Help with my stroke? Video analysis

[bdorman]

Here's a real challenge for the AZ experts.

I've got arthritis in my neck that limits both the up/down and side-to-side motions. As you can see in the video, it causes two main problems:

1) In my stance I have to crouch down to see the CB due to the up/down limitation. Even when crouching down, if the OB is more than 5 feet away, I can't raise my head enough to see it clearly.

2) The side-to-side limitation keeps me from lining up my dominant eye (right eye ... thank God it's not the left!) directly over the cue resulting in parallax error. I line up my shot while standing and I don't change it once I'm down on the CB because the parallax error will always make the angle look wrong -- even when it's right.

All suggestions, opinions and comments are welcome!

Here's the youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydYr6mKyVQM&feature=youtu.be

 

[ChopStick]

There used to be a one pocket player in Memphis named Jack Hunter. He played standing nearly straight up. He was well known around the mid-south pool rooms. He played well enough to give road players action when they came through. You don't have to have perfect form to develop a strong game.

 

[HueblerHustler7]

seems to me like your pocketing balls just fine so i see no problem :smile: use what ever is most comfortable for you, the only thing is i would look up some old videos of Minnesota fats, willie mosconi, and especially Willie hoppe their stances are a little more up right more old school sort of speak.

Hope this helps

 

[ceebee]

Maybe, you need to get a pair of glasses like mine. These really help me in my play. I modified these in my garage. By re-locating the lens so that I can look thru them correctly (90 degrees to the focal plane) prohibits any aberration in what I see. I.E. The balls are really round, not semi-eggs.

I had my back broke in 5 places, so I too have severe limitations with bending my neck.

The glasses are regular glasses that have been modified. The nose pieces have been bent & rotated up, so as to raise the lens up about 5/8 inch. The temples have been bent, to rotate the lens so that your view is 90 degrees to the focal plane.

I have since overly modified what you see in the pictures.

Good Luck

 

[ENGLISH!]

Hi Bob,

I feel for you. With your problem, being tall makes it even worse. So here are my $0.02 suggestions.

There are some new golf shoes now on the market that are designed to get one's feet as close to the ground as possible without being bare footed, or maybe try a water shoe of sorts. That may sound silly but every little bit helps.

When I had my eye accident, I was advise by one of the best players in La. to try playing standing a little taller. I never could do it successfully. That being said, I would suggest that you try playing with a very wide snooker style stance with both knees a bit flexed or as flexed as is comfortable. That will get your hips as low as possible. I noticed in your video & this may be part of your problem, that your forearm was not straight perpendicular to the table top or ground. Your hand was closer to your body with your elbow farther away. I think you would need to fix that.

As for your dominant right eye, the same as my injured eye & I have a neck injury as well, I feel that you must get it over your cue. In a more normal pool stance that requires a tilting at the neck relative to the body. It is less so in a snooker style stance & more naturally brings the right eye near to the cue. I small slide to the side & not a turning should get you there. I found that massage & heat helped my neck.

Finally, you play with glasses. I never could play with my corrective glasses as the frames were always in the way & distractive. I would suggest that perhaps you try the bottom framed models designed for pool & I believe firearm shooting.

Well that's my $0.02 except that I wish you well & good luck with finding something that makes playing more enjoyable for you.

Best Regards,

 

[the kidd]

Stand up

Your thinking backwards. Use an upright stance. Period. One of the great players both 3 cushion and pocket billiards used a straight up stance. Joe Procida was runner up to Hoppee in first 3 cushion title. But he had lots of wrist movement.

 

[Cornerman]

Bob - I recommend you watch a video of me shooting and then realize you're doing pretty well.

Freddie <~~~ what not to do

 

[TSW]

I second the recommendations about using an upright stance. Here's an example of Sang Lee playing with his trademark upright stance. This may be easier for you.

http://youtu.be/yS_wU1d1xsk?t=6m4s

Also you may want to post this in the Ask the Instructor sub-forum. You'll get more targeted responses that way.

 

[TATE]

Bob,

If you can wear contacts, that would go a long way toward posture issues and it should ease up your arthritis problems. There is no distortion from contacts so you can use any head position.

They're not expensive and the added benefit is more women will be throwing themselves at you whereever you go.

Chris

 

[Cdryden]

I feel your pain. I'm not quite in the same boat as you but it's probably just a matter of time. I have pretty good range of motion but my neck is getting stiffer every year and I know eventually I will face some of the same problems that you are dealing with now.

I will eventually adopt a more upright stance to accommodate the pain and lack of range of motion. But for now I am hoping that science catches up with us before I get to that point.

 

[justadub]

I second the recommendations about using an upright stance. Here's an example of Sang Lee playing with his trademark upright stance. This may be easier for you.

http://youtu.be/yS_wU1d1xsk?t=6m4s

Also you may want to post this in the Ask the Instructor sub-forum. You'll get more targeted responses that way.

A hearty second to posting it in the Ask The Instructors section.

I did one a while ago, and got a great response, along with many helpful suggestions.

 

[bdorman]

Many thanks for all the suggestions. I knew I could count on you guys.

Tomorrow I'll try an upright stance. I remember trying it a few months ago but didn't stay with it for more than a few minutes because it felt awkward. Also, I really like to hone in on my cuetip-to-cueball moment and see it clearly (since I usually can't see the OB, the cuetip-to-cueball is really all I have to look at. I'm a big fan of Johnny Archer's advice to line up your shot with your stance and once you're down on the ball to look at nothing but the CB). I'll be more persistent this time.

I'll also post the same thread in the Instructor's Forum. I just figured most of them read the main forum too.

Maybe, you need to get a pair of glasses like mine. These really help me in my play.

Finally, you play with glasses. I never could play with my corrective glasses as the frames were always in the way & distractive. I would suggest that perhaps you try the bottom framed models designed for pool & I believe firearm shooting.

If you can wear contacts, that would go a long way toward posture issues and it should ease up your arthritis problems. There is no distortion from contacts so you can use any head position.

I wear contact lenses for nearsightedness. The glasses are to correct an incorrect alignment of my left eye. My right eye looks straight forward but the left eye looks slightly down and to the right. It's very slight and never really bothered me until I started playing pool. For a couple of months I played with my left eye closed -- otherwise I'd see the OB and a faint "ghost" image of the OB right next to it. The glasses are called "prism correction" lenses and I'm hooked on them. It's great to see the pool table in stereo!

Bob - I recommend you watch a video of me shooting and then realize you're doing pretty well.

:grin: :grin: :grin:

Thanks again!

 

[CJ Wiley]

You have the opportunity to be a GREAT feel player

Here's a real challenge for the AZ experts.

I've got arthritis in my neck that limits both the up/down and side-to-side motions. As you can see in the video, it causes two main problems:

1) In my stance I have to crouch down to see the CB due to the up/down limitation. Even when crouching down, if the OB is more than 5 feet away, I can't raise my head enough to see it clearly.

2) The side-to-side limitation keeps me from lining up my dominant eye (right eye ... thank God it's not the left!) directly over the cue resulting in parallax error. I line up my shot while standing and I don't change it once I'm down on the CB because the parallax error will always make the angle look wrong -- even when it's right.

All suggestions, opinions and comments are welcome!

Here's the youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydYr6mKyVQM&feature=youtu.be

I would lean more towards a "snooker" type stance, open so you can face the cue ball directly.

I do a drill where I stand nearly upright and play for an hour or so to increase my "touch" and "feel for game". It seems when I stand more upright I reduce the visual element right away (which automatically raises my feel/touch).

The fact of the matter is you can play just as well standing more upright as long as you FEEL the connetion between the cue ball and the object ball.

When I do the drill standing nearly upright I find the best results just aiming ALL shots straight in and let my unconscious actually AIM or create the angle (I like creating instead of aiming).

On any "cut" shots (angles more than a half ball) I aim the center of the cue ball to the edge of the object ball (the one on the side you'll be hitting).

Remember, the "balance" of life is if you take away one "sense" the other ones will increase (blind will hear better, etc.). You have the opportunity to be a GREAT feel player, and I would just accept your visual challenge and build your game around your FEEL and TOUCH.

I'll tell you a secret, that's where the most pleasure/enjoyment for the Game comes from anyway. You never people talk about what great "eyes" a player has, however, you will hear them talk about a players Touch.

Technically, when you stand looking at the shot MAKE SURE you have a great look at the object ball and bend down more with your legs. I would think 2'- 3' above the cue ball (you'll need to change the angle of your left arm as well) and if I were you I would practice a few hours TODAY standing even higher. Anytime I've ever been successful making changes I found it useful to exaggerate the change. I show several of these techniques in my 'Billiards Inside Secrets' - 'The Game is the Teacher' CJ Wiley

 

[8onthebreak]

Looks great

Dude, I feel for you, I love the game and am fearfull of any physical limitations that may someday come my way. I think you've adapted great...you are a pro at shooting pool with a neck limitation-have confidence-great job adjusting

 

[JLD]

Spread your legs wider with your squatting technique. It will allow you to lower your upper body even more without having to bend your neck up(which you can't do). It might make you look like spiderman but it will help get your head where you can see your bridge and the object ball. I have a bad back and use this technique when I have problems bending over and like you I have problems adjusting to an upright stance.

 

[mortuarymike-nv]

table

raise the table. if most of your shooting is done at home .

I had back surgery my body would shake from being in pain in a normal stance. .

use what ever stance is the best for you..

best of luck
MMike

 

[West Point 1987]

Have you considered widening your stance (you should see how far apart Mike Davis spreads his feet)...? Also, when I'm having lower back problems, I try locking either of my knees (usually not both). That can radically change the angle of your back and might help, plus you might find it more comfortable than squatting with both legs. It might also help straighten your head and solve your paralax problem. Pointing your left foot at the shot makes some difference, too, not sure if it will help here, though. I'd recommend paying more attention to your feet, experiment with it...you'd be surprised how much difference it can make.

Unfortunately, it looks like the days of rubbing your chin with the cue are over...:frown: But as it's been said here, some of the best of all times played standing straight up over the shot. I had a bad, chronic crick in my neck last year that lasted months...it was very tough, I feel for you. Best of luck!

 

[genomachino]

Your dominant eye holds the secret you are looking for.....

Here's a real challenge for the AZ experts.

I've got arthritis in my neck that limits both the up/down and side-to-side motions. As you can see in the video, it causes two main problems:

1) In my stance I have to crouch down to see the CB due to the up/down limitation. Even when crouching down, if the OB is more than 5 feet away, I can't raise my head enough to see it clearly.

2) The side-to-side limitation keeps me from lining up my dominant eye (right eye ... thank God it's not the left!) directly over the cue resulting in parallax error. I line up my shot while standing and I don't change it once I'm down on the CB because the parallax error will always make the angle look wrong -- even when it's right.

All suggestions, opinions and comments are welcome!

Here's the youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydYr6mKyVQM&feature=youtu.be

Hi there, Your dominant eye holds the key here.

In the preshot keep the cue ball lined up with your perifial vision. Only look at the cue ball on the way down. This will keep your dominant eye in the right position naturally. It will also tell you how low too low is.

This will help you decide how high up you need to stay to feel comfortable.

I teach and preach this to everyone in my Perfect Aim lesson.

We all have physical handicaps that hinder our approach and stance.

I'm a walking disaster. Women have stuff in the way that Us guys don't.

Some people are to heavy, tall or short.

When we have the dominant eye in the correct position in the preshot and look at the object ball only on the way down it will tell you where the rest of your body needs to be for you to be in a comfortable position.

Nobody on the planet can tell you where you need to be except for the obvious, that higher should help.

Your dominant eye will tell you if you know how to work it.

Give me a call and I'll help you with this while your at the table.
I will help you find your best position by helping you find it for yourself.

Just give me a call 715-563-8712.

The answers are all within yourself...Looking forward to your call.....

I'm pretty busy with lessons right now but this won't take long. If I'm doing a lesson when you call I will call you back right away when I'm done.