Im havng this problem

[Izzyfcuk]

Appreciate if anyone can provide insight on this video below

Im having exactly the same problem and cant' really eliminate it.

Correct me if im wrong, is it because my shoulder is not locked or im not behind down enough..hence shoulder is not locked?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQWUUGl8De0

[joejoe]

im having a exact problem too,the cue is not aligln with the albow.after pratice infront the mirro ,im move my left leg a little wider (im holding my cue on right hand)and the problem solve,just to share mine,maybe no for every one..but putting acuracy need more than that.

[vmax4steve]

If you watch the video again focus instead on the side on view of the players stance and you will see that he is simply playing the shot with his shoulder as well as with his elbow and it is this dropping of the shoulder that is taking the cue off line.
There really is no need to get the elbow in line with the shot as demonstrated by the video of John Parrots action, also look at Ray Reardon or Jamie Cope or Mark williams, all of whom play with the elbow outside the line. What they don't do is drop the shoulder before the cue ball is struck.
Play only from the elbow and only allow the shoulder to drop after the cue ball has been struck at the end of the follow through due to the momentum that the direction of the arm is going.
A shoulder shot is a shoddy shot.

[nrage]

As Terry himself says, having the elbow out is not always a cause for concern. It's the elbow movement to the side and down which is the problem (as vmax has also mentioned). Ideally the elbow will be above the grip hand, and only drop directly down, and only after contact with the white. But, not everyone plays like that and the key is always going to be control of the cue, not the exact position you're in which is important. Look at the video of John Parrot, the elbow is outside the line /but/ the key is that it drops directly down the original line of the forearm and not off to one side or the other. This drop corresponds to the cue/grip hand moving forward and means the cue itself does not drop as a result.

So, that's the theory, now what can/should you do .. ideally, go and see a coach. Each person/problem is unique and 1-to-1 treatment is ideal. If that's not possible, you might get some good advice posting a video of yourself on here for people to comment on. If that's not possible, try and find someone at the club where you play to have a look at your action. Ideally you want someone with a good eye who actually thinks about technique, as well as being able to play a bit. Failing all that, maybe some of these things will help...

I find that getting down on an imaginary shot and closing my eyes and playing a slow motion shot helps me feel where my arm, elbow, shoulder etc is going/doing and so on. Play some normal speed shots of varying power and try to feel any differences in action. If you fell some movement, ask someone to verify if they can see it also. Once you know what you're doing, then you can decide if it's wrong/right for you. If your grip hand is moving sideways or up/down before the white is struck then you have a fault and the next Q is what to try to fix it, but that's where it gets tricky.

If you want to attempt to get into a more "ideal" stance then there are plenty of posts on here with detailed directions of what it is, and how to get into it. Let me know if you can't find any, or none about some aspect you want to investigate and I (or someone else) can try and describe them again.

[Terry Davidson]

izzy:

vmax has it exactly correct as in the original video the young student is allowing his shoulder muscle to control the delivery, rather than just the elbow as in John Parrot's case (or Williams, Cope, Reardon, etc.). It takes a LOT of work to get rid of this in your technique and I would suggest using a camera if you can to ensure that it's gone (and give yourself a lot more confidence to boot!)

But please look at the video again near the end where Terry has corrected the position of the elbow to the butt of the cue (now vertical) and when he shows the delivery with the big green arrow note how the student's wrist turns slightly as he delivers the cue.

This is something that Terry will have to work further to correct with this student as it also takes the butt off line.

Terry

[Izzyfcuk]

Thank you all for the valuable comments.

I USED to play without dropping my shoulder and elbow but as my game progressed and watching too much trying to emulate other players along the way this has become an muscle memory.....which i find extremely diffcult to correct now.

Looks like it's back to "cueing in the air" practice again.