How much pressure on Bridge hand?

[thunder66]

I was talking to a very good player at the local club the other day, he is on average 60 to 80 break player, with highest 130+. He told me that I should "press down" on the cue, or in other words, have some downward pressure on the bridge. This will make the cue more stable on impact with the white.

I could not understand how that could be done, since there seems to be no natural way of doing this with the grip hand, or does this mean the chin or the chest should be pressing down? I kinda doubt this. I always thought the only pressure on bridge should be the weight of the cue itself. He said this can be done by the grip hand, in any way I feel natural with, to exert some pressure on the cue to press down on the bridge.

Could coaches here tell me whether this is correct? If so, how this downward pressure can be done?

By the way, Higgins seems have his chin press pretty hard on the cue, how does the cue still move freely with this?

Thank you!

[inevermissblue]

This is done with the wrist. Only slight pressure should be used though, done with proportion to the shot. In other words, never used too much that would alter the rigidity of your bridge hand as this is obviously going to affect the outcome of the shot. This does work and it works very well. Bit of trial and error to begin with.

[Byrom]

This is done with the wrist. Only slight pressure should be used though, done with proportion to the shot. In other words, never used too much that would alter the rigidity of your bridge hand as this is obviously going to affect the outcome of the shot. This does work and it works very well. Bit of trial and error to begin with.

Never heard of this before - new thing to try out.

[thunder66]

Does this mean the wrist bends backward a little, so the top of the "V" (between thumb and index finger), would press down on the top of the cue?

With my current grip, when I pull back, my mid finger and the other two back fingers completely lets go, so only index and thumb are forming the ring and contacting the cue. If top of the V needs to press down on the cue, does this mean my mid finger should not completely leave the cue, but maintain contact with bottom of the cue? So this forms a lever sort of action over the ring?

Thanks!

[GeordieDS]

Can somebody simplify this please because i can't get my head round it?

[Ramon]

I'm Not a coach !! But this is new to me !! Never heard of it !! Maybe he means put ur Bridge hand flat on The table ???? Strange !!!

[Ramon]

I'm Not a coach !! But this is new to me !! Never heard of it !! Maybe he means put ur Bridge hand flat on The table ???? Strange !!!

I mean , if u put sum pressure v ur gr hand on ur bridge hand , u gonna mess up with ur cue action !! Anyway ,, I'm gonna give it a try . See wt happens !!

[thunder66]

I tried it, seems my cue action is more consistent than before. need to try this for at least a week to be sure.

And, I'm still not very certain how the press down force is exerted by the wrist :P

Ramon, let us know your result too

[buddfridgeman]

I think I would describe this as like a coiled spring, you put energy into the bridge hand by your rear arm, a little more grip but not tight.
It can be very helpful on certain control shots, stuns screw and long shots...but it shouldn't take over ..use it as and when, with practice you will gain trust and knowledge of when to use this technique.
I will have had many hundreds of tons and in some way this technique will have been used at some point in each.
A good place to start would be a straight or just of straight controlled screw back of the black of its spot...with practice you should be able to increase the amount of action from the cue ball, it is very helpful when using a screw back with reverse side.

[denja]

Some coaches suggest that the pressure of the bridge hand on the cloth should be just enough so there is tension in the knuckles so they go slightly white (Large punching knuckles), however I have noted that some of the pros have a very relaxed bridge almost flat with almost no tension in the knuckles.

[buddfridgeman]

Some coaches suggest that the pressure of the bridge hand on the cloth should be just enough so there is tension in the knuckles so they go slightly white (Large punching knuckles), however I have noted that some of the pros have a very relaxed bridge almost flat with almost no tension in the knuckles.

Dont mistake the two as pressing the bridge hand down, one is this the other is pressing the cue into the bridge hand.

[magicman]

Some coaches suggest that the pressure of the bridge hand on the cloth should be just enough so there is tension in the knuckles so they go slightly white (Large punching knuckles), however I have noted that some of the pros have a very relaxed bridge almost flat with almost no tension in the knuckles.

What shots were they playing when you noticed this though? Many coaches, myself included, advise players to raise and lower their bridge hand slightly dependant on the shot being attempted. Screw shots for instance would require a flatter bridge in order to keep the cue as parallel to the table as possible.

[Terry Davidson]

This is one I've never heard of either. I would think the grip hand should not be pushing down on the cue. I teach the BRIDGE hand along with bridge forearm should take somewhere around 10% of the weight of the body with the remaining split between the feet.

I've always thought the grip hand should be relaxed but firm which sounds a bit stupid I know but I can't see having any tension in the grip (or more accurately the 'hold' hand).

Some players do have the web between thumb and forefinger pressing down onto the butt of the cue though so I'll be interested to see the results of any experiments with this.

[timcunnell]

This is one I've never heard of either. I would think the grip hand should not be pushing down on the cue. I teach the BRIDGE hand along with bridge forearm should take somewhere around 10% of the weight of the body with the remaining split between the feet.

I've always thought the grip hand should be relaxed but firm which sounds a bit stupid I know but I can't see having any tension in the grip (or more accurately the 'hold' hand).

Some players do have the web between thumb and forefinger pressing down onto the butt of the cue though so I'll be interested to see the results of any experiments with this.

I agree with you Terry. I wonder if the OP has mis-understood? (Though I apologise if this isn't the case!).

Nic Barrow (and others) teach that the butt of the cue should essentially be held between thumb and forefinger only, with the other fingers providing a supporting role (and coming almost entirely off the cue on the backswing). So I don't see that it is possible to apply downward force from the grip hand without other fingers being more actively involved in the grip - which I wouldn't think is advisable.

You are advised to apply a fair amount of downward pressure in the bridge hand though - and I just wonder if this is what the guy at the club was referring to?

[guernseygooner]

I would have thought if you have a standard grip with the cue in the web that this automatically keeps a bit of downward pressure on the cue anyway.

More useful I find is having a nice firm bridge - gripping the cloth - as it helps to keep the grip hand/arm relaxed. For me anyway.