Tips to keeping still?

[JayDee]

The way I see it, keeping still is one of the hardest yet maybe the most influential factor of your "technique", movement on any shot is likely to make anyone miss at any level...
But even if you know all this and more, going about reducing it is a painful process but I can't quite crack it. Sorry this is more a blog post than a question post, but it helps me think of things

Terry mentions these in his 7step procedure

* playing shots slower than even normal,
* staying down after you pot extra longer
* slowwww draw back of cue and pause,
* !

I just know when my back of my head/shoulder start to move it's something I hate and I know its making my cueing awful sometimes.. any more ideas?

[dao]

keeping still

Any jump or even small body movement should affect your game dramatically.

After the shot is completed (cue is delivered) try to count in your mind: one, two, three and after that stand up. Easy...
Specially control this on 1/2 balls or 1/4 balls. Don't jump and don't turn your head to check whether the ball goes directly to the pocket. If you will not move, it will go directly to the pocket

Make a straight shot on direct line from brown spot to black spot, top cushion and stay still until the ball will return back to the baulk and touch your cue. You will develop 2 skills at the same time: keeping still and straight cue delivery (always useful)

My coach told me 2 years ago: you will become 10 times better player if you stay still.

[newtip]

Concentration on the right thing at the right time is essential if you wish to deliver the cue succesfully. What you see is what you get. See the shot, see the whole shot see every little detail before and during the shot, dont move until the shot is complete. Your brain must be synchronised in time & balanced when the shot is started and finished. You must see the shot in every detail in your minds eye . Open your mind & become one with everything. When you become one with everything at the right time your shot will be sucessful.
__________________
Originally posted at Http://www.thesnookergym.com/forums

[1lawyer]

Form a solid stance, square on (my pref) with feet spaced apart shoulder length, weight balanced so you are falling into table sightly, firm bridge with fingers spaced but gripping the cloth, arm sightly bent, flat back, don't breath on your shot, cue using locking positions, chin on cue, complete shot keeping cue forward after completion when hand hits chest ala Sean Murphy who has very good technique in this regard. Sometimes it looks as he over does it but this is very deliberate and I personally like his style.

These are some tips (but everyone finds their own way in this regard) as again there are exceptions McManus and FU raise their head, Selby sways from side to side a little (although I think this is a timing thing because when he delivers the cue he is still) Barry Pinches stance looks like he needs the loo and it does not really matter as long as what you do helps you deliver the cue in a straight line consistently and it feels natural to you.
Some good advice in the posts above too.

Steve Davis dad used to whack him on the head if he moved on the shot. A little drastic but I notice a lot of young player all want to be ROS and run around jumping up off the shot and I consider this a very bad habit to get into. There are exceptions like Alex Higgins who had amazing cue power and more movement than most players I have ever seen so their is always exceptions to any rule. :snooker:
Out of everything I mentioned (often overlooked) but keeping a firm bridge hand I consider the most important as any slight movement in this area dramatically effects the shot.

[Roenie]

Form a solid stance, square on (my pref...

In terms of staying still on the shot, I like to breathe out and right at the end of it, deliver the cue. Breathing out relaxes muscles/you, it's a trick I took from my experience playing tennis, I was taught to exhale while swinging the racket. In snooker I feel exhaling causes too much body movement so I time the cue delivery to occur right at the end of it.

I have a very sideways stance which is natural to me. I don't necessarily *like* that habit because of the lack of left-to-right stability. I think it needs changing to improve my potting. So I've tried to use a more square on stance, but my right hip gets in the way of my right hand moving the cue. Reaching over more to the right with the bridge hand (and therefore also my cue and head) hurts my left shoulder, helps create some space between right hand and right hipbone, and feels awwwkwaaarrrrdd. Most likely because in that position my chest doesn't touch the cue to help with straight cueing. Also the body weight shifts to the right too much, putting me off balance. Any ideas?

[Terry Davidson]

Body movement is usually caused by something else, normally too quick a backswing and then no pronounced rear pause or else a very poor and unstable stance. It is also cause by getting up off the shot too early. Another cause could be too tight of a grip or else the grip in the rear of the hand at address.

In general terms you should have a slow backswing (slow enough to positively control), a rear pause, a smooth delivery with constant acceleration (rather than quick and immediate acceleration) and also STAY DOWN AT THE END OF THE SHOT, and I mean for every shot.

I have this latter problem and a little drill from Nic Barrow is this. My job now is to stay down and watch the object ball with my eyes only (no head movement) enter a pocket and estimate how much to the right or left of centre-pocket (or aiming point as with black or sharp angled shot) BEFORE I GET UP OFF THE SHOT.

So when Nic and I were trying this out, I had to run the colours multiple times in a row, going from black to yellow and repeating and each shot I had to call out in millimeters how far off the centre of the pocket I was, so for instance L5 (just off centre) or R30 (if I missed to the right). A VERY valuable exercise which you can do in a match to get your concentration and stillness going. It's helping me a lot.

Try it!!!

Terry

[magicman]

Thanks for posting this one Terry. Moving on my shot is still one of my many bad habits! I'm definately giving this one a go.

[Terry Davidson]

magicman:

Didn't you say somewhere you just had a 141 & 140 back-to-back? If that's your standard then I assume you ain't moving much or often!!!

(Unless that was the line-up of course)

Terry

[dpdubai]

Terry's advice is spot on as per, I can only add through my own experience: recently I've made a concentrated effort to improve my cueing technique and the main thing has been my timing. As a by product of this I automatically stay still on the shot and pause at the end after delivery.

I think this is because my cueing is so deliberate and focused ie concentrating on front pause, slow backswing and good rear pause I'm in no rush to pot balls or thinking of how the shot will finish or whatever it is that naturally goes through our minds.

If you have any doubts about your basic technique the first thing I'd do is book a lesson with a qualified reputable coach, even a one off lesson will do wonders for your game. It did for me.

[cantpotforshíte]

I have noticed that somebody that I play with moves a lot on the shot delivery when he isn't properly lined up, or when he hasn't made his mind up about what he's doing on the shot.
I suspect that often, it's because of incorrect alignment or indecision that people twitch, ie not getting down right, or not getting the 95% right before you get down.
'Putting a quick one in' as others have mentioned is the other biggest factor I reckon, though it's my suspicion that this also might be caused by not being lined up and settled.
All the previous posters have offered excellent tidbits of advice and I'm going to try them out next time I pick up my cue, as I move as much as anyone on some shots...

[magicman]

I was obviously not moving that day! Over the years I've noticed that moving on the shot is one of my recurring bad habits and certainly the one poor habit I am more consciously aware of. Some days all it takes is for me to say to myself - 'stay stock still on the shot' for me to find form from nowhere.

[circle]

Hmm

Some very good advice has been offered in other posts. But one thing that helps is to relax on the shot. It works wonders!

[dpdubai]

or not getting the 95% right before you get down.

I've never read Frank Callans book but my interpretation of the 95% & 5% theory is that the striking of the cue ball is the 5%. Your still going through some of the 95% preparation when your down. Feathering, pausing & backswing etc would still make up the 95%.

For anyone new to the game and unsure of this thread I'll say this Snookers a tough game so we should make it simple, straight cueing is the foundation of the game its the holy grail of snooker everyone is searching for and one common fault in cueing straight is movement on the shot.

Stop moving, simple as that if you readjust when down: first off your probably going to miss and second off your never going to be able to correct the fault over time because how much are you adjusting when down? Was your aim right standing up? Did you adjust too far? Should you just turn your cue into it that way you do when your trying to pot these ones?
Maybe I should just........ Oh you missed the pot how did that happen?

We all do it but this is what we should do:

No. 1 - Select the line you wish to aim
No. 2 - Be confident in that line
No. 3 - Get down and think of nothing but bringing the cue through straight.
No. 4 - If you miss remember how you missed too thick too thin and readjust next time.

Now we'll start to miss less and less.

[cantpotforshíte]

I've never read Frank Callans book but my interpretation of the 95% & 5% theory is that the striking of the cue ball is the 5%. Your still going through some of the 95% preparation when your down. Feathering, pausing & backswing etc would still make up the 95%.

Quite right ... sorry I didn't word that last post very carefully. I meant to imply that the 95% includes the getting down on the shot, although I wouldn't include the feathers etc...
Frank Callan does infact count the waggles, pausing and backswing as the 95%, according to his site (I've not read his book either). Nobody is suggesting that these figures are mathematically accurate, of coursde, there is no way of measuring them.
Personally though, I would say (infact meant to say) that seeing the shot before getting down and the get-down on the shot constitute the most important part of the shot.
At club level, it seems to me that most players miss when they haven't got this bit right-certainly when a player is 'in' amongst the reds.
At greater distances between the cueball and object ball, of course technique and straight cueing is of the utmost importance and there are many useful threads on this site about this.
I do wonder if there is a situation where if you haven't dropped into the shot nicely, it's impossible to cue straight.
Sorry for the long post, just trying to clear up my opinions.

[newtip]

Being able to concentrate on the right thing at the right time is essential.
Try using your breathing to get online. While standing up use your imagination to see the ghost ball now breathe in (inhale) along the straight line of the shot threw your nose to your heart. Now when down imagine exhaling from your heart threw the top of your head square (up). If done correctly it willsquare your head and you will be able to see with precision.
breathing in this L shaped pattern is like a switch and allows you to deliver the ball correctly.
__________________
Originally posted at Http://www.thesnookergym.com/forums