Coach tips

The Grip

May 8, 2014

By Boris Vidakovic

The arm with which we hold the back part of the cue is the arm that forms the catch or the grip of the cue. We should answer some questions first in order to hold the cue properly and to be precise. 

Where?

There are two principles by which we determine where we hold our cue.

The first principle is based on the spot where cue is in balance.

First with your left hand you find the spot of balance. Then you grab your cue to that spot with your right hand, then with right and then with left again and that’s the spot ideal to hold you’re your on in relation to its production balance.

But because everyone has different arm span, and because during the game we use different bridge distances, we won’t constantly hold the cue in that spot, instead our grip will move up and down. In order to hold the cue properly, having in mind these variations, we will follow the next principle.

Second principle for determining the spot of catch is based on the rule that the back arm needs to be, relative to the ground, on 90 degrees in the moment of contacting the cue ball during a shot. 

As you noticed on the picture above, back arm needs to be 90 degrees relative to the ground, and in accordance with the length of the bridge cue slides in the span of your arms, so when your bridge is shorter – you grip your cue a little to the front, and when the bridge is longer a little bit to the back so you can maintain that 90 degree angle. 

Also, you can notice on the picture that the position of the back hand in the upper picture is more proper than on the lower picture. Pay attention to that because the proper position of the back arm is critical for the quality shot.

With what?

We hold the cue with index and middle fingers while rest of  the fingers rest lightly on the cue without squeezing hard because when cue moves from front to back and opposite there should be enough room for change of an angle relative to the hand. Here there are variations on this subject, for example some players use thumb and index finger for gripping while other fingers are relaxed and some players for more difficult shots which require more accuracy also grip with their pinky. I consider all that as variations and I won’t analyze it any further, but the point is that we grip not with all fingers at the same time because there won’t be enough space in the hand for the change of angle. 

How Hard?

The last, but the most important thing is that you mustn’t grip the cue hard. If you grip too hard you are not going to execute shot smoothly  and you are not going to be able to transmit effect you wanted on the cue ball in order to get position. When you are holding your cue and when you swing it back you must notice how your skin and tissue move in the direction of pulling and in the end the cue leaves your hand. You must grip in such a way that during a shot you don’t drop your cue but grip light so someone can pull it from you. So not too hard bat not too light.

Hopefully, now that we have learned the basics of grip you will correct your mistakes or confirm your knowledge.

Practice everything that we have mentioned so far and prepare for the next article where I will talk about basic bridges.

Bridge – Part 1

May 8, 2014

By Boris Vidakovic

The arm with which we hold the upper part of the cue (shaft), is the arm which controls the spot where cue hits the ball. We call it the bridge because when we are hitting the ball that that part of the cue, the cue ball and the hand look like the bridge. When we say “the length of the bridge” we mean the distance between the contact point on the cue ball and the hand that forms the bridge. 

We can say that there are two types of bridges according to place where you form them:

bridges that you form on playing surface

bridges that you form on the rail

According to size of the shaft there are :

open bridge

closed bridge

Besides these bridges we also have a group of heterogen bridges which are a combination of previous.

Bridges from the playing surface

Open bridge

This bridge is most commonly used by beginners, and I snooker it is, besides closed bridge, the only one in use but in many variations. 

It is convenient for light shots without much english, but also for some advanced shots like masse and jump shots.

Open bridge is very simple to form:

1) lower your hand on the table surface and spread your fingers

2) bend your palm (bat without lifting your joint and not bending your fingers) 

3) move your thumb next to the index finger

Place your cue now into the space that formed your index finger and your thumb, some players bend their thumb as an variation of open bridge or they bend two middle fingers

Master your open bridge and prepare yourself for the next lesson which will be the closed bridge.

Most - prvi deo

14. april 2014.

Beograd

Ruka kojom držimo prednji deo štapa (vrh), kod desnorukih igrača leva i obrnuto, je ruka koja kontroliše mesto kontakta sa belom kuglom. Zovemo je "most" jer kada vrh štapa dodiruje belu kuglu, taj deo štapa, bela kugla i šaka (stubovi) podsećaju na most. Kada kažemo "dužina mosta" mislimo na udaljenost bele kugle od tačke kontakta štapa sa šakom koja formira most.

Mostove možemo podeliti po mestu formiranja na:

- mostove sa površine za igru i

- mostove sa martinele.

Po ograničenosti vrha delimo ih na:

- otvorene i

- zatvorene.

Pored ovih podela imamo grupu heterogenih mostova koji su kombinacija osnovnih mostova.

MOSTOVI SA POVRŠINE ZA IGRU:

OTVORENI MOST

Ovo je most koji je najzastupljeniji kod početnika, a u snookeru je pored zatvorenog straničnog mosta jedini most koji se u najrazličitijim varijacijama koristi.

Pogodan je za lagane udarce bez mnogo felša, ali i za neke napredne udarce poput masea ili jumpa. 

Omogućava dobru vizualizaciju pri nišanjenju. Videćete da dobri igrači sa ovim mostom izvode i neke izuzetno snažne i zahteve udarce.

Prilično je jednostavan za formiranje:

 

   1.  Spustite dlan vaše prednje ruke na površinu stola i raširite prste.

      2.   Savijte dlan (ne podizući ručni zglob sa stola i ne savijajući prste) samo u zglobovima prstiju.

       3.    Primaknite palac zglobu kažiprsta.

4.   Ubacite štap u prostor koji formira palac sa zglobom kažiprsta, neki igrači savijaju palc ka dole kao varijantu osnovnog otvorenog mosta ili savijaju domali i srednji prst.

Usavršite otvoreni most i spremite se za sledeći članak u kome ćemo pisati o zatvorenom mostu.

Boris Vidaković,

trener BK Lucky Ball

www.luckyball.rs

www.skolabilijara.com

Hvat

25. mart 2014.

Beograd

Ruka kojom držimo zadnji deo štapa, kod desnorukih igrača desna ruka i obrnuto, je ruka koja formira hvat oko drške štapa. Da bi pravilno držali štap i da bi naš hvat obezbedio potrebnu preciznost, ali i mekoću udarca treba da odgovorimo na sledeća pitanja koja determinišu kako držimo štap.

1. GDE?

Postoje dva principa na osnovu koja odrežujemo mesto hvata.

Prvi princip određivanja hvata je zasnovan na položaju težišta štapa.

Prvo pronađete levom rukom težište štapa. Zatim, uhvatite štap do tog mesta desnom šakom, pa levom, pa ponovo desnom i na idealnom ste mestu za držanje vašeg štapa u odnosu na njegov fabrički balans.

Ali, pošto smo svi različitog raspona ruku, a i u igri koristimo različite dužine mosta, nećemo konstantno držati štap u ovoj tački, već će hvat varirati napred i nazad. Da bismo pravilno hvatali štap s obzirom na ove varijacije koristićemo sledeći princip.

Drugi princip određivanja mesta hvata je zasnovan na pravilu da položaj zadnje ruke u odnosu na podlogu treba da bude pod 90 stepeni u momentu kontakta vrha štapa sa belom kuglom.

Kao što se da primetiti na slici iznad, položaj zadnje ruke treba da je pod 90 stepeni u odnosu na podlogu, a shodno dužini mosta (dužina mosta je udaljenost od mesta na kome štap dodiruje vašu prednju ruku, do mesta kontakta vrha štapa i bele kugle), štap klizi u rasponu vaših ruku, tako da kada je kraći most - više hvatate štap ka napred, a kada je duži most - štap hvatate više nazad, sve sa ciljem da očuvate ugao zadnje ruke. 

Takođe, na slici možete primetiti da je položaj zadnje ruke na gornjem primeru nešto pravilniji nego na donjem, te vas sve posebno pozivam da obratite pažnju na takve finese jer pravilan položaj zadnje ruke u mnogome utiče na kvalitet udarca!

2. ČIME?

Štap držimo sa prednja dva prsta koji formiraju prsten oko štapa, dok ostali prsti mogu da blago leže na štapu ali ne smeju da stišću štap jer, kada se ruka kreće napred i nazad mora postojati prostor u šaci za nesmetanu promenu ugla štapa u odnosu na šaku. Ovde postoje varijacije na temu, pa pojedini igrači koriste srednji prst i palac za hvat a ostali prsti su opušteni i na taj način obezbeđuju slobodu promene ugla štapa i šake, a neki, za dalje udarce koji zahtevaju prciznost štap drže zadnjim prstom itd... Sve to smatram varijacijama i ne bih ulazio u lov na veštice, ali u svakom slučaju poenta je da štap ne stišćemo sa svim prstima u isto vreme jer neće ostati prostora u dlanu za promenu ugla koji je potreban u toku udarca. 

3. KOLIKO JAKO?

Poslednje, ali i najvažnije je da štap nikada ne držite suviše čvrsto! Ako štap stišćete previše nećete imati mekoću udarca i nećete pravilno isporučivati informacije na belu kuglu koje su neophodne za pogađanje nanišanjenoga i njeno pozicioniranje. Kada držite štap i povlačite ga drugom rukom iz vašeg hvata morate primetiti kako vam se, prvo, koža i tkivo (koje poput silikonskog prstena povezuju kosti šake i štap) pomeraju u pravcu izvlačenja štapa i na kraju štap ipak napušta vašu ruku. Hvat mora biti takav da vam pri udarcu štap ne ispadne, ali da vam ga neko drugi ipak može izvući iz ruke. Dakle, ni previše slab, ni previše čvrs. 

Sada kada smo se upoznali sa osnovama hvata nadam se da ćete lako korigovati vaše greške ili potvrditi vaša dosadašnja znanja. 

Vežbajte dosada izloženo i pripremite se za sledeći članak u kome ću vas upoznati sa osnovnim mostovima.

Boris Vidaković,

trener BK Lucky Ball

www.luckyball.rs

www.skolabilijara.com

Stance – fourth part

More specific characteristics of stance

1. Zero angle of shoulders

Zero angle of a shoulder is a position of an arm in which the arm has the greatest amplitude of motion without using additional musculature. If you try to make a circle with both of your arms simultaneously you will notice that the arms meet at the center of the body and so in order to make the greatest amplitude of motion you have to make circles under angle of 45 degrees in relation to your shoulders. This is the angle where arm freely circles and that angle is dictated by the shoulder wrist. If you, during a game, keep the angle of your back arm and shoulders 45 degrees then your hand will move freely  and in a straight line back and forward, and if you hold the cue in your hand it will move in the same manner which is an elementary principle for a proper cue technique for executing a shot. This story’s conclusion about the zero angle of a shoulder is that when you hold a cue with your arm spread next to your body it must form an angle of 45 degrees with your shoulders and when you lower yourself into stance you must lower yourself next to the cue in the angle of 45 degrees in the direction of the line of a shot in order for your cue to move in a straight line.

2. Eye height

Constancy of your eye height is vital for accurate aiming, our goal is that our eyes always be in the same line as the table except for the break, masse and jump shots. Why is that important? Answer is simple. Imagine that you have a rifle with the best possible scope and imagine that someone is always moving your arm left – right… How accurate would you be?

How do we maintain constant position of our eyes is the next logical question. Snooker players solved that by placing their heads directly on the cue so that their eyes would be in line with the shot, but in pool, balls are much bigger and we tend to give extra spin (often unnecessary) and the shots are executed with more power so that position would be inadequate. I advise you, as my coach Ralf Eckert advised me, to place your chin four fingers above the cue, so when you are executing a draw shot the cues gets closer to the chin but the chin doesn’t affect the cue and the execution of powerful draw shots and great amplitude of hand motion – stretch. But many of you saw that a lot of professional players keep their cue on the chin. Why is that? With time when you develop the quality of your stroke and shots so much that with low energy shots with good timing and nice hit you succeed to get greater effects than you can begin slowly to lower your head nearer to the cue, especially in the perfect competition conditions (new cloth, clean balls, quality rails, normal temperature and humidity) but many of us don’t train in such conditions so that approach in the beginning would be complicated and it wouldn’t allow you to gradually develop your technique, so my advice to beginners is to start with the four fingers above the cue and after a year or to steadily lower their heads if they feel the need for it.

In the end of the story about stance I will compile everything in one string of motions that will place you in a perfect position for playing under one condition – that you are using a ghost ball aiming system. Some other systems need corrections with the stance, but we might talk about that sometime in the future.

In this picture you can see the starting position of the body before entering into stance. As you can notice the cue is 45 degrees in relation to the shoulders and hips, and the head and the body are in the line of the shot. In this phase you visualize the movement of the cue ball to the object ball and their contact for making the shot. When you determine the line of cue ball to pot the object ball you must “lock the chin” – freeze the chin over the line of the shot.

Keeping the chin on the line of the shot rotate the body rotate the body for 45 degrees so your cue comes in the line of the shot. During a rotation you notice that your back leg positions itself below the cue in the same angle as the shoulders – 45 degrees so the whole body is equally rotated and moved next to the cue. Shoulder, elbow and hand… whole right arm is 90 degrees in relation to your cue and you will keep that during lowering yourself into stance.

While you are learning to position yourself into stance you assure to be in the correct angles when you lower yourself into stance.

On the third picture you can see that the cue is right in front of the cue ball and it is in line of the shot. In order to place yourself at the right distance off the cue ball first you a small step with your right leg, keeping the foot below the position of the cue at 45 degrees, so that the cue “cuts” the foot in the line of the joint with which your thumb and little finger are connected with the foot. Second step was with your left leg away from the cue so you can maintain the broadness of the stance, keeping the general angle of the body and the cue in 45  degree relation, which is the zero angle of the shoulders.

In the last phase, in order to lower yourself into stance you should step with your left leg forward and with that beside the broadness we get the longitude of the stance with a very small rotation of the foot on the direction of the cue ball in order to relive the pressure from the front leg which is  spread so that it can carry 60% of body weight. Front arm forms the bridge, it’s lightly bent and shoulder is a bit inside.

The back arm is constantly 90 degrees in relation to the ground and in line with the cue in the line of the shot. All joints (shoulder, elbow, hand) including dominant aiming eye and joints of the back foot must be in line.

After all that, all you need to do is to execute the shot and move on to the next ball and repeat this procedure again.

With this we have concluded this chapter about stance and in the next chapter we will talk about grip, until then I wish you all the best!



Boris Vidakovic
coach at Pool Club Lucky Ball

www.skolabilijara.com

Stav - četvrti deo

06. mart 2014.

Beograd

Usko bilijarske osobine stava:

1. NULTI UGAO RAMENA

Nulti ugao ramena je položaj ruke u kome ona ima najveću amplitudu pokreta bez korištenja pomoćne muskulature. Ako pokušate da naparavite krug sa obe ruke u isto vreme primetićete da se ruke ukrštaju na sredini tela i da bi napravili što veću amplitudu pokreta morate da pravite krugove pod uglom od 45 stepeni u odnosu na liniju ramena. To je ugao pod kojim ruka nesmetano kruži i taj ugao diktira rameni zglob. Ako prilikom igre čuvate ugao zadnje ruke i ramena pod uglom od 45 stepeni to će vam obezbediti da se vaša ruka nesmetano i bez krivljenja kreće napred i nazad, a ako u ruci držite štap i on će sledstveno tome da se kreće napred i nazad u pravoj liniji bez skretanja što je osnovni princip izvođenja bilijarskog udarca. Zaključak ove priče o nultom uglu ramena je da kada držite štap u ispruženoj ruci pored tela on sa vašim ramenima mora da formira ugao od 45 stepeni i kada se spuštate u stav morate se spustiti pored štapa pod uglom od 45 stepeni u pravcu linije vašeg udarca da bi prilikom udaranja vaš stap išao pravo!

2. VISINA OČIJU

Konstantnost visine očiju je presudna za precizna nišanjenja i cilj nam je da nam oči prilikom izođenja najrazličitijih udarac na stolu, sem pri razbijanju, jumpu i masseu budu u istoj ravni sa stolom. Zašto je važno da nam oči budu u istoj ravni i položaju nad štapom? Odgovor je prost... Zamislite da imate pušku sa najboljim mogućim optičkim nišanom i da vam neko stalno pomera optiku levo - desno i gore - dole... Koliko bi bili precizni? 

Kako da sačuvamo stalan položaj očiju odmah se nameće kao sledeće pitanje. Snookeristi su to rešili tako što se spuste direktno na štap i visina očiju im je konstantno u istoj ravni sa minimalnim varijacijama pri igranju pratećeg udarca i povratnog udarca, ali kod nas, igrača pool bilijara, kugla je mnogo veća i mi češće (često nepotrebno) dajemo razne vrste felševa i izvodimo prilično snažnije udarce i taj položaj bi nam ponekad bio neadekvatan. Pozivajući se na svog trenera Ralpha Eckerta savetujem vam da visina vaše brade u odnosu na vaš štap bude 4 prsta u odnosu na paralelan položaj štapa, tako da kada igrate povratni udarac štap se priblizava brati ali ona mu ne smeta za izvođenje jakih povratnih udaraca sa značajnim probijanjem bele kugle i velikom amplitudom pokreta koje strech udarci zahtevaju. E sad, mnogi od vas su videli da mnogi profesionalni igraci pool bilijara drže bradu na štapu. Otkud sada to? Vremenom kada razvijete kvalitet vašeg udarca toliko da laganim udarcima sa dobrim probijanjem i pravilnim tajmingom uspete da postignete jače efekte onda možete da se polako spuštate niže na štap, posebno u savršenim takmičarskim uslovima (nova čoja, polirane kugle, dobre martinele, optimalna temperatura i vlaga...) ali mnogi od nas ne treniraju i ne igraju u takvim uslovima te bi takav pristup u samom startu bio veoma komplikovan i ne bi dozvolio da se tehnika postepeno razvija, zato, moj savet početnicima je da krenu sa visinom od 4 prsta i da kroz godinu, dve, polako spustaju položaj očiju niže na štap ako osete potrebu za tim.

Na kraju priče o stavu sve bih složio u jedan sled pokreta koji će vas postaviti jednostavno u savršen položaj za igru, pod uslovm da koristite gost ball sistem nišanjenja. Neki drugi sistemi traže korekcije osnovnog stava za igru, ali o tome jednom prilikom u daljoj, daljoj budućnosti... :D

Na ovoj slici možete videti početni položaj tela pre ulaska u stav. Kao što primećujete štap je pod uglom od 45 stepeni u odnosu na liniju ramena i kukova, a glava i centralni deo tela su na "liniji ubačaja". U ovoj fazi se vizualizuje kretanje bele kugle do ciljne kugle i njihovog kontakta da bi se ciljna kugla ubacila u rupu. Kada se utvrdi linija ubačaja treba "lock the chin" - tj. zaključati bradu nad "linijom ubačaja".

Čuvajući bradu na "liniji ubačaja" rotirate telo za 45 stepeni dok štap ne dođe na istu "liniju ubačaja". Prilikom rotacije primetićete da vam se zadnja noga pozicionira ispod štapa u istom uglu kao i ramena, tj. 45 stepeni, tako da je celo telo skladno rotirano i pomereno u starnu, tj. PORED štapa. Rame, lakat, šaka... cela desna ruka je pod uglom od 90 stepeni u odnosu na štap i ovu poziciju će čuvati sve vreme dok se telo bude spuštalo u stav.

Dok učite da zauzmete stav proverite svaki od ovih položaja pojedinačno pazeći na uglove koje morate da sačuvate u momentu kada se u potpunosti spustite u stav.

Na trećoj slici mošete videti da je štap spušten tik ispred bele kugle i sve vreme je na "liniji ubačaja". Da bi se približili na adekvatnu udaljenost od bele kugle predhodio je jedan mali korak desnom nogom, čuvajući stopalo ispod položaja štapa pod uglom od 45 stepeni, tako da štap "seče" stopalo po liniji zglobova kojim su palca i mali prst povezani sa stopalom. Drugi korak je bio levom nogom bočno od štapa da bi sašuvali širinu stava, sve vreme čuvajući opšti ugao tela i štapa pod 45 stepeni, što odgovara "nultom uglu ramena" 

U poslednjoj fazi, da bi se spustili u stav treba da zakoračimo levom nogom korak napred i tako sem širine dobijamo i dužinu stava, blago rotirajući vrh stopala u pravcu bele kugle da bi rasteretili prednju nogu koja je savijena a zadnja noga ostaje ispružena da bi preuzela 60% težine tela. Prednja ruka formira most, blago je savijena i levo rame je lagano ubačeno.

Zadnja ruka je sve vreme pod 90 stepeni u odnosu na podlogu i u liniji sa štapom na "liniji ubačaja". Svi zglobovi (rame, lakat, šaka), uključujući dominantno nišanso oko i zglobove zadnjeg stopala moraju biti u liniji.

Posle svega, ostaje vam samo da izvedete vaš ubitačni udarac i pređete na sledeću kuglu i opet uradite sve ovo iz početka...

Ovim bismo zaokružili temu stava i u sledećem članku ćemo se baviti hvatom, do tada sve najbolje!

Boris Vidaković,

trener BK Lucky Ball

www.luckyball.rs

www.skolabilijara.com

Stance – part 3

General characteristic of stance:

You have finally placed your legs beside the cue in a balanced position. It is the time to bend towards the cue and position yourself for a shot. At this point we encounter some difficulties because you have to be in that position for some time. In order to play pool efficiently for 5-10 hours your stance mustn’t tire you. You have probably noticed, if you bend in both of your knees you will quickly feel pain and you will get tired faster. To avoid this some players spread both legs which is suitable for shorter players, like Filipinos, but taller players stress their backs to much in that position and it is very uncomfortable for them. That’s why taller players keep their back leg straight and front leg bent in knee,  but of course there are some exceptions – some players to some extent also bend in knee back leg so it doesn’t get to pressured. In that way they can easily bend down with slight inward rotation and also place the hips wide  to perfectly position their body next to the cue. Because the front leg is bent, the weight of the body is transfered on the leg muscle called quadriceps femoris and in order to relive it from pressure we balance our weight 60% on the back leg that’s straight and 40% on the front bent leg. In order to additionally relive stress off a muscle we do inward rotation of the front foot ( we approximately rotate the front foot towards the cue ball ) and in that way we balance the transfer of pressure to our muscles. So we relived our muscles from pressure, relying on bones and joints.

In the next article we will finish this stance chapter with closely related pool characteristics, until  then wish you all the best!

Stav - treći deo

05. februar 2014.

Beograd 

Opšta karakteristike stava: 

3. UDOBNOST

Konačno ste postavili noge pored štapa u uravnoteženom položaju. Vreme je da se savijete napred prema štapu i pozicionirate za udarac. U ovom momentu nailazimo na određene poteškoće zbog potrebe da u ovom stavu stojite duži vremenski period. Da bi efikasno igrali bilijar 5 - 10 sati potrebno je da vaš stav ne bude zamoran. Verovatno ste primetili da, ako obe noge savijete u kolenima, veoma brzo se pojavi zamor i bolovi u nogama koji remete vašu igru. Da bi ovo izbegli, pojedini igrači, stoje sa ispruženim nogama, što niskim igračima (recimo Filipinci) savršeno odgovara, ali visoki igrači u ovakvom stavu suviše savijaju kičmu i veoma im je neudobno. Zato, viši igrači drže zadnju nogu ispruženu a prednju savijenu u kolenu, naravno i ovde postoje izuzetci - pojedini igrači i zadnju nogu blago savijaju da ne bi imali osećaj krutosti u zadnjoj nozi, ali nikad suviše, jer suviše savijena zadnja noga zamara mišiće. Na taj način se lakše spuštaju i blagom rotacijom ka unutra, uz izbacivanje kukova u stranu, odlično pozicioniraju telo pored štapa a zadnjim rukom tačno iznad štapa. Pošto je prednja noga savijena, težinu tela na prednjoj nozi trpi m. quadriceps femoris i da bi ga rasteretili pritiska mi preraspoređujemo težinu tela tako da 60% težine trpi zadnja noga koja je ispružena, a 40% težine je na prednjoj, savijenoj nozi. Pored toga, da bi dodatno rasteretili mišić prednje noge mi radimo unutrašnju rotaciju prednjeg stopala (od prilike rotiramo prednje stopalo u pravcu bele kugle) te na taj način preraspoređujemo silu pritiska i smanjujemo ukupan pritisak koji trpi mišić. Na ovaj način smo rasteretili stav od pritiska i eliminisali mišićnu ulogu, oslanjajući se na kosti i zglobove, i samim tim postigli da nemamo nepotrebna zamaranja u ovom "prinudnom" položaju.

U sledećem članku završavamo temu stava sa usko bilijarskim osobinama, do tada sve najbolje!

Boris Vidaković,

trener BK Lucky Ball

www.luckyball.rs

www.skolabilijara.com

 

Stance – part 2

Basic characteristics of the stance:

2. Balance

In order to easily and constantly hit the object ball our stance should be stabile – balanced. If we had 4 legs it would much easier :D . Under unfortunate circumstances nature gave us only two legs and we must learn to stand beside the cue stabile. Maybe you noticed that with some beginners stance is in one point – they close their legs, bend their knees and crouch with the cue swing from side to side. That stance in one point is unstable and exhausting. Also you must have seen a self-proclaimed star standing like a swordsman: back leg bent and front leg in line with the cue with the foot pointing in the direction of the cue.  That’s also a wrong stance because players swing from left to right. Or some horseback stance with legs placed at the 90 degrees from the cue and the only thing that’s stopping you from falling flat on your face is the hand that makes the bridge.  I assume that you have seen all kinds of stances and I hope none of these is your "killer" stance. Now that we have analyzed the mistakes lets go and analyze the proper stance. I assume that because of this you are reading this article.

How to take the proper stance for billiards?

As we stressed out earlier we stand beside the cue so that the cue is a above the foot of the back leg, in line with the thumb and the little finger connecting it to the foot, so 45 degrees. In order that stance wouldn’t be lined and have wideness that will give it stability, with your front leg step forward and in side in length of your hip width from the direction of the cue which is in the shot line, so that when you put the left arm (bridge arm) on the table it forms together with your legs a triangle which is a stabile formation, like a chair with three legs. Remember the following! The front arm which together with your legs forms a triangle is not the part of the stance because it shouldn’t take the weight of the body or balance the body. You must stand stabile on your feet, so if you should lift your bridge arm from the table you don’t fall down or left or right. The front arm stabilizes the formation of the triangle but we don’t stand on it, it has a very important role in forming a bridge and thus it should not be related to stance.

Hopefully by the next article you will adjust your foot position and find your balance so we can continue with the next topic.

In the next article more about comfort of the stance. 

Stav - drugi deo

 23. januar 2014.

Beograd

Opšte karakteristike stava:

2. RAVNOTEŽA

Da bi nesmetano i konstantno pogađali ciljnu kuglu naš stav treba da bude stabilan - uravnotežen. Kada bi imali 4 noge mislim da bi nam bilo mnogo lakše :D Sticajem nesretnih okolnosti priroda nam je dala samo 2 noge i mi moramo da naučimo da stojimo pored štapa stabilno. Možda ste primetili neke početnike kako im je stav u jednoj tački - skupe noge, saviju ih u kolenu i tako skoro čuče pored štapa lelujajući levo-desno, napred-nazad. To je stav u jednoj tački i totalno je nestabilan i iscrpljujući. Zatim ste sigurno naišli u sali za bilijar na samoproklamovanu zvezdu koja stoji kao mačevalac: zadnja noga, savijena, i prednja u liniji ispod stapa sa stopalom koje prati pravac stapa. To je takođe pogrešan stav jer se igrač leluja levo-desno i sve vreme leži na štapu. Ili neki jahaći stav sa nogama pod 90 stepeni u odnosu na štap pri čemu padanje na nos ili na leđa sprečava puko držanje za sto prednjom rukom koja čini most. Predpostavljam da ste se svi nagledali razno raznih "stavova" i u isto vreme se nadam da ni jedan od ovih pogrešnih stavova nije vaš "ubitačni" stav. Sada, kada smo analizirali greške, idemo da analiziramo pravilan stav. Predpostavljam da svi čitate ovo upravo iz tog razloga :D

Kako zauzeti pravilan stav za bilijar?

Kao što smo ranije naglasili mi stojimo pored štapa na način da zadnji deo štapa prelazi preko stopla zadnje noge, u nivo zglobova palca i malog prsta koji ih povezuju sa stopalom, dakle pod uglom od 45 stepeni. Da stav ne bi bio u liniji i da bi imao širinu koja će mu dati stabilnost, prednjom nogom zakoračite napred ali i u stranu za širinu kukova od pravca štapa koji se nalazi na liniji datog udarca, tako da kada spustite prednju ruku (most) ona sa nogama formira trougao koji je stabilna formacija, kao stolica sa tri noge. Zapamtite sledeće!!! Prednja ruka koja formira trougao sa nogama nije deo stava jer ne sme da trpi težinu tela niti da uravnotežuje stav. Morate stajati stabilno na nogama, tako da kad bi prednju ruku podigli sa stola za 2 cm ne bi padali na nos ili leđa niti levo ili desno. Prednja ruka stabilizuje formaciju trougla ali na njoj ne stojimo, ona ima veoma bitnu ulogu u formiranju mosta i ne sme biti opterećena ulogom u stavu!

Nadam se da će te do sledećeg članka korigovati vaše položaje stopala i naći ravnotežu da bi smo mogli nastaviti sledećom temom.

U sledećem članku više o udobnosti stava.

Boris Vidaković,
trener BK Lucky Ball

www.luckyball.rs
www.skolabilijara.com

Alpha and Omega

Beginning of our conversation starts with 4 fundamentals of billiards which are stance, grip, bridge and stroke. These will be the fundamentals on which we will build our technique. If we also added aiming and positional game we would already be little masters of billiards. The more you play billiards and the more you become skillful the more you will realize that everything in the game is up to these four factors. This is why today we will start with the stance which is the beginning and the end of everything that you do on the pool table.

Stance – part one

Some time ago I was reading a book about billiards from famous Robert Byrne, in which he says that there is no ideal stance and that when we look at the top 50 players in the world everybody stands different.  To some point I can agree with that but I think that snooker is a good example to which we should model, and within itself there are less heterogeneous  things than in pool. With this text I will try to introduce some rules about stance.

If we look carefully we will notice different stances. When we execute classical shot or a jump shot we don’t stand in the same way, even when we execute break shot we don’t stand the same way as we do during the game. That’s why we will divide stances in static and dynamic, and basic and conducted. What would be static stance? It’s a stance where when executing a shot nothing moves except the back hand, except the break stance that has its own characteristics which we will discuss when we talk about the break. The basic stance is what we will talk about today because it will help us to perform other stances for example for break shots or jump shots.

Basic stance has 3 general and 2 strictly pool elements – tasks.

Basic characteristic of the stance:

1. "BESIDE"

I hope that we all know what “beside” means. If anyone has doubts about the meaning of the word you should automatically stop reading this article and go find out the meaning. Now! :D

In order to make the ball with the cue ball the cue ball must be launched on the prices direction, and cue ball in order to go along that direction must be shot with the cue in that direction. Have you noticed that in that last sentence wasn’t about you at all? The most important thing is the cue, because without its action the balls would be motionless infinitely. So the focus is on the cue, and we as kinetic energy sources stand beside it, only our eyes and shooting machine stand along with the cue. Eyes so they could control the aiming and the position of the cue, and arm so it could give the cue straight motion.

Your hips and chest must be away from the cue so it could move freely and so that the back hand which holds the cue could pack when striking the ball without getting the cue off the line of direction.

If the only thing that you remember from today’s story is the word “beside”, you have learned the most important characteristic of the stance, his position to the cue, and that is BESIDE.

That’s it for today, we will continue in the next article. 

Alfa i omega

16. januar 2014.

Beograd

Početak našeg druženja počine upoznavanjem sa 4 osnove bilijara, to su stav, hvat, most i udarac. Ovo će biti temelji na kojima ćemo graditi našu bilijarsku tehniku. Ako na ove 4 teme dodamo nišanjenje i pozicionu igru mi smo već mali majstori bilijara. Što više budete igrali bilijar i postajali veštiji sve će te više uviđati koliko se sve vrti oko ove 4 teme. Zato ćemo danas krenuti sa stavom koji je početak i kraj svega onoga što budete radili pokraj bilijarskog stola.

 

Stav - prvi deo

Nekada davno sam čitao knjigu o bilijaru čuvenog američkog autora, gospodina Robert Byrne, gde on kaže da ne postoji idealan stav i da kad pogledamo top 50 igrača sveta svako stoji drugačije. Donekle bi se složio s njim ali smatram da je snooker izuzetan primer na koji treba da se ugledamo, a u njemu ima mnogo manje heterogenosti po ovom pitanju nego u pool bilijaru. Ovim tekstom pokušaću da uvedem neke zakonitosti u temu stava.

Ako bolje pogledamo možemo uočiti različite stavove. Kada igramo klasičan udarac ili jump ne stojimo na isti način, čak i u breaku ne stojimo kao za vreme igre. Stoga ćemo stavove podeliti, iz didaktičkih razloga na, sa jedne strane statične i dinamične, a sa druge na osnovni i izvedene. Šta bi to bio statični stav? To je stav u kom, pri udarcu, se sem zadnje ruke ništa ne pomera i to su većina stavova, sem stava za razbijanje koji ima neke svoje osobenosti i o tome ćemo pričati kada budemo pričali o break udarcu... Osnovni stav je ono što ćemo početi obrađivati danas, jer će nam poslužiti kao osnova za izvođenje drugih stavova npr. za break ili jump ili masse...

Osnovni stav ima 3 opšta i 2 usko bilijarska elemenata, tj. zadatka.

Opšte karakteristike stava su:

1. "PORED"

Nadam se da svi znamo sta znači reč "pored". Sumnja li neko u značenje ove reči neka automatski prekine sa čitanjem ovog članka i uzme rečnik da proveri! Odmah, paljba!!!! :D

Bela kugla da bi ubacila ciljnu kuglu mora biti upućena tačno određenom putanjim, a da bi se kretala tom putanjom mora biti upućena štapom za igru u tom pravcu. Primećujete li da u ovoj poslednjoj rečenici Vas u opšte nema? ;)  U celoj priči najvažniji je štap, jer bez njegove akcije kugle bi beskonačno stajale u mestu. Znači, štap je u fokusu, a mi kao davaoci kinetičke energije stojimo pored njega, samo naše oči i aparat za ispucavanje stoje zajedno sa štapom na nišanskoj liniji. Oči da bi kontrolisale nišanjenje i položaj štapa, a ruka da bi statičnom štapu dala isključivo pravolinijsko kretanje.

Vaši kukovi i grudi moraju biti odmaknuti od štapa da bi on imao slobodu kretanja, i da bi se zadnja ruka, koja drži štap, mogla upakovati pri probijanju bele kugle bez izbacivanja štapa iz pravca kretanja.

Ako iz cele ove priče danas zapamtite samo reč "pored" vi ste naučili najvažniju karakteristiku stava, njegov položaj u odnosu na štap, a to je PORED!

Dosta za danas, nastavljamo u sledećem članku.

Boris Vidaković,
trener BK Lucky Ball

www.luckyball.rs
www.skolabilijara.com

January 9 2014

After introduction – introduction

Aspects in pool

Thinking about my next article, with which I should start the technical part of the story, I reminded myself about it’s complexity and I couldn’t resist not to share it with you.

As you can see on the scheme, subjects of today’s story are a MAN, SURROUNDINGS and GOALS.

The Man

On the top of the story is the player and his psycho-physical condition and knowledge.  Constancy is a prerogative for technique, and victory is a motive and a reflection of psyche.

Surroundings

Man is destined to manifest himself directly through equipment, which we try to maintain to be as good as possible, but there are different factors of surroundings that directly affect the player and his game, that he cannot influence. Let’s say that you were lucky and in the first leg of a tournament you were drawn with me. Lot of people would like that but only few get lucky.

Goals

In the end there are goals of using psycho-physic capabilities in a pool environment. They are defined by rules of the game and personal ambitions. But in the end, the ultimate goal is victory.

As you can see, developing your technique you won’t become unbeatable, but you will become constant and that will increase your percentage of balls potted, but for victory you need constant surrounding, which is impossible to accomplish because the lower part of the scheme, which is crisscrossed, is variable and that is one thing you must learn to accommodate with. Difference between a top player and a good player is that the top player accommodates to conditions of the game faster and accommodates to different attitudes faster (tournament, gamble..)

What is it that can balance these variables? The brain! Only the correct approach, discipline, experience, confidence and faith can lead us to victory, but before that comes technique.

Starting with technique, then through surroundings, goals and psyche we returned at the beginning with the idea to reach that main goal – victory.

This article is free, and it is a part of the holiday mood, but from next article we begin by the schedule.

PS: I believe that in the centre of the picture there is 1ms. What could that be?

I posle uvoda uvod...

9. januar 2014.

Bijeljina 

Aspekti bilijara

Razmišljajući o sledećem članku, kojim bih trebao da započnem tehnički deo priče o bilijaru, podsetio sam se njegove kompleksnosti i nisam mogao da odolim izazovu da to podelim sa vama.

Kao što vidite na šemi, akteri današnje priče su ČOVEK, OKRUŽENJE i CILJEVI.

ČOVEK

Na vrhu priče je igrač i njegovo psiho-fizičko stanje i znanja. KONSTANTNOST je prerogativ tehnike, a pobeda motiv ali i odraz psihe.

OKRUŽENJE

Čovek je osuđen da sve svoje bilijarske mogućnosti ispoljava posredno preko opreme za koju se trudimo da bude u što konstantnijem stanju, ali na njegovu igru deluju različiti faktori okruženja koji posredno utiču na rezultate igre, a na koje on ne može da utiče. Recimo imate SREĆU da u prvom kolu nekog važnog turnira igrate sa mnom. Mnogi bi to poželeli, ali samo retkima se posreći :))

CILJEVI

Na kraju svega su ciljevi primene psihofizičkih sposobnosti u bilijarskom okruženju. Oni su deteminisani pravilima igara i ličnim ambicijama. Ali, ultimativni cilj je POBEDA!

Ko što vidite, razvijanjem tehnike nećete postati nepobedivi, ali će te postati konstantni a to će povećati vaš procenat ubačenih kugli, ali za pobedu je potrenbo i konstantno okruženje, što je nemoguće postići jer donji deo šeme, koji je šrafiran, je ono što je promenljivo i na šta morate da se naučite prilagođavati. Razlika između vrhunskog igrača i odličnog igrača je u tome što se prvi prilagođava brže različitim uslovima igre i sa različitim stavom (takmičarski, kockarski...).

Šta je to što može amortizovati ove varijable? Naš mozak!!! Jedino pravilan pristup, disciplinovanost, iskustvo, samopouzdanje i vera nas mogu dovesti do pobede, ali preduslov svega je ipak tehnika!

Krenuvši od tehnike, preko okruženja, ciljeva i psihe opet smo se vratili na početak sa idejom da postignemo konačni cilj: POBEDU.

Ovaj članak je gratis i deo prazničkog raspoloženja, a od sledećeg krećemo kao što je najavljeno!

PS: Verujem da su neki primetili da se u centru slike nalazi sledeće: 1ms...

       Šta li je to...?

U najavi za sledeći članak: uvod u osnove bilijarske tehnike - bilijarski stav

Boris Vidaković,
trener BK Lucky Ball

www.luckyball.rs
www.skolabilijara.com

Development path of every player

Today is a great day to start to start something new and nice, for example to start learning to play pool?

But, always that ‘’but’’, before you start that adventure I would like to let you know with all the things that you will encounter so I might scare you off of this adventure. Maybe it’s better that you start collecting napkins hahaha...:-D

Pool is a skill of controlling the cue ball all of pool disciplines could be called ‘’cue ball’’. Stamina is just an advantage in terms of physical readiness that even in a high pressure moments you’re joints can still execute shots the right way. If it was up to strength, Mike Tyson would have been world champion.

Let’s go step by step...

A  question is being asked – what’s the best time to start practicing pool. The answer is – as soon as a child can reach the table and not displace the arm from the right position. My student Pavle. Who is 6 years old, can’t even reach the table but  if we lift him up on a board he will be in a good position (like in the picture above).

Beginners improvement of the game is fastest in the first year of learning pool, when they learn basic techniques and interact with pool disciplines. Many world champions started their careers learning straight pool first, and then the other disciplines – 8 ball international, 9 ball and 10 ball, rotation, one pocket… in that period of learning nervous system rapidly creates new synapses and different engrams in the brain. That neuro-motoric memory is vulnerable and it takes time to become automatic.

When, in the first year, we build new reflexes and memory engrams we come to the phase called ‘’plateau’’ where our knowledge appears to stagnate. That plateau period can last up to 2 or 3 years.  In that period most of talented players who quickly gained basics of pool give up because they can’t handle the pressure of stagnating, while those slower ones, less talented players, who learned that for every little achievement they had to work hard, more easily overcome this period.  So talent can be both an advantage and disadvantage, If it is not followed by systematic training.

Who survives that temporary stagnation will experience an improvement of the  quality of their game, which is a reflection of mental and psychological, and emotional growth. The player has gained a certain playing routine, experience, and has learned to play under pressure and thus he can move the limits of his game. Improvement is slower than the one from the beginning but it is not limited and becomes a reflection of philosophy and approach towards the game, as well as the reflection of the character of a player himself.

After two decades of playing I am still learning together with my students and of them.

The next big question is – ‘’how much should I practice’’ – the answer is as much as possible. But let’s be real, the week has 7 days, 3 days practice with your coach and 3 days alone – that should be ideal for beginning. Practice, depending on age should last from 45 minutes to 120 minutes, and practicing alone should last 120 minutes. I won’t mention laying with your friend because in the beginning it only has motivational and relaxation  factor. But when a player starts to play better and better, difficult matches with stronger opponents and tournaments are a vital part of the learning process.

As a player improves his time spent at the table changes and adjusts to maintaining form and completing competition tasks, but never forgetting the fact that you always have to gain new knowledge and recapitulate the ones you already gained, because what you don’t use you forget.

The next article will be about introduction to basic pool techniques - stance

 

Mir Božiji, Hristos se rodi!

7. januar 2014.

Bijeljina  

Razvojni put igrača bilijara

Danas je odličan dan da započnete nešto novo i lepo, možda da krenete da učite da igrate bilijar?

Ali! (uvek to "ali") pre nego što se upustite u pustolovinu želeo bih da vas upoznam šta vas sve čeka na putu i možda odgovorim od ovog putašestvija... Možda je bolje da krenete da sakupljate salvete ili čepove od piva hahaha :D

Bilijar je veština upravljanja belom kuglom i sve discipline bi se jednim imenom mogle nazvati "bela kugla". Fizička kondicija je samo preduslov dobroj koncentraciji i elastičnosti vaših zglobova da i pod psihološkim pritiskom isporučujete konstantno pravilne udarce. Da je snaga presudna, Majk Tajson bi bio šampion sveta u bilijaru (kao što kaže čika Rista)! 

Krenimo redom! 

Postavlja se pitanje kada je najbolje krenuti sa učenjem bilijara, a odgovor se nameće sam: čim dete može da dohvati sto na način da ne izvrće zadnju ruku iz pravilnog položaja. Moj učenik Pavle, ima 6 godina i ne može da dohvati sto, ali ako ga podignemo na postolje njegova ruka će biti u pravilnom položaju, kao na slici iznad.

Početnici najbrže napreduju u prvoj godini treniranja, kada se uče osnove tehnike i upoznaje sa bilijarskim disciplinama. Mnogi svetski šampioni su počinjali svoju karijeru učeći prvo streight pool pa ostale discipline, 8icu, 9ku, desetku, rotaciju, one pocket... U tom periodu učenja nervni sistem ubrzano stvara nove sinapse i različite engrame u mozgu. To nervno-motorno pamćenje je osetljivo i potrebno je vreme da prerastu u automatizam. 

Kada, u prvoj godini, isgradimo nove refleksne lukove i engrame pamćenja dolazimo u fazu platoa, kada naša znanja kao da stagniraju. Taj plato zna da traje i po dve i tri godine. U tom periodu najveći broj talentovanih igrača koji su brzo savladali osnove odustaje od bilijara jer ne može da izdrži pritisak ne napredovanja, dok oni sporiji, manje talentovani igrači, koji su naučili da svaki napredak zasluže velikim radom lakše preživljavaju ovu fazu. Tako da talenat može biti mač sa dve oštrice, ako nije praćen sistematičnim radom.

Ko preživi ovo trenutnu stagnaciju, doživljava novi skok u kvalitetu, koji je odraz mentalnog i psihološkog, pre svega emotivnog, sazrevanja. Igrač je stekao određenu rutinu, iskustvo, naučio je da igra pod pritiskom pa su spremni da pomere granice svoje igre. Napredovanje jeste sporije od onog na samom početku ali nije ograničeno i postaje odraz filozofije i odnosa prema igri, kao i samog karaktera igrača. 

Ja, posle dve decenije igranja i dalje učim zajedno sa mojim učenicima, a često i od njih.

Sledeće važno pitanje je koliko treba trenirati bilijar, a odgovor je prost - što više, hahaha :) Ali, budimo realni, nedelja ima 7 dana, od toga 3 treninga sa trenerom i 3 treninga za samostalno uvežbavanje onoga što se uči na času u danima između treninga je idealno za igrača na početku karijere. Trening, zavisno od uzrasta može trajati od 45 do 120 minuta, a samostalno vežbanje od 120 min. Igru sa prijateljima i ne pominjem jer na početku ona ima samo motivacioni karatker i služi kao opuštajući faktor. Ali, kada igrač već počne da igra bolje, ozbiljni mečevi sa malo jačim protivnicima i turnirska igra su neprocenjiv deo procesa učenja.

Kako igrač napreduje njegova satnica za stolom se menja i prilagođava više tempiranju forme i takmičarskim zadacima, ali nikada ne zaboravljajući činjenicu da uvek moramo težiti novim znanjima i obnavljati već stečena jer, ono sto se ne koristi, se i zaboravlja...

U najavi za sledeći članak: uvod u osnove bilijarske tehnike - bilijarski stav

Boris Vidaković,
trener BK Lucky Ball

www.luckyball.rs
www.skolabilijara.com

Hapyy New Year!

Introduction

My name is Boris Vidakovic. Officially I am competing since 1996. and I have worn jerseys of multiple first league clubs in Serbian Pool Association until I founded my own club. I am a licensed pool coach since 2009. In my career until now a had that privilege to train many people, like Vojislav Krstic and Luka Bulatovic who were junior champions of Serbia, as well as female champion of Serbia Dunja Vujanic. I hope that my knowledge and my methods of training will help you to improve your game.

Year 2013 is behind us. I suppose that you have enjoyed it as much as I did, or at least on the pool table. Regardless of our satisfaction with our game there is always that doubt and hope that we can do better. This is the reason why I joined this blog so I can share my knowledge and experience with you and to improve my knowledge through your questions and comments.

Like every beginning, on the pages that I edit, we will focus on the first steps in pool, so we could start walking through  world of pool throughout 2014, and with time improve our knowledge and in the end absolutely enjoy pool as a skill and a sport.

First few posts will be about different techniques, then we will talk about position play and some other more advanced techniques. We will nurture your natural game and we will try to create new vision of pool.

I have played pool for 20 years and I can say that this is just a beginning.

Next article will be about pool as a skill and about development path of every player….

Srećna Nova godina!

                                                                                                                                      1. januar 2014.

Beograd 

Moje ime je Boris Vidaković. Takmičim se zvanično od 1996. u okviru BSS i do osnivanja svoga kluba nosio sam dresove više prvoligaških klubova. Licencirani sam trener bilijara od 2009. godine. Do sada sam u svojoj karijeri imao čast da treniram mnoge, medju kojima su dva juniroska šampiona Srbije, Vojislava Krstića i Luku Bulatovića, kao i nacionalnog šampiona u kategoriji dama, Dunju Vujanić. Nadam se da će Vam moja znanja i metode treniranja pomoći da unapredite svoju igru.

2013. godina je za nama. Pretpostavljam da ste u njoj uživali kao i ja, ako ne u svim aspektima života onda bar za bilijarskim stolom. Ali, ma koliko bili zadovoljni svojom igrom, u nama uvek istovremeno postoji sumnja i nada da možemo bolje! Baš iz ovog razloga, pridružio sam se ovom blogu sa ciljem da sa vama podelim svoja znanja i iskustva, ali i da kroz vaša pitanja i komentare proširim svoja.

Kao na svakom  početku, na stranicama koje uredjujem, bacićemo akcenat na prve korake u bilijaru, da bi kroz 2014. godinu prohodali u bilijarskom svetu i da bi, vremenom, naša znanja proširivali i na kraju apsolutno uživali u svim čarima koje bilijar kao veština i sport pruža svojim ljubiteljima.

Prvi postovi će se baviti bazičnim tehnikama, zatim ćemo se posvetiti pozicionoj igri i nekim naprednim tehnikama. Gajićemo Vašu igračku prirodu i pokušati da stvorimo novi pogled na igru.

Voleo bih da uz pomoću vaših pitanja i komentara učinimo ovaj blog boljim.

Bilijarom se bavim skoro 20 godina, i mogu sa sigurnošću reći da je ovo tek početak!

U najavi za sledeći članak: više o bilijaru kao veštini i razvojnom putu svakog igrača...

Boris Vidaković,
trener BK Lucky Ball

www.luckyball.rs
www.skolabilijara.com