Something I saw John Morra Doing at DCC - Could Be Helpful!

Kickin' Chicken

Kickin' Chicken

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I saw John Morra on the stream table when he was eliminated from the Bigfoot 10b and again just moments ago losing to Busty in 1p. After both losses he was checking his stroke for straightness and I never saw anyone do it like this.

I've heard suggestions of using, for instance, an empty gallon milk jug with the cap off and laying it on it's side on the table then bridge your cue and stroke repeatedly with the tip going in and out of the bottle opening trying not to touch the sides. I think this is a great drill to check how straight we are stroking. Well, of course, empty gallon milk jugs aren't always available so here's what John did.

He placed his bridge hand exactly on the short rail where the cloth and laminate meet and begings stroking the cue precisely on the line where they meet. He did this after his Bigfoot loss for about 5 minutes straight and with the overhead camera on we had a perfect view and his cue stayed dead on the straight line for the entire time. He just started doing this again after his 1p loss and again, he stroked straight as an arrow.

Bringing this up as it may be a helpful exercise to check how we're stroking especially on those days when things aren't going especially well.

It would be interesting to see Busty's straight stroke drill. He might need a jumbo pickle jar. :grin-square: With all his pre shot stroke movement it's just about miraculous how he delivers a perfectly straight final pass. :thumbup:

best,
brian kc
 
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I do that pretty often too.

I recall reading about it as an aid in a common book, Lassiter's of mosconi's, maybe?
 
I think in Tor's video he uses the long rail and the diamonds as a straight line in a similar fashion.
 
I may be wrong but i seem to remember Eddie Taylor using a coke bottle to do the same thing
he was out of action for years,began this exercise and won the legends of One pocket tournment
 
deanoc said:
I may be wrong but i seem to remember Eddie Taylor using a coke bottle to do the same thing
he was out of action for years,began this exercise and won the legends of One pocket tournment
Click to expand...
I used those short fat bottles and for soft shots I put a quarter on top of the shaft try to hit the back of the bottle before it came off


1
 
Kickin' Chicken said:
I saw John Morra ... stroking the cue precisely on the line where they meet. ...
Click to expand...
I first saw this in the 60s as a stroke test. I think a better one is to stroke along the headstring or the longstring as your bridge can be on the cloth.
 
Kickin' Chicken said:
yep, I think I'd like the soda bottle opening better than the milk jug, tighter = better.
Click to expand...

I used a coke bottle and could stroke all the way to near bottom, in and out, without touching anything for as long as I wanted to keep going. Just lay the bottle on the table and use two pieces of chalk to hold it in place. It's actually not as hard as it looks. What's hard is to keep it going for a minute or more.
 
Kickin' Chicken said:
I saw John Morra on the stream table when he was eliminated from the Bigfoot 10b and again just moments ago losing to Busty in 1p. After both losses he was checking his stroke for straightness and I never saw anyone do it like this.

I've heard suggestions of using, for instance, an empty gallon milk jug with the cap off and laying it on it's side on the table then bridge your cue and stroke repeatedly with the tip going in and out of the bottle opening trying not to touch the sides. I think this is a great drill to check how straight we are stroking. Well, of course, empty gallon milk jugs aren't always available so here's what John did.

He placed his bridge hand exactly on the short rail where the cloth and laminate meet and begings stroking the cue precisely on the line where they meet. He did this after his Bigfoot loss for about 5 minutes straight and with the overhead camera on we had a perfect view and his cue stayed dead on the straight line for the entire time. He just started doing this again after his 1p loss and again, he stroked straight as an arrow.

Bringing this up as it may be a helpful exercise to check how we're stroking especially on those days when things aren't going especially well.

It would be interesting to see Busty's straight stroke drill. He might need a jumbo pickle jar. :grin-square: With all his pre shot stroke movement it's just about miraculous how he delivers a perfectly straight final pass. :thumbup:

best,
brian kc
Click to expand...

He did it after losing....so.

He's a very straight shooter. He had Shaw on the ropes. He just doesn't have the firepower to beat him
 
SBC said:
He did it after losing....so.

He's a very straight shooter. He had Shaw on the ropes. He just doesn't have the firepower to beat him
Click to expand...

He does it all the time from what I have seen in person. Before and during tournaments since he switched to left handed.
 
deanoc said:
I may be wrong but i seem to remember Eddie Taylor using a coke bottle to do the same thing
he was out of action for years,began this exercise and won the legends of One pocket tournment
Click to expand...



That’s a horrible exercise as it only “helps” one develop an elbow movement on the shot (the “piston stroke”). No one delivers a cue in a straight line on the vertical axis, it’s always a pendulum-like movement so people start focusing on getting the tip through the bottle top and start adjusting their elbow movement to deliver the cue straight both horizontally and vertically. This is a very bad technique.

A much better exercise is to set two pairs of balls in a straight line on the table and leave just enough space between each pair for the tip to go through (slightly more space for the front pair and a bit less for the back pair to allow for the taper). This exercise does not restrict the vertical movement of the cue, only horizontal. One pair is unlikely to be enough as the margin for error is quite significant before one starts moving the balls.

This exercise is easier to set up with a central line being marked on the table. If there is none, just lay your cue on the table in a direct line between the spots and only then set the balls up.


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deanoc said:
I may be wrong but i seem to remember Eddie Taylor using a coke bottle to do the same thing
he was out of action for years,began this exercise and won the legends of One pocket tournment
Click to expand...

I have his DVD. He stressed the importance of stroking the ball down table from foot spot and having it return to the cue tip consistently. Not sure if he mentioned using a coke bottle in the DVD.
 
I used a coke bottle but gave up after a hundred or so attempts. Hit the bottle every single time.

Was I supposed to un-cap the bottle and empty the contents out first??

Maniac
 
Kickin' Chicken said:
I saw John Morra on the stream table when he was eliminated from the Bigfoot 10b and again just moments ago losing to Busty in 1p. After both losses he was checking his stroke for straightness and I never saw anyone do it like this.

He placed his bridge hand exactly on the short rail where the cloth and laminate meet and begins stroking the cue precisely on the line where they meet.
Click to expand...
FYI, this and many other standard ways to check for stroke straightness are demonstrated in the following video:

Top 10 Aim, Alignment, and STROKE DRILLS

Enjoy,
Dave
 
I like doing it the way ratamon said. Set up 2 and 3 rows of balls with a half inch or so between them. After grooving for a bit I put a ball at the end of the corridor and practice hitting it at different speeds and keeping my cue straight. This is good practice for the times you’re playing and have another ball really close to the CB. If I’m not paying attention my cue goes to the left after the hit is done and done.
 
JazzyJeff87 said:
I like doing it the way ratamon said. Set up 2 and 3 rows of balls with a half inch or so between them. After grooving for a bit I put a ball at the end of the corridor and practice hitting it at different speeds and keeping my cue straight. This is good practice for the times you’re playing and have another ball really close to the CB. If I’m not paying attention my cue goes to the left after the hit is done and done.
Click to expand...

I'll tell you when you have a straight stroke. When you can place a silver dollar between two balls and shoot it off the end rail and have it come back between the balls! Trust me it can be done.
 
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