Where oh where do you go Front Foot?

boogieman

boogieman

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
I have a "simple" question. Where should the front foot point?

Should it point at:
Contact point/aim on OB?
The pocket?
The location you want to leave the CB?
Parallel to the bank/kick shot line?
Parallel to the shot line?
At the "fly on the wall" or imaginary pocket used to visualize banks?

I've spent a lot of time burning in the stance like Mark Wilson shows in his pool clinic video for Accu-Stats. I have also been experimenting a bit which has led to questions.

On blind cuts or ones that are hard to visually judge, I've noticed that if I point my foot at the target pocket it seems to help me triangulate where to hit the OB, or at least helps to further trust the eyes. I've also noticed that if I do one of those annoying "miss the ball but get perfect shape" 😤 my foot is pointed where the CB ends up. Banks seem to go better if my foot is along the closest "perfect/mirror bank line" (which is also coincidentally pointed at an imaginary pocket out in space). I've also noticed that on "fly on the wall" type shots, it seems to work well to point your front foot at the "fly." This might work for shots where you imagine an imaginary pocket out in space or similar "feel" shots. I think it also might have something to do with being able to do good one rail kicks.

Any thoughts?
 
i am not an instructor
but for ME
i found that i need to move my left foot (i am right handed) towards the object ball as i step forward as that gets me into better alignment
when i step more forward (parrallel to the shot line) i tend to come down aimed to the left of my target
so i would answer your question
your left foot has to go where it more naturally puts your body and cue on the shot line
icbw
 
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Try this experiment: Get into your stance, keep your feet planted and try pointing them in different directions. What happens? Nothing much, other than twisting your knees. Now start in the same position again and move one of your feet to different spots. Now the position of your hips changes, which changes your body's angle to the line of the shot. I prefer to keep both feet pointed in line with the direction each of my hips are facing. Why fight your anatomy and needlessly twist your knees if you don't have to? When you fight your anatomy, you tire faster. If you're lifting heavy weights and have to brace yourself, or are constantly changing your center of gravity, that's a different story --- you have to brace yourself. But that's not the case here. Are we lifting heavy weights? Are we doing the mambo?

If you really feel the need to brace yourself for a particular shot, a slight point outward, away from your body, is okay. As far as aiming goes, it's the placement of your hips relative to the shot line that really matters, and yes, sometimes players want to change that angle briefly for a particular shot and they do it by moving their foot or feet to a different spot on the floor. If it changes the direction your hips are facing, then you will feel the feet point in a slightly different direction as well --- but the feet pointing change is the by-product and not the source.
 
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boogieman said:
I have a "simple" question. Where should the front foot point?

Should it point at:
Contact point/aim on OB?
The pocket?
The location you want to leave the CB?
Parallel to the bank/kick shot line?
Parallel to the shot line?
At the "fly on the wall" or imaginary pocket used to visualize banks?

I've spent a lot of time burning in the stance like Mark Wilson shows in his pool clinic video for Accu-Stats. I have also been experimenting a bit which has led to questions.

On blind cuts or ones that are hard to visually judge, I've noticed that if I point my foot at the target pocket it seems to help me triangulate where to hit the OB, or at least helps to further trust the eyes. I've also noticed that if I do one of those annoying "miss the ball but get perfect shape" 😤 my foot is pointed where the CB ends up. Banks seem to go better if my foot is along the closest "perfect/mirror bank line" (which is also coincidentally pointed at an imaginary pocket out in space). I've also noticed that on "fly on the wall" type shots, it seems to work well to point your front foot at the "fly." This might work for shots where you imagine an imaginary pocket out in space or similar "feel" shots. I think it also might have something to do with being able to do good one rail kicks.

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...



I have always had a preference for both feet to be under me and on the floor for most shots!

A bar table may let you position everything just so but on nine feet and bigger tables position is often going to be less than perfect. That is when first and foremost a firm foundation is important with the table rail often adding a third point. Of course the bridge hand is important but I don't like putting a major portion of body weight on it. The shots where you can get everything perfect work fine with a textbook stance, but you are going to make them anyway. Can you come with the shots from awkward positions? Your opponent is gonna let you see a lot of those!
The bridge needs to be solid if at all possible. The grip arm needs to be relaxed and fluid. You need body position to create these things when at all possible. When things are awkward don't be afraid to reach for a crutch!

One thing I did after realizing I was lousy with a bridge was to start shooting off a few racks using the bridge for every shot but the break every practice session. Get a plastic bridge head if you don't already have one. Get a few, I lose a lot of those! The metal bridge heads at the halls often have sharp edges which was one reason I was terrible with them, I hated using them even with a pet house cue.

A free tip, not that you asked but you did touch on shape. I destroyed shape many a time by hitting my next object ball or getting so close to it that the angle needed was sharply limited. I was looking at my next object ball last before lining up the shot. I started looking at where I wanted the cue ball last, locking on that spot for a few seconds or longer depending on difficulty. My shape got much much better! I did the point with my cue thing I saw others doing for a very short time. Why announce to my opponent how far I missed the exact spot I wanted the cue ball? The whole "never let them see you sweat" thing was something I practiced. Often matches were much tougher for me than my opponent thought.

Hu

EDIT: An apology to instructors! Very easy to slip into places I don't mean to be with the "what's new" feature.

Hu
 
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ShootingArts said:
One thing I did after realizing I was lousy with a bridge was to start shooting off a few racks using the bridge for every shot but the break every practice session. Get a plastic bridge head if you don't already have one. Get a few, I lose a lot of those! The metal bridge heads at the halls often have sharp edges which was one reason I was terrible with them, I hated using them even with a pet house cue.
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I enjoy playing people who refuse to use a bridge. Funny enough, I usually shoot much better off a bridge. Maybe I should play all shots with the cue to my ear in a dart technique! 😅
 
I've gone through many incarnations of stance and while I've developed my zone satisfactorily, the one notion I walk away with is it's more practical to calibrate your stroke for accuracy and not so much for comfort. Towards that end, I now let my arms hang over the shot line (I use contact geometry; use whatever you can see). This the unequivocal shot line for my stroke - and I stand with feet parallel to the cue. I bring the cue down to the ball on this line and pivot my ass outward to allow my face to get on the stick facing center cue ball. It's like being stretched out over the cushion where the shot line is perpendicular to that cushion. It consolidates everything I'm likely to shoot at into one easy to remember albeit slightly awkward move.
 
Honesty, the front foot is there to help support or balance your stance/weight. It should be placed in a manner that feels comfortable for your body, your stance, not pointed in any particular direction related to the shot, but pointed so that your stance doesn't feel awkward or off-balance.
 
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My front foot always points directly at the cueball. I didn't plan it that way, but just discovered it while working on such things.

That is a big advantage for consistently setting up, fwiw.


Jeff Livingston
 
chefjeff said:
My front foot always points directly at the cueball. I didn't plan it that way, but just discovered it while working on such things.

That is a big advantage for consistently setting up, fwiw.


Jeff Livingston
Click to expand...
I could see that being a bit awkward on certain shots. You might have to be a bit of a contortionist to do it all the time. It sort of reminds me of the theory that some players have about pointing their bridge hand pinkie at the pocket. To each his own, I guess......
 
I have never thought about that.
I've been in the same stance for 60 years and never looked at my front foot.
Thanks a lot now I will have to look.
 
FranCrimi said:
I could see that being a bit awkward on certain shots. You might have to be a bit of a contortionist to do it all the time. It sort of reminds me of the theory that some players have about pointing their bridge hand pinkie at the pocket. To each his own, I guess......
Click to expand...

Of course, Fran. Normal shots, if you will, have my left foot naturally pointed at the cue ball. It's a good curse, I guess.


Jeff Livingston
 
Just my $.02 here but i think where your back foot goes is the most important. Get it on the shot line and step forward. Where your FF lands is more of a preference that an absolute. FWIW i step forward and left at same time. If i step straight parallel to shot line i feel way too cramped and stroke tends to have a slight 'swoop' to it.
 
garczar said:
Just my $.02 here but i think where your back foot goes is the most important. Get it on the shot line and step forward. Where your FF lands is more of a preference that an absolute. FWIW i step forward and left at same time. If i step straight parallel to shot line i feel way too cramped and stroke tends to have a slight 'swoop' to it.
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I have had students who put both feet in line. I think that's broken because it is not stable. I've even had a student who put their front foot on the wrong side of the cue. It's remarkable how many adults don't actually know how to stand. Or at least, stand in a solid position.
 
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