The is a thread going on about the grip in the Ask the Instructor forums. Since I won't post in there, I'd thought I share a bangers view of the grip. It's nice to have a opposing view to help in figuring stuff out, since no one person can be right about all things to all people.
Where does your sense of direction, your feel of direction of the cue come from? Seeing the cue move? Seeing the tip pointing somewhere? Where the bridge hand is?
For me, it is my grip and grip placement within my stroke zone. Not grip placement on the stick, but where my grip hand is in my stroke zone.
My grip would look like a tennis grip or a racquet ball grip. I noticed if I tried to use less fingers, I did not always shoot straight. I really didn't have a sense of direction for the cue when not using all four fingers on the cue.
I was pondering about this one day and realized that the tennis/racquetball style of grip gave me a sense of where the racquet head was without having to look at the racquet head.
In tennis, you don't use a wrist snapped like in racquetball, but in both games, the racquet is nothing but a extension of your hand with the end of your racquet becoming the end of your hand. In fencing, its all in the hands and grip. You get your sense of where the end of the foil is from your hands not watching the tip of the foil or any part of the foil
In pool, this equates to the the tip of the cue becoming the end of your hand giving a sense of where the cue is without having to look at the end of the cue. For me, everything starts with the grip and where it needs to be positions in my stroke zone.
As for the grip pressure, there is a difference between griping something and holding your hand fingers in a certain position. Pick you a cue and grip it tightly using a tennis style grip such that you can not pull it out of your grip. Notice the shape of your hand.
Now slowly, ease your grip until the cue can be pull out with ease then hold that hand position. Notice it looks the same as when you were using a tight grip.
Notice what muscles in your hand, wrist and forearm that are relaxed now that were not using a tight grip.
This is the difference from gripping something tightly versus holding a certain hand position.
Also noticed that by using all four fingers, this creates a groove or channel in the grip, this channel has direction because of the use of all four fingers. By using just the thumb and one or two fingers, the channel is small and really doesn't provide much in the what the direction of the cue will be.
If you ride a motorcycle, you will understand this also. You do not ride with a tight grip, but you hold your hand in a certain position that is just enough pressure to keep the throttle from slipping in your hands. It also know as being light on the bars.
FWIW
Point is that you can get a sense of direction of the cue based on what type of grip you use and where the grip is in your stroke zone is more important than where you grip the cue.
You do have a stroke zone right?
Where does your sense of direction, your feel of direction of the cue come from? Seeing the cue move? Seeing the tip pointing somewhere? Where the bridge hand is?
For me, it is my grip and grip placement within my stroke zone. Not grip placement on the stick, but where my grip hand is in my stroke zone.
My grip would look like a tennis grip or a racquet ball grip. I noticed if I tried to use less fingers, I did not always shoot straight. I really didn't have a sense of direction for the cue when not using all four fingers on the cue.
I was pondering about this one day and realized that the tennis/racquetball style of grip gave me a sense of where the racquet head was without having to look at the racquet head.
In tennis, you don't use a wrist snapped like in racquetball, but in both games, the racquet is nothing but a extension of your hand with the end of your racquet becoming the end of your hand. In fencing, its all in the hands and grip. You get your sense of where the end of the foil is from your hands not watching the tip of the foil or any part of the foil
In pool, this equates to the the tip of the cue becoming the end of your hand giving a sense of where the cue is without having to look at the end of the cue. For me, everything starts with the grip and where it needs to be positions in my stroke zone.
As for the grip pressure, there is a difference between griping something and holding your hand fingers in a certain position. Pick you a cue and grip it tightly using a tennis style grip such that you can not pull it out of your grip. Notice the shape of your hand.
Now slowly, ease your grip until the cue can be pull out with ease then hold that hand position. Notice it looks the same as when you were using a tight grip.
Notice what muscles in your hand, wrist and forearm that are relaxed now that were not using a tight grip.
This is the difference from gripping something tightly versus holding a certain hand position.
Also noticed that by using all four fingers, this creates a groove or channel in the grip, this channel has direction because of the use of all four fingers. By using just the thumb and one or two fingers, the channel is small and really doesn't provide much in the what the direction of the cue will be.
If you ride a motorcycle, you will understand this also. You do not ride with a tight grip, but you hold your hand in a certain position that is just enough pressure to keep the throttle from slipping in your hands. It also know as being light on the bars.
FWIW
Point is that you can get a sense of direction of the cue based on what type of grip you use and where the grip is in your stroke zone is more important than where you grip the cue.
You do have a stroke zone right?
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