snooker stance video

[ShootingArts]

I thought a detailed analysis of a snooker stance might be of interest to some. There are youtube video's from the same coach on the grip and a few more things.

This video focuses on the snooker stance and contact points. The gentleman talks most peculiar and odd but it is slightly more understandable for me than the Chinese gentleman's lesson.

I don't fully agree with some of his comments but I think we all agree that snooker players have impressive shot making ability. When I could bend a bit lower I was a strong believer in using contact points. In this video they are using both chin and chest at the same time as additional contact points with the chest being most important according to the professional coach. I used chest or side of chin depending on how narrow a margin for error there was on an individual shot.

Hu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSK4w_9S_x0&feature=related

 

[Siz]

I thought the foot positioning was interesting. That wasn't the orthodox snooker stance when I was learning the game, but the fashion seems to have changed.

Actually I have just tried out the stance shown and it immediately felt quite natural & comfortable. Most importantly, it doesn't seem to put so much strain on my lower back as my normal stance does. I think I might pursue this. :thumbup:

Here is a link to a page on the snooker stance by Frank Callan, which is quite interesting. Callan is a bit of a legend in the snooker world, having helped a lot of the top pros with their fundamentals over the years.

 

[ShootingArts]

I think the locked leg will eventually go away

I thought the foot positioning was interesting. That wasn't the orthodox snooker stance when I was learning the game, but the fashion seems to have changed.

Actually I have just tried out the stance shown and it immediately felt quite natural & comfortable. Most importantly, it doesn't seem to put so much strain on my lower back as my normal stance does. I think I might pursue this. :thumbup:

Here is a link to a page on the snooker stance by Frank Callan, which is quite interesting. Callan is a bit of a legend in the snooker world, having helped a lot of the top pros with their fundamentals over the years.

Siz,

I liked what your article had to say. I tried Del Hill's stance and I would need parts to bend that don't bend anymore to get into it. What Frank Callan has to say makes perfect sense to me. Comfortable and consistent, arranged around the cue stick, will get the job done. The one thing I think I need to return to is a third contact point. I had gotten away from that but some recent health related stroke issues make me suspect I need to have that third point of reference again.

The one common denominator of most stances is the locked leg and I think that will eventually go away because contrary to popular opinion it isn't as stable as a leg that isn't locked. There is no strength in your muscles with your leg locked and you aren't as well balanced as with both legs working. Other sports have favored locked joints at one time or another and eventually moved away from them. My prediction is that the cue sports will too eventually.

I do find it interesting to see how others in similar sports go about things and I have to agree that we square up to the table pretty often on a nine footer, like it or not! Makes sense to have a stance that lets us like it.

Hu

 

[Neil]

............

 

[Siz]

While I agree that it does make it easy to cinch shots, or roll them in, I found it difficult to stroke the cb like you have to in 9 ball.

I was thinking about the idea of making a change to your fundamentals when you want to cinch a crucial shot. As long as you don't keep changing around (in other words you only do it every few racks), it makes some sense. It is also something I have seen Manalo do very well.

 

[Siz]

Siz,

The one common denominator of most stances is the locked leg and I think that will eventually go away because contrary to popular opinion it isn't as stable as a leg that isn't locked. There is no strength in your muscles with your leg locked and you aren't as well balanced as with both legs working. Other sports have favored locked joints at one time or another and eventually moved away from them. My prediction is that the cue sports will too eventually.

Hu

You may be right. Snooker players have always been taught to keep the back leg locked. But recently I was surprised to see one of the top snooker pros who had both legs slightly bent.

This case might be the 'exception that proves the rule'; but on the other hand, it might show that as you suggest it is simply not necessary to keep that back leg straight even for snooker, in which case the old accepted wisdom will eventually fall away.

Already much more common in pool of course, but there is not normally such a premium placed on accuracy of shooting.

EDIT: I was trying to figure out who the bent-legged snooker player I had seen was. I failed, but I did come across this. It relates to Mike Dunn, perhaps not one of the top pros, but interesting anyway and potentially useful for fellow bad-back sufferers.

'Dunn believes that suffering from back problems in recent years has been a blessing in disguise. “It’s forced me to play with both legs bent rather than just one leg, and that has allowed me to get the cue at a more horizontal angle, which has helped my game,” he said. "It's amazing that what I thought was something bad for my career has turned out to be the best thing that's ever happened to me."

(Original article on worldsnooker.com)