Weight distribution - Johnny Archer

M

Mirza

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Johnny Archer speaks about lots of stuff here and one of the stuff he speaks about is stance and weight distribution.

Here is the link marked at the time where he start speaking about that specific subject:

http://youtu.be/CFleAlQL-bw?t=15m56s

He says that 60% of the weight is on his FRONT LEG, not back lag like most teachers/instructors recommend, its usualy that or evenly distributed.

I, myself, have noticed that my potting goes way up, never mind what aiming method/system I use, IF my weight is MORE on the FRONT LEG also, I can't give any exact percentage's, but it creates pain in my left leg/upper thigh, which is why I abandoned this "trick", but I never could get so good at potting in any other way (meaning any other weight distribution or stance).

Anyone else heard about this, uses this weight distribution, or has any related info whatsoever? Maybe Johnny himself?
 
Last edited:
I heard a snooker player on youtube recommend similar to help stay down on the shot.

He also said any upward movement would cause you to slightly fall forward directly towards the shot.
 
ronscuba said:
I heard a snooker player on youtube recommend similar to help stay down on the shot.

He also said any upward movement would cause you to slightly fall forward directly towards the shot.
Click to expand...

Can you find a link to that video?
 
Mirza said:
Johnny Archer speaks about lots of stuff here and one of the stuff he speaks about is stance and weight distribution.

Here is the link marked at the time where he start speaking about that specific subject:

http://youtu.be/CFleAlQL-bw?t=15m56s

He says that 60% of the weight is on his FRONT LEG, not back lag like most teachers/instructors recommend, its usualy that or evenly distributed.

I, myself, have noticed that my potting goes way up, never mind what aiming method/system I use, IF my weight is MORE on the FRONT LEG also, I can't give any exact percentage's, but it creates pain in my left leg/upper thigh, which is why I abandoned this "trick", but I never could get so good at potting in any other way (meaning any other weight distribution or stance).

Anyone else heard about this, uses this weight distribution, or has any related info whatsoever? Maybe Johnny himself?
Click to expand...

If you (or anyone) decide to go that way ---- leaning forward ---- you will find yourself in one heck of a mess ---- off balance, out of alignment, and eventual shoulder pain that is not pleasant. You also mentioned leg pain, which I hadn't heard before, but I believe it.

Weight evenly distributed is almost as bad.

Watch the best of the best. They lean back for a reason. Yes, there is the odd player who leans forward, but he's working hard every step of the way.
 
FranCrimi said:
If you (or anyone) decide to go that way ---- leaning forward ---- you will find yourself in one heck of a mess ---- off balance, out of alignment, and eventual shoulder pain that is not pleasant. You also mentioned leg pain, which I hadn't heard before, but I believe it.

Weight evenly distributed is almost as bad.

Watch the best of the best. They lean back for a reason. Yes, there is the odd player who leans forward, but he's working hard every step of the way.
Click to expand...

I ain't putting weight on my bridge hand/arm/shoulder, so no pain there, just shift most of my weight on my front bent leg, since I'm overweight it probably is too much to handle for my front leg, since its bent. Most of the pain acctualy comes in the upper left thigh/buttocks region.

I understand it isn't recommended and I obviously can't use it in play because of the pain (actually did use it one time and had to get a massage after it to relieve the pain), but why am I that much precise with that kind of stance/balance/weight distribution, it isn't like some small percentage, my misses go down about a half or more, which is a big number? Maybe if I knew the reason I could find some other fix that gives the same result....but without the pain :)
 
Having the weight forward is in fact recommended in the snooker world. Not so much so that it causes pain in the legs, but enough so that you aren't say back in your stance which can lead to easier head and body movement. Probably why you see a lot of modern snooker players playing with both the elbow and forearm on the table to ease the work the shoulder does supporting a slightly forward balanced stance. Steve Davis once said if you pushed him in all directions when he was at the adress position the only way you could move him is forward...because he is already leaning that way. Watch how the snooker players back legs are. Perfectly straight up and their butts (not the cue kind) are directly above their back heel not behind it.

Watch Ricky Walden play. Commentators mention his stance all the time. He bends both legs you see... Because of this he puts very little pressure onto the bridge and commentators cant believe he is able to play with such little pressure on the bridge.

My reasoning for you playing better with the weight forward? You probably rocked in your stance a little before and when you lean forward its harder for the body to rock or move. Just a thought.
 
Scott Lee said:
Mirza...Where do you get information that most instructors recommend more weight on the back leg?

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...

I wrote that OR evenly distributed...and I get that from instructional materials on DVDs, youtube, and a VERY few instructors where I live (Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia).

You think/teach more weight should be on the front leg in a classic pool stance?
 
FranCrimi said:
If you (or anyone) decide to go that way ---- leaning forward ---- you will find yourself in one heck of a mess ---- off balance, out of alignment, and eventual shoulder pain that is not pleasant. You also mentioned leg pain, which I hadn't heard before, but I believe it.
Click to expand...

Fran, you don't have to lean forward to put 60% or more of your weight on your front foot. In the Tai Chi form (and in most martial arts) it is recommended to place 60-70% of your weight directly into the ball of your forward foot when you are in a forward stance, and this is done with the back perfectly vertical and the feet shoulder width apart. It's all in the hips, not in the inclination of the trunk.

As long as your knee is not forward of your toe this should cause no leg pain, nor should it force you to lean forward. If you habitually have your knee in front of your toe in this stance, or even worse, have it torqued a bit to the inside, you will be in for some serious knees problems down the road.

I'm not saying it's the best way to play pool, just that it is an extremely strong and stable stance or martial artists would never use it. Out of curiosity, though, do you have any pics of Dalton Leong shooting pool?
 
Leaning "back" - aka staying dead square planted even was the BEST epiphany I had in this game.

I jumped a whole letter up in the rating system. So I don't care who leans forward. It doesn't work for me.

I actually figured it out being my big problem because my big toe wore through the sole in my Nike's from it.

I was so excited and ecstatic that I figured something that simple but big out I sent a pic to my instructor of my sole. He laughed. But it was game changing.

If I wasn't on my phone I'd upload a pic of it lol
 
leaning tower of dan

If I may ask, who told you to lean forward in the first place?

Glad your game is picking up.
 
Mizra,

Thanks for the link.

There are some gold nuggets in there & some gold dust too along with maybe a lil bit if fools gold too.

Also there could probably be about a dozen 'flame wars' started from out of that.

Maybe one is on the way here.

All that said, I think nearly everyone could probably benefit from something in there.

Thanks Again for the link & Best 2 You & All,
Rick
 
ENGLISH! said:
Mizra,

Thanks for the link.

There are some gold nuggets in there & some gold dust too along with maybe a lil bit if fools gold too.

Also there could probably be about a dozen 'flame wars' started from out of that.

Maybe one is on the way here.

All that said, I think nearly everyone could probably benefit from something in there.

Thanks Again for the link & Best 2 You & All,
Rick
Click to expand...

Its MIRZA, not Mizra, this is not your first time misspelling my name, pls get it correct the next time, its starting to be annoying.
 
Mirza said:
Its MIRZA, not Mizra, this is not your first time misspelling my name, pls get it correct the next time, its starting to be annoying.
Click to expand...

Mirza,

My sincere apologies.

FYI nearly every time, that I want to type the word from, I type form.

Thank you for pointing out my mistakes. I will certainly make every attempt to get it right should the occasion arise in the future.

I guess I may be a bit of a dyslexic typists. I'm not a typist. I'm a few finger pecker.

Again, My Apologies. Please Forgive Me. And, Thanks Again for the Link.

Best Wishes,
Rick
 
Sloppy Pockets said:
Fran, you don't have to lean forward to put 60% or more of your weight on your front foot. In the Tai Chi form (and in most martial arts) it is recommended to place 60-70% of your weight directly into the ball of your forward foot when you are in a forward stance, and this is done with the back perfectly vertical and the feet shoulder width apart. It's all in the hips, not in the inclination of the trunk.

As long as your knee is not forward of your toe this should cause no leg pain, nor should it force you to lean forward. If you habitually have your knee in front of your toe in this stance, or even worse, have it torqued a bit to the inside, you will be in for some serious knees problems down the road.

I'm not saying it's the best way to play pool, just that it is an extremely strong and stable stance or martial artists would never use it. Out of curiosity, though, do you have any pics of Dalton Leong shooting pool?
Click to expand...

I understand what you're saying. I think here is the difference: Unlike Tai Chi --- with pool, your torso is bent forward. The way to find balance in that circumstance is to counter the weight of the forward bend with the bottom half of the body leaning back. Even if you wanted to favor a 60 percent forward weight distribution, you would still have to lean slightly back with the bottom half of your body. But you can't just step up to the table and lean back. The alignment has to be properly set to allow for that to happen.

Dalton leaned on his back leg when he played. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of him playing.
 
Last edited:
ENGLISH! said:
FYI nearly every time, that I want to type the word from, I type form.
Click to expand...

Ha, ha! I do the same thing! And on the phone, my big fat texting finger can't seem to hit the "o" instead of the "i". Then I can't proof read the thing because of the tiny text box and my failing eyes, so I send out a lot of "if"s and "in"s instead of "of"s and "on"s. Then I read it after it posts and I remember Sister Vincencia's ruler against my knuckles for making spelling mistakes and I practically have a panic attack. Lol

FWIW I've been reading poor Mirza's name as "Mizra" since I joined up here. Yeah, it must be the lysdexia. Sure am glad he called you out about it instead of me.. :thumbup:
 
FranCrimi said:
I understand what you're saying. I think here is the difference: Unlike Tai Chi --- with pool, your torso is bent forward. The way to find balance in that circumstance is to counter the weight of the forward bend with the bottom half of the body leaning back. Even if you wanted to favor a 60 percent forward weight distribution, you would still have to lean slightly back with the bottom half of your body. But you can't just step up to the table and lean back. The alignment has to be properly set to allow for that to happen.

Dalton leaned on his back leg when he played. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of him playing.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I can see what you are saying now. I'm pretty sure I don't have the same stance for both.

I tried to shift my weight to my right and pushing my lower half back in an attempt to emulate Karen Corr's stance, but my sciatica started to flare up so I cut that out. I really shouldn't do something like that without an expert watching and making adjustments, but I'm such a fan of her and her game, I thought maybe it just might... you know. ;)

I've seen that photo of Dalton doing the "snake creeps down" Tai Chi stance, and I can tell he was an advanced practitioner. Of course, that is very much a "back stance" move. It takes incredible legs to do that move properly.
 
The one thing I've noticed about Archer's stance is his bridge arm rests on the table all the way up to his elbow. He doesn't hold his forearm above the table very often. It almost always lays flat on the table.

I'm sure it helps hold the bridge still but maybe also helps support a forward body lean?
 
Sloppy Pockets said:
Yeah, I can see what you are saying now. I'm pretty sure I don't have the same stance for both.

I tried to shift my weight to my right and pushing my lower half back in an attempt to emulate Karen Corr's stance, but my sciatica started to flare up so I cut that out. I really shouldn't do something like that without an expert watching and making adjustments, but I'm such a fan of her and her game, I thought maybe it just might... you know. ;)

I've seen that photo of Dalton doing the "snake creeps down" Tai Chi stance, and I can tell he was an advanced practitioner. Of course, that is very much a "back stance" move. It takes incredible legs to do that move properly.
Click to expand...

If you have sciatica issues, slightly bending both legs will also counter the forward bend a little, and requires less lean back. I played with a bent-kneed stance for awhile, as did Allison Fisher. I don't know what made her change away from it, but for me, it was difficult to control the amount of knee bend. I found myself bending more and more to the point where I was actually shooting 'up' at the cue ball. But if you keep that in mind, I think it's worth looking into if you have leg or back issues.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top