Bent knee stance vs Stiff leg stance

Bend the knees. Don't lock......

jaybanthony said:
Someone told me this weekend that when you bend your knees in your stance you lose power in your stroke arm. Has anyone ever heard of this?

Earl shoots from a bent position with both knees bent, He has plenty of power in his stroke which makes me wonder...............does he really have a valid point?


I'd appreciate some feedback.
Click to expand...

Hi there,

If you lock your knees you better hope that every table that you play on is the same height.

If the table is a little lower then you have to bend more therefor your whole torso is a little different. You might have to bend your neck up a little more to see the shots.

I played in a tourny in Vegas where the finals were in a room that had a floor drain. The room was carpeted so the drains were covered. The tables were 2 inches higher on one side than the other. this was a team tourny.

Both teams played terrible. I never missed a ball. I bend the knees for the height had no bearing on my stroke or stance. By adjusting with the knees everything else stays the same.

I feel bad for some guys that are 6' tall and lock the knees. Kind of reminds me of a giraffe trying to get down and drink some water. Looks pretty ackward.

Anyway. Try bending the knees a little. Then imagine the tables being different heights and you can see that by just bending the knees to make up for the height everything will stay the same.

This is why some players just don't play well at certain places. The tables are a little lower or higher than they are used to. If they lock the knees this can be very difficult to overcome unless you bend at the knees.

Have a great day geno............
 
jaybanthony said:
someone told me this weekend that when you bend your knees in your stance you lose power in your stroke arm. Has anyone ever heard of this?

Earl shoots from a bent position with both knees bent, he has plenty of power in his stroke which makes me wonder...............does he really have a valid point?


I'd appreciate some feedback.
Click to expand...
whatever makes you feel good.
 
genomachino said:
Hi there,

If you lock your knees you better hope that every table that you play on is the same height.

If the table is a little lower then you have to bend more therefor your whole torso is a little different. You might have to bend your neck up a little more to see the shots.

I played in a tourny in Vegas where the finals were in a room that had a floor drain. The room was carpeted so the drains were covered. The tables were 2 inches higher on one side than the other. this was a team tourny.

Both teams played terrible. I never missed a ball. I bend the knees for the height had no bearing on my stroke or stance. By adjusting with the knees everything else stays the same.

I feel bad for some guys that are 6' tall and lock the knees. Kind of reminds me of a giraffe trying to get down and drink some water. Looks pretty ackward.

Anyway. Try bending the knees a little. Then imagine the tables being different heights and you can see that by just bending the knees to make up for the height everything will stay the same.

This is why some players just don't play well at certain places. The tables are a little lower or higher than they are used to. If they lock the knees this can be very difficult to overcome unless you bend at the knees.

Have a great day geno............
Click to expand...

Thank you! I will definitely take that into account.:thumbup:
 
I have no problem playing both ways but I prefer bent knees. But sometimes after playing for a number hours I would go to the locked knees because it was easier on the leg muscles and allowed me to play longer sessions.

With the bent knees I could go for about ten or fourteen hours and with locked knees I could go for maybe twenty or more. Breaking the balls was always with bent knees.
 
dabarbr said:
I have no problem playing both ways but I prefer bent knees. But sometimes after playing for a number hours I would go to the locked knees because it was easier on the leg muscles and allowed me to play longer sessions.

With the bent knees I could go for about ten or fourteen hours and with locked knees I could go for maybe twenty or more. Breaking the balls was always with bent knees.
Click to expand...

20 hrs!......you're a Beast!
 
It shouldnt make any difference either way. Your not 'trying' to get power from your legs in pool, at least you shouldn't be.

So whatever stance is the most repeatable, stable and facilitates the most unrestricted arm swing is the one that should be used.
 
I think either bent or straight is good as long as your stance is solid and doesn't allow movement of your hips or legs while stroking.It seams like movement could allow more power or decrease power depending on what direction you are moving on your stroke but movement in the lower body is bad because it causes misalignment of the upper body.

I think to use a stance where both knees are bent you need to have strong legs with good stamina or you could lose your good form during long sessions.
 
Geno is right on the money with his observations on table height and effect on play.

Having said that.

I feel the straight back leg helps to stabilize the body and promotes foreword movement.
The stance should help gravity to take over.
In other words you don’t want muscle tension anywhere.
2 bent knees induce muscle tension.
 
Wolven said:
Geno is right on the money with his observations on table height and effect on play.

Having said that.

I feel the straight back leg helps to stabilize the body and promotes foreword movement.
The stance should help gravity to take over.
In other words you don’t want muscle tension anywhere.
2 bent knees induce muscle tension.
Click to expand...

"2 bent knees induce muscle tension"
...........................................................................


I don't think so - if anything they would tend to reduce it.

Do you have any factual support do you have for the above ststement?

Dale
 
pdcue said:
"2 bent knees induce muscle tension"
...........................................................................


I don't think so - if anything they would tend to reduce it.

Do you have any factual support do you have for the above ststement?

Dale
Click to expand...

I just got up from my desk and bent my knees.
Feels like a strain but I'm out of shape these days. :)
 
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pdcue said:
Repeat, but this time go to a pool table and take a shooting stance,
then report back.

Dale
Click to expand...

My desk is the same height as the table. Unless, you think that holding a cue in hand will take away the pain through counterbalancing effect.

In semi-unrelated matter.
Some guys cannot stop their cue and are always in motion.
I have witness this before:
a well-meaning instructor starts teaching the guy to stop and tells him to concentrate more.
Well, if the guy didn’t hike up his shoulder and induced the tension he wouldn’t have to learn to stop………

The muscles do get tired having to hold up anything.

****Don’t underestimate gravity****
 
I played all weekend and realized that instinctively i've been using both stances during the game. I guess that explains why I don't get tired as much.
 
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