How stable is your bridge hand?

BillPorter

BillPorter

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
During a recent shooting slump, a friend of mine who was watching me play pointed out that my bridge hand seemed to be moving slightly on my final stroke. I started trying to notice what that hand was doing during my next practice session and realized that I was making tiny, unconscious aim adjustments with my bridge hand during warm up strokes. Now maybe it's OK to make those little shifts of your hand during warm up strokes, but for sure you don't want that hand to be anything but solid and still on your final stroke. When I started focusing on locking down my bridge hand on my last couple of strokes, my ball-making accuracy improved immediately. I guess one way to think of it is that you want to eliminate as many variables as possible and keep as much of your body as still as possible as you deliver that final stroke.
 
Funny i noticed the other day when i lined up on a long ball on a 9ft table that when i got down to stroke i wasnt in line, uncontiously my bridge hand moved over like 1/4 of an inch to make up for it.


I started wondering how long i might have been making small adjustments without knowing it.
 
this illustrates the value of video

BillPorter said:
During a recent shooting slump, a friend of mine who was watching me play pointed out that my bridge hand seemed to be moving slightly on my final stroke. I started trying to notice what that hand was doing during my next practice session and realized that I was making tiny, unconscious aim adjustments with my bridge hand during warm up strokes. Now maybe it's OK to make those little shifts of your hand during warm up strokes, but for sure you don't want that hand to be anything but solid and still on your final stroke. When I started focusing on locking down my bridge hand on my last couple of strokes, my ball-making accuracy improved immediately. I guess one way to think of it is that you want to eliminate as many variables as possible and keep as much of your body as still as possible as you deliver that final stroke.
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I have noticed for many years that people are often doing things differently than they say they are doing them. I suspect almost everyone would be more consistent if they videoed their game every few weeks or once a month to find the inconsistencies and errors that might be creeping into their game.

With arthritis and swelling in my fingers my bridge felt tight to me. Someone watching when I was struggling one day immediately noticed a sloppy bridge. The signals I was getting back weren't accurate. Books and DVD's are great but an instructor is far better. With proper use a video camera can replace much of what an instructor does, especially after you have had instruction and know how to correct flaws once you find them.

Hu
 
I had a student ask me to come watch him play his league match the other night, and take notes of any problems I observed. I did, but when we discussed what I observed, he wasn't convinced. He thought he was doing everything as he had learned to do. Our next session, I pulled out the video camera, and he was in shock that everything I had noted during his match were showing up on the video.

Seeing is believing, as they say.

In response to the OP, yes, a stable bridge hand is critical to accurate delivery of the cue. The bridge hand is the guide that either restricts, or allows any and all movement of the cue. If you want the cue to move forward in a straight line, movement of the bridge hand will disrupt that plan very quickly.

Steve
 
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ShootingArts said:
I have noticed for many years that people are often doing things differently than they say they are doing them. Hu
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My worst pool-related habit is coming up off of the shot, but I am usually NOT CONSCIOUS of doing this. Sometimes my opponent or someone sweating the game will mention to me that I jumped up on a shot and I'll think to myself, "There I go again, bailing out on the shot...I've got to stay down on this next shot."
 
SpiderWebComm said:
I feel like my bridge hand is part of the table.
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That sounds like a good image to try to fix in your mind. Like your bridge hand is sort of "dead" and therefore immobile. I like it!:)
 
Personally, I think it has to do with the fact that many players these days tend toward longer bridges as a result of playing so much 9 ball and moving the cue ball greater distances. I've always thought that making a longer bridge would make my cue wobble, giving the appearance my bridge hand moving.
 
I tend to put to much pressure on my bridge hand in an attempt to make it as stable as possible. Sometimes it results in my bridge sliding forward a little while stroking. The only good thing about it is while pushing forward on my bridge if it moves, it goes in the same direction as my stroke so it rarely causes a miss just bad speed control.
 
I'm Not Sure How Relevant This Is To The Topic....... But Recently I Switched Back To An Open Bridge. Because Of My Arthritis And The Stability Of My Closed Bridege. My Pocketing Went Up Immediately.

I Never Noticed How Lose My Closed Bridge Had Been Recently, Until A Practice Partner Asked Me "why Isn't Your Bridge Tight" It Made Me Realize Why My Game Had Been Suffering For The Past Few Weeks (my Hands Have Hurt Bad For 3-4 Weeks)
 
the annoying thing is that the bridge feels tight.

FAST_N_LOOSE said:
I'm Not Sure How Relevant This Is To The Topic....... But Recently I Switched Back To An Open Bridge. Because Of My Arthritis And The Stability Of My Closed Bridege. My Pocketing Went Up Immediately.

I Never Noticed How Lose My Closed Bridge Had Been Recently, Until A Practice Partner Asked Me "why Isn't Your Bridge Tight" It Made Me Realize Why My Game Had Been Suffering For The Past Few Weeks (my Hands Have Hurt Bad For 3-4 Weeks)
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With the skin stretched tightly you get the sensation and feed back that your bridge is tight even though it isn't. Like you, I think I will be using the open bridge more when either will work equally well.

Hu
 
BillPorter said:
My worst pool-related habit is coming up off of the shot, but I am usually NOT CONSCIOUS of doing this. Sometimes my opponent or someone sweating the game will mention to me that I jumped up on a shot and I'll think to myself, "There I go again, bailing out on the shot...I've got to stay down on this next shot."
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I might suggest in addition to planting the bridge hand, also make sure the back foot is planted....If (during practice) you concentrate on keeping the bridge hand and back foot "frimly" planted...it makes it very difficult to jump up duriing the shot.

Interesting that in most every sport you seem to be taught to be on the " up on the balls of your feet".......however I find that if I plant myself a bit weighted toward the heels of my feet it helps me stay stable during the shot and also cuts down on the jumping up.
 
In snooker they teach you to dig your fingers into the cloth. Even pushing your index into the cloth wouldn't be a bad idea.
 
Pushout said:
I've always thought that making a longer bridge would make my cue wobble, giving the appearance my bridge hand moving.
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IMO a longer bridge wont make the cue wobble, a sold bridge is a solid bridge. BUT a longer bridge will magnify any misaligned movements of the back hand.

A simple example of this is to set the tip by the cueball, use a 6" bridge, and then move your backhand left or right an inch and see how far to the side the tip moves. Then do the same thing with a 12" bridge and see how much farther to the side the tip moves.

I think we are saying the same thing, just differently :thumbup:

Woody
 
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