Introduction
I thought it might be interesting to write a study journal. I self study quite a lot of things but I'm very disorganised about it, so I'm hoping this will help me apply myself more effectively. If I get any readers that's a bonus, and whatever their rank, if they feel like sharing their thoughts that's even better. I'm going to try and make each post focus on a single topic, even if it ends up being really short, so this one is just a summary of my current situation.
A few days ago (24/08/12) I returned to Go after about a 2 year hiatus. I assumed I'd have to start nearly from sratch but that doesn't seem to be the case. I was definitely rusty at first, as demonstrated by how when I looked at the begginer's introduction to tactics on OGS, I thought "wow that's clever", but my old KGS rank was 5k, and my current rank is a provisional 6k with no lost rated games. I think it's probably about right because I've won 2 and lost two at that rank.
So if my rank is about the same, does that mean I still remember everything I knew before I quit Go? No. Definitely not. The most obvious sign of this is that I now know hardly any Joseki (which is very interesting and deserves its own post). In fact, I can't confidently say I know any all the way through, and I'm sure there are a huge amount of less obvious things I've forgotten, so I really don't know why my rank hasn't changed significantly. It probably helps that kyu players don't necessarily understand Joseki well enough to come up with a good response when I make up my own, but I don't think that's enough to explain my rank. I've definitely noticed some surprised pauses followed by gleefull retaliations, but more importantly, if the rest of my playing had suffered as much as my Joseki knowledge, I wouldn't be beating 20ks, let alone a 6k.
The only theory I have is that knowledge of specifics is easily forgotten, but general skills are much more resiliant, so while I may have forgotten how to make a double approach on a 3-4 stone, my ability to assess good shape has remained close to what it was. This is obviously just a baseless theory, but imagining it's right says something very interesting about what makes a Go player strong. Actually, I've heard it's practice, rather than learning theory, that really makes you improve, so maybe I'm on to something.
This was probably a waste of time... I'll try and make the next post more worthwhile.
Edit: It turns out I can edit the title.
I just need to think of one. 
) for the other player to profit from this. If instead of going for the kill, you put pressure on the opponents group and strengthen or expand your own, your opponent will be forced to defend and you will have profited without giving up anything in exchange. If you're already ahead it's a comparitively safe way of solidifying your lead, and if you're behind it may be the best way to build up strength for a counter attack. Conversely, if you do go for the kill and fail, not only will you likely have weaknesses that the now strong group can exploit, the fight may well have expanded until it bacame too big to lose. You've effectively bet the game on winning that fight.
