I have studied most popular instruction on stance and am torn between two concepts. I would love to hear everyone's input, both the instructors for their knowledge and players for their personal experience.
The one thing they all agree on is the stick has to be on the shooting line. It is how you get there and the trade off between comfort and clearance with head alignment and eye positioning.
Concept one. There is a proper alignment to get the eyes over the stick facing down the target and create clearance and a natural stroke. Most instructors teach a single way to achieve this by foot position. CJ talks about the perfect aiming position would be square to the ball shooting directly out of the center of your body. He teaches a method of stepping into the shot designed to get the head square to the target so both eyes work together and you are looking straight down the cue with a square front facing look. I like this concept as it seems very logical. I struggle with it in that I get in my own way a lot. I don't ever have the easy clearance and swing I am looking for. No question this can work. I am just not sure it is the best answer for me. All of the other instructors except one also teach a "right way" to develop a stance. Their concepts and methods vary but the result is one way is the only best way. I like the head position this creates but never have the clearance or comfort I would like.
Concept two. Bert Kinister takes a completely different approach. He believes the stance can vary very widely based on individual body configuration. Instead of a fixed method to place the feet and so forth he does it this way. You hold the stick at the balance point in our right hand (for lefties it is the left hand). You let it hang naturally at your side. You approach the table as if you were going to shoot one handed and position your body so the stick is on the shot line and the stick naturally swings back and forth on that line. You set your distances, slide the stick to the two handed position and bend into the shot. This method is much easier for me. It gives me great clearance and total comfort and balance but is a much more "sideways" stance. My eyes are not square to the shot. My left eye is closer to the ball then my right. I am looking straight down the stick but it is a sideways look, not a two eyes square look. I could not turn my head far enough to the left to square up my eyes with my body so sideways to the shot. I think this is where all the discussion about dominant eye comes in. My left eye is dominant and is also the lead eye here but I am losing that synchronized two eye view in favor of clearance and comfort. I have played with a more sideways stance all my life and my eyes "seem" to be able to adapt to the view and aim correctly, however they do it. Learning to use the square eyes front approach was new and difficult to master but I am pretty good at it now. I "think" I can aim well either way but don't want to stay with a setup that will limit me in the future.
At this point comfort and clearance are winning out but I would like to hear your comments. Aren't there some professional players who use a more sideways stance? And what about Niels Fiejen who only has one eye. How important is a square front facing stance vs. the comfort and clearance I get from the more sideways stance?
All comments are always appreciated. Thanks guys (and gals).:smile:
The one thing they all agree on is the stick has to be on the shooting line. It is how you get there and the trade off between comfort and clearance with head alignment and eye positioning.
Concept one. There is a proper alignment to get the eyes over the stick facing down the target and create clearance and a natural stroke. Most instructors teach a single way to achieve this by foot position. CJ talks about the perfect aiming position would be square to the ball shooting directly out of the center of your body. He teaches a method of stepping into the shot designed to get the head square to the target so both eyes work together and you are looking straight down the cue with a square front facing look. I like this concept as it seems very logical. I struggle with it in that I get in my own way a lot. I don't ever have the easy clearance and swing I am looking for. No question this can work. I am just not sure it is the best answer for me. All of the other instructors except one also teach a "right way" to develop a stance. Their concepts and methods vary but the result is one way is the only best way. I like the head position this creates but never have the clearance or comfort I would like.
Concept two. Bert Kinister takes a completely different approach. He believes the stance can vary very widely based on individual body configuration. Instead of a fixed method to place the feet and so forth he does it this way. You hold the stick at the balance point in our right hand (for lefties it is the left hand). You let it hang naturally at your side. You approach the table as if you were going to shoot one handed and position your body so the stick is on the shot line and the stick naturally swings back and forth on that line. You set your distances, slide the stick to the two handed position and bend into the shot. This method is much easier for me. It gives me great clearance and total comfort and balance but is a much more "sideways" stance. My eyes are not square to the shot. My left eye is closer to the ball then my right. I am looking straight down the stick but it is a sideways look, not a two eyes square look. I could not turn my head far enough to the left to square up my eyes with my body so sideways to the shot. I think this is where all the discussion about dominant eye comes in. My left eye is dominant and is also the lead eye here but I am losing that synchronized two eye view in favor of clearance and comfort. I have played with a more sideways stance all my life and my eyes "seem" to be able to adapt to the view and aim correctly, however they do it. Learning to use the square eyes front approach was new and difficult to master but I am pretty good at it now. I "think" I can aim well either way but don't want to stay with a setup that will limit me in the future.
At this point comfort and clearance are winning out but I would like to hear your comments. Aren't there some professional players who use a more sideways stance? And what about Niels Fiejen who only has one eye. How important is a square front facing stance vs. the comfort and clearance I get from the more sideways stance?
All comments are always appreciated. Thanks guys (and gals).:smile: