Not moving cue back until you've aimed and chest is on the cue.

[armstm]

Thanks to nrage for posting the del hill series on youtube with mrtopbreak on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yFhk4m_DZA

In it he states that you should not start to pull the cue back for feathering until a) you've aimed b) your chest is on the cue.


I was amazed that i had not paid attention to this simple principle - i had no idea or awareness of when i started to pull the cue back.

I went to the club to practice and found that i was in the habit of pulling the cue back quite early, certainly before the cue was near my chest. I found this particularly the case on cushion shots - maybe because i stand too close to the cushion.

Anyway i think this is a valid principle as it stops a lot of movement before you start feathering.

I beat my record for 5 successful long blues pots (5/7 from the yellow spot) today so perhaps this has helped remove unwanted cue movement away from the line of aim before i start feathering.

Any thoughts appreciated...

[Terry Davidson]

armstm:

I agree absolutely with Del Hill here (even though I'm guilty of not doing it all the time). When I coach I tell the student to drop down into the address position and have the cue still against the cueball for around a second. I call this the 'FIRST PAUSE' for want of a better term as I don't think any coach has actually named it.

There are 4 pauses in a really good cue action...1. First, 2. Front, 3. Rear and 4. Final. The final one being after you deliver the cue you should leave the cue extended with the grip hand against the chest and the upper body still for at least 1-2 seconds before you lift the body off the table. (Watch Shaun Murphy for an excellent example of this).

So remember 'FFRF' or '3FR' or something like that when practicing and it will soon become natural.

Terry

[DandyA]

Thanks to nrage for posting the del hill series on youtube with mrtopbreak on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yFhk4m_DZA

In it he states that you should not start to pull the cue back for feathering until a) you've aimed b) your chest is on the cue.


I was amazed that i had not paid attention to this simple principle - i had no idea or awareness of when i started to pull the cue back.

I went to the club to practice and found that i was in the habit of pulling the cue back quite early, certainly before the cue was near my chest. I found this particularly the case on cushion shots - maybe because i stand too close to the cushion.

Anyway i think this is a valid principle as it stops a lot of movement before you start feathering.

I beat my record for 5 successful long blues pots (5/7 from the yellow spot) today so perhaps this has helped remove unwanted cue movement away from the line of aim before i start feathering.

Any thoughts appreciated...

yes, I have to say I think I'm very guilty of this ... it's so much easier to see if the cue is on the chosen line of aim if the tip is close to the white ... so what do I do ... feather and draw it back a few inches so I'm just left looking at thin air ...

what a dummie ... D'oh ...

[armstm]

Many thanks for this terry, i'll try to incorporate this :encouragement:

armstm:

I agree absolutely with Del Hill here (even though I'm guilty of not doing it all the time). When I coach I tell the student to drop down into the address position and have the cue still against the cueball for around a second. I call this the 'FIRST PAUSE' for want of a better term as I don't think any coach has actually named it.

There are 4 pauses in a really good cue action...1. First, 2. Front, 3. Rear and 4. Final. The final one being after you deliver the cue you should leave the cue extended with the grip hand against the chest and the upper body still for at least 1-2 seconds before you lift the body off the table. (Watch Shaun Murphy for an excellent example of this).

So remember 'FFRF' or '3FR' or something like that when practicing and it will soon become natural.

Terry

[pottr]

I've never seen those clips before, quite interesting.

Whenever I've told my pals anything to try and improve them I've always mentioned using the chest as a stopgap from cueing across the ball. I never realised it was part of the 'textbook'

Like Terry, I usually find that when I'm playing poorly it's this simple aspect of my action that isn't being given enough attention.

I wonder if the lad improved much afterward?

[armstm]

i think both john higgins and mark selby have this first pause - they definitely don't start feathering or pulling cue back until they're fully down on the shot. ronnie on the other hand seems to feather or pulling the cue back before he's finished getting down.

[nrage]

i think both john higgins and mark selby have this first pause - they definitely don't start feathering or pulling cue back until they're fully down on the shot. ronnie on the other hand seems to feather or pulling the cue back before he's finished getting down.

I've noticed Shaun Murphy doing this also, he gets down on the shot and draw the cue back as he slides his hand forward into position.

[lbs]

Why will u pot a blue from the yellow spot? Correct me if i am wrong but i believe the whole idea is to check for straight cueing?

[itsnoteasy]

The lad has some videos up of 50 plus breaks but i am sure he has made far bigger breaks than this(he looks to controlled and good not to have) but not sure if it was before or after the session

[pcb]

what is meant by dont pull the cue back till we have aimed , what do you aim the cue at before we pull it back . i no it sounds silly to ask but i hope some one can help. thanks

[itsnoteasy]

The line of shot, is the line the cue ball must take to hit the object ball in the correct place to pot it into the pocket.When you walk into your shot you should walk in on the line of shot with your nose and cue directly on this line, and place your cue(with tip near cue ball)on it(this is why the coaches say most of the aiming is done before you get down on the shot).now you should lower yourself onto your cue(chest to cue) not lower a bit then pull the cue up to meet you, and all your aiming is done, a couple of feathers to check cueing, a nice front pause, a nice back pause, and a smooth acceleration through the cue ball , driving hand into chest and stay down after shot, all this while staying as relaxed and still as possible, to be honest i dont know how i ever pot anything, when i read what i have to do

[pcb]

thanks . great advice

[alabadi]

to be honest i dont know how i ever pot anything, when i read what i have to do

My thoughts exactly, and some say its a simple game.

Alabbadi

[coomsey76]

The lad has some videos up of 50 plus breaks but i am sure he has made far bigger breaks than this(he looks to controlled and good not to have) but not sure if it was before or after the session

The lad is a member on here..... I've played him a couple of times and he is a very good player!!

[coomsey76]

The lad has some videos up of 50 plus breaks but i am sure he has made far bigger breaks than this(he looks to controlled and good not to have) but not sure if it was before or after the session

The lad is member on here, I've played him a few times and he is a very good player..... I haven't seen him post anything for a while though, but I sure he's about somewhere.....