AHAH!! Figured it out!

Drop The Rock

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Silver Member
CIT/BHE-(2x + TOI) + SIT=TOO. SCIENCE B**CH!


On a serious note though, I shorted up my backstroke a fair amount last night and the

difference in accuracy and my ability to stroke straight through the ball was much

better. I was surprised I didn't lose that much power either.

I guess the added precision helps a fair amount. I had always been taught or told to

pull near all the way back.

I have a enough stroke and cue speed to really not need to do that unless its a power

draw shot and even then I may not need to.

I try to do whats comfortable and keep an open mind because one of the best ways I

improve is by learning. As soon as I think I have figured it all out I tend to stop

improving. There are hundreds of ways to play this game all with different stances and

grips, strokes, systems, aiming, blah blah blah. The realty is that who am I to tell

somebody they shouldn't do something a certain way. I mean seriously. Its funny how

the people who promote a certain way of things try and tell you its better and the

people who listen say, you don't need to do it that way, you can or should do it

another way.

Hence the formula up at the top. Its all bull**it and its bad for you. Remain teachable!

Oh and Qatar got sooo many roles today :wink:
 
CIT/BHE-(2x + TOI) + SIT=TOO. SCIENCE B**CH!


On a serious note though, I shorted up my backstroke a fair amount last night and the

difference in accuracy and my ability to stroke straight through the ball was much

better. I was surprised I didn't lose that much power either.

I guess the added precision helps a fair amount. I had always been taught or told to

pull near all the way back.

I have a enough stroke and cue speed to really not need to do that unless its a power

draw shot and even then I may not need to.

I try to do whats comfortable and keep an open mind because one of the best ways I

improve is by learning. As soon as I think I have figured it all out I tend to stop

improving. There are hundreds of ways to play this game all with different stances and

grips, strokes, systems, aiming, blah blah blah. The realty is that who am I to tell

somebody they shouldn't do something a certain way. I mean seriously. Its funny how

the people who promote a certain way of things try and tell you its better and the

people who listen say, you don't need to do it that way, you can or should do it

another way.

Hence the formula up at the top. Its all bull**it and its bad for you. Remain teachable!

Oh and Qatar got sooo many roles today :wink:

But Qatar didn't even play today...

And that formula did not include distance/time, nor the theory of relativity.
 
Did you change your bridge length at all when you changed your backstroke length?

See I experimented with a shorter bride length but just could not get comfortable. My bridge length is little long but I have long arms and a long torso so its kinda just that way. I guess best way to describe it is that with a 8' bridge I'm pulling back 5-6 Instead of 7"+? Idk I'll be at the pool hall tonight so I can probably describe better then.
 
could be that your stroke has a slight twist or bend, and when you shorten your stroke, the twisting/bending is reduced or eliminated......

either keep the shorter stroke if it works for you, (or if you're curious, hit a dozen long straight in shots with each technique and see what the difference is.)
 
I feel the short bridge is probably just hiding flaws. If a short pull back straightens your stroke out then I would be looking at what is going wrong on the last few inches of pull back.
 
Did you change your bridge length at all when you changed your backstroke length?

This is the key. Shorten the bridge to 8" or 6" before to long you'll get a feel of the proper bridge length on every shot.

My normal bridge is 10" but depending on the shot I will shorten it. At times even move my grip hand up closer to the joint of the cue but still on the wrap.

Enjoy

John
 
Yeah turns out I lied. So the bridge/stroke length was not the problem.

I have only been playing for about 2 years so my stroke is still in the "development

phase." The issue was trying to keep my wrist/arm/elbow perfectly straight which tends

to be difficult and causes me to err on one side or the other. So having my thumb turned

slightly outward which points my elbow slightly towards my body is what works the best

and most consistent for me with minimal wrist turn on my final stroke. So when I'm not in

"dead punch" this is the best for me as its the most precise and offers the best range of

control. I can also spin the shit out of the if I need to, which I usually don't lol.

Now I will say that I have noticed that a lot of pros have a shorter pullback. I'd say

that Alex's is the best example but I think he does that because he varies his

pullback instead of bridge length since he is shorter and its easier for him to reach that way.
 
Yeah turns out I lied. So the bridge/stroke length was not the problem.

I have only been playing for about 2 years so my stroke is still in the "development

phase." The issue was trying to keep my wrist/arm/elbow perfectly straight which tends

to be difficult and causes me to err on one side or the other. So having my thumb turned

slightly outward which points my elbow slightly towards my body is what works the best

and most consistent for me with minimal wrist turn on my final stroke. So when I'm not in

"dead punch" this is the best for me as its the most precise and offers the best range of

control. I can also spin the shit out of the if I need to, which I usually don't lol.

Now I will say that I have noticed that a lot of pros have a shorter pullback. I'd say

that Alex's is the best example but I think he does that because he varies his

pullback instead of bridge length since he is shorter and its easier for him to reach that way.

Rock,

I think very many, myself included have a tendency to get into the position you describe here, or... they go the other way turning the wrist in to the body & the elbow goes away from the body, or they wind up in sort of 'Z' shape.

I think how one connects to the cue is the largest influence on how one positions the rest of the bio-mechanism. How low one gets can have an effect or just one's body size & ratio above & below the hips or a combination of both.

I too can spin the hell out of the ball, but while testing TOI my connection to the cue firmed up & actually reoriented itself to the cue. That was a natural gravitation & was not intentional. (I'd suggest that you try it & notice the differences)

That said I now connect to the cue in a variety of ways depending on what type of shot I intend to hit.

It's sort of like golf, one orients the club differently in the hand for a draw than for a fade with either the hands oriented the same to the body or... the club the same with the hands oriented differently to the body.

Good Luck with Your Journey but beware of any cookie cutter approach. We are individuals.
 
Try placing a block of chalk on the end rail, on the other end rail about 2 foot up to the center of the table straight in from to the block of chalk, place your cue ball. Work with your stroke and aiming by stroking (with center )the cue ball to the block of chalk and then with out moving your cue, have the cue ball come back and touch the end of your tip. It's not as easy as you would think, but when you master that, you can deliver the ball where you want it when you want it.
 
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