Angles and Lines/BWEJ/Billiards and Meditation

Click on Image to enlarge!

The Straight Line: A rather mundane consideration at first glance. If you want a straight line, simply get a ruler and a pencil and presto! We have achieved our goal! This is of course, partly true, but it is by no means the whole picture. Consider sports, such as archery or marksman shooting. Here the accuracy of the sport is measured in terms of precision and consistency of the line produced by the archer (or marksman) and his instrument. These activities, and others like them, have been a source of human interest for centuries. And, it would be fair to point out, that in actual practice even these lines are not actually straight because of the variation caused by distance and gravity (parabola). Thus, the archer will aim a little above the centre mark to allow the arrow to rise and fall and take into account gravity, distance, and speed. The rifle bullet, especially at relatively short distances, is closer to an ideal straight line than the archer. The important point (!) here is that there are many human activities in both sport and science that are contingent on our ability to produce and reproduce this rather singular, and apparently simple phenomena. So it is not altogether surprising that at the very center of Billiards practice we find the notion of “the straight line” emphasized as being the first and foremost organizing principle.

Beautiful Woman as Form/ BWEJ/Zilliards Project

Click on image to enlarge!

Then click on your browser back button to return to this gallery.

BWEJ/Being in Form/Meditations on the Philosophy of Billiards

Click on image to enlarge!

Then click on your browser back button to return to this gallery.

Zen Billiards/One-Pointedness/BWEJ

Click on image to enlarge!
Then click on your browser back button tp return to this gallery.

Samurai Sword/Zen Billiards/BWEJ

Click on image to enlarge!

Then click on your browser back button to return to this gallery.

 

Hara/BWEJ/Zen Billiards

Click on image to enlarge! Click on your browser back button to return to this gallery.

Up Front Layer Crest/BWEJ/Zen Billiards

Click on image to enlarge!

Then click on your browser back button to return to this gallery

.

 Developing mindfulness and learning to recognize the natural vacillations in the quality of our “fully awake” awareness is useful for Billiards practice and other dimensions of life and living. The idea of “up front” awareness and the level and quality of “external alertness” is a useful target for mindful consideration. It provides a basis for describing the range of a continuum; at one end we are completely “wide awake” and at the other we are more or less asleep! Most times we will be functioning somewhere between these two ideal types, and it is worthwhile to apply mindfulness to our changing status in this regard. This allows us to adjust our behaviour and approach to current conditions.

  

In Praise of Snooker/BWEJ/Zilliards Project

Click on image to enlarge! Then click on your browser back button to return to this gallery.

Zen Billiards/ Plain Ball Stroke/BWEJ

The diagram seen above was developed by Joe Davis as his foundation and starting point in regard to his practice of Billiards and Snooker. He suggests referring back to this on a regular basis, and it is clearly one of his most important organizing principles. This is a simple diagram. It depicts the line of the stroke for full ball contact, showing the three sighting points: a) bridge, b) cue-ball, and c) object ball. On the surface this is straightforward (!) and is not over complicated. However, recognizing the primacy of this provides the basis of all of the practice techniques and considerations that follow. Because of this fundamental importance, I have selected this emphasis on the “straight line” as the first and primary theme for consideration and reflection.

Plain-ball stroke describes the action of driving a straight line dead centre through the cue ball. This shot has a mathematical integrity, and driving a straight line through the centre of the circle is an elegant act. This provides an anchor point for other types of shots that are essentially variations of this fundamental action. Having the correct point of contact (ie dead centre) is so important that Davis reccomends that this practice be the starting point for professional practice sessions in snooker.

Practice Format: Place the cue ball about 12-18 inches from the object ball along the diagonal line leading to the corner pocket. Take 10 shots and mark down the percentage of successful pots (for example 4 out of 10). Gradually adapt your stroke form to increase the percentage of successful pots. Once you are consistantly potting 80-100% of these shots then move the cue ball back six inches further away from the object ball (along the diagonal line leading to the corner pocket). Continue this until the cue ball is on the baulk line as shown in the diagram above. This could take months or even years to accomplish and it is a fundamental practice form for all levels of play. An additional and useful variation is to put top spin on the cue ball so that it follows the object ball into the pocket.

BWEJ/Billiards/The Straight Line/Stability/BWEJ

Click on Picture to enlarge!

There is an expression in Billiards lore that suggests that “doing simple things well” is the main business at hand, and there is surely some truth to this. It is not really all that difficult to pick up a Billiards cue and “draw a straight line” between the centre of the cue ball and the center of the object ball. However, it does requires the development of a stance that provides stability, to reduce interference, and allow the unimpeded application of “the stroke”. It is helpful to recognize from the onset that the reason that it is worthwhile to develop a solid stance is that this provides a stabile platform that, in turn, enables us to draw a straight line. Joe Davis (Complete Snooker; page 24) suggested that: “absolutely no movement whatever on the stroke of any part of the body except the striking arm” was a fundamental principle of snooker. Proper stance allows us to accomplish this. It is no accident that many excellent Billiard players will judge the proficiency of a potential opponent by simply observing carefully the integrity of “the stroke”. This is the main event and “doing simple things well” in this regard is a foundational practice.