What's the secret of the grip

bigskyblue

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Two of my favorite players to watch are Xiao Ting Pan (China) and Thorsten Hohmann (Germany). They are both great shot makers and both have excellent cue ball control. However, they both seem to grip the cue very differently.

Xiao Ting Pan seems to have a very relaxed graceful grip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diYmyA05oK0

Thorsten Hohmann seems to utilize what looks like a firm death grip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq6Fe9tcoio

1. What's going on with the grips of each of these players?
2. What's the key secret Of the grip?
 

Tony_in_MD

You want some of this?
Silver Member
Different grips for different folks, it is all personal preference in how you hold the cue.

I am not sure I would classify Thorsten's grip as a death grip though, the camara angles and distance make it hard to see his knuckles at the end of the stroke.

A grip (or better description) a cradle should not be too tight, or loose. You got to find the balance between the two.






Two of my favorite players to watch are Xiao Ting Pan (China) and Thorsten Hohmann (Germany). They are both great shot makers and both have excellent cue ball control. However, they both seem to grip the cue very differently.

Xiao Ting Pan seems to have a very relaxed graceful grip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diYmyA05oK0

Thorsten Hohmann seems to utilize what looks like a firm death grip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq6Fe9tcoio

1. What's going on with the grips of each of these players?
2. What's the key secret Of the grip?
 

ronscuba

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What about slightly different grips depending on the shot ?

I am a beginner with a lot to learn and I have been experimenting lately.

Holding the cue with a gap between the top of the cue and my palm vs. top of cue touching my palm. Both grips are light. No tight squeezing.

I notice big draw shots work well with cue not touching my palm and long shots with not much room for error work well with cue touching my palm.

Maybe it has something to do with wrist action ? Cue not touching my palm allows more wrist which seems to help with big draw. Cue touching my palm seems to limit wrist which leads to a straighter more consistent stroke ?
 

FranCrimi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Two of my favorite players to watch are Xiao Ting Pan (China) and Thorsten Hohmann (Germany). They are both great shot makers and both have excellent cue ball control. However, they both seem to grip the cue very differently.

Xiao Ting Pan seems to have a very relaxed graceful grip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diYmyA05oK0

Thorsten Hohmann seems to utilize what looks like a firm death grip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq6Fe9tcoio

1. What's going on with the grips of each of these players?
2. What's the key secret Of the grip?

First of all, they're playing two different games. Hohmann is playing 14.1 which often requires punching the cb into clusters to break them up. Players often grip the cue tighter in an effort to generate power in short shots, and for sliding the cb around in short spaces. I have seen many 14.1 players tend to grip the cue tighter. If you play enough 14.1 you will tend to develop that type of punch stroke.

Pan likes to roll the ball in 9-ball and she does it well. A soft loose grip facilitates that well.
 
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predator

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
First of all, they're playing two different games. Hohmann is playing 14.1 which often requires punching the cb into clusters to break them up. Players often grip the cue tighter in an effort to generate power in short shots, and for sliding the cb around in short spaces. I have seen many 14.1 players tend to grip the cue tighter. If you play enough 14.1 you will tend to develop that type of punch stroke.

Pan likes to roll the ball in 9-ball and she does it well. A soft loose grip facilitates that well.

Hohmann looks robotic yes, but he doesn't tighten the cue prior to impact. That is what is important and the only thing that counts. His grip pressure must be constant throughout the stroke, otherwise, he wouldn't get any consistent action on the cueball and most certainly wouldn't have won any international events.

I know some club players who appear to have amazingly soft and relaxed grips. But looks are deceiving, very often they squeeze the cue just prior to impact so much that it ruins the whole shot. They look loose, but in reality they're not.

Also, I don't quite get why would one type of game require specific type of grip...seems like complete nonsense to me...:confused:
btw, Hohmann is also a World Champion at 9ball.
 

randyg

www.randygpool.com
Silver Member
Hohmann looks robotic yes, but he doesn't tighten the cue prior to impact. That is what is important and the only thing that counts. His grip pressure must be constant throughout the stroke, otherwise, he wouldn't get any consistent action on the cueball and most certainly wouldn't have won any international events.

I know some club players who appear to have amazingly soft and relaxed grips. But looks are deceiving, very often they squeeze the cue just prior to impact so much that it ruins the whole shot. They look loose, but in reality they're not.

Also, I don't quite get why would one type of game require specific type of grip...seems like complete nonsense to me...:confused:
btw, Hohmann is also a World Champion at 9ball.



Yes, I agree.

I wonder how a "punch" stroke adds more velocity?

randyg
 

FranCrimi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hohmann looks robotic yes, but he doesn't tighten the cue prior to impact. That is what is important and the only thing that counts. His grip pressure must be constant throughout the stroke, otherwise, he wouldn't get any consistent action on the cueball and most certainly wouldn't have won any international events.

I know some club players who appear to have amazingly soft and relaxed grips. But looks are deceiving, very often they squeeze the cue just prior to impact so much that it ruins the whole shot. They look loose, but in reality they're not.

Also, I don't quite get why would one type of game require specific type of grip...seems like complete nonsense to me...:confused:
btw, Hohmann is also a World Champion at 9ball.

It's not the game. It's the type of shot that comes up more often in that particular game.

It's not nonsense. Try shooting punch shots with a loosey goosey grip. Good luck with that. They don't call them punch shots for no reason.
 
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ENGLISH!

Banned
Silver Member
IMHO,

Ms. Crimi is correct. Even within one game a certain shot & what one is trying to do with the cue ball can be better facilitated by a different grip. I'm not saying a different grip is required for any particular shot but one might be more conducive to the success than another one.

You don't bunt with your home run swing & vise versa. You don't hit a full swing wedge for a 30 yard pitch shot in golf.

Since I have been using TOI my grip has firmed up for those shots.

I'm not sure for what kind of answer you are looking. I don't think there is one 'secret' to the grip except to find the one that works the best for each individual & hopefully is also comfortable.
 

Philthepockets

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
It's not the game. It's the type of shot that comes up more often in that particular game.

It's not nonsense. Try shooting punch shots with a loosey goosey grip. Good luck with that. They don't call them punch shots for no reason.

The grip has zero effect on cue ball response, if you knew where you were striking the CB you would get the same effect regardless, cue balls are not very smart.
I could show you loads of video of games with many many shots of varying speeds distance and draw follow etc all played with the same grip.

Why would you want to introduce another variable into your stroke?
 

ENGLISH!

Banned
Silver Member
The grip has zero effect on cue ball response, if you knew where you were striking the CB you would get the same effect regardless, cue balls are not very smart.
I could show you loads of video of games with many many shots of varying speeds distance and draw follow etc all played with the same grip.

Why would you want to introduce another variable into your stroke?

And apparently neither are you. Video Games? ARE YOU SERIOUS?
 

ENGLISH!

Banned
Silver Member
What is a punch stroke, and what does it make the cue ball do that a soft stroke can't?

How does a grip change what the cue ball does?

Paul,

I wanted to respond to you as I did to the previous poster, but you are asking a legitimate question.

It's very difficult to talk about these things in text. Given the exact same stroke, why would one think that a different grip upon the cue would not yield different results? The answer would be that it is illogical to think so. In fact it would nearly be impossible to make the exact same stroke with different grips.

A punch stroke & a smooth easy flowing soft stroke are two totally different things.

It's kind of like asking what is the difference between caressing your wife's or girl friend's face or giving it a little slap.

I doubt very seriously that the difference in those two pool strokes can be explained to one asking that question over the internet.

I'll try. One is short & abrupt & the other is smooth & flowing. One IMHO is easier to control the outcome than the other. I mean that a smooth & flowing stroke is easier to control the outcome of the cue ball than a punch stroke. That is not to say that an experienced player can not use a punch stroke & get a very similiar result.

I know you are looking for a more difinitive answer but I can't give you one. Some things come down to feel & feel can only be learned through experience.

I can tell you that they are different & will yield different results given all other things being equal.

I hope this helps in some way.

Regards,
 
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predator

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Even within one game a certain shot & what one is trying to do with the cue ball can be better facilitated by a different grip.

I what you say is true, then pro players would very often change how they grip during the match. But that's not what we see.
Can you name any top players who often alter their grip configuration and/or firmness depending on certain shots? From watching literary thousands of hours of many matches I certainly can't say that I've ever noticed anything like that.
 

One Pocket John

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Two of my favorite players to watch are Xiao Ting Pan (China) and Thorsten Hohmann (Germany). They are both great shot makers and both have excellent cue ball control. However, they both seem to grip the cue very differently.

Xiao Ting Pan seems to have a very relaxed graceful grip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diYmyA05oK0

Thorsten Hohmann seems to utilize what looks like a firm death grip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq6Fe9tcoio

1. What's going on with the grips of each of these players?
2. What's the key secret Of the grip?

There really isnt any secret.

The only connection your body has with the cue ball is your hand and fingers thru the cue. These should all be adjusted to offer the greatest feel of the cue balls weight.

To illustrate, shoot a couple of racks holding the cue with only the pads of your index finger and thumb. You will quickly notice that the weight of the cue is more than enough to put the cue ball anywhere you wish.

Now, go back to your normal grip. You will notice that you are now holding and feeling the cue differently. For the better.

Hope this helps :smile:

John

Edit: I would like to add that not everyone has the same grip style. The style each of us is using offers the greatest feel. No one can teach you how to feel the ball. They can offer a good grip starting point but the rest will be up to you thru practice, and a lot of it.
In the end you will end up with your own personal grip style.
 
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FranCrimi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What is a punch stroke, and what does it make the cue ball do that a soft stroke can't?

How does a grip change what the cue ball does?

Experiment and you'll find out. That's how I found out.

A punch shot is a stun shot with force. You will find that you can hit stun shots with varying forces. A punch is with a higher level of force.
 
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FranCrimi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I what you say is true, then pro players would very often change how they grip during the match. But that's not what we see.
Can you name any top players who often alter their grip configuration and/or firmness depending on certain shots? From watching literary thousands of hours of many matches I certainly can't say that I've ever noticed anything like that.

Yes. All of them. Much of the time it's subtle. Sometimes it's obvious. But you may find that certain players who play more of one type of game than another, or those who were raised on one type of game may develop a tendency towards a particular grip because of the types of shots that often come up in that game.
 
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ENGLISH!

Banned
Silver Member
And apparently neither are you. Video Games? ARE YOU SERIOUS?

I apologise. It was late & my bad eyes were tired from playing & I missed the little word 'of'.

Please forgive me?

It just goes to show the importance of every little word.

Again my apologies.

Regards,
 
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