Keeping your back arm straight...

[ENGLISH!]

I think it's kind of hard to tell exactly where your elbow is due to the camera angle,but it's close to the line if not on it. I think with a slight stance adjustment, your elbow would easily be directly on the line of the shot. Also, you would be facing shot more (as opposed to facing your cue), resulting in slightly less neck twisting. But you already know that. I just thought I'd mention it. It's just a different style.

Hi Fran,

Since I went left eyed, I was getting a crick in my neck from keeping my head from tilting. I'm pretty sure that my head is now angled opposite of Colin's. The slight turning of my head to the right seems to help me to get the left eye over the cue with less tension in the neck area. My eyes are level or very near but my head is looking right of the cue but my left eye is looking down the cue. Thank God we have eye sockets & not fixed straight out of our heads.

Back when I was coaching youngsters in base ball, it was amazing to see the improvement in hitting when I got one to get their eyes level & not tilted. We walk around all day with our eyes level. One should try to walk around with their head tilted for about an hour.

I'm not sure if I have any point here but it can be interesting.

Best,
Rick

 

[ENGLISH!]

Yeah, it's just off straight and probably not perfectly vertical, but a reasonable guide. Would be nice to have mirrors and lasers and the like to study variations accurately.

While it might be nice to have cue, eyes, wrist, shoulder, elbow, bridge perfectly aligned, I'm more concerned with discovering a position which best assists me in finding the shot line. I'm confident enough in my cueing that I can stroke well enough from most any position such that any errors are relatively insignificant compared to errors in alignment.

I agree with you, Colin. I can move the cue straight. It's seeing what line to move it on that is important.

That old turn you head & stroke thing can tell one something about their stroke.

That's why I was sort of stunned when my problems popped up & why I am very glad that Gene took it upon himself to contact me.

Seems we're working on similar things. I like that bit of right turn I did with my head to take the tension out of my neck. But... I'm 61 & a bit busted up from playing ball.

Cheers.

 

[Colin Colenso]

Hi Fran,

Since I went left eyed, I was getting a crick in my neck from keeping my head from tilting. I'm pretty sure that my head is now angled opposite of Colin's. The slight turning of my head to the right seems to help me to get the left eye over the cue with less tension in the neck area. My eyes are level or very near but my head is looking right of the cue but my left eye is looking down the cue. Thank God we have eye sockets & not fixed straight out of our heads.

Back when I was coaching youngsters in base ball, it was amazing to see the improvement in hitting when I got one to get their eyes level & not tilted. We walk around all day with our eyes level. One should try to walk around with their head tilted for about an hour.

I'm not sure if I have any point here but it can be interesting.

Best,
Rick

Geez Rick,
I'd pretty much overlooked any importance the eye angle might have. I'd assumed that was the limit of my flexibility, but a little neck stretching in the mirror and I realized I can actually get to horizontal without exceedingly straining... though it might take a while to get used to.

Had a few hits with what I felt like was level eyes and indications are positive that it aided perception.

I took some video and screenshoted my new position, which wasn't as horizontal as I thought (need a mirror beside the table I guess), but it represents about 50% improvement in eye angle.

Thanks, Colin.

Edit: I've updated the pic below to include 2 later attempts which are getting closer to horizontal. Note that my left eye seems to be moving left as I tilt my head more.

 

[Colin Colenso]

Hey Rick,

I picked up $260 tonight, runner up to the state champion in a local event. Went 14-2 in the round robin, topping the field.... this level head thing got me aligning more consistently than I have in a long time.

Where do I send your commission?

Cheers,
Colin

 

[ceebee]

Hey Rick,

I picked up $260 tonight, runner up to the state champion in a local event. Went 14-2 in the round robin, topping the field.... this level head thing got me aligning more consistently than I have in a long time.

Where do I send your commission?

Cheers,
Colin

Keeping the eyes level, has been talked about before, something akin to depth perception problems can occur. It is also mentioned in some books I've read. If you have a look at a shot & over do it (one way or another), you can see it modifies your perception of the hit too.

Thanks Colin for bringing this back around, so others can be made aware. I don't have this problem because my back & neck have been broken & won't allow any lean of the head to the left or right. Sometimes, I can't get the neck & head to completely face the shot, so my eyes have to complete the rotation, to face the shot line

 

[Colin Colenso]

Keeping the eyes level, has been talked about before, something akin to depth perception problems can occur. It is also mentioned in some books I've read. If you have a look at a shot & over do it (one way or another), you can see it modifies your perception of the hit too.

Thanks Colin for bringing this back around, so others can be made aware. I don't have this problem because my back & neck have been broken & won't allow any lean of the head to the left or right. Sometimes, I can't get the neck & head to completely face the shot, so my eyes have to complete the rotation, to face the shot line

YW Ceebee.... I'm a bit miffed at myself for not picking up on it earlier.

After putting on some weight and playing US pool for 6 years in a more upright position, I've fallen into bad mechanics now I'm playing more UK pool and snooker in the lower position.

When I'm above the shot I see the line quite well, but as I got down low, and the head tilted (as I'm now more aware), the perception of correct line went fishing.

Stretching my neck now, as I get down lower to the cue, the line perception seems to remain the same, or more similar at least, but closer up.

Cheers,
Colin

 

[chefjeff]

Keeping the eyes level, has been talked about before, something akin to depth perception problems can occur. It is also mentioned in some books I've read. If you have a look at a shot & over do it (one way or another), you can see it modifies your perception of the hit too.

Thanks Colin for bringing this back around, so others can be made aware. I don't have this problem because my back & neck have been broken & won't allow any lean of the head to the left or right. Sometimes, I can't get the neck & head to completely face the shot, so my eyes have to complete the rotation, to face the shot line

I once made a device, a balance beam of sorts, out of cardboard that I attached the fulcrum to my glasses right between the eyes.. When my eyes were not level, the beam would be, of course, so it would block some of my vision, thus alerting me to the problem. It helped.

I never wore it in public.

Jeff Livingston