Left arm straight

G

GTeye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hi,

Do you feel its important for the left arm to be completely straight when you line up to shoot?

I'm 6'4 and find that if I get down to a comfortable position over the cue ball for aiming my left arm is not perfectly straight, it's bent some but comfortable. If I force it to straight it becomes uncomfortable and awkward feeling.

The reason I ask is I visited a friend a few states away and we went to a local hall and their house hotshot knew my friend so we started shooting some racks with him. He kept hounding me about my left arm and how I was so wrong because I didn't keep it straight. I finally just asked him to stfu and play and we went on with the night but it really bugged the hell out of me.

Just got me thinking on whether it is something I should actually worry about. I seem to line up fine on my shots, I'm no pro or anything but I've run 50-60 in 14.1 a few times when I had more time to play and have been known to run a 9 ball rack here and there. He kept insisting if my arm wasn't perfectly straight that there was no way I could consistently shoot. To me though, as long as your in line, regardless of the angle of your left arm forming that bridge, if it's a natural comfortable position, wouldn't that make it more easily repeatable through muscle memory?
 
GT, what if your arm was bent from a disability of sorts?...you'd play great that way right?!....do what you feel works for you. BTW....my arm is straight!:D

just kiddin....Gerry
 
I don't think it matters at all. I think as long as your weight is balanced correctly, and it does not throw off your stance, it's fine. I am only 6 foot even, but I have looked at the same thing. My left arm is slightly bent. It is what is comfortable to me. I believe the left hand is just there to provide a solid bridge, and that is pretty much.

I'd be interested in what Bob J. might have to say on this.

Russ
 
He's full of it. I'm a few inches shorter than you and it's ridiculous to think that we can shoot every shot with our left arm straight. As long as your bridge is stable, that's all you should be concerned about with your left arm.
 
A slight bend puts your bridge closer to center, aiding alignment and also it adds stability.
Buddy was full of it.
 
It's ok to bend your left arm, but

I hope you are right-handed, lol! Anyway, look at snooker players - they bend their elbows up into the air! Whatever can give you a stable bridging base that feels comfortable ought to work. It should also allow you to raise and lower your bridge hand for follow and draw without moving too much else.

I find sometimes my bridging arm is straight, especially if I am stretched out, and sometimes has a slight bend.
 
It's not so important that your arm is straight as long as you can bend at the waist and get low enough for proper alignment. I recently developed adhesive capsulation in my left shoulder that literally "froze" my shoulder up and wouldn't allow me to get down over the cue ball for a good alignment. My game went downhill pronto. I had to do outpatient surgery for a "manipulation" under anethesia. I'm now doing physical therapy three times a week to try to unfreeze my shoulder. Try shooting a few games with your arm at a 45 degree angle in relation to the cloth and see if you can run a rack. I think alignment is the key here. Telling the guy to stfu was good medicine for him. Besides, I've seen many a pro shoot boatloads of shots with their arm not straight. Johnny Archer comes to mind. If he can do it, he lays his forearm flat on the table to shoot.

Maniac
 
straight on long shots and draws (no real idea why draw...) and normal position with other shots. cant really give a reason, give me the feeling a shoot better and it works
 
Relax...

When I see a player with a straight bridge arm, it seems that there is usually tension in the arm...that the straightness is forced. I think whatever feels natural to you...whether straight or bent...is the best for you.

I think most people would be better off keeping a bent arm so as not to add tension. Even still, I've seen plenty of bent arms that look like they've been broken in three places and very stiff and tense. The key I think is to keep the arm solid yet relaxed.
 
There is no reason whatsoever to have your bridge arm locked out straight. In fact, if anything, it should be bent so it is relaxed. Allison Fisher and Thorsten Hohmann both bend their left arm, in addition to many, many other great players. The guy who told you it must be straight hasn't a clue.
 
Then again . . .

tedkaufman said:
There is no reason whatsoever to have your bridge arm locked out straight. In fact, if anything, it should be bent so it is relaxed. Allison Fisher and Thorsten Hohmann both bend their left arm, in addition to many, many other great players. The guy who told you it must be straight hasn't a clue.
Click to expand...

Then again he may have known exactly what he was doing. Sounds like some serious sharking to me. Few better ways to take somebody out of their game than to start them thinking when they should be shooting.

Hu
 
Either this guy didn't know what he was talking about, or he was trying to throw you off your game. Most people have a bend in their bridge arm, including the majority of professional players, and incuding some of the best in the world.

-Andrew
 
ShootingArts said:
Then again he may have known exactly what he was doing. Sounds like some serious sharking to me. Few better ways to take somebody out of their game than to start them thinking when they should be shooting.

Hu
Click to expand...

Good point!
 
GTeye said:
Hi,

Do you feel its important for the left arm to be completely straight when you line up to shoot?
Click to expand...

Au contraire, it's important to let your bridge arm relax completely. An arm can be held completely straight only by tensing muscles. Tensed muscles tend to twitch in sympathy with the shooting arm's muscles when they contract. Result: bridge moves, shot goes astray.
 
GTeye said:
... Do you feel its important for the left arm to be completely straight when you line up to shoot? ...
Click to expand...
The orthodox pool teaching is that a straight left arm improves consistency by precisely setting the distance from bridge to upper body. I can see where a lot of tension in the arm could cause problems but I think those are minor compared to the general sloppiness that degrades most players' fundamentals.

However, if you look at many (most?) snooker players, the standard is to plant the left elbow on the cloth. I think this is even more stable and repeatable than the straight arm. The problem on a pool table -- especially a bar table with a full rack on it -- is that often there are balls in the way of your elbow.

Some recommend to go with what's comfortable but I think that's usually pointless advice and an invitation to laziness. Something that's uncomfortable at first will be comfortable with practice. A common example is the closed bridge.
 
Rofl ...

GTeye said:
Hi,

Do you feel its important for the left arm to be completely straight when you line up to shoot?

I'm 6'4 and find that if I get down to a comfortable position over the cue ball for aiming my left arm is not perfectly straight, it's bent some but comfortable. If I force it to straight it becomes uncomfortable and awkward feeling.

The reason I ask is I visited a friend a few states away and we went to a local hall and their house hotshot knew my friend so we started shooting some racks with him. He kept hounding me about my left arm and how I was so wrong because I didn't keep it straight. I finally just asked him to stfu and play and we went on with the night but it really bugged the hell out of me.

Just got me thinking on whether it is something I should actually worry about. I seem to line up fine on my shots, I'm no pro or anything but I've run 50-60 in 14.1 a few times when I had more time to play and have been known to run a 9 ball rack here and there. He kept insisting if my arm wasn't perfectly straight that there was no way I could consistently shoot. To me though, as long as your in line, regardless of the angle of your left arm forming that bridge, if it's a natural comfortable position, wouldn't that make it more easily repeatable through muscle memory?
Click to expand...


You not only don't have to worry about it, because YOU are doing it right to begin with. YOU LEFT ARM IS NEVER SUPPOSE TO BE LOCKED STRAIGHT. Think about it this way, you are the bow, the cue is the string.
 
if you play with a straight bridge arm and have relatively long arms you will be playing the butt of the cue a lot more often unless you have a really short bridge or you are hitting the ball a long way after your stroke arm is vertical. i prefer to have a long bridge and hit the ball with my arm near vertical (more follow through without as much elbow drop) and not play the end of the cue so often. thats what i found out after experimenting a little.

my left elbow is also injured and i cant extend it all the way even if i wanted to. plus if you have bad eyes like me you want as little distance as possible between you and what you are looking at (within reason :p ).
 
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