Jumping Up (it's BS)

mthornto

mthornto

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have never started a controversial thread before. Gosh, they seem like fun, so here is my attempt.

Over and over I hear people say “he missed that shot because he jumped up.” This phrase of wisdom is not just uttered by our local pool table wizards, it is also frequently passed down to us from the sapient lips of TV commentators.

Well, I call BS.

While I suppose that one of the million reasons weaker players miss is because of jumping up on shots. Some players do have a bad habit of jumping up on every shot thus contributing to misses. However, most decent players are not missing because they jump up. Every time they miss the whole room yells "he jumped up" but this was not why a decent player missed.

I can hear you objecting now: “The commentator said the pro missed because he/she jumped up and look at the replay – he/she did!” Ok, yes, the pro did jump up on the missed shot, but the commentator and you have the order backwards. The player jumps up because the shot was missed not the other way around.

Often, you know you missed a shot a soon as the cue ball leaves the tip. The jumping up is your reaction to realizing you just hit the ball off course. You see the ball is not on the correct line, your brain screams "oh shit!" and you jump up to get a better view of the miss and to get you body positioned for the necessary body english to magically push the cue ball back on track.

Hmm, maybe I am not good at creating controversial threads. Still, I believe I am correct in the over use of the "jumping up" reasoning for missed shots.
 
All commentators need something to talk about and analyze. They want you to think that they know what they are talking about. Some do and some don't.

When I miss I need some excuse other than my aim was off. I can always say I jumped up. Then on the next shot I need to stay focused and motionless except for the swing of my arm and hopefully my aim is better. If I miss that time then I know that it is my aim and I need to practice more.
 
Ooooo here's a thought!!

Jumping up causing a miss - maybe you are right. Lets go as far as saying that you are right :p

Now what if by staying down on your shots causes you to focus more on what you are doing... My head thinks ok, I can only stay down if I am going to make this ball, but I do have to stay down.

This probably seems like no sense ranting and raving but maybe it makes sense???
 
Interesting topic. I notice that when I am jumping up on shots that I am not completely focused or in tune with the game. It doesn't mean that I will miss just because I am jumping up, but I feel that certain errors can be avoided by creating the habit of staying down on the shot.
 
JonoNZ said:
Jumping up causing a miss - maybe you are right. Lets go as far as saying that you are right :p

Now what if by staying down on your shots causes you to focus more on what you are doing... My head thinks ok, I can only stay down if I am going to make this ball, but I do have to stay down.

This probably seems like no sense ranting and raving but maybe it makes sense???
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Now I am confused!
 
Louis Ulrich said:
Interesting topic. I notice that when I am jumping up on shots that I am not completely focused or in tune with the game. It doesn't mean that I will miss just because I am jumping up, but I feel that certain errors can be avoided by creating the habit of staying down on the shot.
Click to expand...

Yes, and keep in mind, I am not saying that staying down is bad and that jumping up does not cause problems. I am saying that often jumping up is blamed when it was not the cause but the result.

A good player stays down 99% of the time, they miss one shot and jump up. The miss was not because of the jumping up, but the jumping up was a reaction to the miss.
 
TheBook said:
All commentators need something to talk about and analyze. They want you to think that they know what they are talking about. Some do and some don't.

When I miss I need some excuse other than my aim was off. I can always say I jumped up. Then on the next shot I need to stay focused and motionless except for the swing of my arm and hopefully my aim is better. If I miss that time then I know that it is my aim and I need to practice more.
Click to expand...


There are commentators? I better turn up the volume so I can hear them, then again maybe not.
 
Louis Ulrich said:
Interesting topic. I notice that when I am jumping up on shots that I am not completely focused or in tune with the game. It doesn't mean that I will miss just because I am jumping up, but I feel that certain errors can be avoided by creating the habit of staying down on the shot.
Click to expand...
It's kind of like golf. I don't always have to look at the ball when I hit it but it sure helps. Fortunately, in golf you have about 50 - 100 yards to deal with wayward hits, in pool you have 1 - 2 inches.
 
Most of my 'jumping up' episodes coincide with pulling the trigger too early, basically. Your brain knows you're not ready to shoot, but you go ahead and fire anyway. The brain tries everything it knows to make the shot anyway, which results in weird crooked strokes (steering) and jumping up. This is a natural progression of the line of thinking I was already working on, thanks for finishing the thought.

Meanwhile, if you strive to get/stay down over the shot, it'll be a little more obvious to you that you're not ready to fire, as you're still looking down the barrel at your bad aim. That knowledge will then make you take the 3 extra strokes to work it out and pot the dang ball.

holy crap, i think you're onto something MT.

-s
 
absolutely!

Louis Ulrich said:
Interesting topic. I notice that when I am jumping up on shots that I am not completely focused or in tune with the game. It doesn't mean that I will miss just because I am jumping up, but I feel that certain errors can be avoided by creating the habit of staying down on the shot.
Click to expand...

personally I know both issues can and do occur, I have missed shots from not staying down on my stroke and shot usually because I am trying to "get a little extra" on the ball and come up while doing it! But! I have also known that I missed the ball as I was in the act of stroking and came up in disgust with myself for the lazy or poor hit! :eek:
 
Part of what makes the commentators seem so clever and accurate when they say it is that they don't go out of their way to mention how a guy stayed down when he just misses, and they almost never say anything when a guy jumps up and makes the ball anyway.

I'll have to try to remember to analyze myself the next time I jump up to see if your theory holds up, but some part of my brain is already saying that's exactly it. I don't bother jumping up when I know I've cinched the ball because it's actually more effort to jump up than to just sit there for a second and watch the cue ball.

Mr. Ulrich makes a good point though about how staying down will force you into better habits even if it's not strictly necessary. It reminds me of what Robert Byrne said about follow through... in a nutshell he says it's a myth that you HAVE to follow through to get the cue ball to do what you want... but there's really no reason to force yourself to stop the cuestick's forward motion. In fact it takes extra muscle to stop it and it screws up your shot because your brain is mentally preparing for the stop instead of the stroke.
 
Jumping up isn't what causes you to miss it's just a symptom of not shooting in the right mindset which is why it's easy to say he missed becuase he jumped up; it shows that the player was not focused and shooting comforably, they werne't as confident in their shot choice as they should be to execute it properly.
 
I read the thread

Please...

Always remember,

Smooth Stroke, Concentrate, Follow Through.

p.s. stay down.
 
mthornto said:
I have never started a controversial thread before. Gosh, they seem like fun, so here is my attempt.

Over and over I hear people say “he missed that shot because he jumped up.” This phrase of wisdom is not just uttered by our local pool table wizards, it is also frequently passed down to us from the sapient lips of TV commentators.

Well, I call BS.

While I suppose that one of the million reasons weaker players miss is because of jumping up on shots. Some players do have a bad habit of jumping up on every shot thus contributing to misses. However, most decent players are not missing because they jump up. Every time they miss the whole room yells "he jumped up" but this was not why a decent player missed.

I can hear you objecting now: “The commentator said the pro missed because he/she jumped up and look at the replay – he/she did!” Ok, yes, the pro did jump up on the missed shot, but the commentator and you have the order backwards. The player jumps up because the shot was missed not the other way around.

Often, you know you missed a shot a soon as the cue ball leaves the tip. The jumping up is your reaction to realizing you just hit the ball off course. You see the ball is not on the correct line, your brain screams "oh shit!" and you jump up to get a better view of the miss and to get you body positioned for the necessary body english to magically push the cue ball back on track.

Hmm, maybe I am not good at creating controversial threads. Still, I believe I am correct in the over use of the "jumping up" reasoning for missed shots.
Click to expand...

It depends on when you jump up. If you start standing up before you contact the cue ball (ie. most people) then it will affect how you hit the cueball. That can cause a miss.
 
Neil said:
I feel it's a matter of what level your at. Very,very seldom, if ever, will a top notch player miss because he jumped up. But I think that in the lower ranks it happens all the time. The trick is to see when they jump up. Sometimes lower or even middle players will jump up in anticipation. Then yet, I know one guy that jumps up every shot and plays good. But if you watch real close, he jumps up AFTER the hit. I guess it's just part of his routine.
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Does your friend have the nickname "Captain Hook" by any chance? I hear that guy plays great in spite of jumping up.

In my game, I find that I jump up when I'm playing badly. This tends to make my whole game more jumpy and jerky, in a vicious cycle. But I don't think the cause of the miss is the jump, it's the frame of mind you are in when you jump up. The jump is an expression of this bad state of mind.
 
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I think people jump up because the shot did not feel right and they know they are more than likely going to dog it. But then again there are players that jump like jumping beans on every shot...................

Eric.
 
Neil said:
I feel it's a matter of what level your at. Very,very seldom, if ever, will a top notch player miss because he jumped up. But I think that in the lower ranks it happens all the time. The trick is to see when they jump up. Sometimes lower or even middle players will jump up in anticipation. Then yet, I know one guy that jumps up every shot and plays good. But if you watch real close, he jumps up AFTER the hit. I guess it's just part of his routine.
Click to expand...



exactly. i have been watching alot of pool on youtube and they say he jumped up, i replay it and its just a response after the CB is 3 feet infront of the tip, its a reaction to a miss, locking your bacl leg will stop jumping too

on the otherhand, I tend to flick my left wrist up right when I hit the CB when I havent been playing alot-and that does make me miss alot, it goes away in 2 days of good play but if I dont play it awalys comes back, strange
 
mthornto said:
Yes, and keep in mind, I am not saying that staying down is bad and that jumping up does not cause problems. I am saying that often jumping up is blamed when it was not the cause but the result.

A good player stays down 99% of the time, they miss one shot and jump up. The miss was not because of the jumping up, but the jumping up was a reaction to the miss.
Click to expand...

InMy(not very)HumbleOpinion you are right, but only partly.

I would even argue that most good players<A and better>don't jump
up because they know they missed, but rather because they
are faced with a double-tuff shot, and are trying to get that little
'extra' stroke on the shot. This type of movement is less dramatic,
but more common. And it can cause a miss.

Not saying the "oymygodIblewit' leap doesn't happen, just that
the 'extra-umph-flinch' is more common, in my experience.

Dale
 
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