I believe I had an arm alignment epiphany

I am mostly happy, but have some concerns.

After a tough hill-hill loss on Wednesday night (got backdoor swept after being on hill), I shot around and tweaked my mechanics a bit. I've been trying to improve my alignment/stance for months now.

One thing I did differently was try not messing with my shoulder/upper arm at all. As in, just keep it in its normal position, and not tuck or bend my arm sideways at all. I did take a pool lesson a few months ago and when I asked my instructor to put my arm in the correct position, it was like this but felt even more weird and "diagonal". But now I get it.

It felt very off at first (and still does), like my arm wasn't centered.But then I realized, this was just my perception messing with me and my alignment seems to be significantly better now. It seems like the goal should be building my footwork around my right arm/shoulder rather than bending my arm to get my chin under the cue at any cost.

My wrist is no longer pronated by default, and when I practice lagging there is far less unintentional sidespin on the ball. When I look backwards, my arm appears to be in one plane, though perception (as noted earlier) can be deceiving.

Only problem is, I seem to be bricking more long shots that I was recently getting more and more comfortable with. So I'm hoping I don't need to go back to square one here. My wishful thinking is that this is happening because I'm so focused on the new change that I might forget some of the ingredients (rather than because the misses are caused by what I thought was improved form). It has only been since Wednesday night, so I'll give it time.
I never knew I had a little chicken wing going on until a Master instructor showed me on video. I assume I’ve doing that for close to 40 years so it will be tough to change. Aiming seems to be easier with everything in line but trying to override a decades long bad habit is tough! While in practice, I’m super focused on it but in a match I try to just forget it. Changes are difficult!

Anyone try CJ Wiley's SuperStance and SuperStroke Trainers?

It's possible that the rubber band thing could actually help people who have stroke issues, but it seems to me to be too far removed from the mechanics of normal shooting.

As for the Arthur Murray foot templates...

View attachment 908631

... I have had several beginning students whose natural stance was with both feet in line with the cue stick, and one student naturally stood with their front foot on the wrong side of the stick -- like they had to pee really badly.
No idea. I didn't explore either of the Super thingys. It's CJ. It's snake oil.

Anyone try CJ Wiley's SuperStance and SuperStroke Trainers?

Snake oil
It's possible that the rubber band thing could actually help people who have stroke issues, but it seems to me to be too far removed from the mechanics of normal shooting.

As for the Arthur Murray foot templates...

1780679549580.png


... I have had several beginning students whose natural stance was with both feet in line with the cue stick, and one student naturally stood with their front foot on the wrong side of the stick -- like they had to pee really badly.

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