Wee Video of Me Hitting Some Balls

[Inoffthered]

Will do. Visiting a coach next month who will see warts and all! Even a long video wouldn't shoe all the things a coach can spot in person. I don't really have anyone to video me up close when I'm free to play.

I'd help ya out next time I'm down that way, but I wouldn't be able to find the club LOL.

[Particle Physics]

I'd help ya out next time I'm down that way, but I wouldn't be able to find the club LOL.

Lol. Should be able to get the mrs to help soon I think, but thanks for the offer.

[Reptile1]

every table is different so if you can change your shot to suit ive played on the tables up at sheffield were the pros play and it does seam easier you dont have to bash em but on the clubs round sheffield in the league there all different and you change hard to soft its all down to experiance and you know after a few shots wether table is quick or slow,if you play on the same table day in day out wk in wk out you dont get to have a b game as such

I play on the same table "day in and out" but some days it plays different than others, depending on the weather and whether I put the table heaters on etc! But I know what you mean some club tables are dreadful especially in the winter when the room is not heated during the day...they attract damp!

[Particle Physics]

I play on the same table "day in and out" but some days it plays different than others, depending on the weather and whether I put the table heaters on etc! But I know what you mean some club tables are dreadful especially in the winter when the room is not heated during the day...they attract damp!

Cheers buddy, that made me feel better. To say screw the length of the table, I've literally got to dig very deep and put a lot of force through the ball. It's the same with top spin and stun. And this is Summer, imagine what it's like when cold and damp, conditions you mention, the white simply won't move. I very much appreciate that I can play that table for not many beans and I really do like the members, some of whom are friends. It's not really a club, just ten or so active players, and only £15 a year, so one can't expect a lot, they don't have the dosh to give the table a new hat and cushions. But it's getting to me now. I think that the sensible thing, is to learn on a sensible table, an average table that plays true. It's all well and good folk I know saying if you can play that table, you can play any table but the problem lies in how it affects one's game and the habits one learns and gets used to. Some habits (as has been pointed out) won't be good ones.

[Particle Physics]

* I joined this forum with the attitude that any decent cue and tip would do, and a table was a table, and poly balls were fine. Now I demand a decent cue, want certain types of tip that my mates haven't even heard of that cost ten times as much as their elks (and some have played twenty years or more), a flat table, medium to fast cloth and Aramith TC Balls. I'm already considering ordering another cue (partly due to waiting times) and case which will have to be the very best around. Check me, Mr. Fancy Pants. I'm nearly as bad (or good) as some of the old hands on here!

[Terry Davidson]

And you still don't have a front pause...GET ONE! (Look in the 'front pause' bucket, it's right next to the 'rear pause' bucket which I see you've been to)

Terry

[itsnoteasy]

Hi, PP, I have just a wee comment and wonder if it could explain your quote about having to hit the white hard to get it to do anything on your table.
You seem to address the white at the six oclock position all the time but when you do your stroke you are hitting the white with what looks like half ball stun, one blue actually has stun run through on it, it can be seen on the three reds at the end on the second red you address again at six but then play a follow through stroke, this i think is something to do with the but being to high and you are then dropping down through the stroke making the tip rise and you are not hitting the white where you think you are(look for yourself and see if you think its true) this could account for why you think the table will not "run" a more flat stroke will let you follow right through the white and the white will give much more reaction, its not how hard you hit it, its how correct you hit it, thats what gives cue power( it would be interesting to see what the coaches think as its their opinion that counts really) but some nice potting all the best

[Terry Davidson]

PP:

In having another look at the video I did notice a coupleof more things:

1. The butt of the cue is much too high. There should only be one chalk height between the butt of the cue and the cushion.
2. Your body is not down far enough as none of your bridge arm forearm touches the table. The left armpit should be down as close to the table as you can get it. Also, once you get down that far bend the bridge arm just a little bit so you can put some weight on the forearm along with the bridge hand. Do not 'lock' that forearm straight and make it more comfortable.
3. I agree with the last post, which I missed on the initial look. You do address the bottom of the cueball and then on these shots at least you strike the cueball nearer to the centre and sometimes above centre. In effect you are 'scooping' the cue as you deliver and this is being caused by you dropping the elbow prematurely and it could also indicate you tighten the grip too early during the delivery which causes the tip to rise. It means you tighten the grip BEFORE you strike the cueball, which is a definite NO-NO.
4. On your last backswing your head is lifting a touch and then it lifts a bit more on the delivery, which will cause the cue to go off-line, however with the amount of power you're using there is normally body movement. Lighten up on the power a bit and you'll see your accuracy get better.

When you get the left armpit down virtually resting on the rail you will find this will in turn raise the right shoulder and helps to lock it in place, allowing you to use just your elbow until the time of strike. Right now you are using the more powerful shoulder muscle when you strike the cueball and this causes the butt to sink down and the tip to raise. Your bridge looks nice and solid so no problems there, but make sure your cue is not running against the 'thumb pillow' formed by teh web of skin between thumb and forefinger in the bridge hand. Eliminate this by turning your bridge hand wrist slightly to the right so you can see the tip of the forefinger past the thumb when in the address position. The thumb pillow will move the cue to the right as the shaft gets slightly thicker when you deliver the cue (not much, but a bit).

It would be really good if you could take a video from the right side showing the grip on the cue and up to the top of the elbow but you may need some extra lighting so we can actually see the grip hand in good light.

Terry

[Particle Physics]

PP:

In having another look at the video I did notice a coupleof more things:

1. The butt of the cue is much too high. There should only be one chalk height between the butt of the cue and the cushion.
2. Your body is not down far enough as none of your bridge arm forearm touches the table. The left armpit should be down as close to the table as you can get it. Also, once you get down that far bend the bridge arm just a little bit so you can put some weight on the forearm along with the bridge hand. Do not 'lock' that forearm straight and make it more comfortable.
3. I agree with the last post, which I missed on the initial look. You do address the bottom of the cueball and then on these shots at least you strike the cueball nearer to the centre and sometimes above centre. In effect you are 'scooping' the cue as you deliver and this is being caused by you dropping the elbow prematurely and it could also indicate you tighten the grip too early during the delivery which causes the tip to rise. It means you tighten the grip BEFORE you strike the cueball, which is a definite NO-NO.
4. On your last backswing your head is lifting a touch and then it lifts a bit more on the delivery, which will cause the cue to go off-line, however with the amount of power you're using there is normally body movement. Lighten up on the power a bit and you'll see your accuracy get better.

When you get the left armpit down virtually resting on the rail you will find this will in turn raise the right shoulder and helps to lock it in place, allowing you to use just your elbow until the time of strike. Right now you are using the more powerful shoulder muscle when you strike the cueball and this causes the butt to sink down and the tip to raise. Your bridge looks nice and solid so no problems there, but make sure your cue is not running against the 'thumb pillow' formed by teh web of skin between thumb and forefinger in the bridge hand. Eliminate this by turning your bridge hand wrist slightly to the right so you can see the tip of the forefinger past the thumb when in the address position. The thumb pillow will move the cue to the right as the shaft gets slightly thicker when you deliver the cue (not much, but a bit).

It would be really good if you could take a video from the right side showing the grip on the cue and up to the top of the elbow but you may need some extra lighting so we can actually see the grip hand in good light.

Terry

I'll try and do video at the club tonight Terry. Foot in line is causing height issues for me, hence the raked position. If I can get lower, the left shoulder will automatically drop down and the right shoulder lock. Height over the foot in line is the real issue I think. I need to push the dead foot fwd or out to lower my torso.

I think I incorporated Jimmy's clockface approach when younger, and struggle to get rid of it now. Agreed, I need to lose that and address the intended contact point only.

Phew! Lots to work on. Thanks Chum.

*No.999 on the post and 999 indeed! lol

[alabadi]

i concur with Terry's last post there is nothing else to add

PP on them long shots at the beginning are you trying to crack the OB...Lol,

it would have been interesting if you hit the jaw on any of those shots, you probably would have been out in the street looking for it.....

Alabbadi

[vmax4steve]

You have a style of addressing the shot which is all your own, but seems to work , so stick with it. You are obviously doing most of your sighting and aiming while stood still before you get down, most do it while they are walking around the table and into the shot, you have to stand still to do it, that doesn't make it wrong just different. If this is how it works for you then don't change.
As many have pointed out the butt of the cue is too high. If you have problems relating to the right foot having to be on the line of the shot then try the Ricky Walden, both legs bent stance to get yourself a little lower without making your head position over the cue too uncomfortable.
It's difficult for a tall player of six foot plus to get the chin down on the cue while taking a stance that suits someone of 5 foot 7, compromises have to be made but that doesn't make it wrong.
And don't follow religiously all the advice that is given to you, there is no one style that is correct. work out what's best for you and stick to it.
And don't worry about people saying you play too fast, slowing down will spoil your natural timing and could muck up your game completely.

Getting down lower is all that you should be looking at for the time being, when you get this right you will find that you will strike the cue ball far more consistantly giving you better and more spin without having to hit the ball as hard because the cue will be coming through more parallel to the table and not always striking down like you are doing now.

[Particle Physics]

Evening Vmax, Ala and Terry.

Ok, so I went down tonight, just couldn't help myself, to try some of the stuff gents have kindly suggested.

*New stuff tried: Bent arm bridge (upper left arm parallel to the cue, L shoulder not touching the chin anymore, v. simple), foot still in line but R butt cheek shoved right back, more bend in the L knee with the L foot parallel to the R foot, shoulder width apart. Cue down the middle of the chin, centre sighting. Moved the cue hand up an inch, to see if this would make a difference too.

Results: more accuracy, better long pot average, more control of the cue ball, and better in the balls, significantly so. More power: I can now make the balls leave that table at will, simply by smashing them off the leathers on to the wall (that'll scare Alabadi!). This is due to duff pockets, and on a proper table, I'll be able to really work. I can stun twice the length of the table with this technique, and screw the whole length, on a table slower than a tennis court. It's odd to find that I can hit the ball even harder than with a straight bridge (holy cwap!) , I guess that's leverage coming into play. I'm also lower down now and somehow see the balls fuller. Leaning fwd a bit as Terry advises. Cue delivery; straighter, with the elbow dropping and the bicep not coming into play, leading to less scooping. Fingers, just a bit of feathering from the last three finger tips now for short shots. They feel like they gently drop backwards on the withdraw and then close to the cue with the minimum of travel = less error.

Overall: I'm very surprised that these results could be garnered after just a couple of hours of work. I'm going to persist with these changes. It's a lot to do in one go but hey, life's an adventure.

Conclusion: looks like you lot were spot on with your suggestions; I knew you'd come good! So glad I did the video now. It was a bit nerve wracking but these bullets must be bitten. I'll have to dig out a halogen lamp and do an update video Terry. I tried the phone tonight but it was just too dark to make out the grip properly. I really need someone to hold a decent camera as well.

*When one goes from straight to bent arm bridge, the whole thing feels wibbly wobbly and I thought this might be due to the left side of the body no longer being close to the shot line. It takes time to adjust and it's quite frustrating for the first half hour, balls miss pockets by feet.

[itsnoteasy]

PP, what do you mean foot in line is stopping you getting down lower?, if you mean it is pulling on your hamstrings and making that leg feel tight and get sore after a while, you could be just a wee bit to close to the table if its not that then could you explain, cheers

[Particle Physics]

PP, what do you mean foot in line is stopping you getting down lower?, if you mean it is pulling on your hamstrings and making that leg feel tight and get sore after a while, you could be just a wee bit to close to the table if its not that then could you explain, cheers

Not too close to the table, it's just sore on the back of the knee because I find that accuracy comes with a pretty straight leg, not leaning over much. Being 6', this makes getting down a pain, gut I got lower down tonight, simply by using bent arm, somehow, it changes things. But bending the left knee more really helps. Getting that L shoulder down also helps, as Terry advised.

[Particle Physics]

New video of some work today, using the bent arm bridge instead, ring grip, foot in line still, getting lower down, though not perfect! Taking some pace off the ball, trying to do the front pause and rear pause. Trying to hit the ball crisp and light if that makes sense. Pot success ratio up, more comfortable. Trying to get that hungry bloodhound thing going; sighting with nose down the line of the shot, weight forward more.

Comments welcome. Thanks.