Weekly Go Wednesday, Issue #30

With 2014 being only eight days old, new year resolutions are still fresh and many people are off trying to pursue their goals (i.e., lose weight, get in shape, etc.). In lieu with that theme, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to share a video that I was recommended recently. It’s a TEDxTalk by BJ Fogg on the topic of creating real and permanent change in your life through tiny habits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AdKUJxjn-R8

One of the things that struck me about this talk is how BJ Fogg clearly delineates between goal setting in terms of long term change and short term change. And contrary to what most people think, being highly motivated only contributes to short term change and not long term change. But of course, the question you’re probably wondering is: how does this relate to go?

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Professional Standard Glass Go Stones (Size 36)

Description: “These size 36 glass Go stones offer a nice compromise between affordability and quality. They’re also the exact same make of stones used in most professional Go tournaments in Korea.” - GoGameGuru

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Rosewood Go Bowls with Carved Orchids

Description: These are size 16 go bowls that are made of beautiful rosewood and have carved orchids on the lid to really give it a unique touch to them!

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Leather Goban

Description: If one ever had the notion that wood boards were too cumbersome to carry around or a pain to store away, AmbyR00 has made a beautiful leather goban that is sure to please any go enthusiast looking for a lightweight go board that is really sturdy! And to top it off, it’s environmentally friendly because it is made from excess leather from shoe and bag factories, compressed into sheets!

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Friday Go Forward: Week 45

Overview

They say if you want to start out anything, start out strong. So in lieu of starting strong with the blog, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to go ahead and bring back Friday Go Forwards! I’m still on the fence about the overall format of the post (in terms of making it as informative and useful to you), but I’ll continue with what I have for now and hopefully inspiration will strike me (or you can leave a comment and be my muse! xD).

In terms of my progress as a player, I have rebooted my entire training regimen and am starting with the lowest common denominator: go problems. The key to any sort of growth is most certainly consistency. And since 2013 was a bit rocky for me, I would really like to use 2014 to build a well-oiled and super efficient machine. So if you’re interested in trying to gain the next stone while not taking a huge amount of time, join me as I pursue the ideal training regimen.

Training Regimen

• Step #1: Do 10 go problems a day. (Estimated time: 10-15 minutes) Though the recommended problem set would obviously be life and death, other problems like tesuji and endgame are more than adequate. Be sure to pick problems that are around or even slightly below your level. Remember, your goal is just a bit of exposure to go everyday. And if you think it’s not that much, that is the entire point. Because it’s only a small mouthful, there is little excuse for not doing it everyday. Good luck!

Games

• KGS - 2 games
• DGS - 3 ongoing games
• OGS - 11 ongoing games

Books

• Started working on Graded Go Problems for Dan Players - Volume One: 300 Life-and-Death Problems.
• Completed Position Judgement 1 - Territory by Robert Jasiek.

Videos

• Baduk TV English: Kim Seongryong’s 007 Lessons: Lesson 1

Positional Judgement 1: Territory

Description: Ever wonder how players manage to estimate territory? And with terrifying accuracy? Well look no farther, with the first volume of Jasiek’s Positional Judgment, you can get an inside look at the inner workings of how players make these accurate estimations. It’s filled with numerous examples for you to practice, but be wary, this is definitely not for the light hearted! On the other hand, rest assured that you will be significantly stronger at positional judgment than most players out there if you can master the material in here.

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Happy new years everyone! 2013 has come and gone and 2014 is now upon us! And though I’m one that comes from the philosophy of living each day to the fullest and not waiting till the beginning of the year to start change, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to do a little new years resolution for the blog!

New Year Resolution #1. Change the hosting service that I am using.

For all those who have experienced times when the blog have gone down, I sincerely apologize for the fact that my hosting site has been absolutely terrible. I am growing tired of their frequent outages and will definitely be looking for a change in hosting service. You cannot believe how many times I tried to login to write posts or prepare material only to find that my server was down. Bleh. So if you have any recommendations, please be sure to pass them on.

New Year Resolution #2. Write at least one post every week.

As some of you are aware, there have been a number of times where I try to take on way more than I can (healthily) handle. As a result, I’ve burnt out and gone through more down points than I’d care to admit. So instead of trying to accomplish a goal that might lend itself to another crash and burnout, I’m hoping to simply stick to being disciplined and working consistently rather than short bursts.

New Year Resolution #3. Give the blog a brand new design.

This one is definitely a bit ambitious; but since it’s the beginning of the year, I think that this is something that will be more feasible as time goes on. Although I have tried my best to make the experience of my blog as user friendly and pleasant as possible, I know that it falls short in a number of areas and can use a big overhaul. So if there’s going to be one resolution that is going to be a grand overture, might as well let it be this one. =D

And though I could probably go on, I think that the key to making 2014 successful is to have broader goals that feed into the grand vision. The smaller goals (i.e., do 100 tsumego problems a day) are ones that will come and go as I progress through 2014, so we’ll get to those as they come. So with that, here’s to our first step in 2014. Onwards!

As the new year is about to be upon us, I thought it only be fitting that I write a retrospective post on how my go has gone in 2013. Seeing as this might be a long post, let’s get started shall we?

#1. How strong have I gotten? Well, based on KGS ranking, I started 2013 with a whopping rank of 6k. And after 12 months, it seems I have only gotten 2 stones stronger. Haha. Most will probably disagree with this rating though since the frequency of me playing ranked games dropped dramatically sometime in the middle of the year. So it’s probably more accurate to say that I gained around 3 stones. =)

#2. What is my proudest accomplishment? Though not necessarily about my actual progress as a player, I think 2013 has been a success in regards to the go blog! Though you are free to correct me if I’m wrong, it has been quite productive and I’m proud that I’ve managed to have been writing consistently throughout the entire 2013. As a result of my blog, I have met many new friends and forged new bonds that I have deeply treasured!

#3. What is the biggest lesson I learned this year? I’ve been through quite a few ups and downs this year in my go, and so if I can pass on one lesson it is this: Play for fun. The moment you get so deep in the competitive nature of it and the obsession over gaining another stone, you’ll find the game much harder to enjoy and you’ll be burnt out before you know it. And for those who really want a lesson in regards to the game itself, I would say it is this: Before every move, check to see if you have any (important) weak groups.

#4. What would I have done differently? In hindsight, I think I pushed myself too hard this year overall. Whether it was trying to crank out book reviews or churn out post after post, it put me through a lot of grief that was probably quite unnecessary. So if I could go back and change one thing, it would be to have approached things with more a relaxed and carefree mindset.

#5. What are my final thoughts before 2014 is upon me? Though I might not have progressed as much as I would have liked in 2013, it certainly has been a rather interesting journey. I am hoping that the I will be able to learn from my mistakes in 2013 and approach 2014 with a new passion and energy that will burn brightly for the year to come.

I hope that you all have enjoyed the blog in 2013, and I only hope to exceed your expectation in 2014. And as always, but especially today, please be sure to leave comments below if you have any ideas or suggestions for things I can do for 2014 so that I can continue to improve this blog for you! So for now, good-bye to 2013 and I look forward to seeing you on the other side in 2014! Sayonara!