Talent and hard workThe cue is held directly below the center of your face and bridged up by your fingers. Your chin, the cue, and the target ball form a straight line. Like any other popular sport, the basics of pool aren't all that difficult. "The fundamentals are easy, but to go professional, you still need the right stuff," points out Li Ya-jen, national-level pool coach and long-time observer of Yang Ching-shun.
Li points out Yang's gift gives him an edge in the game and can best be summed up as skilled use of the wrist, an explosive break, and a thorough understanding of the game. "More importantly, years of hard training have given him the best cue technique in the country. He employs english very skillfully in competitions," relates Li. "Today, his name is held in awe. Many players prefer to opt out of international matches rather than go toe-to-toe with Yang."
Angle and power. When all is said and done, pool is a game of physics. After calculating the angle and power to be applied to the cue ball, Yang relies on experience and intuition. The superior hand-eye coordination, deft wrist, and nerves of steel of this diamond-in-the-rough were already in evidence.
Many people, in addition to his mother, have influenced him in his long pool career. Of these "Chao Fong-pang has molded my style more than anyone. He coached me from when I was 15 up to when I was released from military duty."
Chao Fong-pang, a.k.a. "Cold-Blooded Killer," at one time ranked top in the world three years running, and he was a star on Taiwan's pool circuit before Yang came along. In the late 90s, after cable television began producing and broadcasting pool competitions in Taiwan, Chao became the first idol for many of Taiwan's pool enthusiasts.
The master-pupil relationship of these two pool champions began when Yang was 15. Just coming into his own, Yang attracted a great deal of attention from some of the greats. Much like Yang, when he was younger, Chao had a difficult time convincing his family to allow him to play, so when he saw the potential in this "unpolished piece of jade," it was like looking into a mirror at a younger version of himself.
After taking Yang on as his apprentice, Chao began to attend to the details of Yang's life and competitions, even paying his living expenses. For his part, Yang determined to pay Chao back from his winnings as a show of appreciation before leaving the military.
Chao, then at the zenith of his career, had extremely high standards for his pupil.
"Coach was very strict. As well as making sure I practiced every day, he trained me in the art of getting along with people and in this world." Knowing that fame was imminent for his young pupil, Cold-Blooded Killer continually admonished him on the importance of humility, urging him not to grow cocky after he achieved success and fame. At the behest of his teacher, Yang doesn't imbibe, keeps regular hours, and strives to lead a simple life. "He would even require that I tell him who I went out with and where we went. He didn't allow me to hang out with questionable characters."
"I'm no celebrity and I'm still young," explains the normally low-key Yang Ching-shun. An illustrated book about Yang, published at the insistence of his agent three years ago, flew off bookstore shelves, hinting at the huge popularity of the "Son of Pool."