Instructor Steve,
Theoretically, I absolutely agree and understand that a relaxed grip would be the way to go (I actually read many threads in the "ask the instructors" section and the rationale behind a loose grip). However, personally, I have big issues with a loose grip as mentioned in previous post. Yesterday (which is Sunday - Vietnam time) I go to the pool house and tried again the light craddle grip as suggested. I tried continuously in 10 hours and below are a few things I discovery while experimenting:
Loose grip:
- I am not stroking straight using the loose grip (kayaking, if you will)
- I twist my wrist much more than if I use my current grip. And to me, correct me if I am wrong, twisting the wrist requires great timing to pocket the ball. Otherwise, it would be detrimental to my shooting accuracy.
Follow though: When following through longer than what I was doing
- CB control: The cue ball always travel farther and off position than intended rest area to shoot the next ball, espcially in shots require rolling CB. For the shots which made the CB skidding/sliding (draw, stun) I did OK.
- Cut shots: In many cases, I added unwanted spin to the cue ball and miss the shots. I added unwanted left spin on the CB when cutting OB to the right pocket and added right spin on the OB when cutting OB to the left pocket.
Acceleration:: I found it difficult to accelerate through the CB for small delicate shots. Do we need to accelerate through the CB in these cases at all?
Any suggestions???
Thank you for being patience
Nam
I'll probably get my hand slapped for this but I feel pretty strong with wanting to help Nam.
Loose Grip: Standing straight up with your arms to your side, look down at your hand. Notice how the fingers are naturally curved in and the thumb is pointed slightly toward your body. This is the natural hanging of the wrist, fingers and thumb.
Now take the cue and lay it in your fingers, this is called the cradle. With your fingers and feeling the cue with the pads of the fingers bring the cue lightly into the palm of your hand. The cue is cradled in the meaty part of your fingers. If the wrist is hanging down naturally it cant twist unless there is something a little extra you are doing.
At the set position, with the cue almost touching the cue ball your hand will be gently closed. As you bring the cue back the fingers release the cue form the palm and the cue remains in the cradle. As you move the cue forward the fingers once again bring the cue up to the palm lightly.
When the term loose grip is used it should be said that the cue is held so that you can just barely feel the cue in your hand. Loose enough that if someone wanted to they could pull the cue out of your hand.
Follow Thru: Man, speed is something that cant really be taught. Its a feel thing that you will have to practice. You have to be able to feel the weight of the cue ball with your grip hand.
Instead of looking at the object ball as round, look at it as though it is a flat disc. If the cue ball was to glance off the disc where would it go? How much speed is needed?
Acceleration: Cue stick acceleration is controlled by the coordinated efforts of the fingers, wrist and bicep muscle. Your arm just kind of just goes along for the ride. Follow thru is a subject that is subjective. Some say don't drop the elbow and others say dropping the elbow is no big deal because the cue ball has left the cue stick anyway.
I drop my elbow but not because its something I'm trying to do. It just happens.
You asked if you should follow thru the cue ball on every shot. The answer to that is, it all depends on the shot. There are shots where you will just hit the cue ball. I call these shots delicate shots. When these type of shots come up, you will know it.
One thing that may help you is, the object ball is shot into the pocket with your grip hand and the cue is just an extension of your hand. It's a feel thing.
I am not an instructor, the above is just my humble opinion.
Have a good day.:smile:
John
