cue arm&shoulder

[hsn]

The first four pictures are after he has hit the white and he is following through, ( apart from one where he looks to be cueing at a red? )the last one is before, I think you would have to put up pictures at the same stage of his cue action to compare like for like, I'm not saying you are wrong, just that your point needs a little clarification.

Hi itsnoteasy. Please refer to my earlier post in which I've provided clear pictures of Steve Davis before and after the delivery. It should be noted that even after the delivery his alignment remains essentially the same. So it doesn't matter what stage of the cue action the photo is taken of. The only exception would be the power shots where the whole upper arm drops down but even in that case the shoulder should ideally not move across the line of the shot in either way. In that case the elbow dips down fully and is not visible from in front.
As of Ronnie's photos, it was a quick Googling but if you watch him play closely you'll get my point that most of the time he doesn't have the ideal perfect alignment that Steve Davis had in his prime.

[tedisbill]

if you stood with your hands by your side and with your feet shoulder width apart, then dropped your left hip, your knee will drop, your upper body will automatically turn and your weight would be over the left side.
i like to do a slow back swing and stop at the back to check my setup and balance
sometimes its one setp back two steps forwards

It's seems like I'm getting in position a little better now. Getting some discomfort in my left shoulder though. Is this normal considering I'm not used to being in this position?

[j6uk]

Thanks J6! Really appreciate that.

So it's about dropping my left hip and getting my left shoulder turned in a touch more?

I'll work on it next week and see if I can get it something like. Then report back with an updated pic.

if you stood with your hands by your side and with your feet shoulder width apart, then dropped your left hip, your knee will drop, your upper body will automatically turn and your weight would be over the left side.
i like to do a slow back swing and stop at the back to check my setup and balance
sometimes its one setp back two steps forwards

[itsnoteasy]

That's great Tedisbill, I'm sure you will get what you want, you've made great progress already, I hope I am at your standard in eighteen months time, I would be well chuffed.

[tedisbill]

CoachGavin:

That's great! And all the more reason I think I really need to see this change through.

[tedisbill]

Fair enough, I didn't realise what you were up to, I thought you had been playing like that for years, on post 35 you said you just wanted to look conventional on the shot, I thought this was a big change just to look different , I have obviously misunderstood that post.

This is my 4th year of playing properly. Three and a half years ago my highest break was 37. Then I decided to take it more seriously and have been pretty much constantly improving until this year really, where I seem stuck at about the same level. Hence the reason I'm now looking to move up that next step technique wise and get some extra consistency.

[tedisbill]

okay so this is what i was thinking you could look at ted. i dropped the hip and bridge shoulder and turned it more into the shot, also your cueing hand is not brushing your hip as it may have done

Thanks J6! Really appreciate that.

So it's about dropping my left hip and getting my left shoulder turned in a touch more?

I'll work on it next week and see if I can get it something like. Then report back with an updated pic.

[CoachGavin]

cue arm&shoulder

tedisbill. When I first started my alignment was way out and I looked more like Nigel Bond. Apart from thinking that I looked ugly I thought it was also causing me to cue across. I worked on it in the mirror on my kitchen table for months but looking back it was probably the best change I made. A friend of mine didn't change and I'm sure that's why he didn't improve add much as me. The chest must be turned to the side to bring the shoulders into the correct position. It's probably easier with the boxer stance but judd and ding are square on and their alignment is good. At the moment you will probably find that your chest faces towards the floor when in your stance. You need the chest facing more to the side if you can. The alignment doesn't have to be perfect but it does help straight cueing for most people.

[itsnoteasy]

My technique has changed loads over the last two years. If I look at video from 3 years ago, I cue nothing like I do now, and I also, made nothing like the breaks I do now.

The way I see it, is it's a never ending project to constantly improve.

Fair enough, I didn't realise what you were up to, I thought you had been playing like that for years, on post 35 you said you just wanted to look conventional on the shot, I thought this was a big change just to look different , I have obviously misunderstood that post.

[j6uk]

okay well unless there is a medical issue i see no reason why you wouldn't be able to achieve a more as you say conventional setup..
so you do look flat, square on the hips and i can see from your pic that your bridge shoulder is right up by your cheek bone. i think if you dropped the left hip whilst pushing through your left foot so you you've got some weight over it and its supporting you and your line, then bring the chin to your chin area as you turn the shoulders and this should get the right shoulder up.
if you can load the pic again onto tsf so i can lift it off, i will manipulate the pic so you can see how you should look

okay so this is what i was thinking you could look at ted. i dropped the hip and bridge shoulder and turned it more into the shot, also your cueing hand is not brushing your hip as it may have done

[tedisbill]

I wish you the best of luck with it.

My technique has changed loads over the last two years. If I look at video from 3 years ago, I cue nothing like I do now, and I also, made nothing like the breaks I do now.

The way I see it, is it's a never ending project to constantly improve.

[itsnoteasy]

I wish you the best of luck with it.

[tedisbill]

I'm not really sure what your after here Tedisbil, you can obviously play, and you can't make regular breaks like you do if you can't push the cue through straight, so what is it you are after?. Remember it's not just a case of one change, it could affect entirely how you cue, is it worth the risk, it might not be as easy to go back to what you know if you start tinkering, I'm not saying don't do it, just be careful what you wish for.

The goal is just to be as good as I can possibly be.

[itsnoteasy]

I'm not really sure what your after here Tedisbil, you can obviously play, and you can't make regular breaks like you do if you can't push the cue through straight, so what is it you are after?. Remember it's not just a case of one change, it could affect entirely how you cue, is it worth the risk, it might not be as easy to go back to what you know if you start tinkering, I'm not saying don't do it, just be careful what you wish for.

[Terry Davidson]

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Just spotted this now on one of Nic Barrow's videos. Although his shoulder is pretty much hidden, it definitely is not directly on the line of the shot like Ding's is.

I'm confused now.

His elbow is not on the line of aim either and I know Nic likes to think it is as I noticed it the last time I was with him and he said he was going to work to fix it. Maybe the photo is a little older as that was about 3yrs ago.

He teaches having the elbow right on the line of aim but he doesn't have anything regarding the upper arm being on the line of aim. If you think about it having the upper arm on the line would mean you would have to have the cue underneath the armpit rather than against the chest so I wouldn't worry about that part of it.

Just do the best you can to get the shoulder behind the head. The cue should touch the chest about 2" to the right of the nipple and slightly higher, but definitely NOT under the armpit.

Terry