[Pin]

-- Warning: There's no real point to this thread at time of writing, just some ideas I've been thinking about. --


A few months ago I decided to experiment with a new break. I had been using the secret one Fast shared with me (Fast can reveal if he wants, but I'm not sure whether he will so I won't), but I wanted to have a few options to work with.

So I decided to play around with taking a lot of the power off, and going for a very precise hit on the head ball at slower pace - with the ideal being that the CB would hit the pack and come back straight up the table without using draw.

I found the technique gave a really good spread, but rarely made a ball. I controlled the CB well. In match play this was about the worst possible outcome because I handed my opponent a great table to shoot at.

So I tried upping the power, lost some accuracy, made balls more often but still not that consistently, and started putting the white in the middle pockets a lot.

I might give it another go in the future if I can improve my cueing and combine more power and more accuracy than I have at the moment.

I gave the break a good run, but it's time to go back to the secret break.



I was thinking about how to up the power even more, thinking about how much more power you generate snapping your fingers than just by closing your fingers together. I don't know how big Ali G was in America (he was huge in the UK for a couple of years - but his films sucked. Borat on the other hand was awesome..), but the character Ali G did a similar thing with his hand where he snapped his fingers together, generating the power to do it by flicking his hand back slightly before snapping it forward. I've been trying to add this kind of movement (a bit like a bounce, but more aggressive) and it seems to be working.

I've only been doing it recently, and mostly just at the start of frames, as I've not had a propoer chance to work specifically on my break recently.

At first I was making balls all over the place, but oddly I seem to have gone back to getting a great spread but nothing down again. I hit a break loud enough to hurt my ear today. It feels like a long time since I've done that!
We're still in the short run though, so a few dry breaks doesn't necessarily mean anything. I'm also going to try to work on the technique to try to sharpen up both the power and accuracy.

[Pin]

Diary note:

Things seem to be a bit inconsistent at the moment. When I catch them right, this is really working for me. However, a lot of the time it's not connecting so well and getting a weaker spread and a less controlled CB than my other break.

However, I think on the worse breaks I'm generally not getting the snap in the action, or I'm getting a bad contact on the CB, so I'm going to stick with the method and see if I can improve my technique a bit.

[FASTLARRY]

Pin, on Jun 15 2010, 06:12 PM, said:

Diary note:

Things seem to be a bit inconsistent at the moment. When I catch them right, this is really working for me. However, a lot of the time it's not connecting so well and getting a weaker spread and a less controlled CB than my other break.

However, I think on the worse breaks I'm generally not getting the snap in the action, or I'm getting a bad contact on the CB, so I'm going to stick with the method and see if I can improve my technique a bit.

Keep the cue on the rail and flat, parallel with the bed, bend the wrist back and flick it into the shot, never look at the rack on impact, be looking at the CB.

[Pin]

Will do.

It still feels counter-intuitive, achieving maximum power with so much relaxation. But I think with time my 'feel' will improve.

[FASTLARRY]

Pin, on Jun 28 2010, 06:08 PM, said:

Will do.

It still feels counter-intuitive, achieving maximum power with so much relaxation. But I think with time my 'feel' will improve.

fl say, AH SO grasshopper, you can only achieve maximum speed if not totally relaxed and loose as goose, tighten up and you slow it all down.