Re-learning stance...any tips?

Rackemep

Rackemep

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Due to a foot and knee injury (right foot and right knee) I'm being forced to experiment with new stances and I just cant get comfortable. I play right handed for the most part and after an hour or so of playing I have to change up the way I stand (obviously this has an effect on my game). I have done 2 yrs of physical therapy and the docs say I'm ahead of the game now and I'm not expected to get much better. I have tried knee braces and foot/ankle braces to no avail. So far locking out my right knee is whats working the best but it feels so unnatural...I feel like I'm having to relearn everything just because I have to change from my natural stance. Anyone out there have any tips?
 
You could try the 'snooker stance' as seen below, you probably can't get as low as that since the snooker table is a bit taller but it has the right leg locked and left bent so it shouldn't hurt too much

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Rackemep said:
Due to a foot and knee injury (right foot and right knee) I'm being forced to experiment with new stances and I just cant get comfortable. I play right handed for the most part and after an hour or so of playing I have to change up the way I stand (obviously this has an effect on my game). I have done 2 yrs of physical therapy and the docs say I'm ahead of the game now and I'm not expected to get much better. I have tried knee braces and foot/ankle braces to no avail. So far locking out my right knee is whats working the best but it feels so unnatural...I feel like I'm having to relearn everything just because I have to change from my natural stance. Anyone out there have any tips?
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No matter what stance you take, locate aim, just do long warm up shots looking at the ghost ball, set and fire, make sure you pull slow, and be aware of the pull "straight", if you pull fast your hand will most likely assumes your normal stance relaxed position and veer off target. Be aware of how much pivoting for english shots before you fire (critical) on every shot and ensure it matches your expectation you set before you bend..
 
Rackemep said:
Due to a foot and knee injury (right foot and right knee) I'm being forced to experiment with new stances and I just cant get comfortable. I play right handed for the most part and after an hour or so of playing I have to change up the way I stand (obviously this has an effect on my game). I have done 2 yrs of physical therapy and the docs say I'm ahead of the game now and I'm not expected to get much better. I have tried knee braces and foot/ankle braces to no avail. So far locking out my right knee is whats working the best but it feels so unnatural...I feel like I'm having to relearn everything just because I have to change from my natural stance. Anyone out there have any tips?
Click to expand...

Man that's a tough question. I always square my feet and shoulders as much as possible to the angle of the shot and open my stance enough to maintain perfect balance... as if joined with the cue stick to make a (reversed) L shaped aim at my target (for right handed shots). However, it's hard to say without actually feeling your pain during a shot what will work for you. You likely will have to relearn everything to the stance that your knee can tolerate. Since you already have the basic fundamentals set into your head it will improve with practice, once you figure out what your new stance should be. It will most likely be like learning to shoot left handed... clumsy and awkward in the beginning. But in time it will probably become a natural thing very quickly and easier since it's adjusting to your dominate hand with a new stance. Since you are about as improved physically as you are going to get, this might be your only choice... just find what works best for your knee and practice as much as you can until your eye adjust to the newer stance naturally. If you didn't live so far away I would invite you over so that you could work on your stance and stroke in a better setting than a pool hall. If you do have your own table then all the better.
Short of being propped up in a corner and unable to move, I don't know what would ever cause me to lay down my cue stick in defeat.
I don't know that anything I've said here is of any real help to you but... Good luck.
 
naji...Pivoting is not necessary (let alone 'critical') for shooting shots with english...it is just one choice of several ways to cue the shot.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

naji said:
Be aware of how much pivoting for english shots before you fire (critical) on every shot and ensure it matches your expectation you set before you bend..
Click to expand...
 
Rackemep said:
Due to a foot and knee injury (right foot and right knee) I'm being forced to experiment with new stances and I just cant get comfortable. I play right handed for the most part and after an hour or so of playing I have to change up the way I stand (obviously this has an effect on my game). I have done 2 yrs of physical therapy and the docs say I'm ahead of the game now and I'm not expected to get much better. I have tried knee braces and foot/ankle braces to no avail. So far locking out my right knee is whats working the best but it feels so unnatural...I feel like I'm having to relearn everything just because I have to change from my natural stance. Anyone out there have any tips?
Click to expand...

I have a knee injury myself so can sympathise - doctor has sent me to physio this morning, in fact. Prior to my latest flare up, I found playing pool to be the worst thing for it.

As you need to lock your knee, learn the snooker stance. That uses a locked right knee (if you are right handed. It will become more natural over time and there is no better stance IMO.
 
Pathetic Shark said:
I have a knee injury myself so can sympathise - doctor has sent me to physio this morning, in fact. Prior to my latest flare up, I found playing pool to be the worst thing for it.

As you need to lock your knee, learn the snooker stance. That uses a locked right knee (if you are right handed. It will become more natural over time and there is no better stance IMO.
Click to expand...

I agree. The OP is just one step closer to learning the snooker stance anyway, in that he feels the locked right knee is more comfortable. All he has to learn now, is to point the foot into the shot line (instead of being 45-degrees to it as the loosey-goosey pool stance goes), and how to bend the upper body over and onto the shot line so that the face is squared over it.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=gSK4w_9S_x0

-Sean
 
Shaun...There is no one "correct" stance for everybody. Many times body style, height, and/or injuries will dictate what kind of stance works best. Some people stand with straight legs, some with bent legs, some with one straight and one bent...it doesn't really matter, as long as you are comfortable, balanced, and form a tripod between your legs and your bridge hand (need to have a little weight on your bridge hand on the table). Some people stand square to the table (think snooker stance), some stand sideways, and some stand in a 'classic' 45 degree to the table, pool stance. Experiment and find what works best for you. Hope this helps! :D

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

Rackemep said:
Due to a foot and knee injury (right foot and right knee) I'm being forced to experiment with new stances and I just cant get comfortable. I play right handed for the most part and after an hour or so of playing I have to change up the way I stand (obviously this has an effect on my game). I have done 2 yrs of physical therapy and the docs say I'm ahead of the game now and I'm not expected to get much better. I have tried knee braces and foot/ankle braces to no avail. So far locking out my right knee is whats working the best but it feels so unnatural...I feel like I'm having to relearn everything just because I have to change from my natural stance. Anyone out there have any tips?
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for all the input! I'm going to play around with the snooker stance and see how it works out for me. So far it feels strange but after a couple hours of playing my knee doesn't feel like a wreck so this may be the answer.
 
Scott Lee said:
naji...Pivoting is not necessary (let alone 'critical') for shooting shots with english...it is just one choice of several ways to cue the shot.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...

Somewhat agree, I noticed most of pros like SVB Busty Efren and many others pivot thier cues when applying english, true one can put English parallel to line of aim but has to account for too much squirt
Main thing the shooter must know how is his cue lined up
 
Rackemep said:
Due to a foot and knee injury (right foot and right knee) I'm being forced to experiment with new stances and I just cant get comfortable. I play right handed for the most part and after an hour or so of playing I have to change up the way I stand (obviously this has an effect on my game). I have done 2 yrs of physical therapy and the docs say I'm ahead of the game now and I'm not expected to get much better. I have tried knee braces and foot/ankle braces to no avail. So far locking out my right knee is whats working the best but it feels so unnatural...I feel like I'm having to relearn everything just because I have to change from my natural stance. Anyone out there have any tips?
Click to expand...

I know Rempe played his whole life with Both knees locked, few have better fundamentals than he. Pull up some old footage online.
 
Scott Lee said:
Shaun...There is no one "correct" stance for everybody. Many times body style, height, and/or injuries will dictate what kind of stance works best. Some people stand with straight legs, some with bent legs, some with one straight and one bent...it doesn't really matter, as long as you are comfortable, balanced, and form a tripod between your legs and your bridge hand (need to have a little weight on your bridge hand on the table). Some people stand square to the table (think snooker stance), some stand sideways, and some stand in a 'classic' 45 degree to the table, pool stance. Experiment and find what works best for you. Hope this helps! :D

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...

Great post Scott. I wish more of the better players and instructors on here would tell players that are learning that there is more than one way to do a lot of things playing good pool. Too many think their way is the only/best way because that's how they do it...and it must right, they read it on the Internet. Johnnyt
 
After attending an Allison Fisher school recently I started adpoting more of a snooker stance, which may be what you're looking for. My stance and alignment was what I felt I could use the more advice with. She helped show me how unstable my more traditional pool stance was, so I started using a wider stance where the right leg is locked straight. So far I like it. Here's what I do now on each shot.


  1. - I stand straight and align my body with the shot and concentrate on the contact point on the object ball or on the cloth. I lean slightly on the right foot when doing this.
  2. - When I'm ready I now rotate my right foot about 45 degrees to the right (clockwise) without moving my body.
  3. - At this point I move my left leg forward and to the left keeping my left foot pointing basically parallel in line with the shot.
  4. - Keep the right leg straight, and bend the left leg slightly. Bend your body down always keeping your head steady and focusing on the contact point. Never look away from the shot during this transition.
  5. - When you first try this you will probably be in a lot of pain as you will likely stretch the hell out of your legs. To help alleviate this you will want to practice touching your toes often. (this is good for you anyways)

When I got home from the lessons I literally spent a bunch of hours practicing just this and hit about 1000 table length straight in balls into the corners to get used to this stance. I figure about another 1000 and it will be much more natural. As with any change to your game you will have to practice it to death if you want to make it a natural part of your game.
 
well I played for a couple hours tonight and tried to force myself to use the snooker stance the whole time. It absolutely helps with the foot and knee pain so now I just have to adapt and become comfortable with it...thanks for the advise guys!
 
I finally got a long practice session in...6 hours of undisturbed pool...ahhhh I forgot how good it feels to just get lost on the table and shoot! It has been at least 3 years since I have had a table to my self like that. The new stance is starting to feel better but I caught myself falling into my natural stance several times and had to make a conscious effort to keep from doing it...I decided to play the ghost today...The 9-ball ghost was a bit strong for me and i lost 7-2 7-1...after that I decided to try the 6 ball ghost and did well. lost the first set 5-7 won the second set 7-4 and the tie breaker was race to 11 that I won 11-6...moved on to the 7 ball ghost and was even 3-3 in the first set when I got the call to come home from the wife. I feel like I'm a long way off from what my game was 3 years ago but I gained something back today...Now if I could just figure out how to get on the table like that 2-3 times a week without pissing the wife off I think I'd be back in stroke fairly quick.
 
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