Which "form" of english? There are players who think they use english but have their eyesight/vision center off. Others spin in a lot of shots.
My 'dominant', preffered eye is centered on the shot line directly over the cue. I use various forms of english ( bhe, fhe, combo b&f, & parallel) & I do not really know why I choose one over another for each individual shot. I access the situation, laying out a 'run' & then execute the shots utilizing all the tools in my tool box to get it done. It is not so much spinning alot of shots in, as it is choosing a method, similiar to Mr. Wiley's except I utilize inside
and outside. When I say inside & outside I actually mean one of those in conjunction with high or low. I almost never strike the CB on the center horizontal axis, at least not on purpose & when I do by accident it probably results in a mis as that was not in the plan .Believe me I am spinnning the CB. It is not an optical illusion of using english. I have been doing this for 46 yrs. since I was 13 yrs' old.
On another subject, I read your article on the pit & the pendulum. I basically agree with what you 'said'. Due to the 'fluidity' of all of the body's joints as well as the tensions of the muscles etc. I think most people's stroke is a hybrid of a pendulim & a 'pistion' or 'stabbing' thrust. I doubt anyone can pull back their arm on the
perfect plane based on one 'pivot' point & then release the 'arm' to
free fall on the perfect plane to hit the exact center on the CB.
Many lower level baseball coaches advocate swinging down, up or level to hit a baseball. I never did advocate any of those. I knew the answer to a question I was going to ask Randy Bush, a Major Leaguer, but I thought everyone at the hitting clinic would benefit better from hearing him stating it than a 'nobody' like myself.
Since the bat barrel starts in an up position, it starts by swing it down into the hitting area, then leveling off through the hiting area & maintaining that level plane for as long as possible up to contact with the ball & then extending through after contact & then up to a full finish of the swing. That type of swing, with a long level section increases the probability of making solid contact with the ball. It is not swung on an arc as there are two(2) levers involved, actually more like 3 combined with multiple angles. It is more like a flail. I know hitting a moving ball with a bat is not exactly the same as hitting a stationary CB with a pool cue but some of the objectives are very similiar. The human body is capable of doing that bottomed out level baseball swing. The human body is capable of doing some amazing things if we can simply keep our minds from interfering with it.
Sorry for the rant. Just offering up some 'food' for thought.
Rick (NOT an instructor)