Break Theatrics

Flakeandrun

Flakeandrun

Well-known member
You watch Heyball or Duya, and you see some real empathetic body movements going into the break. I guess WPA 9ball can be added alongside those two, as a game where the ballet leg and upward thrust come into it.

There are a handful of Chinese 8ball players with a break that is solid, powerful and controlled. Top guys, who are consistent, solid breakers with minimal effort. The rest all opting for this bobbing jackhammer silliness.

I barely move at all, just get the cue through the ball in a solid stance, staying low for as long as possible, and I can get the speed into the mid-20mph (27mph according to predator APP).

Playing here in China, everyone goes whole hog into this breaking style (I see a couple of American Instagram people jumping all over the place too). What is with all the movement? It doesn't seem to add power, it loses control. Why do it?
 
Flakeandrun said:
What is with all the movement? It doesn't seem to add power, it loses control. Why do it?
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You should ask Jeffrey De Luna or Roberto Gomez why they use such useless technique. Or maybe Thorsten Hohmann or Johnny Archer who both won world 9ball championships twice. Of course it adds a lot of power to the break,the fact you cant use it without losing control doesnt mean they cant😎
 
I am talking about countless players I see - often recreational players who want to emulate it... I don't fancy getting a tooth knocked out with a ball lol
But actually, these top heyball guys, and even De Luna, don't always have control over it. De Luna has showcased that for a fact in his recent games.

I would use it if it added anything, but it takes more away than it adds. I am not talking about De Luna, or Gomez specifically anyway. So, I am not saying it is completely useless for these skilled players, because they must see logic to it (I can't - maybe they get paid sponsor money for the 'style' points). I want to know what that logic is.

Plenty of great players don't do that, and out perform them by miles. Did De Luna's breaking this way serve him lately? No. Looks cool, but... tied him up countless times in recent events

It doesn't really add anything in Heyball, MR 9ball, WPA 9ball or 10ball breaking...

Just watching a bit of the Heyball, and there's some awful mess after the break, with a lot of players adopting this style of just beating the hell out of it. No surprise, the players I've seen doing well have more control over their break.
 
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On fresh conditions the break shouldn't require any more force than than you'd get from a casual swing with any 21 ish cue. I use a standup stroke and take a full arm swing at it. Barely have to grip the cue. You'd have to practice feigning the effort. I think with the opposition and/or ref racking, your pet trick break might be unreliable.
 
I adjust speed and tip position for the CB based on what I learn about the table from break one. I have a break in each format that works. Not one of them involves lifting my arm up somewhere by my head and jumping around in the air.
straightline said:
I think with the opposition and/or ref racking, your pet trick break might be unreliable.
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Most people is winner racks here, tournament play is usually referee (or winner racks). Always using a template - except for 8ball
 
I prefer that - rack your own. I don't even have a high make percentage - till batter than letting an unknown quantity set that shot up for you.
 
straightline said:
I prefer that - rack your own. I don't even have a high make percentage - till batter than letting an unknown quantity set that shot up for you.
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👍 It's better to rack your own, and let another have a look at it, then it is to have someone else rack and you get the look.

I get a ball in all formats a high percentage of the time - MR/one ball, WPA/wing and one ball, 8 and 10 ball/2nd row balls in the middle

None of these are getting hit with Thor's hammer... None of them require me to dance the funky chicken...
 
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There was some discussion of the fastest break many years ago on this forum. One of the most esteemed members chased the rabbit trying to increase his break speed, while maintaining control of course. What he found was that the more body parts he could get into the break the faster it got. Just the way things work, all of these movements had a certain amount of follow through. A lot of motion in his break but it wouldn't be accurate to call it wasted motion.

I had a decent power break long ago. On a bar table in particular I could hurt my ears and make the people in the areas around me start complaining about the noise. I had a break just a little softer that didn't hurt my ears or possibly risk muscle or joint damage and was more effective. The higher speed break kept all balls in motion longer increasing the odds of one going randomly into a pocket, the softer break made balls in the same pockets pretty consistently.

When I came back to pool when I tried to break really hard one leg would kick up. Nothing intentional. I didn't like it so I made a point of changing my break so it didn't.

I heard tell of a martial artist that might have had the fastest break in pool. One handed jacked up so he could swing his arm freely and he hit the cue ball with deadly accuracy. A top pitcher might be able to break at close to fifty miles an hour if they could figure out how to get the speed into the pool cue. A friend trying out for the Houston Astros pitched a ball through the traps at 99.8MPH three times in a row back in the early eighties.

Especially with the template racks it is obvious a consistent controlled break is worth more than getting the last couple miles an hour out of a break cue which incidentally is usually lighter than a playing cue and has a harder tip. These things are generally worth a few miles and hour. More importantly you don't put wear and tear on your playing cue and tip breaking.

Never had a break cue myself. I just grabbed something off the wall.

Hu
 
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