controlled back swing

[tofushop193]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjX4cIfTBYo

i was watching this video of nic barrow coaching and a question came to me.

if i have to control the strength of the cue hitting the cue ball,

1) do i pull back fully but deliver the cue forward slowly, matching the speed to the strength i wanted. and finally with the hand hitting the chest as the finish stroke

or

2) i pull back the cue to a certain distance, for example a shorter distance since i want it to be striking softer and deliver the cue forward at the same amount of speed as all the other shots. and then with the hand hitting the chest as the final stroke.

sorry if i have phrase this wrongly but i hope you guys do understand what i mean.

[CoachGavin]

controlled back swing

you can do it either way but personally if you pull the cue right back then I think that on soft shots it is easy to decelerate on the shot and miss. I usually teach players to change the backswing length.

[adteh2206]

for me, shorter back swing on short distance shots and longer back swing on longer distance shots. but it varies among different players. if u watch bill werbeniuk, james wattana (90s) and dave harold for instance, they have very short swings but they are able to generate a lot of power despite the short back swing. with most players now a days like selby or o'sullivan, they generally have a short bridge so regardless how long the back swing is, its still going to be short. all about the follow through. but thts just my opinion, you'll find the best way for yourself as u play. cheers.

[thelongbomber]

I change the backswing length depending on what I need to do with the CB. If I'm up close, but need a lot of CB movement, or far away and need to hold or screw, I will have a long backswing. If I'm up close and need touch, I will have a shorter backswing. But I don't actually consciously think about it as I move my eyes from the CB to the OB on the back swing while having a slow back swing (for me this is key), and then when I "feel" like it's the right place to pause on the backswing, I pause, and accelerate the cue to the ghost ball/point that I'm thinking about all the while using "feel" to pot the OB. I use feathers to see where I will strike the CB in the precise way that I want, and aim, and then rely on muscle memory and touch to send the cue straight during the backswing, pause, and delivery stroke.

[tofushop193]

Seems like changing the back swing length would be better.

Could it be because of the constant speed that was delivered on every shot ?

[Terry Davidson]

Seems like changing the back swing length would be better.

Could it be because of the constant speed that was delivered on every shot ?

That is the reasoning Terry Griffiths uses...same acceleration for every shot and lengthen the backswing in order to have a higher cue speed with the constant acceleration.

On the other hand, there are coaches who advocate using a long backswing all the time (Nic Barrow is an example) but I noticed once when playing Nic he was using a shorter backswing around the black for those touch shots and I yanked his chain about it. I don't know if he has changed his theory about the backswing or not.

However, whatever you do make sure you keep the backswing slow, very controlled and determined and STRAIGHT.

Terry