Mika: Worked on the back hand a lot?

[JimS]

In the article about Mika's big year, in Inside Pool mag, right column page 23, it says that he worked on his back hand a lot.

What do you think he meant by that?

I'm thinking; grip pressure, wrist at the proper angle, thumb pointed to the ground (that's what Mark Wilson taught me). What else do you think might be implied by... working on the back hand a lot?

 

[BVal]

In the article about Mika's big year, in Inside Pool mag, right column page 23, it says that he worked on his back hand a lot.

What do you think he meant by that?

I'm thinking; grip pressure, wrist at the proper angle, thumb pointed to the ground (that's what Mark Wilson taught me). What else do you think might be implied by... working on the back hand a lot?

I think no matter which part of it he worked on he worked on making it consistent or the same everytime. So I don't think it was any one thing he worked on but the combination of all of those things. imo.

BVal

 

[randyg]

Maybe, making sure his back hand finishes in the same place on every shot????...randyg

 

[sfleinen]

Back hand: contact points in hand throughout his "locomotive" stroke?

In the article about Mika's big year, in Inside Pool mag, right column page 23, it says that he worked on his back hand a lot.

What do you think he meant by that?

I'm thinking; grip pressure, wrist at the proper angle, thumb pointed to the ground (that's what Mark Wilson taught me). What else do you think might be implied by... working on the back hand a lot?

JimS:

Mika has a VERY pronounced "locomotive" stroke (i.e. circular stroke just like the wheel pushrods on steam locomotives), so perhaps he worked on making consistent all those little contact points in his gripping hand throughout his stroke? (It's very easy for those contact points to change related to the ever-changing angle of his arm to the cue throughout his circular stroke, and these are things that can ever so slightly throw off one's cue delivery.)

Anyway, that's just my thought on watching Mika's development.

-Sean

 

[Maniac]

In the article about Mika's big year, in Inside Pool mag, right column page 23, it says that he worked on his back hand a lot.

What do you think he meant by that?

Maybe he's slapping his girlfriend around a lot more than usual !!!

Maniac

 

[tucson9ball]

In the article about Mika's big year, in Inside Pool mag, right column page 23, it says that he worked on his back hand a lot.

What do you think he meant by that?

I'm thinking; grip pressure, wrist at the proper angle, thumb pointed to the ground (that's what Mark Wilson taught me). What else do you think might be implied by... working on the back hand a lot?

Well, maybe he took up Tennis...:thumbup:

 

[cmbwsu]

Maybe, making sure his back hand finishes in the same place on every shot????...randyg

True, as well as how "far back" he goes on the trigger-stroke -- doesn't want to fall short or go too far back! It could be any, part, or all of the things mentioned thus far. Sean used the word "consistent" which IMO is the operative word here!

 

[JimS]

I'm looking for something that maybe I can incorporate into my practice.

 

[androd]

Maybe he's slapping his girlfriend around a lot more than usual !!!

Maniac

Never lay your hand on a woman, they're bed slats and coathangers for that.

 

[Jason Robichaud]

I recently jumped a level or two because of the back had grip. What I discovered: finger and palm pressure during strokes. When I take my practice strokes, I focus on grip and the cue moving across my fingers and palm during the stroke. This gives me a straighter stroke and better speed control. Speed control was the biggest improvement. The best way to explain this is, when I play shape now I don't guess the speed, I feel it. For example: drawing back 2 feet. I don't think it is coming back 2 feet because I feel it is coming back 2 feet. It was a huge jump to get down on a shot and feel (believe) it is going exactly where I want. I can do so much more with potting and shape.

Changes I made.

Notice the pressure on the index finger during back stroke. This pressure helps with speed (how hard I hit it). Less pressure is easy - more is harder.

taking pressure off middle finger down to little finger during back stroke. (allows for more power and longer stroke while keeping level cue)

putting pressure back on these above fingers to make up the difference in speed lost during OB contact. what I am saying here is I take a stroke to roll the CB 3 feet. with a full ball hit I still focus on the 3 feet and put more pressure on those fingers to make the stroke harder. I feel that stroke stays the same speed and the wrist and fingers make the difference.

Finish in the pocket. I have a place my hand finishes. Hard or easy, long or short stroke, I try to finish my hand at the same place. Gives me the same finish on tough or easy shots.

Anyways, I could probably do a little video that would explain it better.

Hope this helps

 

[cookie man]

Please do the video!! Thanks in advance.

I recently jumped a level or two because of the back had grip. What I discovered: finger and palm pressure during strokes. When I take my practice strokes, I focus on grip and the cue moving across my fingers and palm during the stroke. This gives me a straighter stroke and better speed control. Speed control was the biggest improvement. The best way to explain this is, when I play shape now I don't guess the speed, I feel it. For example: drawing back 2 feet. I don't think it is coming back 2 feet because I feel it is coming back 2 feet. It was a huge jump to get down on a shot and feel (believe) it is going exactly where I want. I can do so much more with potting and shape.

Changes I made.

Notice the pressure on the index finger during back stroke. This pressure helps with speed (how hard I hit it). Less pressure is easy - more is harder.

taking pressure off middle finger down to little finger during back stroke. (allows for more power and longer stroke while keeping level cue)

putting pressure back on these above fingers to make up the difference in speed lost during OB contact. what I am saying here is I take a stroke to roll the CB 3 feet. with a full ball hit I still focus on the 3 feet and put more pressure on those fingers to make the stroke harder. I feel that stroke stays the same speed and the wrist and fingers make the difference.

Finish in the pocket. I have a place my hand finishes. Hard or easy, long or short stroke, I try to finish my hand at the same place. Gives me the same finish on tough or easy shots.

Anyways, I could probably do a little video that would explain it better.

Hope this helps

 

[androd]

I recently jumped a level or two because of the back had grip. What I discovered: finger and palm pressure during strokes. When I take my practice strokes, I focus on grip and the cue moving across my fingers and palm during the stroke. This gives me a straighter stroke and better speed control. Speed control was the biggest improvement. The best way to explain this is, when I play shape now I don't guess the speed, I feel it. For example: drawing back 2 feet. I don't think it is coming back 2 feet because I feel it is coming back 2 feet. It was a huge jump to get down on a shot and feel (believe) it is going exactly where I want. I can do so much more with potting and shape.

Changes I made.

Notice the pressure on the index finger during back stroke. This pressure helps with speed (how hard I hit it). Less pressure is easy - more is harder.

taking pressure off middle finger down to little finger during back stroke. (allows for more power and longer stroke while keeping level cue)

putting pressure back on these above fingers to make up the difference in speed lost during OB contact. what I am saying here is I take a stroke to roll the CB 3 feet. with a full ball hit I still focus on the 3 feet and put more pressure on those fingers to make the stroke harder. I feel that stroke stays the same speed and the wrist and fingers make the difference.

Finish in the pocket. I have a place my hand finishes. Hard or easy, long or short stroke, I try to finish my hand at the same place. Gives me the same finish on tough or easy shots.

Anyways, I could probably do a little video that would explain it better.

Hope this helps

WOW quite amazing and complex and unbelievable.

 

[Siz]

I recently jumped a level or two because of the back had grip.

Makes sense to me.

In my opinion, that back hand control is not given as much emphasis in pool as it should be. I have a theory (with no real evidence to support it) that snooker players are more tuned in to this area of technique than pool players. To the extent that this is true, it probably stems from the the greater emphasis on ultra straight shooting in that game; it may also be more important in snooker because of the longer bridge that snooker players generally use.

I like the idea that the back 2 fingers increase pressure towards the end of the stroke; a while back I had been working, with some difficulty, on getting the butt of the cue to finish in the back of my hand in a certain place. I suspect that we are coming to the same place but from slightly different directions - and I think that your route might be better.

Using finger tip pressure as a key to speed control is an interesting idea also.

Whether or not this gets us any closer to what Mika was up to, is another matter ...:grin: