daal has demonstrated in an interesting way the power of unconscious learning over learning consciously from a book. More power to your mind's elbow!
The problem he has intuitively sensed lies, as he says, in the fact that we often use phrases such as "a clever move", "a skilful move" or even "a brilliant move". All are often wrong - the word "a" is the problem. But there is a bigger underlying problem in that we long ago appropriated the term tesuji as a western term with those meanings. That problem in turn may be due to other problems such as poor translation or an affectation for using Japanese terms.
All these problems are not actually much of a problem nowadays if you accept the western usage. I gave up lang syne trying to change go players' language, although Brexit gives me hope that big change is still occasionally possible. I'm guessing, though, that daal has been reading some translations closely and felt a jarring effect between the Japanese nuance hinted at in the translation and the ways he hears the term being used around him.
If you want to get a feel for the Japanese nuances you need to try to start from where a Japanese starts. The elements here are that (1) the word tesuji is used in the ordinary language; (2) it has an etymology implicit in the characters; (3) it is a technical term in go and has to be explained to a Japanese beginner; (4) in go it is used in more than one sense; (5) the source language is Japanese.
Taking these elements in turn:
The ordinary usages include the "lines on the palm" and "handwriting" (one's "hand"), and also "means" (i.e. same as 手段) or "techniques" as in phrases where we might translate as "learn the ropes."
The etymology, seen best in "lines on the palm," is that suji 筋 implies a natural flow as shown by muscles, sinews, fibres, wood grain. It has extended meanings such as stripes or streaks, lines, threads, and even logic. Separately, for a Japanese games player, there is the additional component that te 手 means hand but is also used for "move."
In go, two things come up over an over again when the term is explained to a Japanese beginner. One is the word 働き or "function". For example, a tesuji is described as a move that has the most effective function. But there is usually in the (typically long) definition a warning that the word can be vague or ambiguous (e.g. あいまい）.
This ambiguity refers partly to the fact that the term can be used in various ways in go. One is effectively just a synonym for suji, so that in English いい手筋, so often lazily translated as "a good tesuji," might be best expressed as "good way of playing" or "good style." This is a common usage. The other sense is usually described by using the word 急所 or "vital point." There are some writers who make a distinction between suji 筋 (dynamic) and 形 (good shape, i.e. static) and so reserve tesuji either for a move at the vital point for attack (i.e. dynamic, like suji), reserving katachi for a move at the vital point for defence. Other writers mix and match (and so use phrases like 守りの手筋 or "defensive tesujis." But all writers do underpin their usages with the idea that a tesuji in in some way active or dynamic. Most typically this means the move is part of a sequence - chess players will see at once that a tesuji is what they call a "combination," with very similar nuances. Nowhere in the definitions do you see the idea that the move is "brilliant" or otherwise creative. Indeed, what is usually being stressed is that a tesuji is learnable; it is re-usable. That is why it is sometimes called a "technique". In practice a tesuji might be described as "good" or "clever" but the adjective is extra colour, not part of the definition. Another tesuji in the same game commentary might be described as the "only move" or a "standard tesuji."
Finally, tesuji is, in this context, a Japanese word not a westernised one. It therefore follows the rules of Japanese grammar. The most important element there is that Japanese rarely uses articles or plurals. So tesuji covers "a tesuji," "the tesujis," "tesujis" and so on. A further important element is that Japanese adjectives very often imply the comparative (i.e. いい "good" is often used for "better" or "best"). We do this in English, as well, much it is much more common in Japanese. The result is that いい手筋, a rather common phrase as it happens, might actually mean just "(functionally) the best way to play". It would be wrong to say that "a" is always wrong and you must use "the" but it is always a good idea, when reading an English translation involving the word tesuji, to try out some different combinations of wording to see if you can get a more useful rendering. Do this regularly and you will have learnt a tesuji that helps you read go books better.
Some people prefer analogies. One that I like for tesuji is to see a position as a closed door with a lock. You are not supplied with a key. You need to unpick the lock. As we did when we were kids, you can use a paper clip to undo the lock on your school locker when you've forgotten your key. This is a standard tesuji. But you might also learn the tesuji for undoing cheap combination locks - a rather more advanced technique. You can go on and on, up the ladder, until you can open a safe. At that level your tesuji will elicit a "Wow" (if you are young or American).
But there are unsafe safes and apparently safe safes. I once witnessed a locksmith open a diplomatic service safe for which the combination number had been lost. That really was a "Wow", even for me. So I asked him why he worked as a locksmith when he had such great skill. He replied, "I used to do what you are referring to, guv, but I got nicked." A reminder, perhaps, that tesuji is not the be all and end all in go.
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Do you agree?
