Following up on last week's article for all you jump cue enthusiasts I'd like to challenge the notion (that I put forward myself!) about staying down with your body on each stroke. Do you need to stay down at all? Can't you just dance around as you stroke?

Think about the answer most carefully, please, before reading on…

I teach players with all sorts of flaws in their stance and game. For a few, their hand hits their chest most every time they stroke!

Human jump cue action!

A recent student had been previously taught to strike his chest on the follow through. To quote everyone's favorite Vulcan, Mr. Spock, "Humans make illogical decisions." A good stroke pendulum has a near equal length for backstroke and follow through, so why force extra motion, smack your chest and jump around?

A "balanced" forward stroke is about equal in length to the backstroke length and your hand should never be hitting your chest-well, hardly ever!

I relish a good pool controversy. So in this article I'll challenge the old maxim, "Don't move your body during the stroke."

I admit most players ought to stay put through their practice and final strokes. Added to decent fundamentals, staying down ensures a pro-style delivery, the stick moving forward, and a bit downward.

If you jump up with your cue stick to force chest strikes or perhaps avoid chin scrapes, an instructor should examine your stance, and possibly your mind. "The Jumpy," a dread disease affecting millions of billiards enthusiasts, stems from mainly psychological causes.

Early prevention can help. If you already have this disease, have a friend hold a cue stick just above your head as you stroke. Pain is a great teacher.

Most players think they stay down but are infected with The Jumpy. The chalk, the next shot and the cash will be there after the plane comes to a complete stop when you can safely exit the cabin.

Stay in place until all the balls come to rest. By all I mean all, including the cue ball, even if it takes five extra seconds of roll time. Benefits to freezing your follow through position are 1) it looks really, really cool at the table 2) you'll pocket more balls.

The Jumpy can be fatal when the pressure is on for the case ball. For better concentration for the final ball of a game, I pretend I'm playing shape for another ball to follow. For an added challenge I'll play to the spot I'll break from next. Sweet!

Admittedly, The Jumpy can help when someone:

1. Moves to avoid a stick foul

2. Needs extra power for the break (something best done in moderation)

3. Hustles by making a good stroke appear lucky by using a jumpy follow through

Next I'll risk controversy and tell you that for some, moving on the stroke is "just one of those things…" as Sinatra put it when he sang Come Rain or Come Shine. If it works for you, do it. Hey, there are Hall of Fame shooters who moved like they had ants in their pants!

While most players who move are rushing their shots, the great Willie Mosconi moved continually, though he wasn't merely in a hurry to get to The Bronx and watch his beloved NY Yankees. The famous observation, "Willie moves like a dancer!" applied to his stroke and follow through, not just his pre-shot routine.

Willie learned the dance watching Ralph Greenleaf, who let his cue stick fly through his hand on the stroke, and even threw his whole body forward for extra billiards "oomph" at times. Moving with the stroke, not jumping up during the stroke, works beautifully for a few rare players. I have stop action photos on my website for further study.

Both Mosconi and Greenleaf also could make ASTONISHING jump trick shots long before the invention of the jump cue. Willie could jump off one table and score a challenging shot on a different table.

If you're a budding Willie Mosconi and can lock down the next 10,000 shots while waltzing, go for it. But the average APA "3" becomes a 4 or 5 as soon as they settle in, and settle down.

And, dear reader, I think you ought to seriously consider moving to the pro-styled 1-2-3 stance recommended on this website to best shoot pool.

You can still get way the heck down low, even you taller players like me (I'm 6'2"and often feel pool tables were created by little children to stand at for hours at a time) by bringing your knees down through a deep squat that comes from your thighs.

Your arm will be better balanced and you'll be able to shoot pool and billiards better with less arm movement. "Jump cue" if you must, pitch it if you don't need it.