My Tilted Straight leg

[Sidd]

OK so I have noticed this small thing and since I cant get it out of my head, I thought of seeking assistance and help on that. Now that I have started practicing and solo line up etc I can give more time to the technique and while in matches i only concentrate on Keeping the head still, loose grip and a nice smooth follow through.

So I have noticed that my straight leg is straight and still with my shoe out for easing and the bent leg is placed outwardly and I thought my stance is ok but the other day I have noticed that my straight leg is not perhaps straight enough. What I mean is that it is not perpendicular to the ground. I am 6 feet tall and heavy built too so need to know how to get rid of this problem as it may be disturbing my line of aim. The sense is that grip should run over the shoe and the leg should be straight and vertical to the ground but I have noticed that mine is not straight (it is stiff through comfortably) but not straight. When I look at it it is somehow tilted outwardly and my grip hand is not over the shoe but I can see the shoe to the left of the grip hand (I am a lefty). What does that mean. I have tried to bring it back but then due to my height I cant make the stance easily and my leg then hurts... Suggestions and solution please!!!

[Terry Davidson]

Sidd:

Here's a coaching tip (and if you would have checked my posts I've said this many times on here before)...THE STRAIGHT LEG IS not PERPENDICULAR TO THE FLOOR NOR SHOULD IT BE since when you twist the hips the right hip goes towards the back and that will put the top of the right leg behind the right foot.

It should not be tilted outwards either and if it is then that means you are not twisting the hips away from the line of aim of the cue. If you have about 2-3in between the grip hand thumb and your trousers at your hip, with the grip hand over the foot somewhere near the arch of the foot then if anything the leg will also be tilted a little into the body but just a bit.

As I've said before you are looking for perfection and that is not an achievable goal. You have to find what's best for YOU but first of all you had best get knowledgeable regarding this perfect technique you are seeking as you got it way wrong in thinking the straight leg should be perpendicular when just a little thought would have told you once you twist the hips out of the way that straight leg cannot possibly be perpendicular.

Terry

[nrage]

@Sidd, have a look at this old, but very good video on the stance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP4RvZJMPd8

Notice how the hips twist and shift, as Terry mentions above, and the back leg is not perpendicular but angles in enough for the hand to clear the hip and .. not sure if this video shows it, but slightly backward of perpendicular as well.

[Sidd]

Thank you Terry and Nrage. This was just something confusing me and now with your respectable comments I can have a sigh of relief. I will note down today how I put up my stance because I do tend to swivel on my hip but I think I might be overdoing it because when I look at my straight leg it does seem rather tilted more than usual outwardly. I will try to find my point in that area and then stick to it.

Thanks a lot again. Also since I am left-eyed I will only try to develop a square on stance (being left handed too) without moving the chin and see how that works for me. Since I will be working on the stance anyway so it will be good to try this as well and then finalise on what I feel most comfortable with...!

Cheers.

[Sidd]

OK so I went in for some practice and noticed that my straight leg is rather tilted than usual. I mean seriously if I look at it from the stance position I can see my left leg outside the grip hand. I do bend my hips or swivel on them and lean to the left a bit but then my straight leg is (ok it cant be perpendicular) not even tilted slightly but I can see it tilted outwardly and by that I mean to my left and my grip hand is roughly over my knee and not the shoe...

Is that usual or do I need to make some changes here???

[Terry Davidson]

Sidd:

Please do a little thinking for yourself and little research on here before you ask these type of questions. Getting your straight leg foot directly underneath your grip hand is NOT rocket science! nrage has a post on here where he explains exactly how to achieve it but I will repeat it here as it's so-o-o-o simple.

1. Place cueball ahead of brown spot by about 6 inches.
2. Place cue on table with tip against the cueball and aiming to a definite target such as a top pocket.
3. Let cue rest on cushion and place your left (grip) hand on the cue where you would normally hold it for this type of shot.
4. Place on the floor directly under the grip hand a small coin or a small piece of paper.
5. Leaving the cueball where it is step back off the shot and stand up straight.
6. While still standing behind the shot pick your line of aim and then place your LEFT foot directly on top of the coin or piece of paper (you can look down to check but then get back onto your line of aim).
7. Assume the address position with the cue lined up along your point of aim and now if you've managed to correctly follow these instructions your left foot HAS TO BE not only on the line of aim but also directly underneath your grip hand.
8. Practice this a few time until you are able to assume this position with the left foot automatically.

The next time you have a question I would suggest you first type it into the "Search' feature up above and spend a bit of your own time doing research. Also try youtube and thesnookergym and Terry Griffiths website and do a little of your own research instead of having the coaches here hand everything to you on a silver platter. If you do your own research you will learn each item more thoroughly and just might come to understand what you are doing with your body and technique.

Terry

[Izzyfcuk]

Sidd

You want "textbook" or "comfort"

IMO, these two never go together

One day terry's gonna run out of spoons......

[shanethbcfc]

Sidd:

Please do a little thinking for yourself and little research on here before you ask these type of questions. Getting your straight leg foot directly underneath your grip hand is NOT rocket science! nrage has a post on here where he explains exactly how to achieve it but I will repeat it here as it's so-o-o-o simple.

1. Place cueball ahead of brown spot by about 6 inches.
2. Place cue on table with tip against the cueball and aiming to a definite target such as a top pocket.
3. Let cue rest on cushion and place your left (grip) hand on the cue where you would normally hold it for this type of shot.
4. Place on the floor directly under the grip hand a small coin or a small piece of paper.
5. Leaving the cueball where it is step back off the shot and stand up straight.
6. While still standing behind the shot pick your line of aim and then place your LEFT foot directly on top of the coin or piece of paper (you can look down to check but then get back onto your line of aim).
7. Assume the address position with the cue lined up along your point of aim and now if you've managed to correctly follow these instructions your left foot HAS TO BE not only on the line of aim but also directly underneath your grip hand.
8. Practice this a few time until you are able to assume this position with the left foot automatically.

The next time you have a question I would suggest you first type it into the "Search' feature up above and spend a bit of your own time doing research. Also try youtube and thesnookergym and Terry Griffiths website and do a little of your own research instead of having the coaches here hand everything to you on a silver platter. If you do your own research you will learn each item more thoroughly and just might come to understand what you are doing with your body and technique.

Terry

Woah, calm it down mate.

[cazmac1]

Forget about your legs are and start concentrating on getting the cue on line and your cue action.

[Sidd]

Dear Terry, thanks for the detailed response. Yes you are right I must first do the research and search out what I intend to ask. I assure you that I will do so in the coming time and shall not intend to waste anyone's time including yours of course. You have been kind enough to reproduce the method and I thank you a lot for that. I have in fact been trying the same by placing a rest on the floor in the direction of the shot and then I have noticed that my foot is always actually on the line however for some reason my body tends to be a little away from the foot towards the right and that worries me a bit. However, I shall find out the reason by trial and error and try to get to my most comfortable position.

Cazmac: Thanks man... You are right comfort and textbook dont go together. I will have to choose comfort because I'd like to play for long rather than looking to play good and ending up with a physiotherapist

[Terry Davidson]

Sidd:

Please look at the pros. As a left hander you body SHOULD be a ways to the right of the line of aim and here I mean your butt although the head and shoulder (and elbow hopefully) will be on the line of aim.

Look at a head-on shot of any good player and you will see the butt is way to the right or left and this is caused by the twisting of the hips

Terry

[Terry Davidson]

Sidd:

Comfort is the first and most important thing in the set-up, however if a player has been using a stance which is not a good alignment he will get used to it and changing to a more 'correct' alignment will at first seem unnatural.

The important points are the grip hand should be over the straight leg foot, the grip forearm should be vertical in the address position and in your case the left hip should be at least 2-3 inches away from the thumb of the grip hand when in the address position.

If you try and keep the straight leg vertical in the bacvk-to-front plane then the foot would have to be behind the grip hand and if you try and keep it vertical in the left-to-right plane then the left hip will be much too close to the grip hand and most likely the grip hand will brush the trousers during the backswing and delivery which will encourage the player to swing the butt around the hip in your case taking the tip to the right before striking the cueball.

Terry

[Terry Davidson]

Sidd:

Comfort is the first and most important thing in the set-up, however if a player has been using a stance which is not a good alignment he will get used to it and changing to a more 'correct' alignment will at first seem unnatural.

The important points are the grip hand should be over the straight leg foot, the grip forearm should be vertical in the address position and in your case the left hip should be at least 2-3 inches away from the thumb of the grip hand when in the address position.

If you try and keep the straight leg vertical in the bacvk-to-front plane then the foot would have to be behind the grip hand and if you try and keep it vertical in the left-to-right plane then the left hip will be much too close to the grip hand and most likely the grip hand will brush the trousers during the backswing and delivery which will encourage the player to swing the butt around the hip in your case taking the tip to the right before striking the cueball.

Terry

[Sidd]

Thanks for the elaboration Coach. I do watch them all the time but they seem to have a very straight leg not tilting but now after your clarification and thinking on it myself I understand that it is not possible and hence since I see them through the camera so the camera angle maybe is playing this trick.

your second paragraph of the last comment tells me you are a genious at what you do. I think this is exactly what may be happening. I sometimes have a feeling that I might be hitting a little to the right than intended of the cue ball and maybe that is due to the reason that you have just explained. Yes when I look at my position from down on the shot I can see that my hip is far off from the grip hand at least a hand distance away which would mean I am not closer to the grip as much I should be. Because of that my leg tilts outwardly and also becasue of this I have developed this pain in my bridge arm (the bicep area). I think and please correct me if I am wrong but I think I am not balanced perhaps and am putting much of the weight on my right side of the body. You also indicated the same in your last para and if I am right and that is the case; how do you suggest I allign myself? Should I remove the tilt in my straight leg by moving my butt closer to the grip hand or move my bent leg further off a little etc... ???

[Terry Davidson]

Sidd:

The only change I would make here is for COMFORT. When you swing the hips to the right you do this by bending your right leg so in order to move the hips closer to the grip hand then don't bend the right leg so severely. The 'ideal' is the thumb of the grip hand should be 2-3 inches from the trouser pocket.

However, in his prime Hendry played with the hip about 8inches away from the butt of the cue and that didn't seem to hurt him in the 90's as he won 7 world titles and more matches than anyone else. BUT, he was young and flexible and he doesn't do that anymore and I'll bet this is because it began to get uncomfortable.

Remember what I said regarding the set-up. COMFORT is the first and most important thing so get down into the address position and close your eyes and make some adjustments with the hip swing until your bridge arm is comfortable. Remember, it might be something else causing the discomfort though. Once you've made the adjustments open the eyes and take a look just to set in your mind what the most comfortable position is and then try and adapt it into your set-up.

Terry