A day with Chris Small

[ibogine]

Hi, I tried to create a seperate thread a couple of days ago with regard to my cue action but to no avail, so I decided to put it up here.

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

Some things are obvious like lack of rear pause (damn, need more discipline). I also try to learn that 'center of the body approach' to the shot, but with dubious result.

Any comments appreciated. Thanks!

[alabadi]

Hi, I tried to create a seperate thread a couple of days ago with regard to my cue action but to no avail, so I decided to put it up here.

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

Some things are obvious like lack of rear pause (damn, need more discipline). I also try to learn that 'center of the body approach' to the shot, but with dubious result.

Any comments appreciated. Thanks!

yeah agree with the back pause, you seemed rushed to play the shot, maybe slow it down a little. what i found strange the way you chalk the cue, why all that stretching...looks similar to pool players and how the chalk their cue.

[jb134]

I was in Edinburgh the other day and watch a bit of Chris giving a lesson. Looked very, very good.

[ibogine]

Thanks for your comment alabadi. I appreciate it.

I thought rushing the shot would be pointed out. Probably the rear pause is going to help me accelerate more smoothly. Also need to work more on being balanced, as it definitely looks better than I feel. :| Merry Christmas.

[itsnoteasy]

Well I did it at last, I cleared fifteen reds and colours on the line up, ending with an easy blue into the middle, the only thing that annoyed me was I didn't have the colours up so just rolled the blue in, as soon as I stood up I realised I should have played position for the yellow then stuck the last three up and I could have gone for the total clearance. I got the blue back out potted it for the yellow, put them up but played a poor shot from brown to blue and missed the blue , I am over the moon ,I have always said to myself when I can clear the line up I would think I am actually getting somewhere with this game,so I am getting closer, also had loads of eight-thirteen attempts as well, mostly breaking down due to lazy technique, had some ones and twos in there as well but we won't talk about them lol.

[alabadi]

Well I did it at last, I cleared fifteen reds and colours on the line up, ending with an easy blue into the middle, the only thing that annoyed me was I didn't have the colours up so just rolled the blue in, as soon as I stood up I realised I should have played position for the yellow then stuck the last three up and I could have gone for the total clearance. I got the blue back out potted it for the yellow, put them up but played a poor shot from brown to blue and missed the blue , I am over the moon ,I have always said to myself when I can clear the line up I would think I am actually getting somewhere with this game,so I am getting closer, also had loads of eight-thirteen attempts as well, mostly breaking down due to lazy technique, had some ones and twos in there as well but we won't talk about them lol.

well done, that's great, my best so far is 11 reds and colours. it was a shame because i didn't miss i just lost the white, got it landing tight on the pink and giving me no chance of getting the next red.

do you know when you said you just rolled the blue in and didn't have the colours up, you did mean just the baulk colours? you should have still have had the Black and Pink on the table...right.

anyway maybe next time you'll have the colours on the table so when you finish you can clear the colours in order, which should make a 100+ break

[itsnoteasy]

Yep just had the blue pink and black on, I was that excited to clear the reds I had to step back and fully concentrate on such an easy pot ,it's one of the milestones I think first five ,then ten, then fifteen, then total clearance ,that's how I broke it down to try and make it less daunting unless you take all blues I think you near enough have to score over 100 with fifteen reds, I have done fourteen quite a few times and always took that as over a ton, but that was potting the other two colours left on the table as well .(I can't count as I go along it puts me right off) but it doesn't really matter, it's having the cue ball under control for that many shots, that's the good thing, not the score really.
Two tries in a row I missed a pink on 13 reds from up near the yellow side blue area potting it into bottom left bag (which is my side as a lefty) white off bottom Cush to come back up for two reds beside the blue, it wasn't even a hard shot plain ball up and down, I was gutted, both times just a bit thick and wobbled it, both times perfect on the red, grrrrrrrr.
I had got stuck on fourteen for so long I stopped doing the line up for quite a while,but with everyone posting them up I got the urge to try it again.

[vmax4steve]

Hi, I tried to create a seperate thread a couple of days ago with regard to my cue action but to no avail, so I decided to put it up here.

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

Some things are obvious like lack of rear pause (damn, need more discipline). I also try to learn that 'center of the body approach' to the shot, but with dubious result.

Any comments appreciated. Thanks!

I see you use a spoony for your glasses; they work well but if you want to have better vision go for a proper pair of snooker glasses or even contact lenses.

Your upper body when down in the stance is tilted to the left, and therefore your head also. This puts the cue under your chin but outside of your right eye which is not a problem if that's the way you naturally sight the line of aim. What is a problem though is that the elbow of your cue arm is in line with your body and head and therefore the point of your elbow is inside the line of aim making it imperative that you do not under any circumstances drop the elbow from the shoulder prior to striking the cue ball as this will make you play across the cue ball to the right.

Don't try to change your upper body position, just concentrate on keeping that shoulder out of the shot and you will be fine.

I see that you don't walk into the shot but stand still behind it for a while before getting down. I would stand a pace further back when standing behind the shot forcing you to take that step forward when getting down, as long as there is enough room around the table.

The miscue was due to body movement.

[ibogine]

Big thanks for your your effort to post a comment, I thought I had been buried
As for this spoony, it's actually a hand-made work done with the use of clippers and flexible wire. I consider buying decent glasses, though.
My head is tilted to the left on purpose to favour my right and I think that's the way that makes me perceive the shot line as it is. So I think that part is good (IMHO).
Going to work on my shoulder now. Thanks again. Cheers.

[chrissmall147]

Hi itsnoteasy

That doesnt come as a surprise to me as I think u can become a very capable player but well done mate. Now try a spread with the 15 reds in the open and see how u get on. This just makes you work a bit harder but again think u can do very well at this too. Keep up the good work jim

Cheers Chris small

Www.chrissmallsnookercoaching.co.uk

[alabadi]

Yep just had the blue pink and black on, I was that excited to clear the reds I had to step back and fully concentrate on such an easy pot ,it's one of the milestones I think first five ,then ten, then fifteen, then total clearance ,that's how I broke it down to try and make it less daunting unless you take all blues I think you near enough have to score over 100 with fifteen reds, I have done fourteen quite a few times and always took that as over a ton, but that was potting the other two colours left on the table as well .(I can't count as I go along it puts me right off) but it doesn't really matter, it's having the cue ball under control for that many shots, that's the good thing, not the score really.
Two tries in a row I missed a pink on 13 reds from up near the yellow side blue area potting it into bottom left bag (which is my side as a lefty) white off bottom Cush to come back up for two reds beside the blue, it wasn't even a hard shot plain ball up and down, I was gutted, both times just a bit thick and wobbled it, both times perfect on the red, grrrrrrrr.
I had got stuck on fourteen for so long I stopped doing the line up for quite a while,but with everyone posting them up I got the urge to try it again.

yes it can be very frustrating when you get far into the break and miss a shot you usually pot. i found as well depends how you set them up. i had a setup with one behind the black, 5 between black and pink, and then all other 8 between pink and blue. what i didn't realise was that i couldn't pot any of the reds that are between pink and blue into the top 2 pockets because they were too tight together.

i have changed it now to have only 7 between pink and blue so there is more room.

[itsnoteasy]

Hi itsnoteasy

That doesnt come as a surprise to me as I think u can become a very capable player but well done mate. Now try a spread with the 15 reds in the open and see how u get on. This just makes you work a bit harder but again think u can do very well at this too. Keep up the good work jim

Cheers Chris small

Www.chrissmallsnookercoaching.co.uk

Thanks Chris I will try this for the next couple of months and see how I get on, like everybody I guess ,sometimes I feel really really close to breaking through and becoming ok , other times it's a struggle, as bad habits sneak in, but these times don't last as long now and as a rule I can get some sort of form back quite quickly.
Alabadi, I used to use the exact same set up and I know what you mean, the reds between pink and black crowd themselves out. Although it's harder to begin with if you can get one or two reds below the black it doesn't half clear some room for the rest of them, but it does take a fair bit of practice getting the low ones right, but I'm sure it's Terry who says it's important to practice these ones as they crop up in a game quite often, and he's right as usual. I will be honest and say I tried to do three below and found it very difficult to stay on the black all the time,even with our big club pockets, but I do practice it more now, when going for the full line up I just have one or two below the black as it's a safer bet for me to get going, but that can still go wrong, if I get past the first two and nicely onto the third red I'm normally away on a decent run, between eight and a dozen on average, as I find just like the straight red line up it's only the last four or five that need very careful position, as normally if you play for one and get it wrong there will be another to pot that's ok ,and generally unless straight on a colour it's only soft stun , screw and follow shots that's needed , so to miss (for me anyway) it's just flicking my eyes off the pot, if I ever fix this I will jump twenty points in my breaks I think straight away.

[vmax4steve]

My head is tilted to the left on purpose to favour my right and I think that's the way that makes me perceive the shot line as it is. So I think that part is good (IMHO).

Whatever makes you see the correct line of aim is correct. Stuart Bingham is similar but not as extreme as yourself and would be a good role model for you.

[ibogine]

Yes, looks like there's too much of tilt. I will look more closely into it.

[dave121260]

hi chris or any1 who can help. was wondering if you could help with a problem I have when hitting balls with a bit of pace long shots usually, once I've almost cued through the cb my arm tends to quicken up, a kind of jerk which ends up in me cuing across the ball and missing by a country mile is it me trying to put too much into the shot. it can be so frustrating cant seem to find a solution as Im doing it time n time again many thanks.

dave