Hitting my chest, sends object ball offline, consistently, please help

[AMoistOwl]

I'm practicing blue to corner pocket, straight line from white, to blue, to corner.
This is allowing me to see if I'm straight, how my action is, etc etc.

Warning.. I'm a lefty!

However, as I cue through and my hand hits my chest, it slightly sends the tip to the right, nudging the object ball slightly offline. It does this consistently, the exact same amount, every time.

Now, if I cue so I don't hit my chest, the balls are perfectly straight. Conclusion: my hand hits my chest, my rib cage pushes my hand offline as I stroke through, and thus I'm not hitting straight anymore.

As far as I can tell I'm hitting the white centre and straight, but it's the continual push that inevitably pushes things offline as I'm still in contact with the white on the stroke.

I've tried:

1. Widening stance.
2. Leaning harder on my bridge hand.
3. Twisting hips.
4. Twisting shoulders.
5. Getting lower.
6. Slower.
7. Not breathing in.
8. And not pushing through all the way (Stopping at my chest)

Most of these work to some degree, but that's fighting my natural stance, comfort, etc.

I've checked:

1. Stance.
2. Cue under eye/chin.
3. Knuckles position.
4. Elbow position.
5. Staying down after.
6. Smooth feathering.
7. Accelerated delivery.

So, which one, if any should I change?
How can I stop this from happening?

I've been doing this shot for 2 weeks, an hour a day, and when I say consistent... I mean, within an inch every time the blue ball ends up hitting the cushion in the same place, instead of the pocket.

[itsnoteasy]

Your hand shouldn't be hitting your chest until after the contact has ended so it can't affect the cue ball. What you may be doing is anticipating the "hit" and steering around it a wee bit, whereas when you have it in your mind not to finish at the chest you don't anticipate the hit and therefore don't steer the cue.
Something I would add, playing into your chest isn't a thump, your chest isn't a braking point to stop your cue,its a finishing point and you play to it, hope that makes sense.

[thai_son22]

its possible you have too much of your body over the cue i.e. your cue is feathering backwards and forwards over the bottom part of the chest.

This causes you to cue into your body and across the ball.


Try to have it so that your cue is touching the chest more towards the armpit. This will also help in keeping your elbow high.

[Richard pincott]

I'm practicing blue to corner pocket, straight line from white, to blue, to corner.
This is allowing me to see if I'm straight, how my action is, etc etc.

Warning.. I'm a lefty!

However, as I cue through and my hand hits my chest, it slightly sends the tip to the right, nudging the object ball slightly offline. It does this consistently, the exact same amount, every time.

Now, if I cue so I don't hit my chest, the balls are perfectly straight. Conclusion: my hand hits my chest, my rib cage pushes my hand offline as I stroke through, and thus I'm not hitting straight anymore.

As far as I can tell I'm hitting the white centre and straight, but it's the continual push that inevitably pushes things offline as I'm still in contact with the white on the stroke.

I've tried:

1. Widening stance.
2. Leaning harder on my bridge hand.
3. Twisting hips.
4. Twisting shoulders.
5. Getting lower.
6. Slower.
7. Not breathing in.
8. And not pushing through all the way (Stopping at my chest)

Most of these work to some degree, but that's fighting my natural stance, comfort, etc.

I've checked:

1. Stance.
2. Cue under eye/chin.
3. Knuckles position.
4. Elbow position.
5. Staying down after.
6. Smooth feathering.
7. Accelerated delivery.

So, which one, if any should I change?
How can I stop this from happening?

I've been doing this shot for 2 weeks, an hour a day, and when I say consistent... I mean, within an inch every time the blue ball ends up hitting the cushion in the same place, instead of the pocket.

If hitting your chest is affecting the stroke then you need to work out the way to get 3/4 inches of cueing from when the tip touches the cue ball in the screw position to when your hand/ thumb touches your ribs. If you already have that then this is not the cause as the white would have already left the tip so it won’t affect it.
Place the cue ball on the brown spot and line up along the baulk line. In the screw position push the cue through and stop as soon as touches your chest. Drop the cue down to the table and measure the distance past the spot. If it’s less than 3-4 inches then you can try to fix it this way.
its a simple case of moving your fist back slightly in relation to your ribs. It probably won’t be more than 1/2 an inch or so.
You can do this a couple of ways. Choose the one you feel more comfortable with.
The obvious one is to move your hand back down the cue slightly.
You can bend your bridge arm slightly or more which will move your body forward but keep the cue in the same place.
There are other things you can do but make sure by measuring the distance first. Like I said if it’s 3-4 inches that is not your problem.
Good luck

[AMoistOwl]

Thank you all,
Just to be clear, as the tip addresses the white, I'm not touching my chest.
It's as the cue goes through the ball after around a few inches.

[Antse7en]

Did you ever resolve this? I have precisely the same issue.

[philip in china]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc-2EbIEmwM

[itsnoteasy]

Did you ever resolve this? I have precisely the same issue.

I've got a couple of points.
1, hitting your chest sounds like a thumping and very aggressive cue action. Your hand should finish at your chest, not thump into it. Cueing is a stroke not a hit.
2 Even if you do hit your chest a bit hard it isnt affecting the cue ball or object ball as the contact between tip and cue ball will be over long before your hand hits your chest.
What may happen is, because you are anticipating this chest thump you steer a little bit trying subconsciously to avoid it, taking the cue off line.
Cue softer and smoother , with a very relaxed grip, trying to get the feeling of pushing the cue ball and keeping the tip in contact with the cue ball for as long as possible, you will get far, far more reaction for less effort and you won't get a thump but just a nice finishing place at your chest. Like everything you have to practice, it takes a fair while to groove a straightish action.

[vmax]

I reckon he was dropping his upper arm before the strike while trying to get a better follow through for more power, a common fault. Let the follow through happen naturally depending on the power used, forcing it will invariably drop the upper arm and then the shoulder joint comes into the stroke and the shoulder joint can move the arm in any direction, the elbow joint just forwards and backwards.
Watch Trump, never drops the upper arm before the strike and he has more cue power than anyone, Robertson is the same, keeps the elbow high.