It's not about throwing your weight or body into the break. It's about shifting your weigh at the time of impact, with the cue-ball. Pretend your throwing a short quick punch, that's what I do. Don't wind up with your shoulders. This is where you lose accuracy.
Do you need to throw your body into the break?
- Thread starter the420trooper
- Start date
its a great break if you can kill the cue. think about it. how often are you out with 5 or 6 balls on the table and a shot on the 1. but honestly whatever works for you man. the biggest thing is killing the cue ball.
That's one of my two favorite quips about the game. The other is: "No position is worth missing the shot for." I can't tell you how many times I've seen a guy juice the pi$$ out of the CB to get some miracle shape only to say, "Man, if that would've gone I was out!". In fact, I may have said that a time or two.
Back to the topic at hand, look for threads I started on this topic. I've posted 3 or 4 threads where I thoroughly evaluated the best breakers.
Donny
Banned
Not true. The biggest thing is hitting the head ball as squarely as possible. You get your best breaks by hitting with about 70% of your top speed and hitting the head ball as squarely as possible. That's the most important thing. This is how you get the best action and cue ball control. When you kill the cue ball, it diminishes your accuracy and you might only hit 50% of the cue ball, and the balls often don't scatter much at all. Or worse yet, the cue ball flies off the table.
I like breaking threads. I always hope for some new trick (in this case gripping lightly).
My break sucks.
I've tried everything and I've kind of given up. I get great spreads but the outcome seems so random. I can't count on making anything, and about 80% of the time I don't. People say not to focus on power but it feels like the only time I get a ball is when I put a little extra effort into it. It's always a 'late ball' that got luckily kissed in too, almost never the head ball or the 2nd row or the wired 4-rail corner ball. I'm not a small guy and I don't think I hit 'em soft but when I see other people's breaks, balls go in and I kind of wonder if they're not somehow hitting them harder. The break speed I use feels comfortable and effortless even though I'm hitting too hard to squat the cue ball.
I've studied the crap out of it and I know I hit the head ball square, get half the balls above the side pockets, and leave nothing touching. My buddies just shake their head and laugh at how jinxed I seem to be. I change to various spots on the table, giving each spot a couple of tries before moving on.
I've also tried making a specific ball and it just rarely works. Maybe on one table I can get a 2nd row ball 1 out of 5 tries. Probably it's worse than that and I'm inflating the figure mentally.
I've tried full body lunging (with the CB about halfway between the spot and the head rail), I've tried planting it on the spot and doing a controlled arm-only break.
My CB squats or comes close to squatting about 1/3rd of the time.
Sometimes I think the big focus on squatting whitey is kind of a myth, one of those things that everyone accepts without question, but how often does it really happen? I picked a random video to see how often the CB stayed more or less near the middle of the table, not ending up behind the head string, below the footspot, or stuck to a rail. It featured Busty vs. Rodney. In 10 breaks, the CP parked (not perfectly, usually near a side rail) 3 times, scratched twice, and the rest of the time ended up in some random area. I've seen a million clips and it seems like as hard as the pros try to control the CB, they all hit hard enough that the CB is going to a rail, or else the action of the balls kicks it (and that's just with 9 moving balls rather than my usual 15).
....
I have a fairly controlled, textbook stroke and stance. I can shoot. I'm not a C-player wondering his awkward flailing can't result in a good break. I've run 3 racks on a few occasions and I come up dry on the 4th break every time. Sometimes I wonder if I'm not just trying too hard. When I play speed pool, and I just hop up and smash them without any thought, I seem to make balls more often. Or maybe that's just in my head.
That's a pretty long boring story of my break.
I'm not sure if I'm asking for help or just venting. A little of both. It's frustrating. It's holding my game back. If I ever shell out money for lessons from a pro, I'll probably work on the break the entire time. I can run out just fine. I just don't get the chance to.
My break sucks.
I've tried everything and I've kind of given up. I get great spreads but the outcome seems so random. I can't count on making anything, and about 80% of the time I don't. People say not to focus on power but it feels like the only time I get a ball is when I put a little extra effort into it. It's always a 'late ball' that got luckily kissed in too, almost never the head ball or the 2nd row or the wired 4-rail corner ball. I'm not a small guy and I don't think I hit 'em soft but when I see other people's breaks, balls go in and I kind of wonder if they're not somehow hitting them harder. The break speed I use feels comfortable and effortless even though I'm hitting too hard to squat the cue ball.
I've studied the crap out of it and I know I hit the head ball square, get half the balls above the side pockets, and leave nothing touching. My buddies just shake their head and laugh at how jinxed I seem to be. I change to various spots on the table, giving each spot a couple of tries before moving on.
I've also tried making a specific ball and it just rarely works. Maybe on one table I can get a 2nd row ball 1 out of 5 tries. Probably it's worse than that and I'm inflating the figure mentally.
I've tried full body lunging (with the CB about halfway between the spot and the head rail), I've tried planting it on the spot and doing a controlled arm-only break.
My CB squats or comes close to squatting about 1/3rd of the time.
Sometimes I think the big focus on squatting whitey is kind of a myth, one of those things that everyone accepts without question, but how often does it really happen? I picked a random video to see how often the CB stayed more or less near the middle of the table, not ending up behind the head string, below the footspot, or stuck to a rail. It featured Busty vs. Rodney. In 10 breaks, the CP parked (not perfectly, usually near a side rail) 3 times, scratched twice, and the rest of the time ended up in some random area. I've seen a million clips and it seems like as hard as the pros try to control the CB, they all hit hard enough that the CB is going to a rail, or else the action of the balls kicks it (and that's just with 9 moving balls rather than my usual 15).
....
I have a fairly controlled, textbook stroke and stance. I can shoot. I'm not a C-player wondering his awkward flailing can't result in a good break. I've run 3 racks on a few occasions and I come up dry on the 4th break every time. Sometimes I wonder if I'm not just trying too hard. When I play speed pool, and I just hop up and smash them without any thought, I seem to make balls more often. Or maybe that's just in my head.
That's a pretty long boring story of my break.
I'm not sure if I'm asking for help or just venting. A little of both. It's frustrating. It's holding my game back. If I ever shell out money for lessons from a pro, I'll probably work on the break the entire time. I can run out just fine. I just don't get the chance to.
.
I couldn't have said it better myself. I hear all this talk about leaving the cueball in the center. All my freinds love my break becuase I get a great spread but never a ball. And If I do drop a ball I scratch
WTF:banghead:
I couldn't have said it better myself. I hear all this talk about leaving the cueball in the center. All my freinds love my break becuase I get a great spread but never a ball. And If I do drop a ball I scratch
WTF:banghead:
One of the best videos out there on the power break is by Colin Colenso
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW1tsONEI_U
He is / was (?) an olympic shot put coach I think. At any rate he will show you some amazing things with detailed instruction. The video is fuzzy but worth the effort.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW1tsONEI_U
He is / was (?) an olympic shot put coach I think. At any rate he will show you some amazing things with detailed instruction. The video is fuzzy but worth the effort.
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Donny
Banned
I thought I broke hard until I saw that video. Man that guy's got one hell of a power break.
Donny
Banned
Breaking's one of the few things I'm consistently good at. Charlie Bryant does a great job illustrating how you shift your weigh at the time of impact. I practiced this and it really helped improve my break.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3U-q...om=PL&index=65
I Think You Are Adjusting?
If the cueball stops, you are probably hitting the center.
If you are trying to power the break, your elbow is probably dropping a little from putting your arm into it.
The cue is like a lever, as your elbow drops the back of the cue goes down, and the tip raises.
I think you are adjusting your aim down a little (and lowering your bridge hand) to compensate for the tip being delivered a little higher than you aim?
Just a guess?
If the cueball stops, you are probably hitting the center.
If you are trying to power the break, your elbow is probably dropping a little from putting your arm into it.
The cue is like a lever, as your elbow drops the back of the cue goes down, and the tip raises.
I think you are adjusting your aim down a little (and lowering your bridge hand) to compensate for the tip being delivered a little higher than you aim?
Just a guess?
Wow, now that you mention it, you're probably right...When I aim for center ball, I usually get the ridiculous follow action that never results in anything good...
When I aim for the bottom of the ball, I can plant the cue ball, and usually make a ball.
It seems that sometimes the route to playing better pool is learning how to adjust to your flaws. (Or you could correct them with the aid of an instructor, but that's expensive...)
I think you guys are talking about the same thing: "killing the cue" = hitting the head ball square and "killing the cue's movement".
pj
chgo
I think it's a tire commercial or something but this totally applies here:
"Power is nothing without control"
Get control first, and then add power. The ability to shatter a cue ball is useless if you STILL cannot make a ball on the break... All you need to accomplish is to make one stinkin' ball, and open up the pack to continue your run. End of story.
I don't move my body hardly at all any longer. I used to try and get my body into it more (Ala Siegel) but that just seems to waste energy and definitely hurts accuracy.
When I see people breaking hard and scratching or getting nothing in, I ask them to slow down and hit the head ball sold, and not worry about anything else.
Less power is used, the break 'sounds' harder (because it's solid) and the results are better.
"Power is nothing without control"
Get control first, and then add power. The ability to shatter a cue ball is useless if you STILL cannot make a ball on the break... All you need to accomplish is to make one stinkin' ball, and open up the pack to continue your run. End of story.
I don't move my body hardly at all any longer. I used to try and get my body into it more (Ala Siegel) but that just seems to waste energy and definitely hurts accuracy.
When I see people breaking hard and scratching or getting nothing in, I ask them to slow down and hit the head ball sold, and not worry about anything else.
Less power is used, the break 'sounds' harder (because it's solid) and the results are better.
When I think back on the games I gave away due to scratching on the break, I just wanna cry. I see SO many people do it so often. Keep whitey above sea level and life is better than most other's.
For me, I've slowly learned I must start my play at lower speed. As I warm up, and develop confidence, I jack up the speed incrementally. By the time I have @ 3 beers and a dozen racks under my belt, I'm loose and dialed in. The CB does stay under control usually and my break is pretty effective (I'd say I'm a pretty strong B player at this point).
Now, if the bar would cut me off after 4 beers, I would be on freakin tour.
For me, I've slowly learned I must start my play at lower speed. As I warm up, and develop confidence, I jack up the speed incrementally. By the time I have @ 3 beers and a dozen racks under my belt, I'm loose and dialed in. The CB does stay under control usually and my break is pretty effective (I'd say I'm a pretty strong B player at this point).
Now, if the bar would cut me off after 4 beers, I would be on freakin tour.
I used to throw my whole body into the break.
Now I only use a typical power stroke, but I put alot more "snap" into the break shot.
This has helped with controlling the cue ball and it seems to really spread the balls better.
Great topic for a thread!!
Russ....
Now I only use a typical power stroke, but I put alot more "snap" into the break shot.
This has helped with controlling the cue ball and it seems to really spread the balls better.
Great topic for a thread!!
Russ....
I think it's more about "timing" and the "snap of your arm/forearm/wrist". The body will follow naturally. I think if you consciously emphasize your body thrust you may negate the effort in the aforementioned "timing/arm snap".
I think the women are guilty of this, and they lack good timing and snap. Perfect example, to me, is Jeanette, who has no snap, so she doesn't have that cracking sound of a good break.(Admittedly, I have not seen JL play for a long long time)
I think the women are guilty of this, and they lack good timing and snap. Perfect example, to me, is Jeanette, who has no snap, so she doesn't have that cracking sound of a good break.(Admittedly, I have not seen JL play for a long long time)
Here's a different technique -- use just your arm and pectoralis muscles
Folks:
Evgeny Stalev has one of the most accurate, and probably the most powerful break many've seen:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=PkCG3q2PDa4
(Go to 9:20 in the video, to see Evgeny's first break in this match.)
Notice he uses just his arm, winds up like a clock-spring, and uses both his arm and pectoralis (chest) muscle to get that powerful break. Very little body movement, other than some forward motion. The follow-through is the ticket here; notice where the joint of the cue ends up in relation to his bridge hand! (He uses his playing cue for breaking, btw.)
Granted, this is not a "classic" break style, but it's certainly effective, and enjoyable to watch.
Thoughts?
-Sean
Folks:
Evgeny Stalev has one of the most accurate, and probably the most powerful break many've seen:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=PkCG3q2PDa4
(Go to 9:20 in the video, to see Evgeny's first break in this match.)
Notice he uses just his arm, winds up like a clock-spring, and uses both his arm and pectoralis (chest) muscle to get that powerful break. Very little body movement, other than some forward motion. The follow-through is the ticket here; notice where the joint of the cue ends up in relation to his bridge hand! (He uses his playing cue for breaking, btw.)
Granted, this is not a "classic" break style, but it's certainly effective, and enjoyable to watch.
Thoughts?
-Sean
