Do you ever forget how to play go?

[daal]

I'm curious if this happens to anyone else. Every once and a while, I seem to completely forget how to play go. I play one awful uninspired heartless game after another, and even when I take the time to think about my moves, I don't think about them properly and make mind-numbingly bad moves that I feel ashamed of for their wrongness and artlessness. So what I'm describing is not just a slump where one loses too often, but rather a slump in which one loses touch with one's own go skills. Does this ever happen to you?

[Anzu]

Come over to the Dark Side and play chess.

[skydyr]

I'm curious if this happens to anyone else. Every once and a while, I seem to completely forget how to play go. I play one awful uninspired heartless game after another, and even when I take the time to think about my moves, I don't think about them properly and make mind-numbingly bad moves that I feel ashamed of for their wrongness and artlessness. So what I'm describing is not just a slump where one loses too often, but rather a slump in which one loses touch with one's own go skills. Does this ever happen to you?

Forgetting how to play go seems a bit strong wording, but yes. My reading becomes great, provided that I hallucinate 'working' lines that don't; my endgame is a study in passivity; my invasions work fine, securing a living group in the corner while cementing my opponent's 50-100 point moyo for them; my direction boxes the compass. Then I try and make up for it and play even worse.

I find taking a break for a few weeks can work wonders. Sometimes, it's also a sign of incipient progress, since you're trying new (though wrong) things.

EDIT:
As for chess, I used to be the master of being decently ahead until I would let my opponent slide his rook to the last rank and mate me behind my own pawns.

[DrStraw]

What is go?

[Bill Spight]

So what I'm describing is not just a slump where one loses too often, but rather a slump in which one loses touch with one's own go skills.

As I have said, there are many go skills. It sounds like this kind of slump has to do with some of the unwritten go skills, so that one does not properly exercise skills such as life and death or sabaki. The problem might be emotional, but, OC, it may not be.

As skydyr suggests, this kind of slump may be an opportunity to improve. Usually in our studies we acquire go knowledge, or try to improve our reading or tesuji. In this case knowledge about ourselves may be more important. During a game relaxing and observing yourself may lead to insights.

Bonne chance!

[Shaddy]

This happens to me about one week per month. I'm not sure whether it's better to take a short break to avoid building bad habits or play through it, but it goes away after a few days anyway.

[Marathon]

I have periods where I don't play for months. When I start playing again, I'm noticeably weaker than when I left.

[jeromie]

I'm in the middle of such a period right now, and I have the rank graph to prove it. (http://www.gokgs.com/graphPage.jsp?user=jeromie)

In my case, I can point to clear reasons why my play has suffered as of late. I'm at the end of a very stressful period at work and home, and my attention / focus has generally suffered. As I result, I've been using go as an escape mechanism rather than as an activity in which I am thoughtfully and joyfully engaged. I also tend to play a lot of 9x9 blitz go on my phone when I am stressed, and in the short run this builds bad habits for 19x19. (Cut everything! Invade everywhere!) Fortunately, I have a couple of weeks off over the holidays; I am hopeful that some rest will refresh my mind and my game will once again show the steady progress that has generally been its hallmark.