Elbow drop

skipbales

skipbales

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have watched a lot of professional tournament videos lately, looking for a professional player who uses a pendulum stroke with no elbow drop. Some drop the elbow less than others but they all seem to drop the elbow. Is there a professional player who uses the pendulum stroke as it is popularly taught with no elbow drop?

I am looking for a player who's stroke I can emulate. So far I like Tyler Styer's stroke the best. It is such a slow controlled back stroke and gradual forward stroke it seems to me to be kind of the ideal. It is very smooth but also controlled. Efren's is smooth but pure feel and not an easy stroke to develop. I also like Neils but he has a prolonged pause and I think I just like the smooth back, transition then smooth forward with no pause.
 
Among snooker players, Neil Robertson has the most pinned elbow. Ronnie has a lot of drop.

I think most pool players have two kinds of stroke. On soft shots the elbow does not move. On power shots the elbow drops.
 
skipbales said:
I have watched a lot of professional tournament videos lately, looking for a professional player who uses a pendulum stroke with no elbow drop. Some drop the elbow less than others but they all seem to drop the elbow. Is there a professional player who uses the pendulum stroke as it is popularly taught with no elbow drop?

I am looking for a player who's stroke I can emulate. So far I like Tyler Styer's stroke the best. It is such a slow controlled back stroke and gradual forward stroke it seems to me to be kind of the ideal. It is very smooth but also controlled. Efren's is smooth but pure feel and not an easy stroke to develop. I also like Neils but he has a prolonged pause and I think I just like the smooth back, transition then smooth forward with no pause.
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check out hunter lumbardo
 
Bob Jewett said:
Among snooker players, Neil Robertson has the most pinned elbow. Ronnie has a lot of drop.

I think most pool players have two kinds of stroke. On soft shots the elbow does not move. On power shots the elbow drops.
Click to expand...
Does the elbow mostly drop after contact - just leftover momentum? Or is it part of the power?

pj
chgo
 
skipbales said:
I have watched a lot of professional tournament videos lately, looking for a professional player who uses a pendulum stroke with no elbow drop. Some drop the elbow less than others but they all seem to drop the elbow. Is there a professional player who uses the pendulum stroke as it is popularly taught with no elbow drop?

I am looking for a player who's stroke I can emulate. So far I like Tyler Styer's stroke the best. It is such a slow controlled back stroke and gradual forward stroke it seems to me to be kind of the ideal. It is very smooth but also controlled. Efren's is smooth but pure feel and not an easy stroke to develop. I also like Neils but he has a prolonged pause and I think I just like the smooth back, transition then smooth forward with no pause.
Click to expand...
Don't pass over the pause at the back of the swing as simply personal preference. You may not have seen my recent posts working with a laser for perfecting the alignment, but this has helped me narrow down some of the things that cause a stroke to go off line. I'm still playing around with the pause, but I'm finding benefit to a deliberate but short pause. Let me 'splain: Keeping the tip on the line of the shot throughout the stroke would assure that the stroke is executed as intended (assuming also that the alignment is correct). I can run a rack of balls while looking at nothing but the cue tip from start to finish (after the initial alignment, of course). I find that my arm builds up a small amount of tension while drawing the cue back, even if it had none before the start of the stroke. When I pause I can feel that tension dissipate and now I know I can start forward smoothly. It appears that, for me, my misses occur because the tip gets thrown off line (by an amount not necessarily visible) at the beginning of the forward stroke. I believe the pause helps me keep the tip in the right place. It is no secret, of course, that the transition is very important. For me, it was strongly reinforced after I started shooting while looking at the tip/ferrule only as an exercise.

Bottom line, get yourself in a quiet place where you can concentrate on the tension in your arm and give some consideration to the pause idea.
 
skipbales said:
I have watched a lot of professional tournament videos lately, looking for a professional player who uses a pendulum stroke with no elbow drop. Some drop the elbow less than others but they all seem to drop the elbow. Is there a professional player who uses the pendulum stroke as it is popularly taught with no elbow drop?

I am looking for a player who's stroke I can emulate. So far I like Tyler Styer's stroke the best. It is such a slow controlled back stroke and gradual forward stroke it seems to me to be kind of the ideal. It is very smooth but also controlled. Efren's is smooth but pure feel and not an easy stroke to develop. I also like Neils but he has a prolonged pause and I think I just like the smooth back, transition then smooth forward with no pause.
Click to expand...
John Mora has a great pendulum stroke, they call him MR SMOOTH for nothing.
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
And the Pendulum Stroke is the Snooker Stroke.........correct?
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I may be wrong, but I think of the "snooker stroke" as trying to keep the cue level throughout the back stroke and forward stroke, by lifting and dropping the elbow during every stroke (a "piston" stroke). Pretty much the opposite of a pendulum stroke.

pj
chgo
 
Patrick Johnson said:
I may be wrong, but I think of the "snooker stroke" as trying to keep the cue level throughout the back stroke and forward stroke, by lifting and dropping the elbow during every stroke (a "piston" stroke). Pretty much the opposite of a pendulum stroke.

pj
chgo
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The "standard" snooker stroke is the one promoted by Joe Davis, who was the world champion 15 times over a 20-year span. For him that included five contact points to control the cue stick. Besides the bridge hand and the grip hand, he also had contact at his chin, his tie, and his chest. It is hard to do anything far from a piston stroke if you keep in contact with those points.

Neil Robertson is a pretty good example, although he does have some drop after contact as the cue stick moves away from his chin. If you watch closely, he elbow drops some during the back stroke.
 
Bob Jewett said:
The "standard" snooker stroke is the one promoted by Joe Davis, who was the world champion 15 times over a 20-year span. For him that included five contact points to control the cue stick. Besides the bridge hand and the grip hand, he also had contact at his chin, his tie, and his chest. It is hard to do anything far from a piston stroke if you keep in contact with those points.

Neil Robertson is a pretty good example, although he does have some drop after contact as the cue stick moves away from his chin. If you watch closely, he elbow drops some during the back stroke.
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Bob,
I saw no elbow drop. Can you pinpoint the exact second where you feel he drops the elbow? I mean more than about 1/2 inch.

To me this is the snooker stroke. And the snooker stroke is 95% the same as that pendulum stroke those pbia/spf instructors teach. I prefer to go with what one of if not the greatest all around cueist of all time told me about this issue. That being........."You dont want to shoot like that. Thats the snooker stroke. You arent playing snooker, you are playing American Pool......."

r/DCP
 
skipbales said:
I have watched a lot of professional tournament videos lately, looking for a professional player who uses a pendulum stroke with no elbow drop. Some drop the elbow less than others but they all seem to drop the elbow. Is there a professional player who uses the pendulum stroke as it is popularly taught with no elbow drop?

I am looking for a player who's stroke I can emulate. So far I like Tyler Styer's stroke the best. It is such a slow controlled back stroke and gradual forward stroke it seems to me to be kind of the ideal. It is very smooth but also controlled. Efren's is smooth but pure feel and not an easy stroke to develop. I also like Neils but he has a prolonged pause and I think I just like the smooth back, transition then smooth forward with no pause.
Click to expand...
I talked to Tyler Styer at the DCC this last year about his elbow drop. He said that was one of the most important techniques he was taught by Johan Resnik (US Mosconi Cup coach) to improve his game. It is a more relaxing stroke for a long tournament and the elbow drop is AFTER the tip contacts the cue ball.
 
Tennesseejoe said:
I talked to Tyler Styer at the DCC this last year about his elbow drop. He said that was one of the most important techniques he was taught by Johan Resnik (US Mosconi Cup coach) to improve his game. It is a more relaxing stroke for a long tournament and the elbow drop is AFTER the tip contacts the cue ball.
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Does he drop his elbow on soft, rolling shots?
 
The elbow can be dropped either before or after contact. Both have meaning, but before contact is especially meaningful, IMO. As to why, it increases the chance of a level cue at impact, and if done correctly assures a level cue at impact. With the so-called pendulum stroke, you have one point and one chance for the cue to be level at impact. With most players, it's not level at impact with a pendulum stroke. You can tell when the cb leaves the tip and the cue is already angled down.
 
Bob Jewett said:
Does he drop his elbow on soft, rolling shots?
Click to expand...
We did not specifically discuss that, however the reason he drops his elbow is to take stress off his arm while playing long sessions...he demonstrated this and it seemed like it was for shots with more speed.
 
I'd like to see a video of someone shooting that says they drop their elbow after - AFTER - contact. I'm not saying it doesnt happen but every time I hear people talk about dropping the elbow after contact its obvious thats not whats happening.
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
I'd like to see a video of someone shooting that says they drop their elbow after - AFTER - contact. I'm not saying it doesnt happen but every time I hear people talk about dropping the elbow after contact its obvious thats not whats happening.
Click to expand...
How is it obvious?

pj
chgo
 
Its obvious because if you watch real close you can see the elbow drop BEFORE they make contact.

I am anxious to see a video of someone who drops their elbow only after - AFTER - contact.
 
Jasmin ouschan. Watch her practice videos. When she drops her elbow, it seems very purposeful and seems to be after contact. Look at the intro of her Tablestories series.
I love watching her play.
 
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