Wpba breaks: jumping in the air

Jen_Cen

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Why do wpba players jump in the air when they break?

I understand getting more power by using your whole body, but to me it seems that jumping in the air directs energy in the wrong direction.
 
Because Jen ...

You are at the end of your stroke, and the only other option is to fall face first onto the table with your feet probably going out from under you.

Now, which is more dignified? ..... :D
 
The jump in the air should be the result or throwing your bodyweight into the break. After having thrown your weight forward during the stroke, you redirect your momentum upward during the follow-through so as not to fall forward onto the table.

However, having seen their breaks many times on TV, I don't think any of them are really doing that. I think most of them are jumping up in the air because they've asked men or other ladies with powerful breaks for pointers, or just watched to see what they do, and found out that powerful breakers jump into the air, so they started doing that thinking it would make their break more powerful, which is sort of like collecting speeding tickets thinking it will make your car faster.

-Andrew
 
I always thought it was just for show. They could soft break and get the same if not better results like most of the Asian Pros.
 
IMO, the jump is for show. ESPN's slo-mo revealed that the jump was a separate & distinct movement AFTER the CB was on it way. The strongest breakers in the world do not jump, they may kick their back leg up & go tip-toed on the front, but it is NOT a intentional jump.

Way back in the day, Varner would jump too, but it was INTO the CB.
 
yup, it's a TV inspired false, "Break-gasm":eek:

having to stand up, lighten rear leg, on the follow through is natural, jumping, yelping what not after the CB has left the launch pad, is just histrionics.
 
I know I'm in the mega minority here but...

There's no way jumping does anything for one's breaking ability - I just don't buy it. Kicking off your back foot is different - that helps a little with tip speed. I bet guys like Nevel, Archer, etc, could break just as hard if they work on their snap/whip reflexes without throwing your body into it.

I mean, if the tip is on the ball for what...let's hear it again... 1/10000 of a second, how does pushing your body into the ball make any noticeable difference? I think you can do better if you work on small, snap muscle reflexes.

Has anyone ever put a quarter in your hand and put their hand underneath it and snapped it out of your hand before you knew what happened? That's what I mean - instant acceleration.

Not trying to be controversial, but I think this "jumping" thing pros do has nothing to do with anything but show. I do think you should "kick off" with the back foot - because that helps somewhat.
 
I agree the jump is either consciously or subconsciously just for show, but I also believe that kicking off of your back foot can have a dramatic effect on cue ball speed. Now whether the cue ball speed and kinetic energy is applied parallel to the bed of the table and transfers maximum energy to the rack vs. jumping the cue ball a little higher and sending some of that energy downwards into the rack, I don't know. It always amazes me how differently great players break. One one hand you've got the Larry Nevils and Charlie Bryants of the world, and on the other hand you've got someone like SVB who gets a great spread with what looks like a relatively soft stroke. I guess this was a long winded way of saying that I think kicking the back leg adds a lot of energy to the break, maybe more than others may feel.
 
I see so many breakers bend their cue in half when they break as well, which to me is weird. I also notice how few of these power breakers truly squat the ball perfectly every time.

It goes down to that drive for show and putt for dough saying. Let these guys bend their cues in half and jump up and down. I'm just focusing on squatting the CB every time.
 
Timing is the #1 component, and I think a lot of the time power is wasted with all the drama because the timing goes to hell. Wind up with a large % of the acceleration spent before the contact point.
 
Why do wpba players jump in the air when they break?

I understand getting more power by using your whole body, but to me it seems that jumping in the air directs energy in the wrong direction.



It gives sex appeal.
 
I bet guys like Nevel, Archer, etc, could break just as hard if they work on their snap/whip reflexes without throwing your body into it.

In Vegas in 2007 Larry hit something like 26.8 on the gun without moving anything but his arm.
 
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