I'm trying to write a little booklet on simple tesuji (the ones you probably don't even consider tesuji anymore) to correct what I see as a big tactical hole in beginners' go - at least when I play them. Partly because I suddenly found myself with loads of free time, partly because I want to learn to use LaTeX and this is how I'm going to practice.

I vaguely remember a quote on tesuji that goes something like "Tesuji are the special holds in go, similar to the special holds in judo" and something about how amazing they are. Does anyone have any idea what the real quote is and who it is by? My google-fu has been unable to find it.

Equally, if you have any other interesting quotes about tesuji I'd love to hear them.
Cheers everyone!

Probably the most memorable quote about tesuji I know is "You will be struck ten times before you learn to see the punch coming."

Definitely applicable for beginners especially, as I remember vividly the first time I realized that I was about to get caught in a snapback.

As an addendum, I would say "You will see the punch ten times before you learn to throw one yourself" is about right.

Out of curiosity, can you give an example of the non-tesuji tesuji?

Sounds like a cool idea, I know I've gone through this pattern more than once with raw beginners:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1
$$-------------
$$|. 3 2 4 5 .
$$|. X O 1 . .
$$|. . X . . .
$$|. . . . . .[/go]

But even after they know the pattern, they miss black 1 in games (atari at 2 is a common idea). Hopefully not for too long

Exactly ED, although I'd consider that a very short ladder. Another example would just be ladders or simple snapbacks.
That's a nice quote ethan, thanks.

The solid connection.

Like the one that threatens to capture two stones on the second and third line.

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