long bridging

[itsnoteasy]

Hi, when i have to play a shot, and the white is say 10-12 inches from the cushion, just at that awkward distance that its just to close to get your hand on the table and i play it with my hand on the cush, it all gets a bit wobbly, it feels like i have a fishing rod wobbling around in front of me and my stance is all wrong i have to have a very bent bridge arm as there is not enough cue because its sticking over the table, it all very wrong lol, is there a way to play these shots?.

[CoachGavin]

Think its all personal preference. I tend to place my bridge on the cushion so that the bridge distance is longer but if that feels uncomfortable then go shorter with your bridge. Just make sure you adjust your grip so that your elbow and grip form a vertical in the address position.

[itsnoteasy]

Thanks Gavin, i keep forgetting to adjust my grip, think i will try that as i am a lot happier when my hand is on the table.

[dcrackers147]

the key to this shot is try and forget the length of cue overhanging and keep everything still dont be scared to draw the cue back and PAUSE! most people miss these shots or lose the white because they are scared to cue the ball as normal and get very jabby/quick on it.

[nrage]

Both of these are good:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTrLZz72Svk&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrZYwUVgHwY&feature=plcp
(all his videos are good actually)

As Gavin has said I find it easier if I move my grip up the butt until my forearm is vertical. This helps because it means the timing of the shot is the same as any normal shot, the grip hand is in the same place when the tip strikes the white. You might want to also try with the grip arm ahead of vertical, this changes the timing but seems to encourage cueing right through the ball and gives a sense of more control, IMO.

[Sidd]

i agree with Nrage. It is the same shot, put a few shots of the like in solo practice for yourself and give it a go every time for a few minutes and you will soon start to feel comfortable. Then play them with stun follow screw etc just to give yourself more confidence in to the shot. The reason why you feel the cue moving like a fishing rod is cuz one is not accustomed to having the cue like that on normal shots and I think you are missing these shots also cuz youre sighting is sort of not focused on the potting spot on the object ball due to having the swinging cue in mind and hence taking the eyes off the pot for a split second ....

hope this helps!