What are your methods for staying balanced and comfortable for most every shot? I have been having a problem with muscle strain whenever I go down in position to shoot. When I stand erect, before I go down, I make sure my two feet are balanced, and I feel just fine,but when I bend over on the shot, everything seems to fall apart. I feel strain in my legs, my left hip (I am right handed), and my stroke feels inconsistent and unstable. When I execute my shot, my body jerks and moves, and I have trouble aiming. I have tried many different methods of foot placement, etc, but nothing seems to help. Is there one key thing I am missing here?
Balance and Stroke
- Thread starter LastTwo
- Start date
Purdman
Banned
It is not one thing Last two. It sounds like you need to work on all your mechanics. Stance, Grip, Bridge, and your Stroke. Maybe you have a physical problem which makes it uncomfortable to lean over. Perhaps you should try some streaching exercises. Do you practice before you play?
Don
Don
Actually I am in a slump, I play pretty good when I am in stroke (not bragging). I've been shooting bad for about a month, I don't think I've had any physical changes recently that could affect my game. I think I am just forgetting to do something which is preventing me from being balanced and comfortable. I'm looking for pre shot routines that make sure you are balanced and comfortable when you lean over.
Compared to most players on this forum, I'd be in the amateur amateur class, hehe... but i'm able to win a couple of the local comps in pubs around here occasionally..
When I watch players in these comps, most of them set themselves, stay down and aim, adjusting their bridge or cue angle to fit with the angle of the shot while in their stance...
But with me, and the reason why I feel I have such a solid stance and feel comfortable at the table, is I walk to the table in line with the next stroke...judge the necessary aspects of the shot (angle, hit on CB, strength.etc), THEN i set myself and get down.. If there is doubt in my mind ( incorrect angle etc etc), i stand up, take a step back, reassess, adjust accordingly, and then walk to the table and repeat..
When I watch players in these comps, most of them set themselves, stay down and aim, adjusting their bridge or cue angle to fit with the angle of the shot while in their stance...
But with me, and the reason why I feel I have such a solid stance and feel comfortable at the table, is I walk to the table in line with the next stroke...judge the necessary aspects of the shot (angle, hit on CB, strength.etc), THEN i set myself and get down.. If there is doubt in my mind ( incorrect angle etc etc), i stand up, take a step back, reassess, adjust accordingly, and then walk to the table and repeat..
For what it is worth, balance is very critical. Consider that when you play well everyithing falls in line, but if your balance is off then consistency will escape you. This is common when adressing shots that are not out in the open; like shooting off the rail or over another ball. With the need for a straight stroke, if the feet are properly positioned then a player will adjust their arm swing; crossing the ball is a common term.
The idea might be to simply roll a striped ball down the table a couple hundred times, where the stripe does not wobble. My feeling is that if you do this, your feet will find a more relaxed position and your stance discomforts will go away. What I do is aim with my feet, with my eyes focused on the targets (both object-ball and cue-ball) then feel the cue motion for the desired result.
The idea might be to simply roll a striped ball down the table a couple hundred times, where the stripe does not wobble. My feeling is that if you do this, your feet will find a more relaxed position and your stance discomforts will go away. What I do is aim with my feet, with my eyes focused on the targets (both object-ball and cue-ball) then feel the cue motion for the desired result.
If an injury is slow in developing, your body may not alert you that something is wrong if it is given time to adjust to it. In short, you can have a bad back and not know about it for a while. While I hope that is not your case, it is still a possibility. I have seen some player that kind of 'squat down' at the table more than bend over. This may be because of their height, I don'tw know, but you can try that nd se how it works.
Yes, it's called bruises.Donald A. Purdy said:
When I go on a slump, I always blame my head.
Running out is an attitude imo.
You get what you put on every shot.
Kinda funny, when I head out to the pool hall with a positive attitude, I do well most of the time.
But, when I see myself not shooting straight, I try to find out why asap.
LastTwo said:
I was in a pretty bad slump for a while until one of the local players took pity on me and helped me with my setup. In a nutshell, this is what my setup procedure is:
1. pick the line for my shot and get my back foot in line.
2. grip cue lightly, without using my thumb (to eliminate twisting my wrist)
3. step into the shot, placing cue into bridge hand and hand onto table.
4. weight should be about 50/50 on your feet, maybe a little more on the front foot.
If I'm not comfortable, I stand up and start over.
What was screwing me up the most was that somewhere along the line I had started lining up my shot from too close, and stepping back with my back foot. That brought my hand too close into my hip on the follow-through and screwed everything up.
S
Sputnik
Guest
LastTwo said:
I think the problem arises in your finding your balance before you go down on your shot. Find it while you are down. The strain in your left hip tells me that your right leg must move further back, and your left leg should bend a little more.
Stay a huge step away from the table, bow, and make one huge step forward with your left foot while bent down. Then Find your balance. I see some people slide their feet (as if killing a cigarette) into position. At first, this will strain your left thigh muscle above the knee, but hey, let pool be an excercise.
Your jerking body tells me that you are holding your cue the wrong way. Grip hand near your belt, thumb pointing to the floor, and limit swing movement only from elbow, down to the hand. Shoulder to arm should not move. Like golf, do not swing hard.
Hope it helps.
K
King Cueball
Guest
Im not sure there is a correct way to stand. If you go to a pool hall you will see that hardly 2 people stand the same way. As for myself i stand with my legs just far apart so that i feel comfortable. I hear you about slumps!!! Ive had more than enough of them. When i tryto get out of one, I check my grip my stance make sure im keeping my head still, and i check to see that i am following thru.