Thanks so much for the video, I watch part of it but it's getting a bit late now and I will pick up on it tomorrow as I have a lot of free time then. I noticed you used an open Bridge for the first part of your video and use they close Bridge a bit later. Any advice on when to use an open or closed Bridge? Or is that just a matter of preference?
I like what you said and I think it has been said in other posts, to make it the sole purpose of the practice without worrying about making balls and such. That will be my aim of what to do. Thanks!
Practice staying down without any balls on the table , make your stroke , count to 5 and get up, do that until you do it 100 times in a row. a couple hundred shots later and you will stay down
It's not easy or noone would have that problem. Don't forget to reward yourself for any improvements and keep at it. Ingraining staying down as a habit requires self discipline and time. You'll get there if you work at it. No substitute for dedication.
Very nice. You can also always break a full 9 ball rack and take away the lowest balls from the table. Always the same balls, not the difficult ones.
You know what your problem is and you have to be aware of it. If you ever start to see it happening you need to do what you do to get back on track.
Instead of "stay down after the shot and follow through," allow your body to move slightly in the direction of the stroke, straight forward and a bit down. For strokes with a lot of English, for example, it's important to commit to your line enough to move a bit with the cue stick, which may be off angle from a regular stroke.
Some very good points and appreciated. As for #4, would you suggest a higher or lower profile? I'm not sure I am understanding completely your intention here.
I personally prefer getting down lower on a shot as opposed to being more upright with my stance. Some people prefer more upright.
Not to get off topic, but my father did exhibitions for years and towards the end of his career, he had to alter his stance completely for physical reasons. Dad went from getting down on the shot, to standing damn near straight up. I wish I would have been older and asked more questions about how he managed this, as his game seemed as strong as ever. Perhaps this might cure your coming up to fast problem. Lol. Kidding of course, but I've heard that a standing posture gives you excellent shot line visuals.
That is interesting, and the fact that he shot just as well that way as getting down low. Sometimes on cut shots it is easier to see my line when I stand up a bit prior to the shot. If I am down too low I lose visual of my object ball line. Although, I think all professionals get down quite low when they shoot.
You only see the old guys do this. Or those who by physical infirmity are forced to adopt odd postures in order to keep playing the game they do so love and enjoy. I'd crawl to the table if I had to. lol.
I learned to play standing up because that's pretty much how everyone I saw play played. It wasn't until years later that I did the whole get down on the ball thing. If I'm having a really bad back day, I can still shoot just fine standing up. As long as you create a repeatable stroke, I think it makes little difference. A lot of the old time players who cut their teeth on straight pool played like that.
The BCA rule book used to feature instructional playing tips by Jerry Briesath and Richard Rhorer. I thought they were very good tips, essential fundamentals covering the stance, grip, bridge, stroke, etc. To honed these skills, it helps to find good drills that demand sound fundamentals. The drills will help develop your skills and build your confidence.