Jumping up on shots, reconsidered.

VTEC John

VTEC John

Active member
(Editing this on Tuesday.) Thanks for all the responses, but I must not have been totally clear, so I'll try to clarify. I understand that jumping up is not a good thing, that after contact it's a moot point, and that some great players move on the shot. No arguments there. I'm just curious about WHY we sometimes jump up. So here's the original post:

I have wondered about this proposition for a long time and am curious whether anyone agrees with it.

We don't miss because we jump up; we jump up because we know we've missed.

That is, during the stroke, or perhaps at the moment of impact, muscle memory or some other part of our sensory equipment informs us that we're not sending the cue ball where we intend--and we jump up in response to the bad news. Any thoughts on this?
 
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This has been suggested before and I still think it requires some really fast reflexes to be true. For most players, they are standing up before the cue ball has got half way to the object ball.
 
I think it may be different for different players. But for me, sometimes i'm down on the shot and about to shoot, and I know, either consciously or subconsciously, that my aim might be slightly off, so during my stroke I correct for this by moving my cue and adding spin during the stroke.

The problem is that much of the time I can get away with it, but not all of the time. I may even still make the shot, but my position becomes a bit off from what I expected which will mess me up either for my next shot or sometime later in the rack.

edit: so what I think it comes down to is being lazy... rushing my pre-shot routine so that i'm not aiming correctly in the first place, and then being too lazy to stand up and re-adjust when i'm down on the shot.
 
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VTEC John said:
I have wondered about this proposition for a long time and am curious whether anyone agrees with it.

We don't miss because we jump up; we jump up because we know we've missed.

That is, during the stroke, or perhaps at the moment of impact, muscle memory or some other part of our sensory equipment informs us that we're not sending the cue ball where we intend--and we jump up in response to the bad news. Any thoughts on this?
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I think it happens both ways. We swing, have poor 'balance', and we jump up to correct the poor 'balance' feeling. The poor balance caused the miss before the jump up but depending upon when the jump happens it affects how bad of an outcome it results.

It can be the result of other things too such as high pressure and the natural instinct of the brain to just get the pressure situation over with and part of that is getting you out of your stance as quick as possible and standing normal again.

It can also just be from bad habits where one gets up too quickly from (all) their shots. This is definitely the easiest case to fix since it can be drilled the correct way.
 
Easy enough to get the answer - video yourself or any shooter on your phone & watch slow speed replay. I think you’ll discover pretty quickly that miss due to flinch is definitely a real thing, for amateur, intermediate & pro.
 
It may be true that sometimes people jump up because they know they've missed, but I know that I shoot better if I try to stay down through the shot. When I'm in a slump, I usually try to imagine an anchor weighing me down and it helps get me out of it. Maybe Earl is onto something wearing weights. I can't bring myself to do it though because it kind of makes you look like a tool!
 
I jump up because I've missed at least as much as missing because I've jumped up. As the cue is coming forward I already know I've missed and jumping up is the reaction. I'm sure sometimes it was a false alarm and jumping up made me miss but it's usually in reaction to the shot not feeling right and other times I'm jumping up because I'm already on the next shot in my head causing me to miss.
 
geoff_182 said:
btw, you can still become a pretty good player by jumping up on every shot, look at Ismael Paez:


Though I do think it will limit your accuracy and potential. You wouldn't see a top player today shooting this way.
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I know Paez often moved on many of his shots, but he was actually fairly steady for most of the shots in that first rack.

On a side note, didn't he suffer a stroke a few years ago. Does anybody know how he is doing?
 
VTEC John said:
I have wondered about this proposition for a long time and am curious whether anyone agrees with it.

We don't miss because we jump up; we jump up because we know we've missed.

That is, during the stroke, or perhaps at the moment of impact, muscle memory or some other part of our sensory equipment informs us that we're not sending the cue ball where we intend--and we jump up in response to the bad news. Any thoughts on this?
Click to expand...

100% true for me. When I stand up it's because I missed.
 
There is a difference between Jumping up, and lifting/raising, backing off the shot.
Knowing you missed on the way down is easy to correct, as is staying down.
If you don't understand the cue ball, missing and jumping is common practice.
If you don't know the stroke, missing and jumping is common practice.
If you're weak on pocketing,,,,DITTO
When you jump, miss, both, etc,,,,, back up and think...what was that, why did I do that, what caused that,,,,,, Sunovabeech,,,,,,,,,,analyze your booboo and fix it.
Once you know what you're doing, indecision is the usual suspect.


Mike Sigel practically does backflips and pockets balls.
You should always read the fine print before you sign your name.
Sending the cue ball with your eyes cures jumping.
 
VTEC John said:
I have wondered about this proposition for a long time and am curious whether anyone agrees with it.

We don't miss because we jump up; we jump up because we know we've missed.

That is, during the stroke, or perhaps at the moment of impact, muscle memory or some other part of our sensory equipment informs us that we're not sending the cue ball where we intend--and we jump up in response to the bad news. Any thoughts on this?
Click to expand...



Jumping up is bad habit, the only way to cure problem is to work on fixing.😁
 
Not sure if this qualifies as ‘jumping up’ but I’ve seen both Mosconi and Ismael P. ‘S left bridge hand jump up directly after having stroked the cue ball. Maybe those guy could get away with it but this sort of thing can’t be good.
 
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