Why bend both legs?

[poolqjunkie]

I was watching some earlier videos of Peter Ebdon and he did not bend both legs like he does today...
I am sure most players started learning to keep their back leg straight.
Why does peter Ebdon later change to bending both legs?
Does any of you do that, could you please share why?
Thank you.

[burwatchampion]

I cant speak for Peter but i sometime's get sciatica and the back leg being straight it does catch it sometimes.

Dont know for sure!

[ace man]

Doesn't Ricky Walden do it also?

[spike]

Doesn't Ricky Walden do it also?

Yes he does..

[mushka]

Does it have something to do with their height?

[RocketRoy1983]

I bend both my legs now whereas when I started learning I was taught the "textbook" way. I find it more comfortable now to bend both legs.

[Watford]

I find I bend both legs playing pool (UK) sometimes but not usually snooker.
I know other V good players who do it too.
I think it's a tall thing.
If the ball is not in the centre of the table I find I'm hitting down on the ball. If I bend both legs it lowers my back arm and I'm cueing level. :snooker:

I have been criticised for it by team mates but I think it helps in some situations. I don't do it all the time.

[Terry Davidson]

For snooker, unless there's a medical issue, it's best to keep the back leg locked straight as it gives the player more stability.

Also, I've said before...don't 'cherry-pick' different items among the pros and develop your own technique from them. If you did that you could say have the Mark Williams flying elbow, the Ebdon/Allen no obvious rear pause, the Ebdon stance with both legs bent, the Nigel Bond weak bridge, the Hendry drop of the elbow into the back on the backswing, etc. etc. If you model your technique on 10 different pros who all have a slightly off-normal part of their technique by the time you finished you wouldn't be able to pot a ball.

Try and copy what all the pros do IN COMMON. Except for some of them not having an obvious rear pause(Ebdon, Allen and Bond that I've noticed) and some of them bending both legs, they all do 5 or 6 things in common and if everyone did those 5 or 6 things then everyone would improve.

Cherry-picking gets you on the wrong road. All the pros have these points in COMMON:

1. Stay absolutely still on the shot from feathering through to the end of the delivery.
2. Loose grip.
3. Don't breathe or out from backswing to delivery.
4. Slow backswing
5. Discernible rear pause.
6. Leave cue extended and stay down and still at the end of the delivery

There are many more steps to the 'ideal' technique which is what a coach has to teach a new student, however when you get an experienced student sometimes you have to go with what they have developed as a natural style, like having both legs bent, no apparent rear pause, different grip, etc.

BUT...if you just do those 6 steps above (no matter what the rest of your technique looks like) YOU WILL IMPROVE WITH REGULAR PRACTICE!!!!

And with that I give a money-back guarantee (but since you haven't paid anything I guess that's a moot point!)

Terry
__________________
Originally posted at Http://www.thesnookergym.com/forums

[poolqjunkie]

Thanks everyone for your advice, especially Terry for that money back guarantee.
I was just wondering, not trying to copy them.
Did Peter Ebdon have some back/back leg problem which lead him to switch to a bent leg? He was already an accomplished player when he shot with his back leg straight--since for him to switch to a bend leg is quite a big change, it just got me wondering.

[Marlboro]

I used to have the old fashion cue action, rock solid elbow pendulum swing. Now I have slowly developed the dropping of the elbow and other changes. During this transition my stance went from right straight leg to occasional both bent legs (depending on the positionof the white ball).
As mentioned, it helps me lower the butt of my cue so it can cue at a more even level.

[CoachGavin]

Think main reason is to keep cue parallel and level. That is why more pool players do it than snooker players - lower table. It is also interesting that there are not many tall snooker players ie over 6 foot 2. Mark king is probably player who bends over more than anyone but i definately would not recommend copying it!

[Casuals]

I'm quite sure it's due to their height. They have to bend both legs to be closer to the table during their shot, or else the angle between their cue and the cloth would be quite large.

[sneaky_russian]

I think you should keep your leg straight simply because you put most of your weight on it!If your leg is bent you'll have some pressure on your back.
But it's completely up to you.

[FerruleFox]

I've tried bending my back leg. It felt comfortable but I think I became too preoccupied with it..found it somewhat distracting. A straight back leg is like an anchor in my stance. I'm not sure I want to mess with that.

[quintahunter]

I bend both legs because I feel more comfortable with my stance, which I believe is the key point.