Another alignment key position not discussed much?

dquarasr

dquarasr

Registered
I have been putting my game back together after having f-ed it up royally (let's just call the "f" "fiddle"). Those of you who have helped me and been DMing with me know of what I speak.

I have tried to return to my previously found perfect alignment - for me - and have mostly succeeded. I have a certain place I need to place my back foot, step in with my front foot, and come down on the shot line with my head on the shot line.

OK, mostly all good. But only *sometimes*. Some sessions it does not come naturally, and it feels forced to get in alignment. I could not explain it. I seemed to have been doing everything the same. Or was I? Needless to say, these sessions I struggle to get comfortable and it may be many dozens of minutes before I feel comfortable at the table.

So, what is going on?

Today I noticed that a lot of what I had been struggling with had to do not with left-right alignment (with respect to the shot line),, but fore-aft. I have not come across much discussion about foot placement and distance to the optimal place to address the CB.

I had noticed that, inexplicably (before today), sometimes my bridge length seemed way too long. Like 15". When I adjusted back to 10" or so, it still didn't feel right because my feet were in a certain position so I would move my torso forward.

It was only when I stepped in closer to the CB that things felt "right" again. Bridge length naturally fell to 8". Elbow and shoulder positions felt right. Accuracy improved.

I believe that stepping in too far back requires an unnatural longer waist bend to get down on the shot, thereby messing up the natural shoulder-elbow-head alignment. When I step in with my feet closer to the CB, things simply feel better.

Comments related to not only left-right but fore-aft foot placement welcome.
 
@WobblyStroke and @bbb :

With my pea brain and its inability to remember anything, I wouldn’t be surprised if we have previously discussed this. If so, chalk it up to the crazy old guy who can’t remember $h1+.

If not, well, then, hallelujah, I have made another discovery on my long journey to respectability. Lol
 
dquarasr said:
I have been putting my game back together after having f-ed it up royally (let's just call the "f" "fiddle"). Those of you who have helped me and been DMing with me know of what I speak.

I have tried to return to my previously found perfect alignment - for me - and have mostly succeeded. I have a certain place I need to place my back foot, step in with my front foot, and come down on the shot line with my head on the shot line.

OK, mostly all good. But only *sometimes*. Some sessions it does not come naturally, and it feels forced to get in alignment. I could not explain it. I seemed to have been doing everything the same. Or was I? Needless to say, these sessions I struggle to get comfortable and it may be many dozens of minutes before I feel comfortable at the table.

So, what is going on?

Today I noticed that a lot of what I had been struggling with had to do not with left-right alignment (with respect to the shot line),, but fore-aft. I have not come across much discussion about foot placement and distance to the optimal place to address the CB.

I had noticed that, inexplicably (before today), sometimes my bridge length seemed way too long. Like 15". When I adjusted back to 10" or so, it still didn't feel right because my feet were in a certain position so I would move my torso forward.

It was only when I stepped in closer to the CB that things felt "right" again. Bridge length naturally fell to 8". Elbow and shoulder positions felt right. Accuracy improved.

I believe that stepping in too far back requires an unnatural longer waist bend to get down on the shot, thereby messing up the natural shoulder-elbow-head alignment. When I step in with my feet closer to the CB, things simply feel better.

Comments related to not only left-right but fore-aft foot placement welcome.
Click to expand...

The great majority of instructors advocate stepping into the shot, but as you have discovered, variability in this process can be troublesome. As has been noted, the table prevents stepping in on many shots.

An alternative approach is to set your feet while aligning upright (focusing more on alignment than foot position), and then drop into the shot line with your feet stationary. I believe CJ Wiley teaches this.

Not saying it is for you, but it can work for some.
 
dquarasr said:
I have been putting my game back together after having f-ed it up royally (let's just call the "f" "fiddle"). Those of you who have helped me and been DMing with me know of what I speak.

I have tried to return to my previously found perfect alignment - for me - and have mostly succeeded. I have a certain place I need to place my back foot, step in with my front foot, and come down on the shot line with my head on the shot line.

OK, mostly all good. But only *sometimes*. Some sessions it does not come naturally, and it feels forced to get in alignment. I could not explain it. I seemed to have been doing everything the same. Or was I? Needless to say, these sessions I struggle to get comfortable and it may be many dozens of minutes before I feel comfortable at the table.

So, what is going on?

Today I noticed that a lot of what I had been struggling with had to do not with left-right alignment (with respect to the shot line),, but fore-aft. I have not come across much discussion about foot placement and distance to the optimal place to address the CB.

I had noticed that, inexplicably (before today), sometimes my bridge length seemed way too long. Like 15". When I adjusted back to 10" or so, it still didn't feel right because my feet were in a certain position so I would move my torso forward.

It was only when I stepped in closer to the CB that things felt "right" again. Bridge length naturally fell to 8". Elbow and shoulder positions felt right. Accuracy improved.

I believe that stepping in too far back requires an unnatural longer waist bend to get down on the shot, thereby messing up the natural shoulder-elbow-head alignment. When I step in with my feet closer to the CB, things simply feel better.

Comments related to not only left-right but fore-aft foot placement welcome.
Click to expand...
If you are even a few inches off in the foot-to-CB distance, it can have a significant effect on your stroke timing. One effective drill is to place a piece of chalk parallel to the optimal position for your bridge hand loop (or cue tip or etc., depending on the focus of the drill). Then from standing erect, assume the stance, over and again, until you are "in the pocket," pun intended.
 
dquarasr said:
I have been putting my game back together after having f-ed it up royally (let's just call the "f" "fiddle"). Those of you who have helped me and been DMing with me know of what I speak.

I have tried to return to my previously found perfect alignment - for me - and have mostly succeeded. I have a certain place I need to place my back foot, step in with my front foot, and come down on the shot line with my head on the shot line.

OK, mostly all good. But only *sometimes*. Some sessions it does not come naturally, and it feels forced to get in alignment. I could not explain it. I seemed to have been doing everything the same. Or was I? Needless to say, these sessions I struggle to get comfortable and it may be many dozens of minutes before I feel comfortable at the table.

So, what is going on?

Today I noticed that a lot of what I had been struggling with had to do not with left-right alignment (with respect to the shot line),, but fore-aft. I have not come across much discussion about foot placement and distance to the optimal place to address the CB.

I had noticed that, inexplicably (before today), sometimes my bridge length seemed way too long. Like 15". When I adjusted back to 10" or so, it still didn't feel right because my feet were in a certain position so I would move my torso forward.

It was only when I stepped in closer to the CB that things felt "right" again. Bridge length naturally fell to 8". Elbow and shoulder positions felt right. Accuracy improved.

I believe that stepping in too far back requires an unnatural longer waist bend to get down on the shot, thereby messing up the natural shoulder-elbow-head alignment. When I step in with my feet closer to the CB, things simply feel better.

Comments related to not only left-right but fore-aft foot placement welcome.
Click to expand...
Starboard to port?
I shoot left foot forward, as I am right handed.
 
Every part of one's setup affects and depends on the others. The entire point of starting with the feet is to get all the other parts where they need to be. This goes out the window completely if you start lunging forward or getting cramped bc your feet are too far/close to the CB and you throw off the relationships between body parts which you are trying to set up the same way every time.

Two things may help...
1. If u notice you're a bit too far back, just scoot forward with your feet and move the entire setup forward. Or just get up and restart, placing your foot a bit closer to start.

2. Build your setup around your cue. Many instructors teach this way and this was the method I learned from the first book I read on pool many years ago. You place your cue on the shotline where it needs to be, then you place your feet and take your stance.

The tricky part with #2 is that you go from standing with your head to the side of the cue and then get down over it so there may be some aiming distortions. Maybe CJ addresses this in his vid which I haven't seen yet.
 
IMO .......the only consistency to the feet is the back foots relationship to the shot line. Some set up with it on the shot line, inside the shot line or perhaps even heel on the shot line etc.....I think some of that placement is dictated by your eye dominance and how you sight the shot......The front foot can have many different placements depending on the shot.

For pool...the setting of the feet first process is a little bass ackwards IMO.......The cue really has one ideal place to be when making a shot....straight along the shot line....the feet can have "many" different positions to get it there as determined by the proximity of the CB to the table.

Golf and Pool have a relationship here....IMO....In Golf...watch the process....there are ideal feet positions for every type of shot....but you will see the club get placed into alignment behind the ball and then the feet set into position (based on where the club is)....from repetition.... in most cases the feet are already close...but you will see foot shuffle to get them right.....usually the back foot is set and then the front foot is placed based on the desired shape of the shot.

..Heck watch Efren, Earl...many of the top pros....many of them place the cue and the back foot slides back a little.
 
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