Hitting chest with grip hand makes cue to point off-line after the shot

[RunningSide]

Hi, I've found a serious problem with hitting my grip hand to my chest. I've tried to ignore this but can't anymore. It is very annoying that after relaxed delivery on medium to hard paced stroke my cue is pointing to the left side of the line. That is because my grip hand goes off-line after the impact to my chest and ribs. I mean that at the end of delivery my hand lands on a slope formed by my ribs and this slope throws the cue off-line. If I use a lot power even the whole cue can jump out of the bridge because of this "chest impact".

No use to stay down after the shot and try to train your brain to see the correct lines when your cue is pointing 3 cm off-line to left. Any idea how to hit chest without losing the correct line after the shot? My grip hand hits (I'm right handed) just below nibble and a bit to the right from the nibble and ribs steer back hand more to the right just before the delivery is finished.

Of course way after hitting cue ball this "rib steering" has no effect to the actual shot, but it absolutely is not helping to achieve consistent feeling to potting.

Maybe I have some kind of fundamental problem with cueing or stance, however at this point I feel that my cue goes pretty straight back and forth before my hand hits the chest. Anyone else with same issue? Is this a common flaw caused by common mistake maybe in lining body and stance to the shot? Please help me!

[RunningSide]

Here is video:

[GeordieDS]

I do the same thing and i was told by a coach that i needed to grip the cue further back

[CJ Kumz213]

What you are experiencing is perfectly normal because chest is to the left of your cueing arm. So when you hit your chest the grip hand goes to the right hence the tip to the left... I wouldn't worry bout it if your potting is ok because the cue ball is already gone when this happens.. You can also Geordies advice, it could be that at address you grip is too close to your chest

[vmax4steve]

Maybe I have some kind of fundamental problem with cueing or stance, however at this point I feel that my cue goes pretty straight back and forth before my hand hits the chest. Anyone else with same issue? Is this a common flaw caused by common mistake maybe in lining body and stance to the shot? Please help me!

No help needed mate, as you say it's after the strike when your hand hits your chest so it doesn't matter.
BTW what's a nibble ?

[CJ Kumz213]

No help needed mate, as you say it's after the strike when your hand hits your chest so it doesn't matter.
BTW what's a nibble ?

I believe he meant nipple lol

[RunningSide]

Thanks for your answers.

BTW Nibble is male nipple extremely sore after heavy cueing lately.

[alabadi]

yep I concur with most what has been said here, by the time your grip hand hits your chest the cueball has gone. in the address position with your tip at the cueball your grip hand would be 4-5 inches behind your chest, so when you follow through you would have these 4-5 inches before the grip hits the chest.

you should only worry if the cue comes off line before the grip hand hits the chest

[Terry Davidson]

I also agree with the above comments and alabadi has it exactly correct. I have watched John Higgins on a power black shot where the camera is behind the top pocket and even his cue will end up a little to the left after a power stroke.

Terry

[ExtinctSKB]

I think I have the same problem but it is affecting my potting

I'm a relativly new player (1 year in now) and noticed that while attempting a long blue with the CB quite close to the blue it always ended up to the left of the pocket. I filmed it and noticed that my tip also moves to the left significantly (a lot more than the video above). However I can't see if it moves off line before the hit or not. I suspect that it's the squirt of the CB that's causing the blue to go to the left. I also suspect that if the CB is further away from the OB that the swerve would compensate or even throw the OB to the right. On top of this seems I'm cueing downwards. I'm a tall fella (6'6") and my cue is probably not parallel enough to the table.

Now the question is how to solve it. I've been told that my bridge is too long so moving in closer while keeping the grip in the same position would probably prevent my grip hand from hitting the chest. Any other tips?

[golferson123]

Hitting chest with grip hand makes cue to point off-line after the shot

if you wanna be a chest thumper learn to live with it,won't be long till you start moving your hand away from your chest before you hit the ball

[Terry Davidson]

I think I have the same problem but it is affecting my potting

I'm a relativly new player (1 year in now) and noticed that while attempting a long blue with the CB quite close to the blue it always ended up to the left of the pocket. I filmed it and noticed that my tip also moves to the left significantly (a lot more than the video above). However I can't see if it moves off line before the hit or not. I suspect that it's the squirt of the CB that's causing the blue to go to the left. I also suspect that if the CB is further away from the OB that the swerve would compensate or even throw the OB to the right. On top of this seems I'm cueing downwards. I'm a tall fella (6'6") and my cue is probably not parallel enough to the table.

Now the question is how to solve it. I've been told that my bridge is too long so moving in closer while keeping the grip in the same position would probably prevent my grip hand from hitting the chest. Any other tips?

First of all, read the above posts. Your grip hand hits your chest well after the cue ball has been struck and it's on its way. You have to look for another reason. From what you say I suspect you're right-handed and you're cueing right-to-left for some other reason.

The most common problems associated with this are:
1. Grip has tightened before the strike. Loosen your grip until the cue is just laying on your finger(s) and do not tighten it until after the strike.
2. Backswing is too fast and not straight. Slow down the backswing and ensure you keep it absolutely straight.
3. Some upper body movement, usually lifting the head or moving the hips. You have to stay absolutely still.
4. At the end of the delivery when your grip hand hits the chest stay down and still for 1-2 seconds (see Shaun Murphy for an example) and don't worry if the cue is off-line at the end of the delivery.
5. At the end of a longer backswing ensure the cue 'pushes' the back fingers out and the grip is just at the top of the thumb and forefinger. Hendry used to take his back 3 fingers right off the cue which delayed him tightening his grip until well after the strike.

Video yourself playing a long blue with a bit of power. Download 'Kinovea' and then use frame-by-frame analysis. Have the camera set up so you can see the cueball and ideally up to the top of your elbow. At the moment of strike stop the frame and see if your cue is still lined up exactly centre-ball. A good way to tell where the cross-cueing is coming from is to watch your cue over the yellow pocket leather and using frame-by-frame you'll be able to tell exactly when the cue starts to go off-line. Check both the backswing and delivery using frame-by-frame.

I have seen John Higgins playing a straight black where he is screwing off the side cushion and the camera is looking right down the line of the shot. His cue went to the left as his grip hit his chest but the black went in and he screwed straight back, and that was with a lot of power. It would be nice if we could all cue exactly straight right to the end of the delivery in a power shot but you hit your chest 4-5" after the cueball has been struck.

[OmaMiesta]

A lot of times you'll see players like Judd Trump throw the cue in the air after a very powerful deep screw, I can guarantee his cue is not straight after impact but like others have said its irrelevant as long as at the point of contact you are delivering in a straight line.

[ace man]

...but you hit your chest 4-5" after the cueball has been struck.

Normally not a problem, however...if there are other object balls extremely close to the cue ball or the cue itself while feathering, the chest thumper will very likely commit a foul on a power shot, i.e. touch other balls with the cue well after contact. Had this happen to me a many times. Now when I encounter this shot, I play with just 2 point contact and let the cue up in the air after contact just to avoid foul. Sometimes it works, but really my nutural cueing with no guidance from chin and chest is horrible.

[Ramon]

Normally not a problem, however...if there are other object balls extremely close to the cue ball or the cue itself while feathering, the chest thumper will very likely commit a foul on a power shot, i.e. touch other balls with the cue well after contact. Had this happen to me a many times. Now when I encounter this shot, I play with just 2 point contact and let the cue up in the air after contact just to avoid foul. Sometimes it works, but really my nutural cueing with no guidance from chin and chest is horrible.

Good point !!!
Many players doing that ( also pro's ) . especially with scrwback shots (in case the distance between CB and OB is too short ) to prevent the tip of the cue hits the CB for the 2e time . Foul ( as u mantioned ).