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Snooker myth to snooker magic
When I first started playing snooker, I was under the guidance of the local club players. With their knowledge and experience I believed I was given solid instruction to improve my game. Most of their suggestions offered, helped me develop and improve my game. However, the first two instructions/comments given were as follows:
1. Make sure you cue under your chin?
2. Straight shots are the hardest?
Both these comments are still believed to be true to this day. However, both instructions are just myths in the methods of snooker or any cue sports. You may ask me why I don't agree with either of these statements, so please let me tell you.
Each player has a sight path coming from their eyes. This is a combination of the projection of sight coming from their eyes, regardless of the player having monocular or binocular vision.
To explain this and the above graphic:
When you look at something, for instance your watch. You only see one watch, but (unless monocular) you are looking at your watch through both eyes. But when the focal point comes together at the object, this isn't necessarily central to your eyes. The sight path created is balanced by your eyes but could be anywhere between your vision area. The vision area is measured by the distance your eyes are apart from each other. As our bodies including our sight, are not symmetrical our sight path is rarely central. In fact, each persons sight path is different and unique to each and every individual. Using the above graphic as an example of a possible sight path, it gives you an idea of the possibilities.
Why is this so important?
With this in mind whilst playing snooker, you can understand being in a standing position and moving into the cueing position. The bridge hand will automatically be placed along the sight line and the cue under the chin. Looking at the graphic, you can see that the sight line is neared the right eye. So the cue line would be cueing from left to right and in the wrong direction. This would mean straight shots are very difficult plus, this player is possibly adding right hand side to the cue ball on every shot.
As we strive to improve our game, we naturally build compensations into each shot to improve incorrect sighting, which changes the dynamics of how we play the game. These compensations can come in many forms:
1. Moving the bridge hand off the sight line.
2. Stepping off line when moving into the cueing position.
3. Curving the cue action when playing through the shot.
4. Simply just guessing on every shot.
It is important to understand that most players add compensation of some kind into each and every shot. However, the compensation will be different from shot played to the left to shots played to the right. This is why players sometimes learn that they have a problem potting balls one way from the other. Plus, for ever different angle, the compensation must be slightly adjusted. If snooker isn't hard enough, why do we keep making it harder?
If and only if, we could get our cue line and sight line following the same path, these compensations could be removed from our every days play. It should make the game more accurate and each player would show vast improvement.
How do you find your sight line?
This is a great question and one I will answer in time. But the easiest and most accurate way is by using my snooker training aid called 'The Domin-eye'.
The Domin-eye is the only cue sports coaching aid that will accurately show the player their sight line and cue line on the same path.
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