Dead Foot Forward

[Particle Physics]

By dead, I mean the foot that is not in line with the shot. I noticed that Mr. Mark Williams appears to employ this stance (see link below, 2nd photo down the page). It relieves some of the pressure on the knees of in-line square feet to the shot (both feet on a line perpendicular to the cue line) and importantly, frees up a bit of room on the R side (for us R handers) which allows the cue to travel more smoothly, and it's easier to accelerate the cue in this position. It feels more comfortable and less stressful. With the dead foot forward there is a natural lean forward into the shot (weight forward) which is recommended by coaches.

Mark Williams is known for great long potting, and I wandered if his stance naturally helped him? I don't know if this stance is recommended by coaches, so I wandered what coaches and experts at TSF made of it?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/oth...OSullivan.html

[Giggity1984]

In my signature, there are some articles by Steve Davis and in the Chest Problems part he discusses how he believes Mark Williams approaches the shot. It's a very appealing and natural method, and I find it "de-clutters" your brain of thoughts on stance and other technical bits and bobs.

[Terry Davidson]

PP:

As a coach I don't 'push' for any one stance, either square or boxer. If I have a new student I will show him both and let him decide using the closed eye routine while shifting everything around to find what he believes is the most comfortable for him and then I have him use that consistently.

If a student has played awhile I usually align the stance correctly if it isn't already but offer him a chance to change if he feels a new stance would help his stability.

I myself have a stance similar to Mark W's with my left foot forward about 3" compared to my right foot, with both feet pointing slightly off the line of the shot for comfort of the knee and ankle joints

Terry

[Particle Physics]

PP:

As a coach I don't 'push' for any one stance, either square or boxer. If I have a new student I will show him both and let him decide using the closed eye routine while shifting everything around to find what he believes is the most comfortable for him and then I have him use that consistently.

If a student has played awhile I usually align the stance correctly if it isn't already but offer him a chance to change if he feels a new stance would help his stability.

I myself have a stance similar to Mark W's with my left foot forward about 3" compared to my right foot, with both feet pointing slightly off the line of the shot for comfort of the knee and ankle joints

Terry

Thanks for the insight T. As you may know, I've been using totally square, or at least trying to, but it can lead to a lot of ache behind the knees, so I was interested in what other players are doing. Comfort is key I guess.

[alabadi]

i find if my feet are totally square it hurts my knees, i have had three ops on my knees from playing football in my youth.

i have my right foot (right handed player) slightly pointing out to 2 O'clock and my left ( i have only been doing this very recently but helps with the strain) out to 10 O'clock like Mark Davis.

i have found this stance gives me a more stable stance and is more comfortable.

alabbadi

[nullsys]

I've been "boxer", with my right foot slightly forward around 4-6inchs (yep, I'm a lefty).
My left foot (in line) is always angled straight on and my right is ever so slightly off to the right.

I do notice that as I come down to the shot, I can feel my hips moving offline to accommodate the cue against my chest ( I believe this is correct ).
I'm still not happy about that feeling. I feel like it leaves some room for error...if you lean too far, or twist your hips too much you can miss, all because of your front foot being to wide apart, forward or backward.

It's such a relaxed leg and foot that I don't think you pay attention to it, it's not used for sighting like the other foot and maybe that causes hip movement, resulting in cue alignment, when it's too far away or too close. Could someone confirm that the forward foot can result in alignment issues you're not aware of?

[Particle Physics]

In my signature, there are some articles by Steve Davis and in the Chest Problems part he discusses how he believes Mark Williams approaches the shot. It's a very appealing and natural method, and I find it "de-clutters" your brain of thoughts on stance and other technical bits and bobs.

Cheers G, I will read this through.

[alabadi]

I do notice that as I come down to the shot, I can feel my hips moving offline to accommodate the cue against my chest ( I believe this is correct ).

I'm no expert here, however i don't think that your hips need to be inline with the line of aim, as long as your cue is, that's what counts. find a stance that allows you to easily drop down on the line of aim.

if you lean too far, or twist your hips too much you can miss, all because of your front foot being to wide apart, forward or backward.

well yes if you do this while delivering the cue. you can actually test for yourself, line up to the center of the white and pause, now shift your hips slightly you should see the cue tip move of the center of the white. so keeping still is paramount.

Also as you mentioned you could be on the line of aim and because you moved your hips you will then not. again you need to find a stance that is solid and allows you to get on the line of aim without any hip movement once you are down on the shot.

It's such a relaxed leg and foot that I don't think you pay attention to it, it's not used for sighting like the other foot.
Could someone confirm that the forward foot can result in alignment issues you're not aware of?

I don't think you use your foot to sight, yes some text books and coaches advocate that you need you right foot(for a right handed player on the line of aim) however in this forum and from many other experts it has been proven that you don't really need to.

the main thing is that your stance need to allow you to get on the line of aim and it has to be comfortable and does not interfere with you delivering the cue in a straight line.
we are all built different and will all have different stance positions and variations, so as long as your stance allows you to deliver the cue in a straight line it really doesn't matter where you put them.

i suggest you read the Steve Davis article on stance, already mentioned in this thread you will get a better idea.

Alabbadi

[nullsys]

Alabbadi, thank you!
I totally agree with you. I'll be checking out how much my hips move next time I visit.
I've only just stopped my eye from following the object ball or pocket lol

[alabadi]

Alabbadi, thank you!
I totally agree with you. I'll be checking out how much my hips move next time I visit.
I've only just stopped my eye from following the object ball or pocket lol

Your welcome

any change takes time to get use to, you will find that when you change something you will get worse before you get better, just stick with it until you can do it unconsciously.

one piece of advice, only change one thing at a time, if you change more than one you will have no idea which one is causing you problems.

practice , practice, practice...you'll get there in the end
Alabbadi