Natural cueing

[ace man]

How many of you use chin/chest contacts because you either have seen the pro players on TV, watched better players or maybe took a coaching session?
As much as 4 point contact helps and I personally love it, perhaps it can also hide some problems with cue alignment.

Just for fun I tried some 2 point contact cueing with head above the cue which I like to call "natural" and indeed it looks like I have become perhaps a bit too dependent on 4 point contact.
Despite my efforts to bring chest to the cue and not the other way around, I feel like I adjust a bit too much sometimes while down on shot.

Ideally a player should be able to cue fully straight with just two contact points and only then add 4 points to get that extra confidence and stability. Right?
What if somebody told top professionals that from now on 4 point contact is not allowed? How far do you think their standard would drop? I won't name any names but some of them look to me like they could not play top level stuff with just 2 points of contact. Thoughts?

[tomperty]

This is coincidentally how I learn to cue in the first place - just using my arm as a pendulum and some, but not a lot, of chin stability. After I really started to study the cueing mechanics I realised that learning this way has eliminated most sideways movement from my cueing and helped a lot with natural timing. I found that after I added the chest contact to my action, I gained a lot of stability as well as consistency. I'm now very proud and confident with my cueing.

Thinking further into this, I looked at the mechanics of the human arm and came to the realisation that the factor dictating the sideways movement was the position of the elbow. That is, how far outward or inward pointing it is. Try it yourself - use the two-point contact cueing like you mentioned and try adjusting your elbow positioning. Too far outward or inward and you'll notice your cue wobbling sideways. There appears to be a sweet spot where the cue only appears to move on one plane (forwards, backwards, up and down). Mine is with my elbow a few degrees pointing outward from the vertical.

As I had never had the chest contact point as I was growing up, I learnt this elbow position without even realising it in order to cue straight. After asking members of the forum whether I should incorporate the chest contact point, everyone said yes. So just one week later, I was bringing my chest to the cue comfortably and had eliminated the up and down movement of my cue.

[Dan-cat]

This is interesting... I have ever heard of this concept.

[ace man]

Just thinking more about it. What an idea. To use interference of body as guidance for the cue. When did it all start?
I watched some footage of 70s and 80s snooker. Although the guys still kept very low head position not everybody was literally brushing their chin/chest with the cue like they are doing today.
Nowadays almost all pro players use chin. It is also very interesting to observe how firm their chin contact is. For example Murphy - very light, Ronnie - firm, Higgins - I believe no other player puts that much resistance on cue with his chin.
I wonder if this trend is here to stay for good? Will be interesting to see if technique of snooker pro players evolves further in decades to come.

[jdub]

Will be interesting to see if technique of snooker pro players evolves further in decades to come.

Who knows, maybe this'll be the future of snooker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JrOH6sUI4g

[DeanH]

Be dizzy after a few shots! A bit like Alex Higgins, movement all over the place but at the essential time of delivery, everything is still and aligned correctly

[Cue crafty]

Who knows, maybe this'll be the future of snooker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JrOH6sUI4g

Wow - proves there is more than one way to skin a cat I guess. I don't think John Spencer had much contact from memory?

[alabadi]

It is also very interesting to observe how firm their chin contact is. For example Murphy - very light, Ronnie - firm, Higgins - I believe no other player puts that much resistance on cue with his chin.
.

Graeme Dott has a very firm chin on cue action, sometimes you see him with a plaster on his chin because of the amount of pressure he uses caused blisters.

[Hello, Mr Big Shot]

Who knows, maybe this'll be the future of snooker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JrOH6sUI4g

Lol. Brilliant. Only the ram shot missing there!

Love the cartoon bits towards the end - very cool indeed.

[ace man]

Who knows, maybe this'll be the future of snooker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JrOH6sUI4g

LOL noooo.

[ace man]

Graeme Dott has a very firm chin on cue action, sometimes you see him with a plaster on his chin because of the amount of pressure he uses caused blisters.

Another very firm contact, yes, thanks.
This makes me wonder why more snooker players don't use maple wood for cue rather than ash. It really is a bit smoother.

[Cue crafty]

Another very firm contact, yes, thanks.
This makes me wonder why more snooker players don't use maple wood for cue rather than ash. It really is a bit smoother.

I believe Maggs suffers from chin burn, especially when he's been dodging the razor! : )

[DeanH]

Because of a "skin condition" he has special dispensation from WS from wearing ties, I believe he has said he prefers maple as it does not pull on this chin hairs like ash

Dott - the amount of pressure he (used to) put on his chin to cue, any wood would give a friction burn, whether maple/pearwood

[Cue crafty]

Because of a "skin condition" he has special dispensation from WS from wearing ties, I believe he has said he prefers maple as it does not pull on this chin hairs like ash

Dott - the amount of pressure he (used to) put on his chin to cue, any wood would give a friction burn, whether maple/pearwood

Terry Griffiths never used to run the cue against his chin, I noticed Allan McManus had started to slowly lift his head just before the strike very much like Ray Reardon used to.

[ace man]

Because of a "skin condition" he has special dispensation from WS from wearing ties, I believe he has said he prefers maple as it does not pull on this chin hairs like ash

Dott - the amount of pressure he (used to) put on his chin to cue, any wood would give a friction burn, whether maple/pearwood

I believe him. Whenever I try ash cue (big name maker or not), I also get a bit of chin hair pulling sometimes. I know how it sounds. My club mates laughed too.