You can't talk about stance without alignment, and visa versa. All of what I'm about to write is for a right handed player and it wont be ideal for some. If you can't physically get your chin on the cue you may want to stop reading now.
First things first, the purpose of the stance is to provide stability, comfort and a repeatable way to stand when addressing the cue ball. Lets start with the feet. The feet have the biggest influence of how the hips, shoulders and head will be aligned. I personally have the feet parallel to one another, with the right foot pointing straight down the line of the shot, and the left square to this and parallel to the line of the shot. This makes the hips and shoulders very square on to the shot. Someone who has never had the feet this square will find it very uncomfortable, so it isn't for everyone. Instead, most people will benefit more from a stance that is roughly 45 degrees to the line of the shot. The right foot again is on the line of the shot (it can be pointing directly down the line, or angled out to relieve some stress from the knee and ankle) and the left foot is out in front with the foot parallel to the cue, or slightly outward facing. If you drew a line from heel to heel it would be roughly 45 degrees to where the cue is pointing. The distance between feet again depends on comfort. Start of shoulder width, and widen or shorten the gap until you find what's most comfortable. Not too close, not too far apart. Now onto the legs...the right leg should be straight and locked. Not leaning back on the heel, not leaning forward on the toes but straight up. The left leg will be bent. If its uncomfortable to play with a locked right leg then instead of bending the knee, widen the stance, but keep it locked. Playing with two bent legs is not as stable.
Now, the upper body - starting at the hips, you've placed your feet now you are ready to get down... Don't just bend tight down! This throws the head off line for most, so instead you want to turn the hips slightly to make the left shoulder closer to the table, but at the same time bend at the hips. More of a twist and bend rather than a traditional bend. This does several things: it moves the right hip out of the way of where the cue will be, distributes the weight between both feet, angles the chest outward slightly and moves the back shoulder behind the left shoulder. As you bend you need to be getting your bridge hand in place, once you do and your stick is perfectly aligned, STOP TWISTING!! Instead lower straight down nice and slow until the chest hits the cue. DONT BRING THE CUE INTO THE CHEST as this ruins your alignment. Then look att the shot with the chin just off the cue, make sure it looks right, then drop the chin onto the cue. Then stop and check everything looks ok, then start your practice strokes.
You should now have 4 points of contact with the cue: chin, chest, bridge, grip. All of these points of contact help to keep the cue on line, and five you a physical feeling of how the shot should feel, so if the cue isn't touching the chest and chin in the usual places, then you know something's wrong and can stand up and start again.
The bridge arm can be straight or bent, if you use a square stance like me, It will almost always have to be bent. The back shoulder should be directly over the cue, as should the elbow, with the forearm pointing straight down, and the grip inline with the shoulder and elbow.
Again, I can't stress enough....if you have back problems or for what ever reason can't get the chin or chest on the cue then this isn't for you. And, left handers reading this just apply and reverse everything is said. Enjoy
First things first, the purpose of the stance is to provide stability, comfort and a repeatable way to stand when addressing the cue ball. Lets start with the feet. The feet have the biggest influence of how the hips, shoulders and head will be aligned. I personally have the feet parallel to one another, with the right foot pointing straight down the line of the shot, and the left square to this and parallel to the line of the shot. This makes the hips and shoulders very square on to the shot. Someone who has never had the feet this square will find it very uncomfortable, so it isn't for everyone. Instead, most people will benefit more from a stance that is roughly 45 degrees to the line of the shot. The right foot again is on the line of the shot (it can be pointing directly down the line, or angled out to relieve some stress from the knee and ankle) and the left foot is out in front with the foot parallel to the cue, or slightly outward facing. If you drew a line from heel to heel it would be roughly 45 degrees to where the cue is pointing. The distance between feet again depends on comfort. Start of shoulder width, and widen or shorten the gap until you find what's most comfortable. Not too close, not too far apart. Now onto the legs...the right leg should be straight and locked. Not leaning back on the heel, not leaning forward on the toes but straight up. The left leg will be bent. If its uncomfortable to play with a locked right leg then instead of bending the knee, widen the stance, but keep it locked. Playing with two bent legs is not as stable.
Now, the upper body - starting at the hips, you've placed your feet now you are ready to get down... Don't just bend tight down! This throws the head off line for most, so instead you want to turn the hips slightly to make the left shoulder closer to the table, but at the same time bend at the hips. More of a twist and bend rather than a traditional bend. This does several things: it moves the right hip out of the way of where the cue will be, distributes the weight between both feet, angles the chest outward slightly and moves the back shoulder behind the left shoulder. As you bend you need to be getting your bridge hand in place, once you do and your stick is perfectly aligned, STOP TWISTING!! Instead lower straight down nice and slow until the chest hits the cue. DONT BRING THE CUE INTO THE CHEST as this ruins your alignment. Then look att the shot with the chin just off the cue, make sure it looks right, then drop the chin onto the cue. Then stop and check everything looks ok, then start your practice strokes.
You should now have 4 points of contact with the cue: chin, chest, bridge, grip. All of these points of contact help to keep the cue on line, and five you a physical feeling of how the shot should feel, so if the cue isn't touching the chest and chin in the usual places, then you know something's wrong and can stand up and start again.
The bridge arm can be straight or bent, if you use a square stance like me, It will almost always have to be bent. The back shoulder should be directly over the cue, as should the elbow, with the forearm pointing straight down, and the grip inline with the shoulder and elbow.
Again, I can't stress enough....if you have back problems or for what ever reason can't get the chin or chest on the cue then this isn't for you. And, left handers reading this just apply and reverse everything is said. Enjoy
