My GoGameGuru order came in!!! Woot woot!!! You can see everything I got in the picture (except the glass stones which are inside the bowls). There is so much to write about and review. Haha. However, since I do need a little bit of time to put the reviews together, the one thing I want to recommend right away is the Foldable Go Board. The quality is incredible for the price and it’s definitely my favorite item of my entire order. So if you’re in the market for a foldable go board, don’t wait!

On a more journalistic note, I’ve been on a losing streak lately. Interestingly enough however, I’m actually okay with it. The training to try and maintain zen in high pressure situations or even after losing has been tough; but I think it’s been doing me some good. In fact, I was even able to resign a game that I was winning (against a 5 kyu) since I had more pressing matters to attend to. And if you’re wondering why I think it’s an accomplishment, it’s because I never would have been able to do that in the past. I would have saw the game as rightfully mine to win and probably have been unable to walk away from it.

As one might expect, my rank has been dropping left and right; but surprisingly enough, I’m actually okay with it. I’m not worried about whether or not the server thinks I’m stronger or not. I am taking on my weaknesses head on. It might make me lose a stone or two for now, but I think the benefit I will gain from this approach will be worth it. =)

For those who haven’t heard the news, I am super excited to inform you about GoGameGuru’s announcement on introducing new and affordable go equipment!! As an avid go enthusiast who is constantly checking local stores and online retailers for go equipment, it is really exciting to see GoGameGuru fill a niche of go equipment that I think is desperately lacking right now. Here are the featured products that are coming to GoGameGuru:

Read More

Friday Go Forward: Week 38

Overview

Overall, this week has been a continuation of me just trying to figure out what kind of studying works best in the time I have. Though I am far from releasing a user guide of sorts, the one advice that I am sure will not change is this: Start small. Whether it’s only 5 minutes every day to sit down and do a couple tsumego or go over ten moves of a pro game, it will add up over time. That much I can promise you. =)

And by the way, the BadukTV English from GoGamGuru continues to impress me with how little I know even though I’m technically 3-4 kyu KGS. Even though I’m more than halfway through the “Becoming 5 Kyu” series, I am just flabbergated

Games

• KGS - 3 games
• DGS - 3 ongoing games
• Nova - 10+ games

Training Menu

• 20 minutes of Reading Training (i.e., Life & Death, Tesuji, etc.)
• 20 minutes of Go Theory Study (i.e., Joseki, Direction of Play, etc.)
• 20 minutes of Experience Training (i.e., Play or review a game)

Reading Material

• Worked on Otake’s Secrets of Strategy.
• Worked on Jump Level Up 5.
• Started working on Dictionary of Basic Joseki 1.

Video Lessons

• Becoming a 5 Kyu - Lesson 19
• Becoming a 5 Kyu - Lesson 20
• Becoming a 5 Kyu - Lesson 21
• Becoming a 5 Kyu - Lesson 22
• Becoming a 5 Kyu - Lesson 23
• Becoming a 5 Kyu - Lesson 24
• Becoming a 5 Kyu - Lesson 25

I’m happy to announce that I have finally gotten the opportunity to sign up for GoGameGuru’s (GGG) BadukTV English service! Needless to say, I am thrilled with it! I’ve only made it through two lessons in their “Becoming a 5 Kyu” video series and I am loving it! Not only am I learning a lot, but it’s really incredible to be able to watch material that is not game commentary and actually aimed at weak players like me!!!! Ahhh!!! So wonderful!!!!_
_

Now, before I go into why I think BadukTV by GGG is awesome, let me clarify something. Some of you got a chance to watch a BadukTV video that I posted recently, but I want to remind everyone that they are completely different services. The BadukTV English that I posted is from the BadukTV channel that features English speakers and is currently free. BadukTV from GGG on the other hand, is a paid service that focuses on providing popular Korean BadukTV episodes that have English subtitles.

“Wait wait wait Ben. Why the hell would I pay for something when I can get it for free?”

Well it’s actually quite simple:

1. The problem with free material is that you never know when you’re going to get new material and whether or not it’s even going to be helpful to you.

2. There is no guarantee that the quality of material will be up to par.

3. The material is most likely going to be more advanced than the typical kyu player will be able to really handle.

In other words, let me ask you this: How many videos or lectures have you seen out there that is a lecture series with titles like “Becoming 5 Kyu” or “Level Up to 3 Kyu”?

Let’s face it. There are plenty of material out there with strong players reviewing professional games and trying to go through the variations. And sure, BadukTV from GGG has those lectures too for stronger players; however, when it comes to videos of professionals lecturing on material that’s relevant to kyu players who are anxious to get stronger, the Western hemisphere is lacking in this area and BadukTV by GGG helps to fill that empty void many of us long for.

And just in case I haven’t sold you on their English service, they also have:

1. BadukTV OnDemand - TV programs that you can stream whenever you want. They don’t all have subtitles, but like someone reminded me, go transcends all language barriers and you might find yourself understanding more than you expected!

2. BadukTV Live - Watch BadukTV live as if you had it as part of your cable service!

3. BadukTV Mobile - Watch BadukTV programs right from your mobile device!

Bottom line: If you’re one of those people who wished that that the Western hemisphere could have a channel dedicated to go, you definitely need to check this out. They are providing an incredible service and I hope you’ll join me in supporting them in their efforts! Be sure to check out their site here for more information!

P.S. And if you have any other questions about the service, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or contact me and I’ll be sure to answer your questions to the best of my ability!

After I got back from boxing last night, I was pretty much wiped out. The funny thing about me is that no matter how tired I am though, it seems that I somehow manage to find the energy and motivation to do something go related. So I decided to check out my first episode of a BadukTV English game review of Lee Changho 9P vs. Lee Sedol 9P.

For those who aren’t aware of the popularity of go in the rest of the world, there are actual television channels that are ENTIRELY dedicated to go. Now, I don’t know about you, but I would love it if we had something equivalent here in the Western world. Unfortunately though, go has not yet risen to that level of popularity. On the upside though, pioneers like GoGamGuru and BadukTV have taken the first big step to bringing us one step closer to that dream.

Here is the video that I watched last night:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCBHI_lNgXI&list=PLq69jNwwOmf-Lkbyny1HwiRUKMg6uuFo2

Since I had never watched a TV episode dedicated entirely to go (excluding Hikaru no Go), I was a little nervous that I might get bored or that I would be unable to gain anything from it. Contrary to my fears however, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Though many complain about the co-host interrupting often and saying “Yes” all the time, you have to be conscious of the fact that the English is clearly not her first language and that chances are pretty good that her mannerisms derive from Korean culture. So with that in mind, I was able to look past it rather easily and just enjoy all the marvelous go.

For those who enjoyed the video above or would like to find out more about where you can watch more episodes like this, check out GoGameGuru’s BadukTV to get access to more BadukTV that is accessible to English speakers!