Swaying

8pack

8pack

They call me 2 county !
Silver Member
I was wonder if anybody sways or moves from one side to the other over the
cue on long straight in shots(just a small move back and forth)
just to confirm your your lined up right.
Im not sure if its a good thing or not but its does help me line up right.
 
been joking about it for months

8pack said:
I was wonder if anybody sways or moves from one side to the other over the
cue on long straight in shots(just a small move back and forth)
just to confirm your your lined up right.
Im not sure if its a good thing or not but its does help me line up right.
Click to expand...

When shooting outdoor photography I noticed the herons and other wading birds moving their heads side to side when lining up a long strike or one deeply underwater. Joking around I tried swaying back and forth in a similar manner on a longish tough cut shot at the pool hall. Much to my surprise it did help me see the exact angle and where I needed to hit the object ball better. I promptly named it in honor of the birds:

"The Chicken Aiming System"

Hu
 
The most important element of your 'pre-shot routine' is aiming/alignment. Alignment should be found BEFORE you get down on the shot and into your stance.

So, if you are swaying from side to side after you are already down on the shot, then you have not properly aligned at all and your ability to aim is hindered as you are not even confident that you are actually in line with the shot you want to make.

Do youreself a favor and begin to aim/align while still standing up, then bring your alignment into your stance and finish with checking both your aim/alignment 'without' swaying. If you feel the necessity to sway, then you are not confident you are aligned correctly and must stand back up and re-do the entire pre-shot routine.

You must have not only self-awareness, but ultimately the confidence in your awareness and execution of your pre-shot routine perfectly before you will stop swaying and start shooting the lights out.

(Also, make sure your eyes are on the 'object ball' when you are shooting the ball.)

KJ Williams
kj@cuesportcollege.com
www.cuesportcollege.com
 
You should line up on your shot before you get down on it,once your down and doubt crosses your mind, stand back up,Your eyes can play tricks on you when your down on a shot.GOOD LUCK
 
You're basically reinforcing your mental sight picture. Using the pendulum swing, when I'm circling the table, I may move back, as much as 6-9 feet when I'm trying to line up the shot. Once I'm sure, then I flop down on the table for a shot. For me, I think its a bad idea to sway or move (body english) as it brings the shoulder into the shot making process. The human body is amazing, it can self-correct and most likely make the shot, but my stick finish will be off, usually going from 5 o'clock through 11 o'clock.
 
Swaying is not a bad thing while standing up. I still sway sometimes to make sure I see the CTEL accurately.

Your eyes say, "Not here, not here, not here......here."
 
PeoriaPool said:
The most important element of your 'pre-shot routine' is aiming/alignment. Alignment should be found BEFORE you get down on the shot and into your stance.

So, if you are swaying from side to side after you are already down on the shot, then you have not properly aligned at all and your ability to aim is hindered as you are not even confident that you are actually in line with the shot you want to make.

Do youreself a favor and begin to aim/align while still standing up, then bring your alignment into your stance and finish with checking both your aim/alignment 'without' swaying. If you feel the necessity to sway, then you are not confident you are aligned correctly and must stand back up and re-do the entire pre-shot routine.

You must have not only self-awareness, but ultimately the confidence in your awareness and execution of your pre-shot routine perfectly before you will stop swaying and start shooting the lights out.

(Also, make sure your eyes are on the 'object ball' when you are shooting the ball.)

KJ Williams
kj@cuesportcollege.com
www.cuesportcollege.com
Click to expand...

I agree with everything your saying but im addressing only long straight in shots on this.I find it reassuring that im on the right line.
The movement is rather small not really swaying where you could realy notice it.
 
"The Sway". I use to do that dance along with the Twist and theHucklebuck.:thumbup: Johnnyt

PS:Sorry, the devil made me write ite.
 
8pack said:
I was wonder if anybody sways or moves from one side to the other over the
cue on long straight in shots(just a small move back and forth)
just to confirm your your lined up right.
Im not sure if its a good thing or not but its does help me line up right.
Click to expand...

Yep!

When I do this I pay attention to the outer edges of the cb and ob. Once I get it lined up I can fire it in at any speed with accuracy (even off the rail).

On slight angle shots I move up/down slightly a few times.

Before I get down over the shot, I have the shot planned out already of course, but these little head movements DO help me quite a bit on the long straight-ins.
 
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Mark Selby, one of the top snooker pros, moves his head left/right over the cue once he's down on the shot. I can't say he does it on every shot, but I've seen him do it more than just once or twice..
 
A very straight shooter that I know tilts his head both ways before long shots. I've tried this and haven't found it to be of much benefit, but it might work for some if it doesn't throw off anything else, like alignment.
 
Are you honestly swaying to adjust your sighting, or is it something you kind of do naturally and you're telling yourself it's something you do on purpose? Does your shotmaking go way down if you don't do it?

No offense, what I'm getting at is... you should ask why you're doing this. Are you unsure about something? Does your head want to move anyway? I've seen people who just seem a little off balance and I think it's a mix of a less than rock-solid stance and some nagging worry about being wrong on the angle or wrong about the choice of english.

I really don't think this is a good thing, though someone will always say "well I know these players do it, and they shoot great". One of the fundamentals most pool teachers go for is to keep your head still. That isn't just about keeping you from jumping up on the shot, it's also about side to side movement. If you get down on a shot and sight down the barrel (as if to shoot the ball) you can see right away if you're not quite straight. There's no more necessary info that going side to side can give you. You should immediately see if you're off and get up and line up your whole body again if necessary.
 
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