how to get rid of the chicken wing

[Slh]

I had this problem for a long time and I think is the reason for the unwanted spin I usually give. I have the elbow not perpendicular but outside of my body (similar to Jamie Cope). If I try to put my elbow closer to my body it feels really unnatural, also even if I put the elbow perpendicular at the start of the stroke, when I start the pratice strokes the elbow moves away from the body unconsciously. Have you some tip?

[mattyshinobi22]

This was the same bad habit I used to have which I blame on starting to play the game on a small table on the floor. I got out of this habit by visiting a coach who got me to tuck my arm in and cock my wrist out slightly which prevents my arm jointing out. Felt very un natural and uncomfortable at first but now I am used to it and my arm is straight and my cueing improved. But needs working at otherwise you won't get used to it, but ya game will get worse but gradually gets better.

[CoachGavin]

I solved it by practising with a mirror on my dining room table. I just cued and watched myself in the mirror. I corrected my arm so that my shoulder was behind my head. This ensured my elbow would be over my cue and head too in a straight line. You may have to adjust your grip if your elbow is turned in or outwards as well.

[Reptile1]

Hi, I had the same problem for over 25 years, tried to correct it on several occasions without success!

Thanks to all the help on this forum this time I have managed to stick with it this time.

It does seem unnatural and a little uncomfortable at first and as mentioned before, your game generally gets worse before it gets better...but hey in my opinion its worth it,, My potting has improved quite dramatically.

See Thread: http://www.thesnookerforum.com/board...ortable-Change

Ta Repy.

[Slh]

Thanks for all the replies.

I solved it by practising with a mirror on my dining room table. I just cued and watched myself in the mirror. I corrected my arm so that my shoulder was behind my head. This ensured my elbow would be over my cue and head too in a straight line. You may have to adjust your grip if your elbow is turned in or outwards as well.

I tried to pratice in front of a mirror. What's funny is when I'm in front of a mirror my arm is perpendicular or even too much near my body, but when I play on a real table I have the chicken wing.

[aucott80]

snooker cues

Hi Matt
Wondered if you have any cues for sale know u usually have couple.
Did you sell the earl?

[Terry Davidson]

slh:

I think the difference between the mirror and an actual table might be the height or else that you're conscious regarding the elbow when using the mirror.

There are two ways to get rid of the 'chicken wing' flying elbow and one is mentioned above here, and that is to ensure you have a good wrist cock. The other is to get the left armpit (assuming you're right handed) down as far as you can comfortably get it. This is done by widening the stance a bit (maybe 2" or so) and bending the left knee more than you're used to. Getting the left armpit down as far as possible will raise the right shoulder socket up and behind the head, which is what we're after here.

This will all feel a bit different and perhaps even a bit uncomfortable at the start but if you do it right you will soon get used to it

Terry

[mattyshinobi22]

Hi Matt
Wondered if you have any cues for sale know u usually have couple.
Did you sell the earl?

just the olde ash for sale at min mate, yes still have the earl, bought back from my mate, i play pool with it

[mattyshinobi22]

****deleted duplicate post******

[Slh]

slh:

I think the difference between the mirror and an actual table might be the height or else that you're conscious regarding the elbow when using the mirror.

There are two ways to get rid of the 'chicken wing' flying elbow and one is mentioned above here, and that is to ensure you have a good wrist cock. The other is to get the left armpit (assuming you're right handed) down as far as you can comfortably get it. This is done by widening the stance a bit (maybe 2" or so) and bending the left knee more than you're used to. Getting the left armpit down as far as possible will raise the right shoulder socket up and behind the head, which is what we're after here.

This will all feel a bit different and perhaps even a bit uncomfortable at the start but if you do it right you will soon get used to it

Terry

yes I'm right handed. I noticed when I'm bridging on the surface of the table (not on the rail) I have the left elbow not on the table with the left arm tense and the left elbow in the air (very similar to Corey Deuel http://www.nycgrind.com/wp-content/u...3/_mg_2034.jpg ). It could be the reason of the chicken wing? However I have the chicken wing even when I'm bridging on the rail. I also noticed I have the feet pretty close with each other ( so not a wide stance) and sometime I forget to bend the left knee.

[Terry Davidson]

slh:

Not having your left elbow on the table could be the basic reason for instability and upper body movement on the shot, which is a real possibility. My recommendation would be to have the bridge arm slightly bent at the elbow and when you get down on the shot consciously 'push' that elbow into the bed of the table. The left forearm and bridge hand should have somewhere around 10% of your total weight.

You could also have the left foot just a bit ahead of the right foot, perhaps 3" or so, which will make it easier to bend the left leg a bit more to get the left armpit down virtually resting on the rail but not quite.

So, in summary, in the grip have the thumb pointed directly to the floor and vertical as it's impossible to do this without having a decent wrist cock, which is what we're after. Widen the stance just a bit, maybe 3" and bend the left leg more in order to get the left armpit down as far as is comfortably possible which in turn will raise the right shoulder socket and hopefully get it directly behind the head. Move the left foot forward a bit, maybe 3" ahead of the right foot, in order to ease the twist in the spine (young players can do this easily but those over 30 might not have the flexibility required).

Also, try getting down in front of the mirror with your eyes closed as you assume the address position and once settled then open the eyes and have a look at the mirror as this will be the position which is closest to natural to you. Then work from there to get everything aligned the way you want it.

By the way, the flying elbow (having the elbow outside the body) is not in itself a bad thing as long as the player doesn't allow the elbow to move sideways during the backswing and delivery. As long as the elbow remains still in space and/or drops, lifts and drops again IN A STRAIGHT LINE then there's not problem, however most players with the elbow outside the body find it harder to control the elbow. In addition, I've noticed quite a few of the pros (Higgins, Hendry and a few others) who actually have the elbow INSIDE the line of the cue a bit but they keep it still with no sideways movement for the most part (although Hendry used to drop his elbow into his back on the backswing and then raise his the elbow upwards more as he was delivering. When he had this perfectly coordinated everything went well).

Terry

[Zidane_87]

Hi Slh,

I can say I had this bad habit, and I worked on fixing this for years!!! In front of a mirror defo helps, but like the others are saying, it can feel unnatural and uncomfortable!

Some tips, which i feel made a huge difference;

- When going down on the shot, keep your cue arms hand close to your hip before u bend into the shot, watch a judd trump vid, he does this, and it works

- I also believe that the Chicken Wing is caused by a poor stance, try and learn or add to your game a much more square stance to the table, so, if your right handed, your left foot should be parallel to your right foot, watch ronnie and his feet

- Finally consciously tuck your WING IN before you begin the aiming, watch liang wenbo, you see him get down then his cue arm elbow folds in, its funny but works!

Good luck with it mate, if anything doesnt make sense lemme know

Hish!!!!

[zechchoo]

I love fried chicken wings. The only occasion I would avoid if I know I involve with any snooker competition on that day.... seems like a taboo for me. Anyway during the game if this happen, I only need to foucs more on the shot rather than worried how I grip, whether my elbow straight , or twist during deliver... and hope for the best to minimise the damage for that frame itself.

[Slh]

thanks for the help. Unfortunately this is a very hard habit to fix... because unless you have a friend who is watching your arm you don't know if you have the arm perpendicular or not and there is no guide or reference. For example if you have the tendency to twist outwards or inwards your wrist, you have the thumb as a reference to know if you have the wrist straight, but with the arm you don't have any reference. I also noticed when I start the backswing I pull out the arm from my body and also when I drop the elbow I don't drop it in a straight line but I drop it outside of my body like Hendry does.

[nrage]

thanks for the help. Unfortunately this is a very hard habit to fix... because unless you have a friend who is watching your arm you don't know if you have the arm perpendicular or not and there is no guide or reference. For example if you have the tendency to twist outwards or inwards your wrist, you have the thumb as a reference to know if you have the wrist straight, but with the arm you don't have any reference. I also noticed when I start the backswing I pull out the arm from my body and also when I drop the elbow I don't drop it in a straight line but I drop it outside of my body like Hendry does.

The 2 changes which helped me get my elbow in line were:

1. move my front foot forward, from a square stance to something 1/2 way between square and boxer. This relieved pressure on my shoulder and allowed my elbow to come in line. It also changed my chest and chin contact points, allowing me to get the cue where I want/need it - just to the left of my nose (right hander).

2. point my grip thumb at the floor. My initial grip was straight down the back of my forearm and hand, no bend/cock in the grip at all. Pointing the thumb at the floor immediately causes a bend in the back of the hand with the elbow in line. It also brings the cue more into the finger tips, vs the palm of the hand. This gave me more feel for what my hand/wrist/grip were doing and how it affected my elbow.

Concentrate on those aspects I reckon.