Plane Alignment

[Tramp Steamer]

I'll ask again in this thread, do you guys actually think about all these things as you play the game? :grin:

I do.
Why, just the other day, during a rousing game of team One Pocket, I began thinking about the post mortem analysis of a lethal injection recipient and whether after many years of incarceration, said recipient, had suffered any long term effects related to cardiac degeneration or myopathy.
My team lost.

 

[ThePoliteSniper]

Before saying player x has classic textbook mechanics or unorthodox mechanics, I like do watch a couple of matches from x and pay close attention to x's cue on every shot. Is x actually moving the cue on a straight line? If not, then how do I know which parts of x's mechanics are useful and which parts are harmful?

 

[Mikjary]

...I also studied a video of Shane Van Boening --- which was shot from behind--- of him practicing break shots, which I found to be very informative. He was standing very sideways to his cue (facing his cue), which is what a lot of players do when breaking, but he positioned his chest over the line of the shot. The sideways stance twisted his hips out towards his cue, putting his elbow left of his chest. Based on that body position, his arm would have to have an outward tilt in order to clear his chest -- with the elbow tilted in. I'm not sure if I would call that natural or mandatory based on how his feet and body were positioned.

Still have more to study....

Joe Tucker does an excellent job of explaining this and much more about breaking styles in his new video, Racking Secrets II. He shows what is happening with the elbow and why. It's a must have video if you want to understand how to generate a good, controlled power stroke.

Traditional views in athletics need to be tested, IMO, to move any sport forward. We seem to be stuck in the past in pool and worry too much about diagrammable answers and not deviating from what was good enough for past champions to use.

I played at an open level about twenty years ago and stopped playing. Since I've been back, I've seen a ton of tremendous shooters. Where did they come from? They are feeding off the info the top players and instructors are putting out. We need to keep this trend going and look at all facets of the game.

I've def noticed a great majority of top players have their cue straight below their elbow or their elbow in towards their body. I lock my elbow slightly in for power shots to avoid the chicken wing. I can change my stance and alignment, grip, bridge length, etc., but this is the only thing that I've found to work.

Challenging the business as usual attitude from the advanced players isn't a bad thing. It's called progress and certainly there isn't anyone on the planet who knows it all. Well, maybe a couple of posters on this forum have all the answers.

Best,
Mike

 

[FranCrimi]

In your opinion, do unorthodox mechanics, no matter the talent level, require more time at the table than classic mechanics?

If you were to take Mike Sigel ( classic mechanics) and Efren Reyes (unorthodox mechanics) in their respective primes, not allow them to hit a ball for five years, and then have them play a match, what would it look like?

For me, I wouldn't consider the Filipino way of playing unorthodox, but rather non-western, like boxing style vs. karate --- two different yet both effective styles.

It's my understanding that the Filipino way of playing is molded after martial arts. If that is so, then there is a philosophy behind it which makes it a natural style of play in it's own right.

I think both Sigel and Reyes would be equally rusty after not hitting a ball for 5 years.

To me, unorthodox mechanics are mechanics that fight the body's anatomy. I gave this example in another thread: Turn your head hard over your left shoulder and then stay there. Lots of people shoot pool that way. That is an example of fighting your body's anatomy. You can play that way but it's hard and strenuous work.

 

[tedkaufman]

Hi Ted. Thanks for your kind words. I'm by no means close to a conclusion yet, but I've studied Mika a bit last week. I'd like to watch him more but here's what I observed so far: I noticed that sometimes it looks as if his elbow is slightly tilted in towards his body, but then other times it looks perfectly straight over the line of the shot. Like I said, I have a long way to go before I'm comfortable drawing conclusions but I'm thinking that possibly they are due to slight changes in his stance. When his elbow does tilt inward, though, it is very slight.

I also studied a video of Shane Van Boening --- which was shot from behind--- of him practicing break shots, which I found to be very informative. He was standing very sideways to his cue (facing his cue), which is what a lot of players do when breaking, but he positioned his chest over the line of the shot. The sideways stance twisted his hips out towards his cue, putting his elbow left of his chest. Based on that body position, his arm would have to have an outward tilt in order to clear his chest -- with the elbow tilted in. I'm not sure if I would call that 'natural' rather than 'mandatory' based on how his feet and body were positioned.

Still have more to study....

Hi Fran! Long time .

I see the same thing you said regarding Mika--slightly inside. Evolino, too. A great player, local to me now, Larry Nevel, is also slightly inside, similar to Mika. Tony Watson, another great local, angles his elbow outside. And Stevie Moore, like Watson, hovered over the cue with his elbow angled out; though now, after working with Stan Shuffett, Stevie faces the cue, uses a hook grip (like Earl or Miz) and has his elbow over the cue.

Mike Sigel, when he broke or hit a shot especially hard, would turn his elbow deeply inside on the follow through.

Grip, whether the wrist sits over the cue, or is hooked or flat-wristed, is another factor that has to influence elbow position.

 

[AzShooter]

I do.
Why, just the other day, during a rousing game of team One Pocket, I began thinking about the post mortem analysis of a lethal injection recipient and whether after many years of incarceration, said recipient, had suffered any long term effects related to cardiac degeneration or myopathy.
My team lost.

The answer to that is yes, but it was not the cause of death

 

[TX Poolnut]

And whatever you do, don't overthink it. lol