Hi all,
I'm back. Since I'm not really a "beginner" anymore, I thought I should close up shop on my Beginner's Journey and make a new journal.
I imploded spectacularly about 8 months after I started after becoming obsessed with my rank. Every loss was like a knife. I played worse and worse (man, looking back those last few games were horrible).
I've had a couple of fits and starts at training again, but now I've finally hit a groove.
I have five items on my Go/Baduk checklist everyday:
1) Do Internet Go School Problems
- Guo Juan's site
- This is great for learning strategy and joseki, but it is terrible for reading out life and death; the temptation to click is too strong.
- Minimum 10 a day; I really need to do 100. If I get 20+, though, I am very happy.
2) Do a Baduk Class
- Usually a Guo Juan, Nick Sibicky, or Dwyrin video or reading part of a strategy book
- I'm currently quite enamored with John Fairbairn's translations and his go history books!
3) Do Baduk Reading
- This is usually a Essential Life and Death 1 or Speed Baduk 7
- Typically I get in 25-35 minutes on the train ride home
4) Do Baduk Counting
- My most inconsistent habit
- Usually one or two 19x19 games I find on line or three or four 9x9's
- I'm really bad at counting, it turns out!
5) Do Baduk Joseki
- From a book, BW-Joseki, or from Guo Juan's.
- I just keep trying to review what I know already go a little bit further every day, hoping it will all add up.
You'll notice that there's not "play a game" on the list, but most days I am in a correspondence game or two on OGS.
How I'm doing:
Overall, I've been very consistent since February. Most weekends or vacation days I do not get to check these off because my time is unstructured and, well, families eat unstructured time (as they should!). Work days I get the train ride in, lunch, and the train ride out to get as much training in as I can.
I'm not sure if I'm getting stronger or not, but hopefully it will all add up over time.
Also, I'm bringing folks into the game:
I have some RL friends I am trying to train up, and I have taught the game to about 12 people in the last 3 months, and 3 seem very passionate, but it will be a while until any of them are a real challenge.
Most of my newbies take 9 stones on a 9x9 against me, but a few have gotten down to 4 stones, and that's great!
19x19 games they take ~30-something stones. (4 small knight shimaris connected on the third line by 1-point jumps, a flower in the middle with 4 extra stones around it making tiger's mouths). This is only because they are so new and can't read at all, not because I am good; if they would play about 5 games close together, they would be down to a more reasonable handicap. I feel it is important that they have a well-over-even chance to win.