cue arm elbow not in staright line

[aditya_143]

Hi guys,

Can anyone help me with my cue arm elbow its not staright but pointing out towards right side.
as shown in the video by terry in the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQWUUGl8De0

Please guide me

thanks!

[Terry Davidson]

It is not really a problem, ask Mark Williams. Note Wayne Griffiths says at the first of the video it's not really a problem unless the elbow moves laterally during the delivery. If the elbow remained on the same line then there is no problem, again you can have a look at Ronnie to see how the elbow should drop.

[aditya_143]

yes i want to know about the problem elbow moves literally during the delivery ?

[Terry Davidson]

The elbow moving laterally during delivery means you are doing this yourself, probably unconsciously. The only person who can correct it is you and the only way to do it is to keep the elbow as high as possible at all times during the backswing and delivery.

If you have a very long backswing (pulling the ferrule back 12in to the 'V' on the bridge) then you have to drop the elbow a bit to keep the cue on the same plane, and if this is the case you will have to shorten the backswing a bit. If your backswing is any shorter then you do not have to move the elbow at all except at the end of the delivery well after you've hit the cueball so it doesn't really metter.

Just remember to keep the elbow up as high as possible throughout the backswing and delivery. Watch Judd Trump on youtube and see what you have to do.

[itsnoteasy]

If you are the same as the lad in the video, from what I can see to fix it they have made him much squarer on to the shot. Originally if you look at his hips and his feet, if he stood up he would be looking quite a way away to the left of the shot. If you look at the end where he has fixed it ,if he stood up he would be looking much more down the shot, this is because he has brought his hips and feet squarer on ,reduced the gap between hips and grip hand which kind of forced his back arm straighter. This is just what I see and it may not be what's wrong with your set up at all.

[vmax4steve]

You have to lock the shoulder joint, wrist joint, and only deliver the cue using the elbow joint, as Terry says keeping the elbow high sort of locks the shoulder joint but you also have to consciously make sure that you are doing this. Again watch Judd Trump and see how his elbow doesn't drop because his shoulder joint is locked and only the elbow joint moves.
This is very important because the shoulder joint is a ball and socket joint that can move in any direction and the wrist joint is a synovial joint made up of many small bones that can also move in any direction, whereas the elbow joint is a hinge joint and can only go forwards and backwards. So with wrist and shoulder joints locked the arm moving only from the elbow has to go straight.

If you're having trouble with this then shorten your cue action, both backswing and follow through, to a point where the shoulder has no impact on your cue action at all, about two inches of movement either way, get it into your head how this feels and lengthen the cue action gradually whilst keeping this feeling.
Would be best if someone could watch you to see if you're bringing the shoulder into the shot at any time.

[aditya_143]

yes i did made my stance squarer now and it helped but still my elbow is not as straight as shown in the video,he is bang on staright after the rectification.

[aditya_143]

yes i have played with shorter cue action and it makes my game precise ,but then on some shots power is not enough ,like say cue ball is 9 inches from the baulk cushion and i have to pot a long ball to get in ,to lock the shoulder i have never tried it ,how should i get it?

[aditya_143]

i understood that i have to keep my elbow high but how to get it?thanx everyone for reply and help

[Terry Davidson]

Pull the cue into the chest when you get down into the address position and then relax it just a little so the cue is still just brushing the chest.

[DeanH]

Pull the cue into the chest when you get down into the address position and then relax it just a little so the cue is still just brushing the chest.

hi TD, hope you are well
question - is it not always "chest to cue" NOT "cue to chest"; so not to pull the cue off line?

[Terry Davidson]

hi TD, hope you are well
question - is it not always "chest to cue" NOT "cue to chest"; so not to pull the cue off line?

Yes Dean, the correct 'book' instruction is to get the chest down to the cue however this player seems to be fixated on getting his elbow directly over the cue despite what we are telling him, i.e. - it doesn't really matter. So I'm trying to get him to get his elbow up as far as it will go which has the effect of locking the shoulder joint in place so he can use the elbow as the pivot point driving the grip hand like a piston. Even the best coach ever, Frank Callan says in his book he discovered the elbow position is not vitally important (within reason). Hendry in his prime had his elbow into his back a bit as does Higgins and Mark Williams being the other way.

Pulling the cue into the chest shouldn't take the cue off line IF he pulls the elbow up vertically but in addition this depends on just how far down his chest is. If the cue is 1in or less off the cushion and the elbow is up as high as possible he should be fine. I believe what's causing his problems is he is fixated on having the elbow directly over the cue. This is better with regards to the 'book' coaching method but is not vital.

[DeanH]

thanks for that Terry

[DeanH]

A few years ago I noticed (or a friend did) that I had a bit of a chicken-wing (elbow out) which I had not had before, not a problem as you say but I was not playing well with it (a lot of cueing across ). I think we did discuss this at the time.
So to get the elbow in line with the cue I tried the following; as I go from address position to down on the shot I have the butt-hand touching my hip and the hand maintains contact with my body as I lower into the shot position; ie the hand comes up the body to bring the butt into position; until the last moment when it needs to stop touching the body and go to the natural position for cue delivery. This helped me with getting the elbow in line with the cue. I don’t need to do this anymore as "muscle-memory" is in place

[aditya_143]

but i was told chest should go to the cue not cue coming to the chest?