Bridge weight

[Darkray]

I wanted to ask anyone who's interested in chiming in how much weight they figure they put on their bridge hand when down on the shot. I'm starting to develop some acute pain in the back of my bridge rotator cuff. I play baseball and often have rotator cuff problems in my throwing arm. The pain in my bridge arm feels very similar to that except with my opposite arm (I'm right-handed). I'm guessing it's the teres minor muscle at the back of the shoulder which is the case with my throwing problems.

In my practice, I've noticed that I can achieve a great level of accuracy by putting considerable weight on the bridge hand and gliding the cue through while maintaining that weight. Almost "pushing" against the bridge for lack of a better word. This also seems to "free up" or isolate my cueing side, so that I can power the stroke if I need to.

I can take an extreme upright stance and achieve all of this without pain but I'd like to figure out how I can get down low on the shot without the pain.

The times where I'm missing straight in shots or inadvertently spinning the cue ball are the times I notice I let up on my bridge as my cueing arm comes forward.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Scott Lee]

If you're putting enough weight on your bridge hand to cause pain or injury, you're doing it wrong. You only need enough pressure on your bridge hand to allow the cuestick to swing fast, along your range of motion, without your hand moving. The stroke is about speed and timing, not grip strength and force.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

 

[BilliardsAbout]

You need more weight on the bridge hand when bridging along or over a rail or interfering ball. A firm anchor, downward.

But I heartily agree with Scott's comments, too.

 

[Darkray]

Stance

I appreciate the replies. I know it's hard to diagnose issues without seeing the problem but I don't think I really put that much weight down even when I concentrate on doing so. I'm wondering if I should be trying to make an adjustment in my stance and the overall weight that is automatically put on the bridge hand by leaning over. I've tailored my stance to be simar to Mike Sigel's- stiff legs, fairly low chin to cue, rigid bridge arm. If you've ever seen a side view of his stance his butt is behind his feet on a vertical line which to me feels like leaning back some and centering the body weight. Maybe this is the root of my problem but I've tried getting into my stance at a farther distance from the shot and leaning into it, so that I have more natural body weight forward but this doesn't seem to alleviate anything and is just uncomfortable.

 

[FranCrimi]

I appreciate the replies. I know it's hard to diagnose issues without seeing the problem but I don't think I really put that much weight down even when I concentrate on doing so. I'm wondering if I should be trying to make an adjustment in my stance and the overall weight that is automatically put on the bridge hand by leaning over. I've tailored my stance to be simar to Mike Sigel's- stiff legs, fairly low chin to cue, rigid bridge arm. If you've ever seen a side view of his stance his butt is behind his feet on a vertical line which to me feels like leaning back some and centering the body weight. Maybe this is the root of my problem but I've tried getting into my stance at a farther distance from the shot and leaning into it, so that I have more natural body weight forward but this doesn't seem to alleviate anything and is just uncomfortable.

Yep. Bingo! You're on the right track but not completely. Don't stand too far back because you will be leaning back as well.

The bottom half of the body leans back to counter the forward lean of the upper body. That puts you in balance. That whole "evenly distributed weight between both legs" thing that everyone talks about works only if you're standing perfectly upright, which of course, we don't.

The key is in how to get there. It starts with your back foot. Make sure it's not to the right of the line of the shot ---- if you're right handed. If you're left handed, make sure it's not to the left of the line. Start by planting it on the line of the shot, which is the line you want the cb to travel in.

You're very astute and I believe you'll be able to figure it out.

 

[whammo57]

wow..... you are just over thinking the game of pool.............

how about a Vulcan mind worm..... "when you shoot, do you hold your breath or do you breathe in or out???"

Kim

 

[Darkray]

Couldn't agree with you more, Whammo. I'm much more interested in playing the game by feel and not having to think about everything all the time. It's more fun that way, right? And that's the point of playing, at least for me. But what I've been thinking about a lot lately is how trying to play through pain is NOT fun. And that is my hope with a post like this, to get opinions on different things I can try from people who have a lot of experience with these issues. And hopefully find something that works for me, without any pain.

Maybe I'll try something like this...