The hassetsu (shooting steps) of Zen Cueism
Stroll around the table, regarding it as if it was a complex fine art object in a gallery. Don't consider your options from only one perspective.
Fix the cue ball, object ball, and pocket firmly in your mind, as one unified entity.
Relax into your stance, allowing your body to join the CB, OB, and pocket in natural harmony. Allow your self to become One with the
feng shui of the table.
Contemplate each part of your body in turn to ensure its correctness. Assume the standing lotus position of
kyudo: feet 1.5 shoulder-widths apart, big toes forming a 60-degree angle to each other, left foot pointed at target. Toes uncurled. (Seriously; the tiniest curl of my left smallest toe caused me many a missed shot until I discovered and corrected it.) Weight distributed evenly between feet. Knees flexed or locked, or one of each - but unwavering.
Bridge shoulder relaxed, not tensed. Bridge elbow
nearly straight but not tensely locked (specific conditions may dictate a more bent elbow).
Bridge hand firmly anchored on the table or rail, ideally with four fingertips and the heel of the hand.
Bridge fingers cradling the cue, but not clenching it.
Stroking shoulder and elbow still. Forearm hanging loosely, like a pendulum of string, straight down from elbow to knuckles. Particular attention should be given to the wrist, that it be
nearly straight, but naturally loose and not tensely locked. The first finger joints should be parallel to the wrist, not bent inward. The second and third finger joints surround and support the cue, but do not clench it. Thumb and pinky finger relax and do not touch the cue.
Practice-stroke evenly and smoothly, relaxing any muscle tension that induces swerve or hesitation into one's stroke. Stroke forward on exhalation of breath, and allow the cue to return backward on inhalation. Contemplate the cue tip's close approach to the cue ball's point of contact. Stroke until the tip's approach is perfect three times in a row. Then become still, and turn your attention from the cue ball to object ball.
Regard the point upon the OB that you will hit. Peer penetratingly at it until the OB becomes as large as a grapefruit.
Glance once along the line connecting the point on the OB that you will hit and the center of the pocket into which the OB will fall.
Now, this is important:
DO *NOT* ADJUST YOUR BODY!
If you performed all of the proper steps up to this point, every bit of your body is in the perfect position to make the shot. Your Spirit has seen to that, finely attuning your body to achieve Unity with the floor, table, cue, and balls. Any crude adjustment that your conscious mind makes will be incorrect, and you will miss.
If you failed to achieve perfect harmony with the table's feng shui, then stand up, take three steps back, and begin all over again.
At least two full seconds before pulling the trigger, fix your gaze upon the OB and keep it there until the cue ball arrives at the point you intended. This is also critical. The ONLY thing in your mind's eye must be that object ball until the CB hits it.
Your final stroke should be exactly like your practice strokes, except that it is permitted to continue freely to its natural follow-through. The forearm and cue glide to a halt; no muscular effort brakes or accelerates follow-through!
Only your forearm should move during the shot. Fingers, toes, shoulders, etc., should remain utterly inert. Only relaxation in natural harmony permits such stillness.
Any muscle tension will disrupt the feng shui and cause your chi to flow astray!
Move only after you see the object ball strike a rail or fall into a pocket. Then rise upright and contemplate the result of your hassetsu
uncritically.
Every shot made is perfect. It went exactly in accordance with nature, even if it did not go as you intended. Every shot is a marked and true step along the Four-Bank Path to Enlightenment and Correct Thinking. You may follow the Path, learning from the result of each shot, or stray from it by insisting, foolishly, that you are right and results are wrong.
Correct Thinking follows the Path in harmony with the Universe. Incorrect Thinking concludes that the shot went wrong, not the shooter.
"Never let your ego interfere with your success."
