cue arm&shoulder

[davidwu]

i have asked similiar questions before, but i still have a problem with it. when u get down to take a shot, does ur cue arm need to be lift up a bit? or do u have to lock ur shoulder by lifting it? if do, to what extent?

coz i have realise that when i play 8balls pool, if i lifted my arm&shoulder, i miss a lot simple shots, although the long pots werent affected.

however if i get down for a shot, and keep my cue arm&shoulder relaxed, not lifted, my play became much better,but i get a feeling that the arm and shoulder is too low. i am afraid this is technically wrong, and i dont want to develop such flaw in my cue action. so cn someone help me with this?

[Terry Davidson]

See my previous post where you asked me a similar question. The way to get the right shoulder correct is just as Joe Davis mentions in his book.

Without a cue in your hands and standing up, push your LEFT arm out as far as it will go and this has the effect of 'bracing' the right shoulder back and twists the spine a bit. (Don't overdo it and make yourself uncomfortable)

Terry

[davidwu]

See my previous post where you asked me a similar question. The way to get the right shoulder correct is just as Joe Davis mentions in his book.

Without a cue in your hands and standing up, push your LEFT arm out as far as it will go and this has the effect of 'bracing' the right shoulder back and twists the spine a bit. (Don't overdo it and make yourself uncomfortable)

Terry

based on ur tips, there is no need to deliberately lift the right shoulder or back arm, it should be done naturally.

[Terry Davidson]

davidwu:

Yes that is correct. It should be braced though as Joe Davis said so that shoulder socket doesn't move or to put it in the generally accepted terms, the shoulder/head should not move at all during the feathering, backswing and delivery but remain absolutely still.

Which, of course, is THE most important aspect of a good snooker technique.

So don't force the shoulder up and in so much as making sure the left armpit is down as low as is comfortable and also as forward as is comfortable which will have the opposite effect on the right shoulder and raise it up but also keep it still and braced during the backswing and delivery.

To tell if you have it right ask a friend to stand directly in front of you when in the address position and the right shoulder should be either completely hidden by the head or almost so with just perhaps the edge of the shirt showing past the head at the worst case.

Terry

[davidwu]

davidwu:

Yes that is correct. It should be braced though as Joe Davis said so that shoulder socket doesn't move or to put it in the generally accepted terms, the shoulder/head should not move at all during the feathering, backswing and delivery but remain absolutely still.

Which, of course, is THE most important aspect of a good snooker technique.

So don't force the shoulder up and in so much as making sure the left armpit is down as low as is comfortable and also as forward as is comfortable which will have the opposite effect on the right shoulder and raise it up but also keep it still and braced during the backswing and delivery.

To tell if you have it right ask a friend to stand directly in front of you when in the address position and the right shoulder should be either completely hidden by the head or almost so with just perhaps the edge of the shirt showing past the head at the worst case.

Terry

that really clear thing up for me,coz i always thought if u look from front u should be able to the elbow. thank you very much terry!

[Terry Davidson]

If you look from the front you should be able to see the ELBOW behind the head and (perhaps) directly over the cue but not any of the SHOULDER should be visible.

Terry

[davidwu]

If you look from the front you should be able to see the ELBOW behind the head and (perhaps) directly over the cue but not any of the SHOULDER should be visible.

Terry

what if u cnt see the elbow or barely visible if u r looking at the eye level at the front? does it mean ur arm is too low?

[Terry Davidson]

The ELBOW should be up as high as it can be while still being comfortable. You should be able to see the top of the elbow behind the head.

Look at a picture of any of the top pros in the address position to see what I mean

Terry

[davidwu]

The ELBOW should be up as high as it can be while still being comfortable. You should be able to see the top of the elbow behind the head.

Look at a picture of any of the top pros in the address position to see what I mean

Terry

The problem im experiencing is that if i lift my elbow as high as i cn without being uncomfortable,i miss a lot of shots, however if i let the elbow lift naturally when i get down the accuracy seem to improve a lot. So i think something is wrong and im afraid that the height of the elbow is too low when i lifted it naturally.

[DandyA]

The ELBOW should be up as high as it can be while still being comfortable. You should be able to see the top of the elbow behind the head.

Look at a picture of any of the top pros in the address position to see what I mean

Terry

isn't the height of the elbow fixed at address position since your forearm should be vertical? surely the only way to raise it is to lift the butt of the cue which is definitely not recommended ...

[davidwu]

isn't the height of the elbow fixed at address position since your forearm should be vertical? surely the only way to raise it is to lift the butt of the cue which is definitely not recommended ...

Dats wot i think as well, the butt have to be lifted if the elbow were to raise,
All these things are really confusing and it is really bothering me

[Theguywithaplan]

I think the only possible answer if your elbow is even close to not being visible from the front is that you are holding the cue WAY too far back. You should post a pic or video as Im having a hard time imagining this.

[davidwu]

I think the only possible answer if your elbow is even close to not being visible from the front is that you are holding the cue WAY too far back. You should post a pic or video as Im having a hard time imagining this.

i checked my arm in the mirror, if i raise it naturally, i could see merely the elbow and a bit of my arm, while i could see the elbow and most of my back arm if i were to raise it as high as possible.

but i suppose the first scenario is good enough?

[Terry Davidson]

davidwu:

Do a search through any snooker pictures you can find and look for pictures of pros or top amateurs in the address position and shot from straight on. You will see the top of their elbow past their heads and normally about 6inches of the upper arm.

Good technique is that the grip arm elbow is up as high as it can comfortably go but NOT by pulling the cue into the chest but rather getting the chest down to the cue (although there is obviously a little pulling up of the butt as you shouldn't let it sag)

Terry

[tedisbill]

I have recently realised I have this problem with my technique!

My shoulders look very square on if you look at me from straight on. But if I pull my right shoulder slightly back, I get the correct setup in the address position.

My question is: I'm a regular 50-60 break player, very often have 70-80 breaks, so what are the advantages of having my right shoulder slightly pulled back like this? Or better still, what are the disadvantages of not having it pulled back?

Hope I've been clear with my explanation and questions. Cheers