Bridge Arm

One of the so called essentials that Joe Davis and other top players of his era all advocated was a straight bridge arm.

It might have suited Joe, who was not tall and had relatively short arms but in my opinion, this does not suit most people and nowadays very few leading players play like this.

Joe used to talk about bending the front leg to move into the shot but then, in referring to getting down into the stance to address the cue-ball, would advocate a straight bridge arm - which is a contradiction.

The contradiction is between moving into the shot and then a recommenda¬tion to hold off it by having a straight arm.

Instead, why not bend the elbow as you are bending the front knee in order to get better stability with your forearm? This also helps you get through the cue-ball.

Most of today's top players find that bending the left elbow will tend to pro¬duce a steadier bridge.

Years ago, when I tried to put into practice what Joe Davis had advocated, especially the cue action with the forearm acting as a pendulum, I could not get my cue hand past my chest.

I turned my body this way and that but found that, with my left arm straight, I always felt I was holding myself off the ball.

But by experimenting with my left arm bent, I could get the whole of my left forearm onto the table, thus assisting me to a firm bridge.