How do you apply sidespin?
- Thread starter JMW
- Start date
I have always used parallel english, but have recently been reading about backhand en
Well, I have always used the parallel method, but I have been reading up on the backhand english (BHE)
here, and have only played around a little with it so far. It just seems so different and uncomfortable for
me, I might not pursue it. I recently started using a shaft that deflects more than my previous one,
and noticed with a firm stroke, and 1 tip of english, the cue ball would go off the line about a half ball
width over 3/4 table length. I have drawn a chalk line on a table, to try and better determine exactly
where the cue ball is going. I tried briefly to figure out the pivot point for this shaft, which is tough, but a
couple times I was very amazed that using BHE and 1 tip of english, the darn cue ball went right down the
line! Again, it did not "feel" correct stroking off the intended path, and I do not know if I could ever get
used to it, even if I marked the pivot point on the shaft.
Well, I have always used the parallel method, but I have been reading up on the backhand english (BHE)
here, and have only played around a little with it so far. It just seems so different and uncomfortable for
me, I might not pursue it. I recently started using a shaft that deflects more than my previous one,
and noticed with a firm stroke, and 1 tip of english, the cue ball would go off the line about a half ball
width over 3/4 table length. I have drawn a chalk line on a table, to try and better determine exactly
where the cue ball is going. I tried briefly to figure out the pivot point for this shaft, which is tough, but a
couple times I was very amazed that using BHE and 1 tip of english, the darn cue ball went right down the
line! Again, it did not "feel" correct stroking off the intended path, and I do not know if I could ever get
used to it, even if I marked the pivot point on the shaft.
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I call this "aim and swoop." This contrasts with "aim and pivot" which also starts with centerball aiming but then you pivot over and take some straight strokes along the new line and then come through straight. They work by the same principle. That principle appeared in print in 1839, 168 years ago, in Edwin Kentfield's "Billiards," one of the first books to be only about billiards.Luxury said:
My opinion is that anyone who tries to use "aim and swoop" to compensate for squirt is doomed to mediocrity, unless they play 12 hours a day.
Bob Jewett said:
This whole thread go me thinking. I measured my set up for english for the first time just now and realized that my back hand (butt line of the cue) stays in the exact same position as a center shot, but my bridge hand moves over a little bit. Since I do this as I'm aligning and getting down into position, I had no idea. So it's not parallel, but at an angle, and it's definitely different than the back hand technique.
Chris
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I really like setting up with the bridge hand in the center vertical line of the cue, aim and apply the english on the last stroke on all hard and firm strokes(most important is on that last stroke you follow straight through with the applied english and not to swerve). But on soft stroke I use the parallel line to allow for the masse of that stroke.
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> I chose a combination,but for different reasons than consciously trying to compensate for deflection,squirt,or throw. I use different delivery techniques than most people will even notice,depending on what I'm trying to do with the cue ball. For example,using a specific wrist technique I noticed Jim Rempe using and heard him describing on a Meucci instructional video makes it easier for me to use low,inside spin to kill the cue ball when coming 2 rails out of the corner. A firmer grip and using a stroke that is more of a deliberate hand action than a loose throwing motion makes it easier for me to do other things. Taking a parallel line from the center-ball aiming point and DRIVING the spin into the shot also works well for other things. I've also thought at times that maybe the things I do are actually using cue ball deflection and squirt to my advantage,instead of trying to eliminate them or bemoaning their existance. On the other hand,I've also been convinced at times that as long as you take your stroke exactly as you planned,with the correct speed and spin combination or lack therof,even IF the cue ball is deflected it's going to come right back to where you intended. I could also be wrong,and inadvertently holding myself back,or is it that I haven't had a chance to hit balls anywhere but a bar for 6 weeks? Tommy D.
Does anyone really aim "parallel"? Even if I were to try to apply English using parallel lines, feel would dictate that I adjust some (call it "adjusting for throw/squirt/deflection/whatever" - the point is, I'm down on the ball and I can tell it isn't going in unless I adjust) and, at that point, my cue would no longer be perfectly parallel to the target line. So, with that said, I think that we all use some form or another of BHE. Maybe not in the sense that you aim center then either swerve or pivot but, in the end, your cue isn't exactly parallel to the target line if you're using much side English. Or is it? I know mine isn't and I don't think I could make a ball if I tried to force it to be.
Jimmy M. said:
What you've said illustrates perfectly why a good instructor will constantly advise you to 1) Decide how you're going to shoot the shot BEFORE you get down in your stance. This way, your body and stroke and aligned with the point that you have compensated for; and 2) if you detect that you are not lined up where you want to be, don't wiggle around and adjust in you stance but get up and reset. It is impossible to overstate how much these two changes will improve a pool player's game.
I vote perpendicular to the vertical axis... level cue with however much compensation for deflection I need. Parallel to the surface of the table
I use mostly center ball and parallel English and simply compensate for the deflection of the CB on its way to the OB by adjusting the aim point on the OB. I eliminated the need to parallel English ghost ball aim by using one to two tips of English aimed off the OB outer edge contact point. Its what works for myself.
How did you find a 16yr old thread? Might be a new record.
Hold my beer
I think we've come a long way since the descriptions in this thread from 2007. I hope so, anyway
Interesting survey. I’m guessing a lot of players don’t even know how they do it. I used to think I did a parallel shift but I have more recently come to realize I do a backhand aim & pivot.I think we've come a long way since the descriptions in this thread from 2007. I hope so, anyway
We don't need just another can of worms be opened.
I hold onto the railing and try not to stumble.