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From: uyeyama@hawaii.edu (Rob Uyeyama)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.table-soccer,rec.answers,news.answers
Subject: rec.sport.table-soccer FAQ2 - Brush Passing Guide
Followup-To: rec.sport.table-soccer
Reply-To: uyeyama@hawaii.edu (Rob Uyeyama)
Organization: University of Hawaii
Summary: Instructions on how to execute the 5-rod brush-pass & more
Keywords: foosball, table-soccer, table-football, bebefoot
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU
Originator: faqserv@penguin-lust.mit.edu
Date: 27 May 2006 04:19:34 GMT
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Archive-name: sports/table-soccer/brush-passing
Rec-sport-table-soccer-archive-name: brush-passing
Alt-sport-foosball-archive-name: brush-passing
Last-modified: 1994/04/15
URL: http//www2.hawaii.edu/~uyeyama/brush-passing.txt
Copyright: (c) 1994 Robert Uyeyama
Version: 2.4a
All of the latest rec.sport.table-soccer FAQs are available at Foosball
Heaven's FAQ archive http://www2.hawaii.edu/~uyeyama/foosball.html
************************************
FAQ 2 Guide to Passing v 2.4
Rec.Sport.Table-soccer
************************************
(c) 1995 Rob Uyeyama (uyeyama@hawaii.edu)
The latest version of this file is available at Foosball Heaven
This FAQ is divided into three sections.
I: 5-3 bar passing, advice for beginners
II: 5-3 bar passing, guide to brush-passing (for beginners and
intermediates); the most important chapter.
III: 2-3 bar and 2-5 bar passing, preliminary guide.
Five bar in defense and in doubles play zone-defense will be covered in
the
Guide to Defense FAQ-- for a quick review, see the "learning-foosball"
faq
(#4) as well as the definition of zone-defense in the glossary file
(faq1).
v2.2 Added a short paragraph on 2-5 bar passing options in Chapter
III, as well as a few minor corrections in Chapter II.
v2.3 Added the paragraph "two more options" on the brush pass
and Chapter II was "cleaned up".
v2.4 More clean-up
This file is not intended to limit posts to alt.sport.foosball.
This
file is not a "complete answer" to passing, so if you have
questions,
please feel free to post directly to a.s.f. for added help.
If anyone would like to write a chapter on the stick-pass series,
please let me know.
The reason for this file's existence is its Chapter II, describing
brush-passing. You do not need to read Chapter I to learn the brush pass
(or
The brush-pass, however, is a very important technique for competitive
an
occassional quick-to-learn trick. Chapter III on 2-5 and 2-3 passing is
only intended as a very general guideline.
Regarding table brands, the brush-pass can be adapted to most
types
of tables, although this file was written with the hard surfaces and
toe-shapes of the Tornado table in mind. If your table (for example a
Dynamo) is much "stickier", you may find that the brush-pass attempt
ends up in a pinned ball. In this case adapt the technique, starting the
ball not quite so far back, and it should work fairly well. With the
Tournament Soccer and similar tables (e.g. Premier Soccer), the men's
toes
ball slightly forward (from the recommended near-back-pin distance).
Among
almost all types of tables, the strategy of being able to shoot a quick
_or_ lane pass from the _same_ position (and having the skill to catch
a fast pass) is universal. Note that the alternative stick-pass series
s
not described here, and probably will be included in a later version of
this
file.
At first, when seeing players much better than yourself for the
first time, it seems most tempting to concentrate on learning their
eventually
even this sort of knowledge will be insufficient, especially in any level
of
competitive play; for even if you possess an unstoppable three bar shot
and
your opponent a medicore shot, but if you cannot get the ball from the
five
bar to your three bar, and your opponent can, you will lose the majority
of
(i.e.
"good") shot on the three bar, passing it here will do little good. So
once
you've developed enough ball control to set the ball where you want on
the
three bar, and once you've learned a pretty good shot, you should cease
most
The easiest pass, especially for use against other beginner
opponents, is the "wall-pass." This pass can be done either on the near
or
far wall. The near wall description follows: Pull your three bar all
the
travelling near the wall to the three bar, and if your three bar comes
even
a hair off of the wall, the ball may roll past you between your near man
and
the wall-- remember the bumper on the wall prevents your man from
actually
being in contact with the wall, so that "on the wall" actually means
almost
a full ball-length away from the wall!
To facilitate catching a fast pass, angle your three bar forward,
about at the angle at which you would be able to front-pin an imaginary
ball, i.e. head backwards, toes forward. This way the man absorbs more
of
the impact of a fast moving ball, instead of causing the ideally fast
to simply ricochet out of reach, probably to your opponent's five-bar
Note: (For a more advanced catching technique, see part II "Guide to
Brush Passing", which explains a wrist flick that is done with the
catching
bar at the same time as the pass, so that the maximum extension of the
men
s at the forward angle I have just described in the previous paragraph.)
To pass a wall pass, position the ball an inch or two away from
the
man
s _not_ on the wall), and "shoot" it straight and hard to pass to the
near
man on your three bar. Note a few points: 1) this pass, if done
correctly, deposits the ball squeezed in the space between the near man
on
the 3-bar and the wall; 2) but even if passed directly onto the man's
toe,
the pass is easily caught; 3) However, if passed into the space
n 1), it is possible to EASILY catch a pass that is as fast as your
fastest
five-bar shot! (although such a high-velocity pass may also be caught,
more practice, directly on the toe of the man); 4) also note that this
"wall" pass can be done with the ball's starting position even up to and
level opponents you can wait until they flinch away from the wall, and if
you can do the fast version of the pass, you can pass it through that
fraction-of-a-second flinch. 7) Note than in a fast-paced game, you will
eventually be able to immediately do a wall pass when you catch the ball
on
your five bar, e.g. when your five-bar blocks a two-bar shot. (However
n
competitive play, all tournament level opponents would easily intercept
an on-the-fly wall pass.)
Two more things to think about: 1) You DEFINITELY SHOULD start
now
to make it a habit to keep your three bar in the front-angled position at
all times, always ready to catch a moving ball, esp. from an on-the-fly
angle shot may be open, and if so, you can shoot, or even try to pass
through that hole. This type of pass is called a LANE pass (i.e. passing
through the space between the first and second men on the opposing five
bar
can
the ball at high speed, you have a tournament-competitive pass. This
option
s described in the next part, II: 5-3 passing, Guide to Brush Passing.
But
for now, if you are only beginning, practice your ball control, your
three-bar shot, and your fast wall pass.
One other beginner pass: Roll the ball down toward either wall.
At the FAR END of the 2nd man's reach (i.e. the closest the 2nd
man will reach toward the wall), pass the ball lightly with the 2nd man,
angling it toward the wall (where your three bar resting). This angle is
easy, since it is in the same direction as the ball's original direction
of
motion.
Rationale: Beginning opponents will tend to follow the
ball, and as they also bang their rods against the wall, their 2nd man
can
no longer guard the ANGLE-pass you just shot OUT OF its reach; only the
man can guard it and he just banged into the wall as your opponent
followed
the motion of the ball!
TWO TRICK PASSES that are good to know, but taken by themselves are
useless to depend upon... i.e. if you're going to practice a pass, skip
this
ball (slightly to the rear of the rod), between your first an second man
of
the near side. In one single fluid motion, pull the rod then flick your
(a
"kick" or lateral pass), which then immedietaly passes the ball along the
the ball slightly toward the rear helps make a smaller lag time between
the
kick and the wall pass, and in general is a good habit in passing. 2)
bounce the ball rapidly between the 1st and 2nd man. On one of the
bounces,
lift your man as the ball approaches the 1st man and pass it, either
along
the wall, or along the lane. Practice the wall pass version first, since
t's similar to pass "1)". This works because with every bounce you are
be the real pass. Note that you can bounce it back and forth by mostly
moving the men to meet the ball, rather than bouncing the ball the full
for
the "stick-pass" series, which is not described here.
PRACTICE TIPS FOR EVERYONE: Most beginners don't know the ranges
of
each man's reach on the five bar, and don't know very well the _edges_ of
the men's reach on the three bar. So: Lift the opposing five-bar, and
The straight passes are easy to learn and intuitive, but intercepting an
angling ball with the five bar is the part that is the hardest and needs
the
night
before and find that their brain has figured it all out!
For defending against passes, you can either angle your men
forward and attempt to "swat" at the passes, so that they bounce to
your three bar or back to your five bar... Or you can angle your men
backwards so that you will catch any blocked passes, so that now it
s your turn to pass-- you don't want your opponent to keep regaining
back,
because you'll unknowingly be leaving the wall pass _always_ open!
The general motion is an unpredictable back-forth motion done very
to swat away all slow- and medium-speed passes. See the
"learning-foosball"
faq (#4) for more tips on 5-rod defense.
I will begin with a disclaimer. I am a rookie (i.e. beginning
competitive level) player, so my knowledge of brush passing may not
be entirely satisfactory to experts and pros but know the fundamentals
enough to relate the technique and the conceptual reasons behind them; if
you have any suggestions or corrections, please don't hesitate to email
me.
As I mentioned briefly in part I, the essence of the brush pass
s
that you can pass either a wall pass, or an off-the-wall pass (lane pass)
from the SAME position; hence your opponent will not know _which_ pass
you
are attempting until too late if the pass is fast enough. The method I
quickest results and knowledge enough to learn the other variations (e.g.
far wall, off near-wall bounce, 2nd man brush-down, etc.)
Once you feel you understand the concepts, SKIP to "HOW TO PRACTICE
THE
BRUSH PASS" at the end of this section; this will give the real meat of
"getting better". The beginning of this chapter will discuss the
ntellectual how and why of the pass, as well as the practical (i.e.
actual
s so detailed because I have observed many people who have tried to
learn
the brush pass but had great difficulty because they didn't understand
each element of the technique was really doing. Once the player
understands
"why brush the ball", and "why place the ball so far back", and so on, it
s
much easier to learn the pass.
First, a commonly used hand/arm posture for the left arm is
out to your left. You should lean down slightly so that your upper arm
s
almost directly above, and parallel to, your lower arm. These techniques
ball
and put a spin on it. Make sure that when you flick the rod with this
that the men follow through to end up at least 45 degrees forward or even
man backwards too much, you only need to lift it back enough to just
barely
clear the top of the ball-- any farther and you are revealing your
ntentions to the opponent as well as compromising the power of your
to avoid rolling the handle along your fingers with an opened-palm when
you
are passing. It will feel strange at first, but keep at it.
Rules: Since passing from a stationary ball is illegal, you must
the ball in motion. Since passing IMMEDIATELY w/the same man you set
the ball in motion with is also illegal (like a pull-shot-pass), you must
***First position your 3-bar on the near wall; make this a constant
near
t
t laterally and VERY SLOWLY toward your near man. The near man will
then
Notes: 1) The ball is placed to the rear of the rod because this
provides a better position to put spin on the ball once it is moved
laterally to the passing man. It is the spin which will result in the
angle in the ball's motion; 2) if the ball is rolled from a really
back pin (i.e. ball too far back) the near man will not be able to put
a
spin on (the back of) the ball, and will most likely only pin (the top
of) the ball again, or briefly pin then squeeze out the ball
unpredictably; we want to pass it, not pin it again. 3) Make sure
the pass to your 1st man is perfectly lateral, so that it reaches the
man at near the same almost-back-pin distance it started from. 4)
The
slowness of the lateral motion is OK, because this is NOT the part of
the
motion which is intended to deceive your opponent; great care in
up the ball position with this motion, and the longer time-window to
choose among your impending passes are the two reasons for the slow
to your 1st man... keep it _slow_.
Before I describe how to pass the ball with the 1st man,
the
option of either wall-passing or lane-passing. Ideally then, you want to
area
out by watching the near man's range of motion as you push and pull the
all the way. The general center of this left-right distance is where you
LARGEST distance guarded by only a single man on the entire five bar;
there
s no 6th man beyond the wall to come to the rescue to block a wall
this is why passes are done near the wall; also the near wall is more
easily
visible, so we begin with this version, rather than the far wall. The
of the wall pass seems simple enough; angle the ball toward the wall, and
f
there is enough spin the ball will hug the wall all the way down to your
three-bar. But where is the lane? Pull the opponent's five-bar to your
near wall. See the opposing 2nd man? He can't go any further! The
deal
lane pass is just out of his reach; the only man who can block it is the
man, who is also busy guarding the wall pass!
Okay, now the hard part. Remember approximately where you are
to pass the ball from (between the wall and lane). This is really only
approximate, since you will wait for an opening, and then hit it, and the
ball will be rolling slowly while you are deciding. CENTER your near man
from
the 2nd man's tenuous-pin, your near man should look like it is about to
the ball; it should not be obviously far up in the air away from the
ball.
Since the man is centered on the ball and following it, the opponent
can't
tell which pass you are preparing for, since at the center you are
for both! How so? From here, you "brush" the ball, either in the push
(aka
brush-up) or pull (aka brush-down) direction. Usually a few fakes are
thrown in for good measure, but let's practice without fakes for now.
What does "brush" mean? Try to "scrape", or "brush" the BACK or
BACK-TOP very edge of the ball with your man as hard as you can, while
applying the LEAST amount of pressure possible to the ball, but
maintaining contact and DO THE BRUSH MOTION FAST. Remember to
follow-through after the brush; don't stop and let your 5-rod follow
through all the way to the near (brush-down) or far (brush-up) wall.
n a
SPIN on the ball, which angles the ball in the direction of your brush
(i.e.
a brush-down pulls it toward the wall, a brush-up pushes it toward the
lane).
Finally, the two most common mistakes: 1) none of this will work
unless at the time you brush the ball, the ball really is towards the
back
of the rod, i.e. just forward of the line at which you could back-pin
balls
brush-down to a stationary ball, and begin with trying a pinned ball.
Then progressively move the ball forward and try it again; the best
brush often works where many beginners think it will actually be
"swing"
at the ball, as if to shoot it forward; the brush motion is mostly a
the
the
brush), then adjust from there; the ball will move forward if you brush
t
near
the _very end_ of the brush motion-- but at first, don't even try to
as a followthrough and just try to isolate the fast brushing motion.
Once you get the hang of it, it is VERY IMPORTANT to always be
aware, especially with Tornado men (with subtly angled toes), of the
exact
area of the toe which is intended to brush the ball; it is usually along
the
before did you? If your pass doesn't seem to be working, concentrate on
the bottom of the two surfaces of the toe on either side of this edge.
(The
bottom one is gridded with horizontal and vertical hatches, and the top
one has only vertical hatches-- these vertical hatches on the top side
If done correctly, the brush will result in a significant spin
(good), causing it to whizz away at an angle; in the case of a
brush-down/wall pass, the ball will angle into the wall and _hug_ the
all the way to your waiting three-bar. Practice the pull-brush wall-pass
first and note: the first time you do it right, YOU WILL KNOW; the ball
move in a very counter-intuitive way, seemingly disobeying the laws of
foosball Physics; it will seemingly be about to bounce off the wall, but
nstead it will hug the wall as described all the way to your 3-bar.
When
this happens the first time, remember how it feels like-- and try to
an entire ball-width.
Notes on doing it wrong: 1) If the ball is too far back when
unpredictable direction, or simply stay pinned. 2) If the ball is too
far
forward, your brush motion is a) too transparent to the opponent and b)
you
mild resulting in a mild angle (perhaps missing the wall or lane and
colliding with the opposing man) and little wall-hugging behavior.
Practical notes: 1) at first, you may not find it easy to center
your near man behind the rolling ball, so remember to roll the ball
at first if you are intending a brush-up, you may be inadvertently
away your intentions to the opponent, and the mirror image also applies
for
the brush-down (pull-brush). Once you are well-practiced, you will be
able
to spin the ball w/your brush in both directions from directly behind the
ball, or insert a series of fakes before you brush, for example fake
up-down, up-down, in rapid succession, followed by "up", or "up-down" to
Again, always be aware of the brushing surface of the toe at whatever
angle
you choose; 3) To catch a wall pass, just leave your three-bar on the
n the front-angled position described in part I. 5) To catch a lane
begin with your 3-bar ON THE WALL, then move it off of the wall AS you
you
even
be able to just "swing" at it with only medium brush/spin and get away
t if the opponent is adamantly guarding the wall; this is only a crutch,
and will not work in the higher levels of tournament play; still it'll
you well at first. 7) Experiment with a variety of fakes, especially
an "up-down-up-down" motion behind the ball before you pass. 8) Use
your
brain; figure out which pass your opponent wants to guard, and shoot the
OTHER pass! 9) Once you understand the concept by reading this, skip to
"HOW TO PRACTICE THE BRUSH PASS" at the end of this section.
NOTES ON CATCHING THE BALL: Catching the ball using the simple
front-angled position of the three-bar (described in Part I) is
eventually
angled
forward
as you catch the ball, and here's one good way to do this:
1) for the three bar (right hand), find the correct position on
the
f
that they
are standing straight again; now you are ready to flick your men forward
as
you catch a fast pass! 3) On a Tornado, forget 1) & 2), and just put
your thumb
along the _narrow_ part of the handle on the bevel one or two away
counterclockwise from the top bevel (i.e. about 11 o'clock) when the men
are
Your thumb here prevents your wrist from swinging the 3-bar too far
forward.
This motion _greatly_ enhances your chances of catching a fast pass on
any
table, so now make it a habit to assume this grip (relative to the rod's
once you begin to practice faster and faster passes; don't ignore!
HOW TO PRACTICE THE BRUSH PASS:
The description above was about how to execute the pass in a
you develop the "brush-up" and "brush-down" motions themselves. The
brushing exercises will all be upon a stationary ball (which in a real
a
little to the rear as described. The fakes included in these exercise
are
an essential part of what you actually do in a real game.
HOW TO PRACTICE THE BRUSH-DOWN (pull-brush) to the wall: First
the ball about three inches from the near wall (along your 5-bar,
to the rear of the rod, not quite so far that you would pin it).
Finally,
fake-brushes, just barely behind, but not touching the ball:
along
the wall.
Hence, the entire motion will be: down-up-down-up-DOWN, the last
"down" being the real brush-down pass. The pace (of the d-u-d-u-d)
be leisure-rapid-- in other words, not so fast that you are concentrating
on
the rapidity, and definitely not slowly since these are supposed to be
fakes. Remember to concentrate on putting spin on the ball and being
aware
of that angled-surface of the toe which is actually in contact with the
ball, since your fakes can distract you from your technique. At first,
bring it in closer and closer to your near wall as you practice your
HOW TO PRACTICE THE BRUSH-UP (push-brush) through the lane:
your 3-bar on the wall as before, and place the ball in the same place
along
your 5-bar also as before. Now: 1) do the SAME four fake-brushes behind
the
ball: down-up-down-up. 2) Continue with down-UP, doing a real brush-up
on
the final "up". 3) As you brush up, move your 3-bar off of the wall to
catch the pass through the lane.
Hence the motion will be down-up-down-up-down-UP, looking
The difficult part is catching the ball, so you really have to practice
cheat: _always_ begin with the 3-bar on the wall!
So, practice about 100 of each version, or at least 25 if you're
not used to practicing yet. Once you have learned the techinque, you can
your
completely catch each pass; don't get caught in the common mistake of
ball
at different distances from the wall; for example with the brush-up, if
the
ball is very close to the wall, you will need more "brush" and less
"swing"
to angle the ball into the lane, while if the ball is farther from the
and more directly in front of the lane, you will not need as much
"brush",
but more "swing" to execute a fast pass. And the brush-down can be
executed
anywhere from near the wall to (eventually) the farthest reach of the
near
man away from the wall. So vary the position once you've learned the
brush
motion, and that way you'll have a larger "strike-zone" from which you
be a threat to brush pass in either direction.
PRACTICING THE SETUP: This will be two similar exercises--
Begin
Execute a series of fakes, about six: down-up-down-up-down-up. Then
ntercept the ball before it hits the wall by moving the near man in the
begin again. That's all. The other exercise is similar except, after
the
near man. As it slowly bounces off, execute another series of fakes:
a real game situation, a common technique is to bounce the ball off of
the
opponent
exercises
are useful in a real game so as to allow you to bring the ball into
PRACTICING TWO MORE OPTIONS: 1) Practice the steep brush-up
mmediately after a bounce off of the near wall. 2) Practice the 2nd-man
brush-down through the lane to the wall. One way to do this is a
variation
on the exercise of the previous paragraph: after you use your near man to
bounce the ball back to the 2nd man, the 2nd man can then brush-down.
The
ball should travel steeply through the lane (bring the opposing 5-rod to
your near wall for practice) and end up on your 3-bar near-man on the
The other option from the 2nd man is a brush-up to your _middle_ 3-bar
man.
One final note: there are many passing options with brush and stick
are
learning the same series on the far-wall, learning tic-tac stick passes,
and
learning a blindingly quick kickpass to the wall. Hopefully, the
that
s it for brush-passing! Practicing will give you a knowledge of spin
that
for
tournament play on the hard surfaces of Tornado tables.
Most importantly, you should master the essential skill of the
to 3-bar brush pass described in Part II before practicing too much in
this
for
the commonly slightly airborne passes and shots. The three bar should
always
be placed along one wall; pick one, the far or near, and just LEAVE IT
THERE
and practice passing to the three men in this position only for a while.
Be
underneath and past the three-bar. Hence, for fast passes, hold the
front-angle LOWER, even close to 45 degrees! However this is not the
key;
the key is TO HOLD THE HANDLE LOOSELY. If you are holding on too
tightly,
the pass will simply ricochet off of your man. However, if the rod is
loosely, and at a low forward angle, the ball will "muscle" the man's
angle
up, coming to rest in a front pin. So 1) Hold it correctly for the
expected
Keep it on one wall, and don't move it, so the defense knows where to
expect
the men to be.
The two-bar's easiest pass, of course, is the wall pass. Make sure to
that
bumper on the rod won't let your man get directly behind a ball that is
actually on the wall. You can pass to the 3-bar men which are not on the
gnore the men and shoot your shot-- there is a mild chance that a missed
missed
you
the opposing five bar is against the wall, guarding the wall pass), and
angle right to your three man sitting on the wall.
Two variations: 1) when the ball on the 2-bar is set up for a
or pull, the 3-bar should be placed _off_ of the wall so that the 1st man
s
the
may
be held up "floating" ready to come down in case of a pass. 2) Or, when
(push/pull), and as the opponent flinches off of the wall, reverse your
motion and brush a wall pass.
For a singles game: All of the above applies, and you can
alternative pass from the 2-bar to the 5-bar. Developing a good left
on the two bar is fairly important. Also, if you can actually shoot
kicks
or push/pulls with your left hand, your opponent doesn't know whether to
the
far 2-man, and pull the rod fast. The opponent will flinch in your pull
n
a pseudo-wall pass along the far wall. Lifting all the rods, and
angle passes back and forth between your 2 and 3 bar is worthwhile.
Also,
2-BAR TO 5-BAR PASSING: This is often a more reliable way to get
the
ball to your 3-bar, in other words by executing a _reliable_ 2-5 bar pass
then another _reliable_ 5-3 bar pass, instead of a risk 2-3 bar pass
Set the 5-bar on the near (or far) wall, and catch passes the same
s
_much_ riskier, so that you will in general always be watching for the
lane
the center of the field, you should briefly watch for the open stick pass
to
the 3rd man.
Happy Passing!
.
