Arm bent? Arm straight

[cazmac1]

Hi guys just want your opinion on how bent your bridge arm should be, I taught myself how to play snooker by reading the Joe Davis snooker bible, and I used to push my bridge arm out straight, till you got this certain tension/feel as he states in his book. I played this way for years and had limited success, until I bent my bridge arm and my game was much better. This was 20 years ago. I came back to the game and started playing with my arm bent. Today I played Jamie walker (ranked 68 on the pios circuit) He gave me a right kicking. I was feeling pretty low after this. He then proceeded to say that I had too much over hang on my bridge hand, because my arm was bent too much. When he went I practice pushing my arm out straight, I found it uncomfortable at first but was surprised at how well I potted.
I thought that the Joe Davis technique was dated and that the trend today is to play with your arm slightly bent. What I want to know I how do you know how much bend is too much?

[hotpot]

Its an individual thing and i suppose the length of your arms and cue and how far back you hold the cue will have a lot to do with it .

If you bend your arm to much you will have too much cue past your bridge , and if your arm is too straight you may find your bridge at the end of your cue , both are not ideal and may result in bad cueing .

[cazmac1]

Thanks hotpot,
Any one esle want to add to this. :snooker::snooker:

[saddler79]

Thanks hotpot,
Any one esle want to add to this. :snooker::snooker:

I'm nowhere near as good as you two but this is something i've been working on a lot recently. Ever since ive straightened my arm at the advice of Terry i've cued much better through the line and at times I couldnt miss. There is a limit to this though and I still have a slight bend in my arm as if I try to over-straighten it my bridge arm feels too tense and my game falls away.

It just feels that the straigter the arm the higher the chance of consistently straight cueing as it brings the body well into line for the shot.

Everybody is slightly different but I would say straighten it as far as you can but it must still feel comfortable.

[vmax4steve]

I think it all depends on how tall you are and how long your cue needs to be to enable you to play with your bridge arm straight if that's how you prefer it. As for how much cue overhangs your thumb, well it varies depending on what shot you are taking on. Watch the pros, it's hardly ever always the same.

[cazmac1]

Thanks Steve and Saddler.
Your advice sounds spot on saddler.
Steve your right that the over hang varies depending on certain shots. But what I’m talking about here is standard cuing position; hand on the table, not near a cush or bridging over a ball etc. You’re also correct about the size of the cue, as the cue I’m playing with now is longer than my previous cue, but now this feels too short. I'm lucky in that I have a new cue on order and it’s longer, than the one I'm playing with.
What I’m looking for here is any tips for finding correct amount to straighten/bend the arm. Along the line of saddler reply.
PS: one of the reasons I originally bent was my arm was that I found that I could get the cue very level playing this way.

[cantpotforshíte]

There is another reason for having your arm a little bit straighter, cazmac.
Personally I do it because it makes sighting a little easier for me.
It'll make your eyes further away from the end of the cue, and makes it easier to look down the length of the cue when you are down on the shot. (I'm very left-eye-dominant so this might be just a personal preference.)

And mechanically of course, the amount of cue that is sticking out beyond your bridge hand will be less, and the length of cue between your grip hand and your bridge will be greater. This means that any unwanted lateral movement at the butt end of the cue will be reduced at the tip end.

[Terry Davidson]

First of all, we owe so much to Joe Davis' book on how to play snooker. However there are a few of Joe's techniques that are a little dated.

First of all, remember Joe was a short fellow compared to most of us today and also HE WAS LITERALLY BLIND in his right eye but was a right hander.

Also, to correct someone's perception of my comments regarding the straight left arm. I ONLY recommended the straight left arm in PRACTICE and to get the left shoulder tucked underneath the left cheek (and thus the right shoulder higher). This is a sure-fire method of getting the feel of having the shoulders in the correct position and the right shoulder socket locked in space throughout the backswing and delivery.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND an absolutely straight and locked straight left arm (as per Joe's recommendation) for today's taller players, however I might recommend it for the ladies and if I had a shorter student or a student with very short arms.

The left forearm should be SLIGHTLY bent, however this is a matter of personal preference and also how much cue a player likes to have from the cueball to the 'V' of his bridge. I would say anywhere from 10 to 30 degrees for those anal-retentive engineers out there who need a number.

However, make sure you have the rest of it correct. Put a light pencil mark on your shaft at about 11in from the tip. Get into your normal address position and ensure your grip arm forearm is hanging STRAIGHT DOWN AND ALSO IS OVER THE RIGHT FOOT, somewhere around the bottom of the arch of the foot or the back of the toes.

For a 6ft guy with a 57in cue and normal sized arms, he should have anywhere from 10-12in between the 'V' and the cueball and about 1in of butt hanging out the back of his grip hand, BUT that is ONLY if he has the vertical grip forearm and the grip is over the right foot (all this is for a right-hander of course).

Now rub the light pencil mark off the shaft of your cue with an eraser, but you can if you like leave it for reference and also put a piece of electrician's tape where the front of your grip hand goes (for practice purposes only but there's no rule against leaving them there all the time).

Terry

[cazmac1]

Thanks every one for replying I'm certainly going to make this the focus of all my practice for the next few months. I had a little game today and think this could be the missing peice of the jigsaw in my techinue/stance. If Im right I'm looking forward to some good times ahead.:snooker:

[Freddie Ng]

Another great reply from Terry.. Thanks

[fswt30]

Great tutorial from Terry.

[cazmac1]

Just thought I share this with you, I went down the club today and done the line up with my arm straight and potted 10 red and 10 blacks, then done the same again and then potted 14 reds 14 blacks. This is amazing as I've been struggling to pot even a straight black off the spot prior to this, and all for such a small but significant change. I’m sure I can kick on from here and get my game to the level I know I can achieve. I think six months hard practice and I should really see the benefit. To all you guys finding it hard at the moment, try having a looking at the basics or if someone knowledgeable points out a fault with your stance don’t just ignore it see if they have some thing.
Just want to add that I don't think I would have found this out with my old cue because it was to short and I wouldn't have been able to push my arm out to the correct point. So ruining my JP was a blessing in disguise. John is now lengthening my cue and I should have it back in less than two weeks. I can't wait, feeling full of excitement as to what lies ahead

[ADR147]

i am by no means a coach but i would think it does not really matter how you have your arm as long as you push the cue through straight so its more about what you are comfortable with.

[1lawyer]

i am by no means a coach but i would think it does not really matter how you have your arm as long as you push the cue through straight so its more about what you are comfortable with.

best post of the lot for me

[noel]

i am by no means a coach but i would think it does not really matter how you have your arm as long as you push the cue through straight so its more about what you are comfortable with.

Good on you for pointing that out Andrew.
We sometimes slather on so many rhymes and reasons on the simplest truths, it's light can't shine through.
So we stumble around bumping into the unseen obvious.

In snooker... just do it. Learn to love it by doing it. That feeling will keep you practicing and improving and
from that even greater success will come.

Have you ever watched someone who learned to dance from a tutorial magazine?
Didn't it just break your heart or shatter your funnybone?
Did you have to read a How-To-Book to learn how to wank?

When you hit a development wall or plateau and can't yourself see how to reach the next level, get a coach.
A real living person gifted enough to clear away what your mind tells you you should do and free you to just do it
the best way you can. Your way. Like shoes fit. The comfortable way.


=o)

Noel