Cue delivery push ! Swing ! Clarify ?

[Drac]

Yes, all players are different with different styles that suit them. Obviously due to different genetics / mechanics of the body..There is one new pro (is it sam bird) where he actually lifts slowly up off the cue as he does the final delivery towards the cue ball, very subtle it is but its there.[/QUOTE]

Alan (angles) McManus did that........ I think?

[Drac]

Yes, all players are different with different styles that suit them. Obviously due to different genetics / mechanics of the body..There is one new pro (is it sam bird) where he actually lifts slowly up off the cue as he does the final delivery towards the cue ball, very subtle it is but its there.[/QUOTE]

Alan (angles) McManus did that........ I think?

[throtts]

Alan (angles) McManus did that........ I think?[/QUOTE]

You are quite right, buddy.. I forgot, angles definitely did it as well..Did the cue also rub his chin too, haha..

[thelongbomber]

If Del's Hogwash can teach his Students to do this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDcD8...3YM6sy2EZiyFI=

then i dont mind listening to his " Crap ".
This is exactly how Del taught Sean about lifting the butt for short range stuns and screws, btw the guy picking up balls is not Del.

Sean o Sullivan is a well known amateur in East London, It was Del Smith who coached him until he got into England National Team.

I personally challenged Del about this lifting butt theory, Nic Barrow also dosent like this technique as the player is getting the eye level up which means he is more likely to miss a ball, but Del never coached any of his student to do that for mid or long range shots, you only should do that for close range stuns and screws to control the white more easily, the type of shots where u should do this is shown in that link.

The point i am trying to make is there is 100 ways of doing one thing. IF what is considered not to be correct can help someone make a 147 in line up then i would rather follow what is considered not to be correct.

In addition If Del was teaching his students loads of rubbish and hogwash, he wouldnt have become a Grade A World snooker coach and would never have been passed by Ray Reardon.

I'm still not convinced it's correct technique and that's it's a hack that he implemented on students but I'm going to give it a go just to experiment on the practice table. I fully understand the ball striking theory and WHY it works, but it's against my principles of how I think cueing should be.

[thelongbomber]

Shaun I think you need to understand I'm challenging Del's theory on the raising cue because I'm absolutely convinced you can play the soft stun and screw shots with a more naturally leveled cue action and not artificially raising the butt. I say this because I'm actually doing this right now. I also understand why Del says it: raising the butt allows for screw to be imparted on the cue ball while still striking near centre ball which imparts the soft spin required for the delicate stun and screw shots in and around the black. It's like a masse shot without any masse or like trying to do screw back when bridged over a ball or off the cushion. To me, I think it's a hack but I will give it a go in practice just to see if it has any merit. I think students who try it miss the boat on cueing and don't learn cue acceleration and cueing precision vs keeping a more leveled cue action. I think a student who implements this technique early on ends up having to make a significant change much later on in their playing career to compensate for the lack of cueing precision and inability to play other shots well. I could see myself using this in a match because it's easy and let's you be a little lazy and imprecise and get away with making the ball anyways.

As Terry says, even though some world champions are doing something. Just cause some Youtube video shows someone else doing it doesn't make it right. Even Hendry has his own personal cue action and lineup hacks that he uses like the head cocking right when he stands behind a shot to get this eyes and body in sync. But then you can't argue with results. Many people have hacks that they made work and I think Del's raising butt is one of them.

Snooker isn't really entirely about cueing anyways, it's about mental fortitude, pressure, tactics, courage. Cueing and cue action is something you learn to get you to a competitive stage and then your other skills take over. Some people cue like a crab and others like a missile but it's what they do with those skills that matter.