Synchronizing Eye Movement with Final Delivery

[S.Vaskovskyi]

Since Joe Davis recommended a pause at the back of the backswing, that was my mantra for years. That pause didn’t come natural on all shots and so I needed to have it as a technique thought every time. Sometimes it felt forced and unnatural. Del Hill, Ronnie O’Sullivan’s mentor/coach since he was 16, talked about the pause. His advice was to pause before the final stroke. Stopping after the preliminary strokes, then making the final stroke a separate, deliberate action, once the shot was sensed, was his advice. When adding that to my routine instead, the eyes had time to quietly settle on the target during the pause, and the backswing slowed. I no longer think about the pause at the back. Without technique thoughts the actual end result emerges as the intent of the stroke. The front pause is a marksman moment. Will pulling the trigger get the desired outcome? If not, I can stop now and get up. Without the front pause, there is no time for an unconscious body check predicting success.

Sensing the ball contact requires an awareness of the contact point collision. Learning to include the front of the cue ball projected to impact creates an outwards orientation and helps keep from undue fixation on the face of the ball. When becoming aware of the front, other things emerge. The front is more available, whereas the face gets blocked by balls and rails. The front is where the actual contact takes place and acts as a reality check to whatever aiming system you use. When two perspectives give you the same result your certainty level skyrockets. So taking a two dimensional fraction/overlap sighting method and then doing a 3D reality check, by including the front of the ball, will never hurt.

You still have to build in a "stop" mechanism. When the two points of view don’t match, you need to start over. Don’t ask what’s wrong. Knowing it’s not right is enough. Start over by asking what does the successful shot "look" like. This is imagery. It involves all senses. Let your body guide you. If getting up makes you self conscious, get over it. Take a walk around the table. Clean the ball paths. See the small details of the shot so your body can "see" what needs to be done.

To me The Pause is a marshaling moment. Whether at the back or at the front it needs to have enough time to gather the needed resources and info. Putting it at the front, for me, allows me to stop more easily, if needed. At the back, feels like stopping half way through my stroke and gives me that unnatural feeling.

This perspective gives the pause a functional intent. For others it might just keep them from pulling themselves off line transitioning from back to forward. A pendulum stroker needs to have the stroke slow to a stop before moving forward. Most shots have a needed cueing incline. Provided a shooter keeps a high elbow on the backswing, the transition from back to forward can arc down from the top making a static stop unnecessary and still maintain an on line cue path.

Pendulum players already have a pause/stop at the back and arc strokers can benefit from a front pause. There is no wrong answer. Each point posted has the same issue. They are all right from a particular perspective.

What kind of player are you? This was meant to reveal some perspectives and give insight into how the functional intent concept might relate to your thinking on this. Figure out why you would want to pause and what function that provides. Then where and how long become easier to establish.

Second great post from you. Thank you very much for your time to share your knowledge and experience. So useful information out there with great side notes and remarks. Everyone who knows what he's looking for and why could find a lot of helpful details here. :thumbup2:

 

[Imac007]

Beyond the physiology

Knowing that a different set of muscles are used for the forward stroke than the back stroke is worth noting. That is particularly true for the pendulum stroke and another reason for players adapting that as their perspective to make sure a stop occurs before going forward.

When a transition reversing direction is more circular in nature the need for a stop is gone. A baseball batter pulling the bat back or a tennis player’s racket are just going through a rounded readying motion without a need for a pause or stop. An arced transition occurs when the rounded action of the arm creates a flowing motion. Interrupting a flowing motion disrupts timing. This is about accuracy.

Sport science tells us that the biggest correlation to accuracy is speed. As speed increases accuracy decreases. Speed is only half of the equation literally. The formula of momentum is p=mv.

From a Kahn Academy definition "Momentum is a measurement of mass in motion: how much mass is in how much motion. It is usually given the symbol p." The key insight here is the speed component.

Physics tells us if we want to decrease speed to increase accuracy, the simplest way is to increase mass. This allows us to maintain momentum while increasing precision. The arm is more than sets of opposing muscles, it’s mass. When a pendulum pivots at the elbow, the cue and forearm are the only mass. Players that arc use a whole arm stroke. The arm rotates from the shoulder and the elbow in a synchronous manner. The cue path resembles a smooth curved flattening aircraft landing. From a mass standpoint, the upper arm has joined the party. A whole arm stroke allows the velocity of the stroke to be decreased. The larger muscles in the whole arm offer a more controllable cue delivery yet preserve momentum through the ball.

When considering the pause, the relationship between momentum and force add a dimension. How, when and where the pause fits into the bigger picture of accuracy through timing, is a player decision. Knowing what physics and sport science tell us, can help us determine what options to consider.

 

[ChrisinNC]

Please review the https://youtu.be/zODaBpGrg7Q clip to see the reason for the Pause and the effect of the Pause to reset the lower arm bones to their initial relationship at each stroke of the cue. Neither bicep nor tricep muscles can push the bones back into their reset positions to start the new stroke from an original position. To be really accurate with your stroke, the stroke should pause and start from the reset position, waiting for the bicep muscle to execute the stroke. Duration of the pause is determined by each individual's muscle tone and can vary widely between individuals so there is no need to time other's pause to dictate your own pause. xradarx

I have a pause at the beginning - at the completion of my pre-stroke routine and final cue tip address to the cue ball. The pause I'm working on at the completion of my backstroke is for one reason only - to allow extra time for my eyes to focus on the object ball target line, which I was struggling with.

In my opinion, for those that move their eyes for the final time from the cue ball to the object ball target at some point during their backstroke (as I do) as opposed to at the beginning of the backstroke, there just does not seem to be enough time for the eyes to focus on that target if there is no pause.

 

[Bob Jewett]

... Neither bicep nor tricep muscles can push the bones back into their reset positions to start the new stroke from an original position. ...

The word is "biceps". That's the short-form singular for "biceps brachii". The plural is biceps brachiis. In what looked like a reliable source it is stated that it is not primarily the biceps that is responsible for the forearm movement in actions like the pool stroke -- it is some other muscle that I don't remember the name of right now. Biceps is probably close enough for the discussion.