head movement is it all hype

[alabadi]

This is why players like Fu or McManus are inconsistent and sometimes play really well and at other times are complete crap because they are not coordinating perfectly.

Terry

I'd love to be as crap as Marco Fu

[itsnoteasy]

I never understand debating points that say, look he's doing something that's not text book that shows the textbook is wrong. Think of this rationally if you went to a coach and he said don't bother about staying still just move your head around it makes no difference would you go back? These guys are good despite their flaws not because of them, again using the driving analogy, no one drives how you are taught in your lessons, we all find our own way, but that doesn't make it right or make how you were taught wrong, it's just within a certain limit, we find what works for us AFTER WE HAVE LEARNED how to do it properly.

[alabadi]

Think of this rationally if you went to a coach and he said don't bother about staying still just move your head around it makes no difference would you go back? .

obviously not, however if you were potting balls well and there was some slight movement. would it be a good idea for a coach to mention it, or get you to change so you stay still.
sometimes slight movement that doesn't effect what you are trying to do might be just part of how you play and if tinkered with could effect cueing all together and may set you back.

i'm not advocating movement at all, all i'm doing is creating a debating point around something that is deemed bad for ones game but can been seen done by pro players. i guess as you said we are all different and everyone will find what works for them.
we all have certain errors in our game and we just need to try and keep them down to a minimum

[itsnoteasy]

Mark Selby has spent his whole career (so they say on the TV) trying to stop his movement so I reckon it's a bad thing or he wouldn't bother. Yes I would say a coach should tell you to stay still no matter how well you are playing, if nothing else to stop it getting worse, you may move slightly and get away with it but one more mill ,something you probably wouldn't even feel, and your game could go down the pan, I'm not saying you have to take any notice of what you are told, but you should be told. However you look at it ,these are faults in their techniques, it doesn't matter if they are getting away with them, they are still faults. It doesn't matter what pros do, they can have little idiosyncrasies in their cue action, they have earned them for want of a better phrase, but I think it's the wrong road for anyone to go down. I would guess none of these players actually know they are moving during the shot as I doubt any pro would introduce any deliberate movement into their cue action, just my opinion as I don't know them .

[Terry Davidson]

If a player can TILT the head up without moving the shoulders then it won't effect the line of the cue. Some of the pros with observed head movement might be doing that although on the most part people who do move their heads during the delivery are also moving their shoulders and taking the cue off-line.

Terry

[vmax4steve]

If a player can TILT the head up without moving the shoulders then it won't effect the line of the cue. Some of the pros with observed head movement might be doing that although on the most part people who do move their heads during the delivery are also moving their shoulders and taking the cue off-line.

Terry

Both Fu and McManus move before the delivery, they aren't moving during delivery.
Alex Higgins on the other hand ????? yet still played to a fantastic standard....................go figure.

[j6uk]

alex's moved after he hit the white most of the time and he did it well

[alabadi]

i was at the Doherty McManus evening session last night, and Hendry was commentating and he mentioned that McManus raises his head on every shot something no coach would advocate but he has always done it.

[itsnoteasy]

Unbelievably Alabadi, I was at the county final last night and the lad that won it did exactly this, as he pulled the cue back up came the head ,it stopped at the end of the backswing ,pause then rock solid on the way forward, he cued smooth as silk and is a fantastic player, and to go with this had the biggest head turn to get the cue under his dominant eye I have ever seen, so there you go , there are definitely more than one way to skin a cat.

[vmax4steve]

alex's moved after he hit the white most of the time and he did it well

I have checked out Alex on kinovea many times and the fact is that he moves everything, head, shoulders, upper body and arm right on the delivery of the cue on power shots but still manages to pot the ball.
Take a look at the free ball brown in this clip and tell me how he did it ?

[itsnoteasy]

Does Doug Mountjoy hit every long pot with his shoulder.

[j6uk]

I have checked out Alex on kinovea many times and the fact is that he moves everything, head, shoulders, upper body and arm right on the delivery of the cue on power shots but still manages to pot the ball.
Take a look at the free ball brown in this clip and tell me how he did it ?

cus with such a short back swing and that three point contact, i think its not easy with alex to fathom how he's keeping that cue on line. but he sure did most of the time