Hi just wondering if any body ever had a balance problem I tend to sway back and fourth when I stroke the cue very slight I also happens when I breathe to heavy while shooting Ive been trying a closed stance and it's more noticeable in that stance ..... Just a little history about me I'm tall 6foot2 I'm a heavy guy and im all torso my legs are nearly 29 length I also have a bad back I've had surgery
Balance problems swaying in my stance
- Thread starter Fastrockyf
- Start date
Sounds like this is rooted in your stance.
Here is a short video from Ewa Mataya Laurence on the subject.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b82y7f7TFbw
Here is a short video from Ewa Mataya Laurence on the subject.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b82y7f7TFbw
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Maybe I can help. What do you mean by 'closed stance'?
Pictures or a video would be a help but first thought is spread your feet a bit farther apart to solidify your balance.
By closed stance I mean if it was a clock a closed stance would be Right foot at 5 left foot at 11 or I world say I am facing the cue stick
I'd love to lean how to post pictures I tried to post a video I just cant figure it out
Do you mean feet close to the aim line/cue stick line and shoulders also somewhat along that line? Wouldn't putting a little more weight on your front foot solve the swaying issue?
Still fishing without bait here unless you post a few photos or a video...
Still fishing without bait here unless you post a few photos or a video...
Absolutely not.
Try opening your stance more. Right foot at 5 (on the line of the shot) and left foot at about 9 - or 9 1/2. You should feel a slight lean back when you place your head over your cue.
(Assuming you're right-handed and you don't have a cross-dominant eye .)
P.S. --- Thanks for the clock reference. Why haven't I thought of using that all these years?? Great idea.
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Are you absolutely sure?
He's swaying because he's out of alignment, not because he needs to shift his weight. Good balance is a result of proper alignment, not the other way around.
You're just messing with him, though, right, Matt? After all, you're an expert. That's what you claim to be, right?
Being an expert, you must know what the consequences are when a player shifts his weight forward. Please do tell us.
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Could you tell me how I post pics on this forum I'm sorry if I'm coming across has stupid but I just can't seem to figure out how
That feeling of leaning back or kind of siting on a chair that's not really there drove me insane when I'm in dead stroke I have that feeling please excuse my French like my but is pulling slightly back exactly on the shot line and my head is a few inches higher then usuall but I can't seem to make it happen when I want to I played with a open stance for years a snooker stance but the older I get I can't lock my back leg any more
Yes that it
I'm sorry if I'm asking to many questions but why is it bad to have your weight forward in your stance
Yes that about a perfect explanation
Wow my first pool Book I read was pool for dummies by Eva Mataya the striking viking lol you really took me back to when I was a kid
1. You are shifting the goal posts from how you understood his closed stance was wrong without photos or video. We can come to a consensus that pros and amateurs who play well use a variety of stances successfully.
2. I recall discussing balance with Donny Lutz a while ago (again). Balance has been discussed (from memory) around this forum with also a wide variety of choices available, however, Donny pointed out how if we're sending momentum forward through a cue ball (forgive the lay physics terms) we want a bit more weight on the front foot than the rear (as in a golf swing heading toward impact or a boxer's punch where rearing back too far destroy forward thrust). I agree with Donny. I don't think it's 50/50 but often 60/40 front/back.
3. I suggested putting a bit more weight on the player's front foot. I did not suggest "shifting his weight forward".
"Absolutely not" was, I believe, your overstatement, since I said I was fishing without photos or videos! If you believe there is one ideal stance with the feet or one ideal balance for everyone's weight, no matter their wingspan, chest size, weight, playing style, etc. without video or photos being seen... well, I'm not sure I'm absolutely sure of your sureness.
"Are you absolutely sure I was absolutely wrong?" was my question. I thought it was a politely formed question and I'm unsure why you escalated. I'll ask again, do you remain absolutely sure I am absolutely wrong now that you have more context from me?
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PS. I see there are still some issues other than the teaching itself, for which I apologize. When I first arrived at AZ, I must have seemed both arrogant and self-defensive. That's not who I am and I apologize for my bull-in-a-china shop introduction. I got off on the wrong foot with a number of people here and I believe I've patched up with all of them except you and CJ--and I recommended his products and teaching again last month on About and I don't think I've ever directly or indirectly criticized him or his teaching at AZ or About, so I hope you will both read this with a grain of salt. (I tend to only visit Ask The Instructor and Aim subforums because of busy scheduling and haven't seen CJ post in some time. Is he doing okay?)
I just looked again at my About.com official biography page where it says "Billiards Expert". I apologize for any confusion. That isn't a term I would use lightly. ALL About Experts--over 1,000 of them in the English and Spanish languages alone, are labeled as "experts" on the current About sites rather than the former "About Guides". Not my label. It is now a "pizza expert" and not "pizza guide" and so forth, however, About.com demands competency for their experts/guides, yes. Also, as you know, I do mostly teach at About.com rather than provide TV scheduling or color commentary, etc. 90% of my posts plus are lessons I teach and/or have learned from real experts like yourself.
I would say I'm not a billiards expert and here is why:
* I've only taught pool for 27 years--and like any teacher, there is a big learning curve and trial-and-error there--a lot of trial-and-error.
* I've only published one pool book and one three-hour DVD lesson rather than a series of books or DVDs like most experts have.
* I've only done so many magazine columns and ringside event coverages, etc.
* I've only worked on some pool products now on the market or in development--I've been working for a while with a genius on another continent who has two pool products coming that could be world-changing! And I've designed an item I'm thinking of patenting (I finished all my patent designs and official renderings) and I've worked with several pool inventors.
I do teach pool, yes, including some long-distance travel to meet players. If you are looking for references for my personal character and knowledge base my students would enthusiastically give referrals. If you are looking for professional references for my knowledge base, I would refer you to Steve Lillis, Dominic Esposito, Tom Kennedy, Mike Massey, Tom Rossman, Tom Simpson, Ken Tewksbury, and some others. They would say I'm a standup guy, well spoken and knowledgeable about pool. One of the highlights of my entire life, let alone my pool life, was doing some trick shot shows with Mike and having him tell me I did shots he'd never seen before that he really appreciated. That felt as good as doing ten lessons for ten students and fixing their games! Again, I'm not a trick shot expert, either--I have a list of ten trick shots I want to practice and get right soon.
Donny Lutz is the expert who corrects my teaching, concepts and presentation the most, then again, he knows more about pool and life and many things than you and I, Fran, put together, but he's also been teaching pool longer than you or I have been alive! He was named to P&B's Top 20 pool teachers and rightly so--because his mind, his strategy, his teaching concepts are phenomenal. I've played pool with the man for fifteen-plus years and I ask him questions AND he (kindly!) lectures me, and I still don't know some of the moves he makes and shots and so on. Awesome! If I could "download" his pool mind, I'd go up two balls in playing ability!
I'm saying I'm not a pool expert like Donny Lutz, but if you ask Donny, who has been my friend for many years, he will affirm I'm a kind person who wouldn't hurt a fly (I know my avatar looks a little grumpy and I've thought of changing it).
So, I'd like to bury the hatchet but if this isn't scratching where you are itching or I've done something else stupid to offend you, please send me a PM? It has been bothering me for some months now that, well, all the pool teachers here seem to rip on each other (I include me in that list because I know how it can SEEM to be a rip even if it isn't meant to be) and I've had a fantasy about getting all the teachers and gurus to a private conference to share and harmonize. With a fraction of a fraction of pool players taking lessons at all, there are more than enough students going around and without naming, say, aim systems, if two or three of the people who insist their secret/not-so-secret aim system is the best (including me, I've got my own, too!) I can only imagine how amazing all that knowledge base would be. If I had a time machine, this thread would be you and I or you and some other teacher helping the student and each other more. I learn a lot reading not only your posts but the way you communicate. Your own knowledge base is tremendous and you and CJ ARE pool experts.
I can tell you that talking with a Tom Kennedy or Dom Esposito over concepts is always mutually benefiting and encouraging (and I just saw a piece yesterday online on Wikipedia, I think it was, that describes the scientific principle of two programmers or engineers coming together and therefore quadrupling, not doubling, their individual output--I forget the name of the principle but...).
I apologize for the lengthy post.
Thanks for considering.
I just looked again at my About.com official biography page where it says "Billiards Expert". I apologize for any confusion. That isn't a term I would use lightly. ALL About Experts--over 1,000 of them in the English and Spanish languages alone, are labeled as "experts" on the current About sites rather than the former "About Guides". Not my label. It is now a "pizza expert" and not "pizza guide" and so forth, however, About.com demands competency for their experts/guides, yes. Also, as you know, I do mostly teach at About.com rather than provide TV scheduling or color commentary, etc. 90% of my posts plus are lessons I teach and/or have learned from real experts like yourself.
I would say I'm not a billiards expert and here is why:
* I've only taught pool for 27 years--and like any teacher, there is a big learning curve and trial-and-error there--a lot of trial-and-error.
* I've only published one pool book and one three-hour DVD lesson rather than a series of books or DVDs like most experts have.
* I've only done so many magazine columns and ringside event coverages, etc.
* I've only worked on some pool products now on the market or in development--I've been working for a while with a genius on another continent who has two pool products coming that could be world-changing! And I've designed an item I'm thinking of patenting (I finished all my patent designs and official renderings) and I've worked with several pool inventors.
I do teach pool, yes, including some long-distance travel to meet players. If you are looking for references for my personal character and knowledge base my students would enthusiastically give referrals. If you are looking for professional references for my knowledge base, I would refer you to Steve Lillis, Dominic Esposito, Tom Kennedy, Mike Massey, Tom Rossman, Tom Simpson, Ken Tewksbury, and some others. They would say I'm a standup guy, well spoken and knowledgeable about pool. One of the highlights of my entire life, let alone my pool life, was doing some trick shot shows with Mike and having him tell me I did shots he'd never seen before that he really appreciated. That felt as good as doing ten lessons for ten students and fixing their games! Again, I'm not a trick shot expert, either--I have a list of ten trick shots I want to practice and get right soon.
Donny Lutz is the expert who corrects my teaching, concepts and presentation the most, then again, he knows more about pool and life and many things than you and I, Fran, put together, but he's also been teaching pool longer than you or I have been alive! He was named to P&B's Top 20 pool teachers and rightly so--because his mind, his strategy, his teaching concepts are phenomenal. I've played pool with the man for fifteen-plus years and I ask him questions AND he (kindly!) lectures me, and I still don't know some of the moves he makes and shots and so on. Awesome! If I could "download" his pool mind, I'd go up two balls in playing ability!
I'm saying I'm not a pool expert like Donny Lutz, but if you ask Donny, who has been my friend for many years, he will affirm I'm a kind person who wouldn't hurt a fly (I know my avatar looks a little grumpy and I've thought of changing it).
So, I'd like to bury the hatchet but if this isn't scratching where you are itching or I've done something else stupid to offend you, please send me a PM? It has been bothering me for some months now that, well, all the pool teachers here seem to rip on each other (I include me in that list because I know how it can SEEM to be a rip even if it isn't meant to be) and I've had a fantasy about getting all the teachers and gurus to a private conference to share and harmonize. With a fraction of a fraction of pool players taking lessons at all, there are more than enough students going around and without naming, say, aim systems, if two or three of the people who insist their secret/not-so-secret aim system is the best (including me, I've got my own, too!) I can only imagine how amazing all that knowledge base would be. If I had a time machine, this thread would be you and I or you and some other teacher helping the student and each other more. I learn a lot reading not only your posts but the way you communicate. Your own knowledge base is tremendous and you and CJ ARE pool experts.
I can tell you that talking with a Tom Kennedy or Dom Esposito over concepts is always mutually benefiting and encouraging (and I just saw a piece yesterday online on Wikipedia, I think it was, that describes the scientific principle of two programmers or engineers coming together and therefore quadrupling, not doubling, their individual output--I forget the name of the principle but...).
I apologize for the lengthy post.
Thanks for considering.
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weight on front foot?
To your point #2...
I don't remember ever suggesting that one should have more weight on the front foot...in fact many of the Hall of Famers did just the opposite.
You may be thinking of what I said about the weight shifting to the front foot on a power break.
To your point #2...
I don't remember ever suggesting that one should have more weight on the front foot...in fact many of the Hall of Famers did just the opposite.
You may be thinking of what I said about the weight shifting to the front foot on a power break.