Cueing arm right angle to the cue

[nrage]

snooker mad, im not a coach or anything but i have one obvious thing to say..

if your knocking in regular centuries, clearly your doing something right - not everyone is the same and not everyone has to adopt the same technique and htere really is no right or wrong technique, its just whatever works, and if your knocking in centuries then it clearly means that your technique is fine for you and therefore i wouldnt be looking at changing much, if anything at all....

just my little two cents

Ditto that. I've spent countless hours trying to do everything right and I struggle to pot 3 balls in a row! Keep knocking the centuries in how u are and forget about moving your little finger two millimetres to the left, just because that's text book!

You're both right to a degree, for example..

- Lets say you're a 100 break player and you're happy where you are and not trying to improve, in this case you're right. Don't change anything.

- Now lets say you're a 100 break player and already improving every day, in this case you're also right. Don't change anything.

- However, lets say you're a 100 break player and you haven't improved in the last year, despite sufficient practice and a desire to improve. In this case you should start looking at, and tweaking your technique to attempt to find things which are holding you back. You're looking for changes you can make which actually increase you consistency and accuracy by only very small amounts.

The 'ideal' technique exists because it has been found to be the technique which most people get the best consistency and accuracy from, and it's comfortable enough and repeatable enough over long periods of time. Can you be as accurate with a different technique, yes.. but maybe not as consistently. It's the consistency which makes all the difference when you're up around the 100 break mark and looking to improve.

[Gamma]

Hi all,


I hold the cue near the end so I can feel the flat part of the cue facing upwards, so then I know that i'm holding the cue the same way around on every shot, I also know this as well by the markings on my cue when i'm feathering. I think my cue is a bit too tall for me as its above my shoulder when the cue is stood up next to me. So i've tried putting my hand at the end of the cue like I used to feeling the flat of the cue facing upwards then sliding my hand down the cue to make my arm and cue a right angle, its very close to the join on my cue (its a 3/4 piece cue). I've also thought of moving my bridge hand back away from the white more so that I don't have to grip the cue as far up towards the join, so it doesn't feel too much different to how I used to play.

Plus this is in my head now when i'm playing, thinking about right angle cue arm and i'm not concentrating as much on cueing, potting and position, I suppose it'll take time and lots of practice

Can anyone help?


Thanks
Snookermad

Snookermad:

This post is extremely interesting to me, as i have just started being coached, and one of the first things that the coach pointed out is the exact same thing that yours did with you.

Now, i am 6' tall and my cue is 57", both average figures. But my previous technique had me holding the butt of the cue at the end(so i can feel the 'flat up') but at a 'dog leg' as you pointed out.

It has been very very difficult to condition myself to make the tweaks in my stance and approach to each shot, and i must admit, i havent seen any benefits yet, other than on some shots where my overall control has become a lot better.

My thinking is that the amendments to my technique need to become second nature, so i can get back to thinking about the shot in hand when approaching the table, not: is my arm at a right angle, are my feet wide enough apart, is the cue as parallel to the table as possible...etc. Because at the moment, i am still thinking about these things when im down on the shot, and even when feathering, which, of course is distracting!

The more i practice though, the more i am feeling it coming together, and i think, in time it will make the difference between missing or making a shot, because you know the control is there.

All that said, however, i am not a regular century break player, and this alone will not make me one. You are obviously doing a lot of things right, so for you this could be the difference between a high break, and a very high break(possibly a maxi by the sound of it!)

Its just very interesting to know that there there are other people out there with the same techincal issues.

Look at the Hurricane Higgins though, rest his soul, the most unorthodox player the game has ever seen, but he could still knock in such fantastic shots with his techinque(if it can be called that!!) and regularly too!! It would be interesting to know how you progress with these little changes, i will be posting regarding mine, so we'll see how it develops.....


Gamma

[finabb]

In the meantime i'll just try moving my hand up the cue near to where the 3/4 join is, so that my arm is at right angle to the cue. I have been trying this for the last 2 weeks, but I keep slipping back into my old habit of holding the cue at the end

Original Source: http://www.thesnookerforum.com/board...#ixzz1FYI8jJdw
TSF - TheSnookerForum.com

I was told to put a bit of tape round the butt so you know where you hand should be. After a few weeks take the tape off and you'll be out of the habit of holding it at the end.
If the habit creeps back put the tape back.

[snooker mad]

snooker mad, im not a coach or anything but i have one obvious thing to say..

if your knocking in regular centuries, clearly your doing something right - not everyone is the same and not everyone has to adopt the same technique and htere really is no right or wrong technique, its just whatever works, and if your knocking in centuries then it clearly means that your technique is fine for you and therefore i wouldnt be looking at changing much, if anything at all....

just my little two cents

I'm not knocking in regular centuries, i've had a hand full, and not had one for a year and half, I don't think I practice enough to be knocking in centuries more ofter. I do play well most of the time, had an 80 break last Sunday with 2 reds left. But you are right in what your saying, if i'm playing well don't change anything.

Thanks
Tony

[snooker mad]

Snookermad:

This post is extremely interesting to me, as i have just started being coached, and one of the first things that the coach pointed out is the exact same thing that yours did with you.

Now, i am 6' tall and my cue is 57", both average figures. But my previous technique had me holding the butt of the cue at the end(so i can feel the 'flat up') but at a 'dog leg' as you pointed out.

It has been very very difficult to condition myself to make the tweaks in my stance and approach to each shot, and i must admit, i havent seen any benefits yet, other than on some shots where my overall control has become a lot better.

My thinking is that the amendments to my technique need to become second nature, so i can get back to thinking about the shot in hand when approaching the table, not: is my arm at a right angle, are my feet wide enough apart, is the cue as parallel to the table as possible...etc. Because at the moment, i am still thinking about these things when im down on the shot, and even when feathering, which, of course is distracting!

The more i practice though, the more i am feeling it coming together, and i think, in time it will make the difference between missing or making a shot, because you know the control is there.

All that said, however, i am not a regular century break player, and this alone will not make me one. You are obviously doing a lot of things right, so for you this could be the difference between a high break, and a very high break(possibly a maxi by the sound of it!)

Its just very interesting to know that there there are other people out there with the same techincal issues.

Look at the Hurricane Higgins though, rest his soul, the most unorthodox player the game has ever seen, but he could still knock in such fantastic shots with his techinque(if it can be called that!!) and regularly too!! It would be interesting to know how you progress with these little changes, i will be posting regarding mine, so we'll see how it develops.....


Gamma

I'm only 5' 6" tall and my cue is 58", and I used to hold the cue at the end like you so I can feel the flat up, then I know i'm holding the cue the same way every shot without looking, I can also tell this by the grain of the wood near the ferul when i'm cueing up. But my arm was a dog leg likes yours.

I have changed this by moving my bridge hand about 10-12" away from the cue ball, and moving my hand up the cue so that my arm is at a right angle when my cue is pointing at the white, I used a mirror to check this, or get your coach to look. I have found I feel more in control of certain shots. It'll just take some getting used to and practice as i've played the old way for a long time. No one has ever mentioned to me about my arm being dog legged, I think I started doing it when I visited a coach and he told me to put my bridge hand closer to the white for more contol over the cue, but I didn't move my hand up the cue to compensate.

But i'm the same as you, I find i'm thinking about my arm and not potting the ball and positon, its quite frustraing as I know how good I can be, like I say its just practice and getting into a routine.

Higgins is a classic example of how NOT to play, but he was a genius on the green baise and one of the most talented players to ever to pick up a cue.

I'll keep you posted with my progress.


Thanks
Tony

[Terry Davidson]

There are a lot of good points in this string, however it does sound to me like quite a few of you are concentrating on minute alterations in your technique in order to find some improvement.

I've found with my students that I can work on some of these points however I tell them all there are just TWO really primary things a player has to do in order to improve (of course there are about 20 others, but they are the minute changes I mention above).

The 2 main points are:

1. Ensure you keep your head and shoulders ABSOLUTELY STILL from the time you place your bridge hand on the table right through until you've completed the delivery.

2. Always, always, ALWAYS drive your grip hand through to your chest on EVERY shot.

If a player could stand wrong, have a completely unorthodox set-up but did the above 2 things coupled with a reasonably slow backswing and a loose grip that player would improve AND he would also develop his own unique style which will probably be his most natural and thus will lead to rapid improvement.

Now, why rapid improvement? Because he has just 2 dynamic thoughts in his head when down on the shot (stay still (static), slow backswing (dynamic), loose grip (static) and drive the grip hand through to the chest (dynamic). Ideally there should only be one swing thought so the one to master first is the staying still and then he's only thinking about accelerating through the cueball and once he masters that then 95% of his concentration will be towards cueball control and position and just 5% on the pot because that will become automatic.

Once you reach the point where 95% of your concentration is on cueball control the centuries will come quickly

Terry

[snooker mad]

Thanks for your help Terry, i'll try what you have said.

Tony