Stance

[trungyy]

Hello, Im pretty new in snooker highest break of 23. I stand square to the shot with my feet standing parallel. Ive noticed that when I take a shot most of my weight is on my right leg(right handed) and the left leg is kinda just there so I dont fall. When I try to lean more weight on my left leg, my right angle becomes 30degrees to the vertical line of my feet. What's right and whats wrong or is it just preference?

[paulb]

I used to do this too (all weight on right leg). The problem is you don't/can't lean into the shot (which helps you get through the ball), and there is a tendency for your right hip to be in the way (assuming right foot is on the line of the shot, as it should be) and leads to cueing around your hip, and therefore not straight.

Terry Griffiths has a masterclass video on the stance (costs a few pounds), and there he says roughly 60% on the left foot. I can recommend that. It goes through the stance in detail, including the square on and boxer (which sounds like what you do when come to 30 degrees). I am sure better players/coaches here will also comment.

[trungyy]

"my right angle becomes 30degrees", typo, i mean my right leg becomes 30degree to the left instead of straight up

[DeanH]

Hi trungyy, the back left does not need to be vertical, it can have some slight angle (I am sure 30deg is an exaggeration ).
Two thing you can try:
1. Bend your left knee a little bit more than you usually do.
2. Move your left foot at little further away from you body, either further to the left or further forward, or mixture.
As long as you are comfortable, balanced and stable; this will enable you to be still on the shot.

[paulb]

"my right angle becomes 30degrees", typo, i mean my right leg becomes 30degree to the left instead of straight up

Ok, now I understand. As DeanH says, 30 deg might be too much, but your right foot should be under the cue and your right hip well clear of the cue and right hand (at least 2cm according to Terry Griffiths), so the leg indeed should not be straight as seen from the back.

[Terry Davidson]

paulb:

Your last post here (#5) is correct. Try the following weight distribution, right leg = 45%, left leg = 45% and the remaining 10% should be on your left forearm and bridge hand. This last you can easily accomplish by 'driving' the left elbow onto the cloth with a hand-on-the-table shot.

Of course these numbers are approximate just to give you some idea as it's pretty tough to measure exactly

Terry

[Terry Davidson]

My post is for trungyy too, as he asked the question. By the way, the right leg is never exactly vertical as this would get the pocket of your trousers in the way (right hip). The right leg (if looking at it from directly in front) should be angled inwards since you must twist the hips to get the proper stance and also it should be (when looking from the side) angled slightly forwards so the top (hip) is behind the foot however keep the laces of the right foot directly unter the exactly vertical grip arm forearm when in the address position

Terry

[paulb]

Thanks for your reply Terry. Nice to have confirmed I have understood correctly now, as like trungyy, this was a point of misunderstanding for me when I started out (thinking leg should be straight AND vertical). I'll try your advice on 10% on the elbow. In fact, this is something I also sort of discovered for myself recently. I never even used to have my elbow on the table, and recently discovered how much extra stability it brings. The 45/45/10 sounds like a good guide to getting the distribution right, as again I have no real guide as to how much I should lean forward.

[eaoin11]

Hello, Im pretty new in snooker highest break of 23. I stand square to the shot with my feet standing parallel. Ive noticed that when I take a shot most of my weight is on my right leg(right handed) and the left leg is kinda just there so I dont fall. When I try to lean more weight on my left leg, my right angle becomes 30degrees to the vertical line of my feet. What's right and whats wrong or is it just preference?

Hi mate, I found weight distribution hard to master but it had a great impact on my cueing. Another point that Terry has confirmed before is bending from the hips, which means that your lower back is flat to the table. When a coach first shoved me into this position I was amazed by the ease of long potting and the cue power that came with it. Look at how flat Neil Robertson, Steve Hendry and Steve Davis get their lower backs in spite of their height, I'm sure it's a big key.

[trungyy]

hmm thanks for the input guys, it seems to me for more weight to be distributed to the left leg, the hips have to swing left to get in line with the shot and the body is leaning over the cue at an angle(the upper body is facing towards the right of the shot). So you dont lean over with your body in line with the shot but twist your hips over so your body is facing to the right and turn your nec to look down the cue?

[Terry Davidson]

That's correct. Look at a head-on shot of any of the pros on youtube and you will see their bent leg hip is quite a distance out to the side but they do twist their spines a bit to get the upper body a little more square but it's still not square to the shot as that would be physically impossible

Terry