Improved Video?

[SlashingAxe]

I've been practicing a lot more on the big tables as y'all have advised since my last upload. Plus I shall be trying some small weekly tournaments from here on out so I'm hoping that can help me improve as well. Anyways I feel like my form has gotten better since my last video and my head wobble has been reduced a lot more but I want y'all to be the judge of that(btw I'm holding my cue with my thumb, index and middle finger though it seems like I'm gripping it with my whole hand rough)

http://youtu.be/O38UtqtYkw8

 

[Straightpool_99]

I've been practicing a lot more on the big tables as y'all have advised since my last upload. Plus I shall be trying some small weekly tournaments from here on out so I'm hoping that can help me improve as well. Anyways I feel like my form has gotten better since my last video and my head wobble has been reduced a lot more but I want y'all to be the judge of that(btw I'm holding my cue with my thumb, index and middle finger though it seems like I'm gripping it with my whole hand rough)

http://youtu.be/O38UtqtYkw8

Well, you are stopping your follow through on some shots, in other words, not finishing your stroke. I'm also seeing a lot of head movement. Go to 2:50 and focus on the head/neck region on that stroke. At the last second you raise your head significantly, and you do this a lot of the time. This will kill your accuracy! Steve Davis used to practice with his father holding a cue over his head to fight this tendency. A lot of people are very anxious to see the results of their stroke, but IMO it's important to focus on the stroke itself, ie finishing at the chest (or close if you are higher above the cue) and staying completely still during the stroke and all the way to it's completion.

I'm seeing some other stuff as well, but I feel that the head movement and stroke finishing are the most important things for you to work on right now.

 

[SlashingAxe]

Well, you are stopping your follow through on some shots, in other words, not finishing your stroke. I'm also seeing a lot of head movement. Go to 2:50 and focus on the head/neck region on that stroke. At the last second you raise your head significantly, and you do this a lot of the time. This will kill your accuracy! Steve Davis used to practice with his father holding a cue over his head to fight this tendency. A lot of people are very anxious to see the results of their stroke, but IMO it's important to focus on the stroke itself, ie finishing at the chest (or close if you are higher above the cue) and staying completely still during the stroke and all the way to it's completion.

Man I thought I had fixed my head problems quite a bit my neck even hurts right now from trying to force my head to stay down. Is there a good way to fix this if you're by yourself? I've seen instructional videos but most don't show a method to fix it besides stating the obvious of keeping it down. I know prior they mentioned my cue moving too much side to side and my head as the biggest mistakes

 

[Straightpool_99]

Man I thought I had fixed my head problems quite a bit my neck even hurts right now from trying to force my head to stay down. Is there a good way to fix this if you're by yourself? I've seen instructional videos but most don't show a method to fix it besides stating the obvious of keeping it down. I know prior they mentioned my cue moving too much side to side and my head as the biggest mistakes

I've worked on my stroke/stance mostly by myself, even though I've gotten a lot of instruction as well, but building a stance is complicated.

To me it looks like you are not relaxed, you look "tight". If you have some neck problems, try to widen your stance and focus on bending at the hips, not the waist. If you feel tight and tense, something is not right, try to adjust something. I use a relaxation technique (commonly used to help people sleep) where I focus on relaxing one part of my body at a time. I want to be as relaxed as possible when I shoot pool. Any strain, especially in the cueing arm will KILL your stroke.

 

[Keith Jawahir]

Man I thought I had fixed my head problems quite a bit my neck even hurts right now from trying to force my head to stay down. Is there a good way to fix this if you're by yourself? I've seen instructional videos but most don't show a method to fix it besides stating the obvious of keeping it down. I know prior they mentioned my cue moving too much side to side and my head as the biggest mistakes

I've had a lot of success with using a snooker-style 4 point stance. I know immediately if any part of my body moves before it's supposed to. Also, straight in shots with the object ball in the center and cue ball on the head/foot string. stop shots are good, I've also used slow rolling them in, and watching (staying down/not moving until) the object ball roll in. You would be amazed at how soft you can hit a ball and still have it go. Try getting the object ball to fall into the pocket with its last bit of roll. Have music ready. It's painfully boring to shoot them for hours on end. But once you see the results, you'll swear by it.

 

[Keith Jawahir]

After watching your video, you really need to build a pre-shot routine. one where you start further back from the table and step into the line of the shot. will also help with sighting the shot.

 

[Straightpool_99]

Man I thought I had fixed my head problems quite a bit my neck even hurts right now from trying to force my head to stay down. Is there a good way to fix this if you're by yourself? I've seen instructional videos but most don't show a method to fix it besides stating the obvious of keeping it down. I know prior they mentioned my cue moving too much side to side and my head as the biggest mistakes

If you want to see a truely relaxed stroke, study this video of Stephen Lee, shooting some drills. Notice that he always finishes his stroke (because he is not stopping his cue with tension in the arm). You don't have to drop the elbow, like he does, though.

You will also notice that he's hugely overweight, yet looks extremely relaxed while shooting. Look at the final backswing and stroke, you can actually tell that he is completely relaxed. I feel that the degree of relaxation he has is one of the major keys to his great cue action, possibly the best cue action in the history of snooker. Remember if you are relaxed, you will not have any reason to stand up or move in any way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho2j6ooeVZo

 

[AlexandruM]

What I see in the video and think should be improved or fixed:
1) You move your head a lot.
2) You didn't stay still after you shoot the ball, try to stay down till object ball is in the pocket, or even 1-2 seconds after that.
3) I think you should hold the cue 2-4 cm in front to have a 90 degree, when tip is near the cue ball.
4) For that shots on video your back swing is too big, no need to go so far in back.
5) Practice your follow through, watch Tor Lowry drills.
6) When you do a drill like that, try to use same spots for the balls, and hold the bridge hand in same way, you change type of bridges, that gives you inconsistency.

Good luck with your practice, only practicing you could improve.

 

[Tony_in_MD]

Besides the excellent advise given so far, what is the purpose of video is it just for our review, or is this a standard practice drill you do all the time?

If it is a standard drill, what are you trying to assess? You need to have measurable outcomes to track improvement.

What I see in the video and think should be improved or fixed:
1) You move your head a lot.
2) You didn't stay still after you shoot the ball, try to stay down till object ball is in the pocket, or even 1-2 seconds after that.
3) I think you should hold the cue 2-4 cm in front to have a 90 degree, when tip is near the cue ball.
4) For that shots on video your back swing is too big, no need to go so far in back.
5) Practice your follow through, watch Tor Lowry drills.
6) When you do a drill like that, try to use same spots for the balls, and hold the bridge hand in same way, you change type of bridges, that gives you inconsistency.

Good luck with your practice, only practicing you could improve.

 

[7forlife]

same drill, line up your shots then look at nothing but the cue ball for a full rack "no matter what"
(pay very close attention to follow through, be it touching the table with the tip or just leaving it out there)
next shoot a full rack looking at the object ball but with the ball being no further than a diamond away

video yourself doing this and you will notice a total difference by the end of 30 balls, now move the ball up 2 diamonds then 3, it does matter if you make the ball or not what does matter for this exercise is
1) the shot is dead straight
2) you stay as relaxed as you can from standing up to pulling the trigger
3) attempt to shoot a stop shot, again it doesn't matter too much if you do or not

BOOM problem fixed "yes, just like that" but the catch is only for that moment as you are responsible for keep in mind exactly what you were doing and did on this day and carry it through to other days and when making a ball is involved. Lack of concentration of the key things that go into shot making is the second biggest flaw next to poor fundaments, although the two tie in together very close.

That's my advice, do as you please but also try those suggestions by previous posters

 

[drhanson]

After watching your video, you really need to build a pre-shot routine. one where you start further back from the table and step into the line of the shot. will also help with sighting the shot.

What Keith wrote here is what stuck out to me as your main issue. I agree with the others as well but this one was the most glaring problem to me.

Even when you are doing practice drills, approach the shot by stepping forward into it. This goes along with the principal of aiming while standing; a step or two back will give you a more accurate picture of the shot line. Visualize that shot line, lock your vision center on it while standing in back of your ultimate shooting position and keep it locked in your vision center as you take your step forward and down into the shooting position.

Give it a try and see if it improves your consistency.

 

[SlashingAxe]

Besides the excellent advise given so far, what is the purpose of video is it just for our review, or is this a standard practice drill you do all the time?

If it is a standard drill, what are you trying to assess? You need to have measurable outcomes to track improvement.

It's a standard drill I try to work on but the video is for review of my form as I want to do the drill with correct form and stroke to make sure I don't continue the drill with bad habits as I did the drill trying to focus more on my form

 

[Tony_in_MD]

Then if I may suggest, since the purpose of the drill is to work on your form, then do the drill only with a cueball.

This way, you can commit total focus to your form.

It's a standard drill I try to work on but the video is for review of my form as I want to do the drill with correct form and stroke to make sure I don't continue the drill with bad habits as I did the drill trying to focus more on my form

 

[7forlife]

It's a standard drill I try to work on but the video is for review of my form as I want to do the drill with correct form and stroke to make sure I don't continue the drill with bad habits as I did the drill trying to focus more on my form

As other have pointed out about your PSR and what you said here I get the feeling that you slightly presume "form" to be in the arm and keeping a pendulum stroke.

You might want to revisit this aspect with a quick youtube search on this matter, watch most of them and you will see a common trait (I say this since I don't know who's video you will see) then you can adapt this common trait or see what suits you best.

 

[EddieBme]

Then if I may suggest, since the purpose of the drill is to work on your form, then do the drill only with a cueball.

This way, you can commit total focus to your form.

Hi Tony. Do most of the pros keep a firm wrist when stroking or snap the wrist when striking the cue ball, and follow through?
Thanks

 

[KissedOut]

I've been practicing a lot more on the big tables as y'all have advised since my last upload. Plus I shall be trying some small weekly tournaments from here on out so I'm hoping that can help me improve as well. Anyways I feel like my form has gotten better since my last video and my head wobble has been reduced a lot more but I want y'all to be the judge of that(btw I'm holding my cue with my thumb, index and middle finger though it seems like I'm gripping it with my whole hand rough)

http://youtu.be/O38UtqtYkw8

If you don't mind me asking, what kind of camera did you shoot that video with? Thanks.

 

[Tony_in_MD]

Yes and Yes

In other words, this depends on the player, and the shot they are trying to accomplish.

Hi Tony. Do most of the pros keep a firm wrist when stroking or snap the wrist when striking the cue ball, and follow through?
Thanks

 

[EddieBme]

Yes and Yes

In other words, this depends on the player, and the shot they are trying to accomplish.

Can you give some examples of when the wrist stays firm, and when not?

 

[Tony_in_MD]

For myself, and not speaking for any pros.

I use a loose wrist when breaking.

For the majority of shots I use a firm wrist (not to be confused with a loose cradle) on shots where I need to spin and kill the cueball within a short distance I have used my wrist and fingers entirely.

Can you give some examples of when the wrist stays firm, and when not?

 

[7forlife]

Can you give some examples of when the wrist stays firm, and when not?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHeeJy_SJFw
Your answer is in there. Keep in mind that the best thing you can do for "your game" is to know "your game", although having some type of guideline is good one must know himself and his ability and execute the shot to suit, how one person does something (i.e. play a shot, position, an out) does not make it the right way if you watch enough pool or is around enough of it you will see that many do things differently all for the same result (just look at the How Would You Play This thread).
So in your quest just remember that results is what counts and not copying someone else's, a lot of player get stuck trying to emulate pro's grip, pre shot, stroke, stance etc and never really doing what suits them best and naturally.

all the best. (just some loose advice)