To jump or kick

Recently, a few friends and I bought jump/break sticks. I bought the two-purpose stick just in case I ever make the effort to learn how to jump balls. Every time I try, though, I fail miserably. On the other hand, I tell myself that the shot is a tool like any other. Sometimes, even The Magician needs to jump a ball or two.

Naturally, it would be great to master both techniques. Still, what would be the best method to learn?

[Rod]

Steve, as a reply, it's not very hard to jump balls.
Many times all you have to do is clear the edge of a
ball that has you blocked. Set up a shot where you are hooked by 1\8 of a ball. That ball is about 1 1\2 feet in
front of the c/b. It takes very little elevation with a
center ball hit to clear the side of that ball.
Thats a starting point and you don't need a jump cue.
Practice that a little and build a little confidence.
Most of all though, you need to practice your kick shots.

Rod

A re-post:

You know how to jump the cueball (the dart-style)?
The light short stick is excellent for that. I can jump that way, useless in the traditional way.

See: http://www.bunjeejump.com/2k_changes...0Dart%20Stroke (you don't need the bunjee jumper for jumping, your shortened stick with a hard tip should do)

Rod and Weelie:

I didn't think jumping was too hard. On the other hand, the pathetic results I've gotten so far are more amusing than instructive. I'd give up on it but, every so often, a need to jump a ball (rather than kick to it) appears and I quickly become aware that this is something I can't do. So, it's off to the practice table I go.

Thanks for the info

Steve

The one choice you left out is 'both'. You should learn to kick and jump. Mastering all skills will lead to success in pool. The good player knows when to kick and when to jump and when either are equal options.

John Collins
www.instroke.com
www.bunjeejump.com

I haven't read any of the posts in reply to your message but... my opinion is to learn to kick first. A good friend once told me that he had to master jumping because he gets out of line too much. In all seriousness though. Kicking is more fundamentally sound than jumping. Some people never learn how to jump. It is a technique to master and a lot of pool halls prohibit this due to the possiblity of damage to the table or cloth. Very rarely is your only option to jump a ball. More often than not you can find a way to kick the object ball you are hidden from. If you do choose to master jumping be weary of the pool hall operators that are watching and maybe even ask if there is table due for re-clothing that maybe you can practice on before it is reclothed. kicking is still the number one choice.

[CarolNYC]

Hi,
Playing billiards helps in kicking, so it is said-I do not have much of a chance to play billiards, so what I do is roll one ball out on the table and just kick at it with my cueball-all rails and see how many times out of ten I can hit it!I jump when all possibilites of kicking are blocked!
Carol~hopes that helped!

[Chris Cass]

Hi Stephen,
The kick is what you should know first. The jump is what I do if I think I can make it and have a pocket to put it in. Sometimes I'll jump bank or if I'm 3 fingers width away from the blocking ball I'll jump if the kick isn't there.

I have a Bunjee and I'll do a dart stroke unless it's further away then just jump it. I like to jump and like my Bunjee too. I had a AirTime and it was equally as easy but I seem to do better with the Bunjee. I don't know why. I can also jump with my playing cue but would only kick if I hadn't an option.
Regards,
C.C.

Chris:

Thanks for the detailed explanation of your methods and thinking. Mostly, I tend to work on kicking -- learning how to do it and perfecting the technique. Kicking gets me out of many jams and tends to demoralize some opponents, namely, weaker players like myself but players who haven't taken the time to learn the skill. The way I look at is this: The better I become using this technique the more of an advantage I have over most of my opponents.

On the other hand, there are times when jumping is the only real option available. And, I can't jump. Fortunately, many, like you, have provided advice on the how-to of this technique.

Steve

Carol:

It certainly helped. I tend to overly structure my practice routines. But kicking requires one to 'see the angles' and to 'feel the force' (unfortunate pun intended) needed to hit the object ball. Thus, throwing an object ball out on to the table and whacking away until one gets it is probably the best practice one can do.

Thanks

Steve