Yes, yes, I think we're on the same page. I think we were both on record in a recent thread as saying that the best way to study is going to differ a lot from person to person based on their aptitudes, what they enjoy, and so on. But certainly the pay-off of pro games relative to alternatives changes as you get stronger.

I guess you could take the same attitude to watching 4-dans blitz each others' brains out on KGS, right? Probably not the best way for beginners to improve, but markedly better than playing tennis.

Uzziel: your attitude towards your rank (not caring) and bad habits (not wanting) are both commendable! Have you checked out the ASR league on KGS? I haven't taken part in it for a while, but it is a great way to get lots of intense, unranked games.

They normally don't stop registration on the first of the month... that's only a deadline for getting seeded into a stronger division if you're dan-level. (Or at least, that's how it used to be.)

You should try daal... I think daal's signature says he's an admin.

Also I completely missed both the distant 3-4 approaches. I guess I don't play them enough in games.

I then read an online document that talked about being careful to not create bad habits, because once created they are amazingly hard to break in go. After getting constantly whooped (out of my very very few games) I took a break for a few months while watching pro games,

Every autodidactic community I have ever been part of has warnings against creating bad habits, and it's true that they can be quite hard to get rid of, but I think the difficulty is somewhat exaggerated and the warnings do more harm than good. It's pretty common to see people not advancing because they want to avoid creating problems that are to fix later, but this is a big mistake. It is impossible to get better at go without picking up some bad habits, but all you have to do to get rid of those bad habits is concentrate on not doing them. The main reason bad habits persist is not because breaking them is harder than learning to do it right first time (I actually think it might be easier), but because breaking them is now competing with not breaking them, which takes no effort whatsoever. It's hard to think of a quicker and more reliable way to improve than correcting your bad habits. They get a bad rep, but I'm always happy to see one.

Basically what I'm trying to say is that if you have the dedication to improve, there's nothing you can do now that will stop you, and if you don't it won't matter anyway, so you might as well just have fun playing go.

Maybe the distinction to make is between bad habits you can pick up while playing/practicing, and bad habits you can get by putting too much faith in an over-enthusiastic amateur teacher.

In fact, in Japan a majority of people love to play Go without
studying Go.

Sadly, many of them don't even pay
attention to basic shapes and tesuji.

And often they love to kill stones...

They are only interested in killing stones and win a game
in their local Go clubs.

(From my point of views, they just love to abuse kyu players...
That's why Japanese Go (wéiqí, baduk) population has been
decreasing... That's part of the reasons, perhaps.)

I am sorry for those weak Go players whose stones are constantly
killed without realling learning any basics.

I am also sorry for those killers who will never become
stronger Go players...

Just killing weak players stones will make
no one stronger.

They just keep building their bad habits... bad habits of
common amateur mistakes.

Well...

Q. 15. I like playing games. I believe that playing games is the best way to
become strong. I couldn’t careless about your problems.

Answer: I know that many people say that playing as many games as possible is the best way to become a strong go player. I'm sorry to say, but I see this differently. Would you mind telling you my experience?

I have met so many Go players in Tokyo, who have just played thousands of games for many, many years without ever learning basics. Unfortunately, they ended up with their own style, which is full of common amateur mistakes. When they started taking my lessons and start learning basics, it was extremely difficult to get rid of the commen mistakes because such mistakes are ingrained deep in their mind for a long, long time. After years of my teaching, many of them couldn't get rid of them. Based on my experience of teaching more than a hundred adult Go players, acquiring basic foundations come first and foremost, and basics don’t come from just playing. I have more advice on my blog. Please take a look.

I'd like to add the following. The most amazing Go student of mine was a 73 year-old Go player who improved from 2 kyu to 1 dan in a half year. He only played 2 games in a week. Her is how he studied Go. How he did it 1　How he did it 2

Q. 19. How did you collect common amateur mistakes?

Answer: As a full-time Go teacher in Japan and on KGS, I have taught many amateur players from 29 kyu to 6 dan, from 7 years old to 78 years old for many years. During that time, I have collected many amateur games and examined common amateur mistakes. Based on them, I have made 250 texts to explain common mistakes and how to punish them as well as 250 tesuji texts. (I have a lot more problems in my head). In order to make those problems in my website, it will take me at least 3 years, and possibly 5 years.

Kaz, a former Go insei and Tokyo regional Igo representative, is a world-renowned Weiqi teacher
.

He is known as the world-renowned Igo teacher and famous for his unique, flexible, and extremely kind teaching style.