Think I've figured out CJ Wiley's "hammer stroke" method of delivering the cue
- Thread starter sfleinen
- Start date
The index finger and thumb are the steering wheel, the other 2 to 3 fingers are the engine. Everything else is just along for the ride.
John
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I break my wrist forward and down. I use this stroke for cinching balls. It allows me to lock in my wrist and hit more accurately on the object ball.
It's taken a little bit of practice to learn to not over grip the cue and force it down too hard. About a week of mixing it into my routine and I feel comfortable with it. I've been locking my wrist to a lesser degree on easier shots. Combined with about 70% of hitting a touch of inside has got me enjoying the game again and not throwing my stick!!:smile:
Best,
Mike
It's taken a little bit of practice to learn to not over grip the cue and force it down too hard. About a week of mixing it into my routine and I feel comfortable with it. I've been locking my wrist to a lesser degree on easier shots. Combined with about 70% of hitting a touch of inside has got me enjoying the game again and not throwing my stick!!:smile:
Best,
Mike
TheThaiger
Banned
As Ronnie's just quit snooker, why don't you try to convince him to take up 9 ball instead? You want players with a back-story for your launch? They don't get much bigger than Ronnie's.
it's just a matter of the "slight" wage deduction
That should be an easy transition for him, after all, he's already got the stroke, and he probably knows the "Inside" stuff. :wink: it's just a matter of the "slight" wage deduction... :groucho:
That should be an easy transition for him, after all, he's already got the stroke, and he probably knows the "Inside" stuff. :wink: it's just a matter of the "slight" wage deduction... :groucho:
TheThaiger
Banned
Just pony up. There's no greater draw in cue sports. You want star power AND performance? A flawed genius the average punter can relate to.
You'll be "moving" your bicep, it just isn't a "power source.
Are you pre cocking your wrist/fingers? That would mean putting your hand on your right hip and cocking you tip up in front of your eyes, and keeping that wrist position as you go down on the shot.
You'll be "moving" your bicep, it just isn't a "power source. Your elbow may naturally drop, but your main focus is always on your hand and pool cue.
I"m not sure what you could be doing to have to "severely drop the upper arm", unless you aren't cocking your wrist/fingers, then you would have to use all arm instead of your hand as I'm suggesting.
Are you pre cocking your wrist/fingers? That would mean putting your hand on your right hip and cocking you tip up in front of your eyes, and keeping that wrist position as you go down on the shot.
You'll be "moving" your bicep, it just isn't a "power source. Your elbow may naturally drop, but your main focus is always on your hand and pool cue.
I"m not sure what you could be doing to have to "severely drop the upper arm", unless you aren't cocking your wrist/fingers, then you would have to use all arm instead of your hand as I'm suggesting.
Minnesota Fats got famous playing the Hollywood Movie Stars.
You have a point there. Minnesota Fats got famous playing the Hollywood Movie Stars.
You have a point there. Minnesota Fats got famous playing the Hollywood Movie Stars.
Jeff:
Like CJ said, you might be taking the "don't use the biceps" thing a little too literally. You will flex at the elbow, but it's a passive flex -- no power behind it. Basically, your biceps are "allowing the elbow to bend." All the power of the cue moving forward comes from you flexing your wrist downwards, as if you're trying to "swat" your bridge hand with the cue, except the cue is already in contact with your bridge hand.
Try it -- pre-cock your wrist (radial deviation -- towards your thumb) at the "Set" position, and then push your wrist downwards (ulnar deviation -- towards the pinkie) to press the cue downwards onto your bridge hand. Also, allow your biceps to "let" the arm bend at the elbow, thus allowing the cue to move forward. It doesn't make sense until you try it, but once you do this correctly the first time, you'll "get it." Push the wrist downwards onto your bridge hand, and "let" the cue move forward over your bridge hand.
Hope this helps!
-Sean
I'm striving for is to feel like my cue can ONLY go straight and not deviate
I just posted a description in the "wrist thread" that's got a few other points as well as to how I pre set my wrist/fingers/cue/bridge before getting down on the shot. I hope it's helpful and I think it will lead a lot of you to develop your own style of achieving the same results.
You, Sean, are describing this well, and I will just add that I want my hand/cue/bridge to "feel" like one unit. I do feel like I'm pressing down (towards the table) slightly with my hand/fingers so that a "slot/track" develops in my bridge hand.
What I'm striving for is to feel like my cue can ONLY go straight and not deviate to the left or right. The unit of my hand/cue/bridge becomes almost "machine like" to deliver the cue to the cue ball in a straight line every time.
I just posted a description in the "wrist thread" that's got a few other points as well as to how I pre set my wrist/fingers/cue/bridge before getting down on the shot. I hope it's helpful and I think it will lead a lot of you to develop your own style of achieving the same results.
You, Sean, are describing this well, and I will just add that I want my hand/cue/bridge to "feel" like one unit. I do feel like I'm pressing down (towards the table) slightly with my hand/fingers so that a "slot/track" develops in my bridge hand.
What I'm striving for is to feel like my cue can ONLY go straight and not deviate to the left or right. The unit of my hand/cue/bridge becomes almost "machine like" to deliver the cue to the cue ball in a straight line every time.
"M" stands for Man and the "W" stand for Woman.
Congratulations on making your first post...I believe (if I'm not mistaken) the "M" stands for Man and the "W" stand for Woman. :groucho: like Dennis Miller says "I could be wrong."
Congratulations on making your first post...I believe (if I'm not mistaken) the "M" stands for Man and the "W" stand for Woman. :groucho: like Dennis Miller says "I could be wrong."
I'm cocking my hand as the OP suggested and showed in the photos.
When I move it to the other position, the cue moves backwards. So, I then used my biceps to move the cue forward, but that's not how it is said to be done. The biceps just go along for the ride. OK, so I dropped my shoulder/elbow as that is the only way left to get the cue going forward. By the time I did all of that, I had ZERO control of the shot.
After 50 or so times, I gave up.
Jeff Livingston
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Didn't help one bit, but thanks for trying. The cue goes backwards doing as you suggest...or it goes down into my bridge, but it sure as hell NEVER goes forward.
I think you guys are leaving out something important in your explanations.
Jeff Livingston
Jeff,
I'm doing the stroke, but at a lesser level than CJ, if that makes sense. It's not my natural way of stroking, so I'm taking it in bite size pieces.
The first thing I learned to do is cock/lock my wrist. This technique is individual because of the grip each one of us has. It made sense to me to limit any unknown and unnecessary movements in my motion. Locking the wrist takes away the urge to steer a shot for me. I now know I was aiming correctly, but letting my eyes second guess my stroke at the last instant. Slight movements made some shots go off line. Visual schizo stroke. :grin:
Try locking the wrist for a few hours. It will feel restrictive and mechanical at first. Eventually you will find your fingers start to come into play in the stroke and your sense of touch will start to come back. I found I can still get all kinds of spin after practicing it for a while. My draw shots are more accurate and controllable. I can really cinch long shots and find distance isn't as much of a factor. Just the angle.
Then, I started and am still working on the idea of finishing the stroke opposite of everything I ever knew.
What's the risk? Or more correctly, am I playing on the Mosconi Cup Team?
I'll take what works, and put it in my tool box. The mental part of what CJ has presented in this and other threads is very strong. It pisses me off after all these years playing with lots of pros, I learn more from somebody who doesn't even know me than all of them put together! I even went on the road with some of them and risked my a$$ and my bankroll.
Best,
Mike
I'm doing the stroke, but at a lesser level than CJ, if that makes sense. It's not my natural way of stroking, so I'm taking it in bite size pieces.
The first thing I learned to do is cock/lock my wrist. This technique is individual because of the grip each one of us has. It made sense to me to limit any unknown and unnecessary movements in my motion. Locking the wrist takes away the urge to steer a shot for me. I now know I was aiming correctly, but letting my eyes second guess my stroke at the last instant. Slight movements made some shots go off line. Visual schizo stroke. :grin:
Try locking the wrist for a few hours. It will feel restrictive and mechanical at first. Eventually you will find your fingers start to come into play in the stroke and your sense of touch will start to come back. I found I can still get all kinds of spin after practicing it for a while. My draw shots are more accurate and controllable. I can really cinch long shots and find distance isn't as much of a factor. Just the angle.
Then, I started and am still working on the idea of finishing the stroke opposite of everything I ever knew.
What's the risk? Or more correctly, am I playing on the Mosconi Cup Team? I'll take what works, and put it in my tool box. The mental part of what CJ has presented in this and other threads is very strong. It pisses me off after all these years playing with lots of pros, I learn more from somebody who doesn't even know me than all of them put together! I even went on the road with some of them and risked my a$$ and my bankroll.
Best,
Mike