SITTING POSITION
Sitting position is very important in carrom. If you sit properly on your chair or stool only then you can play a perfect game.
Some players are placing their chair or stool far away from the carrom board and play from the edge of the chair/stool. In this position a player finds it very difficult to balance himself/herself on the chair/stool and is afraid of falling down from the chair/stool. Another disadvantage in this position is that the player’ legs may cross the imaginary line which is a foul. I have seen even some national champion crossing their legs beyond imaginary lines and if foul is declared then blaming the umpires. If you keep too much distance between your seat and carrom board then you have to stretch your hand for playing, which can develop tension in the playing hand. Correct position to sit is to take comfortable distance between your seat and the carrom board and occupy more than half portion of your seat.
Keep your both legs in front of chair. While playing your body should not be in a straight line of the pocket where you intend to pocket your carromman but it should be in the straight line of the direction of the path of your striker where it is going. For example, if you are placing your striker in such away that the pocket, the carromman and the striker are in the straight line then you have to bring your body in the straight line of the pocket but if you try to pocket your carromman by straight cut, then your body should move at the direction of the path of the striker.
MOVEMENTS
Upper body movement- In this type of movement you can move your only upper body bringing in the intended direction. Locking your legs to the chair/stool can allow you to move your upper body easily. This prevents your legs crossing the imaginary lines.
Full body movement- In this type of movement you can move your full body in the intended direction. For this type of movement it becomes necessary to move on the seat. Before moving on your seat hold your chair firmly and take a comfortable position by moving on the seat, then release your hands from the chair and play. Taking support of the chair is a foul. This is to be done because there is a possibility of moving your chair on the floor, which is a foul.
There are two possibilities where chair can be moved and a foul can be declared. 1) When organizers are providing light plastic chairs. 2) When there is powder on the floor where the chair is placed.
FOOTWORK
This is wrong notion that footwork is required only in outdoor games. But as a player you should know how important footwork is for taking a comfortable position on your chair. Many of the players, particularly female players put their legs inside the stand while playing. If you sit like this, you will not be able to take a good position to play your strokes. Some players feel comfortable by removing shoes or chappals while playing; others feel comfortable by wearing shoes. you have to practice footwork by wearing shoes as many times shoes are provided to you as a part of your kit and your sponsors expect you to wear it during the championships. In fact it helps you a lot in your foot movement. You have to make a practice to move your feet to take a comfortable sitting position. Moving feet does not only facilitate you to take a comfortable sitting position but it also helps in the blood circulation in your legs. Some players started paining in the leg while playing carrom for long time this is because they dont move their feet a inch and some blady players put their feet inside stand and even in stool too.
HEIGHT
Height of the stand and the chair frequently change from one tournament to another depending upon the availability of the chairs and stands to the tournament organizers. Most of the time height of the stand is more for the Asian players as Asian players are generally short in height. If you are short what you have to do is to carry a pillow or a bed sheet whenever you are going to play a match. Sometimes when the height difference is not much, then bed sheet is preferred over a pillow as thickness of the bed sheet can be adjusted by folding it accordingly. Height of each player varies and therefore he/she has to adjust to the comfortable height. If you don’t maintain same height between your chair and the carrom board then your grip will change even you cant play properly as situation changes a lot. The change in the grip is so minute that you don’t feel it, but it affects your game considerably. Well some players have small height that they get up from seat while playing and that is declared loss of board or foul.
Article Written By Arun Deshpande