[vagabond]

Originally Posted by quitecoolguy

Some may argue with me ..but if i had to copy a break ...hmmm it would have to be the late great Tony Ellin that guy had a monster break..it was insane.. Wish i could have met the guy

yes indeed he had a monster break but the only problem with that monster break was cue ball used to travel around the world and no telling where it would end.

[mosconiac]

There are several videos on youtube showing SVB's break technique...including my own. I've spent quite a bit of time studying his technique and I can emulate it somewhat. Face it, it takes SVB's superior natural ability to get the most of this relatively complicated technique.

SVB's break can be broken down like this:

1) SVB sets up low over the cue with his feet pretty close to the table and his back hand very "forward" on the cue. Front leg bent, rear leg nearly locked. SVB takes several long, quick practice strokes. The cue is slightly elevated (~5 degrees) and the tip is aimed somewhere around just below center CB. This you will need to experiment with, but you won't be going to extremes either way.

2) Here's where a lot of action occurs...SVB takes a long back stroke and cocks his wrist (watch the videos very closely to see the wrist movement...its subtle).

3) As he completes 2), he begins raising his torso and transitioning his weight forward...think: slide up & forward...smoothly. This is why he stands close to the table (rear foot more forward than typical) and keeps his wrist forward in step 1. This further elevates the cue (to ~10-15 degrees).

4) As he completes 3), SVB begins his strike on the CB. The key component here is that he drops his elbow (substantially) to level out the cue. By moving his body forward he transitions his "forward" hand position to a more "neutral" position (hope that made sense!).

5) As SVB completes his transition into the CB, his back foot is now in a position to push him forward into the shot. If going for low power, his foot will remain locked to the ground. If he wants a little more, he ends up on his tiptoe. For max power, he wil push off and end up with his foot off the ground. He always ends up with his front leg bent quite a bit and his hips nearly flush with the table. Don't forget to snap the wrist thru.

If you watch the vids closely you will see that he may be hitting the table with his cue on the follow-thru...I do when I emulate this break...you should see the nicks in my J&J. You might even subcontiously think you are going to hit your hand on the rail!

It should be noted that his cue position is level thru impact so that early elevated cue aimed at "just below center" is now a level cue aimed "just above center". This slight top spin is what gives him that charactersitic hit/bounce/squat. If you got it all right, the CB (hit just above center) leaves the felt, hits the head ball on the fly or on the first bounce, rebounds up & back (due to the weight of the rack), land roughly between the side pockets, and have just enough top left on it to come to a halt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOLH4loShWU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjtwfjHXStI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvt5U5B7jIY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA3JCQuEu-U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zg4KMjgY0k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YCBs6T2kMI

[mosconiac]

I forgot about this old post I made...the photos will help you visualize what he does. Just remember, everything is a smooth transition...there are no sudden movements.

Originally Posted by mosconiac

Here are the pics of SVB. You will note that he begins with a low body position with a steep cue angle. As he is practice stroking, he makes slight upward movements with his body in preparation for neraly standing up when he strikes the ball.

At impact, SVB has stood up a bit and dropped his arm thru so the cue ends up nearly parallel with the slate (the tip is above the CB center for some follow to help the CB squat after impact). Look how quickly the CB rises even though the cue was nearly parallel!

As you can see, SVB is landing on the head ball (this is a barbox so its easy to sail all the way to the rack) and bouncing the CB back the center of the table with follow for a squatting action. He happens to hit this break slightly off center so the CB clides to the side rail as it curves forward.










Here's the vid at full-speed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zg4KMjgY0k

[macneilb]

thanks mosconiac. that frame by frame of shane is awsome.

[ceebee]

SVB hits the cue ball very accurately & his speed is timed for the cue ball to do what it does. The cue ball hits the deck, just before impact with the lead ball. If the cue ball strikes the lead ball, on the up part of the arc, that can be cause for concern (the cue ball caroms off the lead ball & becomes airborne). If the cue ball strikes the lead ball on the down part of the arc (see frame 6) this can be a good thing to create a desired effect of killing the cue ball. The cue ball caroms off the lead ball & back toward the player. A slight bit of forward roll acts as brakes wihen the cue ball hits the deck again.

This was a simplified description of what I see & try to do myself.

Good Luck...

[Bandanna Joe]

Great analysis Mosconiac! Thanks for the freeze frames.

I once saw a video where Archer talks about fooling himself by hitting slightly high on the break. He implied that he is actually hitting just below center but aiming a tip high. Maybe he doesn't realize that he is actually hitting it high like Shane.

Frame five definitely resembles the Captain Hook influence.

[mosconiac]

Originally Posted by Bandanna Joe

I once saw a video where Archer talks about fooling himself by hitting slightly high on the break. He implied that he is actually hitting just below center but aiming a tip high. Maybe he doesn't realize that he is actually hitting it high like Shane.

It's interesting that we still hear people say you have to draw the rock to get it to settle in the middle of the table & squat. It's quite obvious that they *think* they are hitting it low, but actually hitting *at least slightly* above center.

If the CB had backspin, it would continue moving toward them, not hook forward to a stop. This is especially true of people professing side rail breaks. They aim very low (which requires a LOT of elevation), but follow thru near center.

You'll notice on my vids (the dark ones in freeze frame above), SVB is addrenssing the CB very low (lower than he does on a 9'). This is from his hand being close to the bartable's rail and therefore forcing a more elevated cue on that kind of table.

[AuntyDan]

Originally Posted by ceebee

If the cue ball strikes the lead ball, on the up part of the arc, that can be cause for concern (the cue ball caroms off the lead ball & becomes airborne).

Why is this bad? Look at the cover of your own book Charley, every Pro pictured there has the cue ball in the air.

[ceebee]

Hey there Aunty Dan, the next sentence gives you the reasoning behind the concern & how to avoid "cue ball launch". By adding just a scosch to the hit or taking some heat off the hit, you can time the cue ball to act correctly & not become a problem. If you look in my book, on page 45, you'll see what I mean.

Good Luck...

[mullyman]

Originally Posted by AuntyDan

Why is this bad? Look at the cover of your own book Charley, every Pro pictured there has the cue ball in the air.

The cueball is going to go airborne on the break, that's a given. The reason Shanes break jumps so high in the air is that it is either hitting an upper area of the head ball and bouncing straight up or it's hitting just before the head ball, hitting the head ball and ricocheting straight up into the air. I'm going to go with the latter. I still don't think that it's something that people should try to emulate. There are other ways to squat the rock without sending it into the atmosphere and risking it flying off the table and hurting someone.
MULLY
it works for him, good, more power to him

[Patrick Johnson]

Aunty Dan:
Why is this bad? Look at the cover of your own book Charley, every Pro pictured there has the cue ball in the air.

It's probably not too bad when it only goes a foot or less in the air, but even then some power is being wasted lifting the CB that could be put to better use moving object balls.

pj
chgo

[Patrick Johnson]

How does Shane get the white in the air everytime??

i can't seem to get how he does it so consistently...and on top of that w/ such good control. anyone got a clue??

I don't think it's a good thing - wastes too much power and probably magnifies the amount of power lost for a slightly offcenter hit on the head ball. It could be fixed by increasing/decreasing power or lengthening/shortening distance.

As far as Shane's technique is concerned, I don't think it's complicated; just a simple matter of standing up so he can swing his whole arm - lots of hard breakers do that, just not all of them as well as Shane. When I say "simple", of course I mean simple in concept - controlling that standing-up full-arm stroke is not simple at all.

pj
chgo

[ironman]

Originally Posted by Klopek

He elevates the butt of his cue slightly, the rest is just years of repetition and trial and error.

Good answer and an old trick. I have known players who could break lights out with this one.

[ironman]

Originally Posted by TXsouthpaw

i agree with mulley. theres plenty of good breakers out there that ud be better off imatating. Its to unpredictable.

busty and hillbilly come to mind

Hillbilly has as much power as anyone and yet even he has toned it down some in the past year. When he lets it go though, it is incredible.

Annother who had an incredible break in his day was Danny Medina. It scared the hell out of people, but it was so unpredictable. He had incredible power. Once he toned it down and got it under control, he was feared by most and winning a lot of big events.

[monski]

I was told once before that the QB is slightly bigger than the rest of the balls. This makes the middle of the QB slightly higher than the middle of the OB. So imo there is a tendency for the QB to go airborne when it hits the OB at solid a fast gliding speed (with stun or a slight forward spin) specially if there is strong resistance from from the OB... Of course the OB has strongest resistance on the break since its stacked up against other balls firmly.