Question about Allison Fisher's stroke.

inside_english

inside_english

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I saw some of her match vs. Karen Corr last night and was pointing out to a buddy that she pauses just before she hits the CB.

Before some of you Allison-fans jump on me please note I am not knocking her game or her many accomplishments in any way. I would simply like to know if stroking the ball this way is a good idea. I know a couple of beginners who were also watching the match and they may try to emulate a female professional by doing the same thing.

Do any male pros do this (pause before contact)? I can't remember if they do. Obviously it works for Allison, plus she has that snooker background, incredible mental game, etc.

Just curious as to what you all think about that stroke, and if you would recommend it to a beginner.
 
SVB has one too. Maybe not as noticeable as Buddy's or Allison's but it's noticeable as I spent a few hours watching him at the tourney here in Jax.
 
inside_english said:
I saw some of her match vs. Karen Corr last night and was pointing out to a buddy that she pauses just before she hits the CB.

Before some of you Allison-fans jump on me please note I am not knocking her game or her many accomplishments in any way. I would simply like to know if stroking the ball this way is a good idea. I know a couple of beginners who were also watching the match and they may try to emulate a female professional by doing the same thing.

Do any male pros do this (pause before contact)? I can't remember if they do. Obviously it works for Allison, plus she has that snooker background, incredible mental game, etc.

Just curious as to what you all think about that stroke, and if you would recommend it to a beginner.
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Buddy Hall, Nick Varner are a couple of champs that pause before the final stroke. It's also listed as a normal thing to do in several instructional books I read.
 
inside_english said:
I saw some of her match vs. Karen Corr last night and was pointing out to a buddy that she pauses just before she hits the CB.

Before some of you Allison-fans jump on me please note I am not knocking her game or her many accomplishments in any way. I would simply like to know if stroking the ball this way is a good idea. I know a couple of beginners who were also watching the match and they may try to emulate a female professional by doing the same thing.

Do any male pros do this (pause before contact)? I can't remember if they do. Obviously it works for Allison, plus she has that snooker background, incredible mental game, etc.

Just curious as to what you all think about that stroke, and if you would recommend it to a beginner.
Click to expand...
I believe that most instructors now advocate a pause at the backstroke.
 
inside_english said:
I saw some of her match vs. Karen Corr last night and was pointing out to a buddy that she pauses just before she hits the CB.

Before some of you Allison-fans jump on me please note I am not knocking her game or her many accomplishments in any way. I would simply like to know if stroking the ball this way is a good idea. I know a couple of beginners who were also watching the match and they may try to emulate a female professional by doing the same thing.

Do any male pros do this (pause before contact)? I can't remember if they do. Obviously it works for Allison, plus she has that snooker background, incredible mental game, etc.

Just curious as to what you all think about that stroke, and if you would recommend it to a beginner.
Click to expand...


I can't imagine telling a beginner to try and emulate Allison Fisher's stroke is a bad thing
 
BCA teaches SPF. Set, PAUSE, Freeze. The pause is a beautiful thing. Maybe you weren't watching closely enough, but Karen has a pause at the back of her stroke, too. It's not as long as Allison's, but it's there. To me, Allison has the best stroke in pool, male or female. It's why she's been the top player for so long. She's technically perfect. Fundamentals win tournaments.
 
JDB said:
I believe that most instructors now advocate a pause at the backstroke.
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Allison Fisher has an almost a full one second pause.

Scott Lee and Randy G both advocate a pause. It allows a smooth transition from your triceps muscle (back swing) to your bicep (forward stroke).

It's funny that I have been working on this issue with my stroke actively over the past couple months.

I my game has improved by adding in a pause. In practice warming up, I will exaggerate the pause, but will speed up during games, but it's still there. I feel that my accuracy has gone way up.

It's funny how you feel that you have back stroke fast and then forward fast for power shots. Not true at all. I get the same power and way more accuracy with a pause. :smile:
 
Cue Tech Pool School.

I'm pretty sure that Allison and Karen learned Set, Pause, Finish from Randy G. It's a very powerful training and self diagnostic tool. Also pay attention to their elbow and cue tip position at the finish position of the stroke.
 
Niels Feijen has a pause.

So does ALL snookerplayers. (perhaps Tony Drago does not have a pause. Or he has a pause but it's so quick that you can't notice it)
 
just about a said:
I can't imagine telling a beginner to try and emulate Allison Fisher's stroke is a bad thing
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Why not teach beginners that fantastic stroke? Should they be taught Bustamante's Super Loop stroke instead???

Allison's stroke is highly compact; takes place in distinct component parts...each of which can be practiced independently and works rather well.

Regards,
Jim
 
One Pocket extraordinaire Cliff Joyner is another example of a professional player with a very noticeable pause before he pulls the trigger. Watch any of his matches (e.g. last year's world championship Ten Ball semi-finals against Shane Van Boening, match video of which is available online at ProPoolVideo.com) and you can see this pronounced pause in action.

-Sean
 
Cliff Joyner is another one with a loooong pause at the back of his final stroke, and he has recently exagerated that pause even more. Many pros have that pause but it is often very short and you don't really notice it unless you are looking for it. Most instructors teach having a pause at the rear of the final stroke.

As a side note, there are a few pros that have a noticable pause right before their final stroke. I don't know of any instructors that teach this variation and can't really speak to it's effectiveness.
 
av84fun said:
Why not teach beginners that fantastic stroke? Should they be taught Bustamante's Super Loop stroke instead???

Allison's stroke is highly compact; takes place in distinct component parts...each of which can be practiced independently and works rather well.

Regards,
Jim
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That's basically what I meant. Maybe I wasn't clear.
 
Pause in stroke

The pause allowa for a smooth transition from the backstroke to execution and allows the eye/brain to make a transition from looking at the cue ball to looking at the object ball. IMO the SPF that is advocated provides for an excellent tempo when playing, at least in my case
 
Big C said:
I'm pretty sure that Allison and Karen learned Set, Pause, Finish from Randy G. It's a very powerful training and self diagnostic tool. Also pay attention to their elbow and cue tip position at the finish position of the stroke.
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Then Randy G must have taught Allison back in the 80s. She's had that stroke since her snooker days. It's common for snooker players to have a pause in their stroke. Check out Stephen Hendry.
 
Poolplaya9 said:
Cliff Joyner is another one with a loooong pause at the back of his final stroke, and he has recently exagerated that pause even more. Many pros have that pause but it is often very short and you don't really notice it unless you are looking for it. Most instructors teach having a pause at the rear of the final stroke.

As a side note, there are a few pros that have a noticable pause right before their final stroke. I don't know of any instructors that teach this variation and can't really speak to it's effectiveness.
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A LOT of instructors teach the pause at the front of the final stroke. It is the SET position in the SPF sequence.

You can order lunch during SVB's or Stevie Moore's set position.

(-:

Jim
 
av84fun said:
A LOT of instructors teach the pause at the front of the final stroke. It is the SET position in the SPF sequence.

You can order lunch during SVB's or Stevie Moore's set position.

(-:

Jim
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Um, no. It's the PAUSE portion. S-P-F = Set, Pause, Freeze. You SET yourself into the stroke, you pull the cue back and PAUSE. You then shoot the shot and FREEZE.
 
Shawn Armstrong said:
Um, no. It's the PAUSE portion. S-P-F = Set, Pause, Freeze. You SET yourself into the stroke, you pull the cue back and PAUSE. You then shoot the shot and FREEZE.
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No Shawn. SPF means SET, PAUSE, FINISH...not FREEZE. Some add another F to the end of the acronym to suggest that the player freeze his/her position in order to evaluate the stroke.

The PAUSE is at the BACK of the stroke not the front.

The SET is at the front of the stroke...right AT the CB (as close as practical).

Regards,
Jim
 
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