Feathering

[kjozsa]

strange you say that - somehow I got the feeling the less straight my left (bridge) arm is, the more precise my shoot becomes.. I'll try to get it straight next time and see what it brings to the table.

[edemrulez]

As far as I know, we should bend our bridge arm, thats why we don't hit our chest, so the cue action remains straight forward.... but I'm not a coach although!
I think this works for me because since I use this technik my long-potting improved...
Who knows...

[brendan147]

brendan:

What's this 'old man' crap? I feel like I'm 20 but of course the girls don't agree with me anymore it seems

Terry

Young in the heart....

[kjozsa]

kj:

My post to saddler will also fix (or should) fix your end-of-delivery movement (to the left I'd bet as I had EXACTLY the same thing).

Straighten the left arm and get the left shoulder over to the cheek and then get the cue more into the chest by dropping the chest, NOT raising the cue but ensure your right elbow is as high as it comfortably can be.

This solved my problems at the end of delivery and improved my long potting at least 100% immediately I got it

Terry

Yesterday I got my stand checked in the club and my right elbow was clearly overbent to the left. Once I got it completely vertical, the landings became firm with no side movement or shaking.

[Terry Davidson]

Just to clarify to everyone. When I said 'straighten the left arm' (for right-handers) I didn't mean in the Joe Davis style where he says 'thrust the left arm out as far as possible'.

What Joe never mentioned and I've never seen another coach clarify this point is this. By thrusting out the left arm you naturally bring the left shoulder over closer to the left cheek and that's the real secret of this thing. Not many coaches have realized this and don't mention it.

Depending on your height (Joe was 5ft6in I believe) you can have any amound of bend in the left arm as you are comfortable with, however I found with my own technique (I'm 6ft) I almost straightened it, so I have just a slight bend, enough to place about 10% of my weight on my left elbow and forearm. If you straighten the left arm completely it's difficult to get it completely down to the bed of the table as it should be.

So don't make yourself uncomfortable by 'thrusting' that left arm out and locking the left elbow. Some may find this comfortable and if so then you can play this way, however ENSURE YOU GET THE LEFT SHOULDER OVER TO YOUR LEFT CHEEK AS FAR AS POSSIBLE.

This will force a twist in your upper spine and also bring your RIGHT shoulder more into line behind your head and more over the cue. It should also correct any mis-alignment of the elbow to the right, but don't over-do it too much as you may end up with the elbow hanging a bit in to the left, sort of like John Higgins.

Please check any head-on shots of any of the pros and note where their left shoulder is in relation to their cheek. I have a background of a head-on shot with Hendry from his prime and there's less than 1/2in between the shoulder and the cheek. Higgins, Wenbo, Davis, Murphy, O'Sullivan and all the others are similar.

Terry

[brendan147]

Thank you

Just to clarify to everyone. When I said 'straighten the left arm' (for right-handers) I didn't mean in the Joe Davis style where he says 'thrust the left arm out as far as possible'.

What Joe never mentioned and I've never seen another coach clarify this point is this. By thrusting out the left arm you naturally bring the left shoulder over closer to the left cheek and that's the real secret of this thing. Not many coaches have realized this and don't mention it.

Depending on your height (Joe was 5ft6in I believe) you can have any amound of bend in the left arm as you are comfortable with, however I found with my own technique (I'm 6ft) I almost straightened it, so I have just a slight bend, enough to place about 10% of my weight on my left elbow and forearm. If you straighten the left arm completely it's difficult to get it completely down to the bed of the table as it should be.

So don't make yourself uncomfortable by 'thrusting' that left arm out and locking the left elbow. Some may find this comfortable and if so then you can play this way, however ENSURE YOU GET THE LEFT SHOULDER OVER TO YOUR LEFT CHEEK AS FAR AS POSSIBLE.

This will force a twist in your upper spine and also bring your RIGHT shoulder more into line behind your head and more over the cue. It should also correct any mis-alignment of the elbow to the right, but don't over-do it too much as you may end up with the elbow hanging a bit in to the left, sort of like John Higgins.

Please check any head-on shots of any of the pros and note where their left shoulder is in relation to their cheek. I have a background of a head-on shot with Hendry from his prime and there's less than 1/2in between the shoulder and the cheek. Higgins, Wenbo, Davis, Murphy, O'Sullivan and all the others are similar.

Terry

Thanks for your explainations here, coach....:snooker:

[marshoush]

You are correct is assuming most cueing problems originate in the backswing, with it normally being off-line or else too quick and causing movement in the upper body.

This situation usually developes from having too tight a grip, although not always. There is no one 'correct' grip as long as a player has positive control of the cue and the grip is still nice and loose.

However, in the backswing area, it must be slow enough so the player can positively control it and draw the cue back exactly stright. Some players are assisted by having the cue against the chest, but not too tightly as that will restrict follow-through or encourage the player to bring his grip hand around his chest. Remember to keep the right elbow as high as you can without bringing the cue too tightly into the chest.

The grip shouldn't tighten until after the cueball is struck.

The grip should be loose enough so the cue can be easily pulled through it with the other hand. Plus, you should form your final grip when standing behind the shot and ensure the grip hand is over the right foot in the address position.

In addition, (for a right-handed player) the cue should run underneath the right shoulder, approx 1-2inches to the right of the right nipple. A lot of players keep the cue too far underneath their bodies which encourages an off-straight backswing.

Terry

hello thanks for the advices Terry I noticed sometimes you say small advices that make big diffrent in my game when you said about the cue should be under the nipples..etc

but I was wondering is it ok when I cue I hit my chest in delivery? (my weight is a bit high so I wanted to make sure wether i try to be away with 1-2 inches or just be like that )

Thanks again (Just did my 25 break in practice with moving the cueball though its still big achievment to me )

marshoush

[RGCirencester]

The cue hitting the chest is a good thing. It gives you a point of reference on delivery so you can stop the cue there every single time. Helps with consistancy

[marshoush]

The cue hitting the chest is a good thing. It gives you a point of reference on delivery so you can stop the cue there every single time. Helps with consistancy

oh What about the follow through isn't hitting the chest will prevent it ?

and I was wondering is my elbow should be exactly straight with my nose/head ? cause when I go down (right handed) i sometimes see my elbow go towards the right

and Thanks


Marshoush

[Terry Davidson]

marshoush:

As RC says, your grip hand SHOULD hit your chest in approximately the same spot for EVERY shot and that is a good thing. From the sounds of it you have a large chest and if you feel you are not getting a good amount of follow through (5-6in or 12.5cm to 15cm minimum, more is better) then you should be one of those players that drops the elbow upon delivery.

Make sure you do it at the end of the delivery and ideally the back of your grip hand thumb should hit your chest just to the right and above your right nipple.

The nose (head), right shoulder and right elbow should be directly above the cue although it is not the outside of the shoulder but the inside of it. If you can cue into a mirrow, you should not be able to see your right shoulder as it should be hidden by your head, but you should be able to see the right elbow above your head although it might be slightly to the right side of your head a bit.

However, there are good players who don't have their elbow aligned directly above the head and cue (Mark Williams for one, Jamie Cope for another) but IDEALLY the elbow should be directly over the cue. The right elbow alignment is defined by the type of grip you use and the amount of cock in your right wrist and also by how high you have your right shoulder and elbow.

Try tucking your left shoulder against your left cheek as far as you can, but within your comfort range (do not encourage any discomfort) and that should raise your right shoulder up behind your head and also align your elbow to where you can deliver the cue straight.

Terry

[brendan147]

Very informative...Terry...welldone

[marshoush]

I will be trying to tuck my left shoulder and see what i can achieve.
and thank you

[cazmac1]

Feathering gives you the time to settle into the shot and allows you to sight the ball. If you are not sighting the ball you are just guessing the angle of the pot. The great Joe Davis swears by this and I agree. Good sighting gives you the confidence to push the que through on the correct line. Without feathering you will never have consistency in you game.:snooker:

[brendan147]

IMHO, you should feathering your cueing arm as natural feeling as possible. I myself almost have the natural angle (45degree) when swinging back/forth the cue as I get down to the shot. That will tell me a slight adjustment when sighting the potting angle and when I am ready, I take final LONG and SLOW backswing as my eyes are already lock to the object ball...and bang...!!! I am not sure if this the best technique for you neither will suits your style, but it works very well for me...at least.

Just one thing, make sure the cue swinging directly below your chin and chess, and there you go...straight cueing delivery...