right out in inthe inthe inthe the middle of increasing pressure I TIle The Many Angles I 1 have always thought P. P Hal continued that Walter Hagen was a master technique master of technique and tactics Hagens Hagen's angle is this this this-a a golfer goler plants his tee shot into the rough partially stymied by a tree In place of accepting the penalty he has incurred by a bad shot he tries to save himself by some miracle attempt The odds against this attempt attempt attempt at at- tempt may be 10 or 15 to 1 If he would play out safely and then gamble gamble gamble gam gam- ble on one pitch and one putt the odds would be much less Jess And the penalty much lighter How lIow many average golfers will you see sec trying to play a wooden club from the rough You'll see ItI it I often Thc They merely move from one I trouble to deeper trouble as a rule By using the thc right technique they I mj might ht still get a 4 on the hole or almost surely a 5 But overlooking overlooking overlook overlook- I ing the percentage matter mailer completely complete complete- ly Iy they wind wind- windup up with a 6 or a 7 1 Most golfers could take lake away 8 or 10 strokes strokes from their average rounds b by using better technique I A A The Case o of Conn omit When Billy Conn met Joe Louis Conns Conn's boxing form was brilliant I His foot action and his hand acI action action ac ac- ac- ac I tion was all that any anyone one could ask He made you ou think of style style just just as Jim Corbett once did But Conns Conn's s technique in the thirteenth thirteenth thirteenth thir thir- round suddenly blew up He had taken the lead because he be kept moving around giving Louis a shifting shifting shifting shift shift- ing target But in the thirteenth round he suddenly turned footed flat and began exchanging punches with witha a much better belter puncher Many will tell teU you ou Conn became footed fiat through the body punishment punishment pun pun- he lie had taken in earlier rounds I dont don't agree with this Ibis for forthe forthe forthe the simple reason In ln the twelfth round Conn was at his best swarming swarming swarm swarm- ing lug all over Louis It was this round that made him so badly overconfident overconfident dent that he forgot all nil about technique technique technique tech tech- and tactics De He overlooked Old Man Ian Mathematics or Old Man Percentage completely You couldn't blame him too much for this It was the llie first time he had bad ever been within two or three rounds of a heavyweight championship champion champion- ship lie Ile lacked at this point the coolness and the experience needed to carry Garr along a winning plan which he hc actually had lie l-Ie Had the Odds There are those who say that Louis would have caught Conn anyway anyway anyway any any- way Perhaps But against much I greater odds Louis was almost i sure to boat boa t Conn in a toe to toe I slugging match The odds at slugging slugging slug slug- ging were 4 to 1 on Louis The odds at longer range boxing were 3 to 1 on Conn See what difference this makes Things like this happen in sport every day day In in every game Better form arm cant can't win alone It must have help from technique and tactics |