Some people might have teachers and regular lessons, but I'm not sure if that is the norm. I don't have access to those things where I live, so I'm on my own.[\quote]
There are many people offering go lessons on-line. I think the British Go Association has a very nice list on their website. However, a lot of them require you to have a base level of knowledge before starting. I have found regular lessons to be helpful, but many have improved without them. You can also post your games here or check out resources like Open Study Room.
I think especially for beginners like me, it is quite important to stick to some kind of a routine. The game is confusing and tough early on, I'm constantly losing and yet I have to make as much constant progress as possible to get out of this phase.
I think this varies by person. I lean in your direction though -- I like to create a structured routine when I'm learning things. Without the organization, I have a tendency to "spin" and focus on less productive efforts.
Of course, depending on ones ambitions, some players might invest more or less time, some just play a game whenever they feel like and others have a strict plan.
What about you? Do you have a plan for tsumego, tesuji, reading books and playing each day? Also: Why? (or why not)
Maybe you also play regular tournaments or do other stuff. [\quote]
I think you should focus on the parts of the game that you find most interesting or that you think are most important to you. There is so much to learn, I think plunging somewhere quickly to get started is probably more important than figuring out where to jump.
MysteryFTG wrote:
The other thing I'm curious about is progress and how to keep track of it.
Of course we can all see our ranks going up or down (hopefully up) on the various servers, but I'm wondering if there are more methods to see progress?
I haven't experienced it yet, but that could be especially useful when one reaches a plateau. The rank doesn't change anymore for a longer period of time so it should be helpful to have some other way of measuring your progress. Just because the rank is stuck doesn't mean you're not progressing, right?
I can think of keeping track of the number of games played/won, go problems solved (time and accuracy)...and that's about it.
How do you track your progress?
I'd suggest something more abstract. I've made a bit of a hobby of picking up complicated past-times, and when I was learning to shoot, I discovered that there is an ethos in the sport that encourages people to focus on process over outcomes. I have found this to be very broadly helpful. The idea is that if you focus on the different things that go into playing well, you'll get better at what you are focused on and winning/better scores will follow naturally. (I have also found that this helps easy the anxiety of some of my students who get agitated when they think about the outcome of a game.) Don't go into the game thinking, "I'm going to win." Rather, focus on a particular issue -- I'm going to keep my groups connected, I'm going to focus on using influence properly, etc. Then try to assess your performance by how well you achieved that goal.
Along these lines, I think it is also important to develop an internal sense of your skill level in different areas and to use that to measure your progress. Sometimes when you are learning new things, your rank can fall as you learn to put all of the pieces together. My focus for the past few months has been to learn to use influence properly, but it turns out that doing so depends on a number of other things that I need to learn to do to make it all work. I can feel it coming together -- I see the board differently. I think my judgement about territory in the middle has improved dramatically. I have a much better sense of how to use moyos strategically. However, my rank has actually fallen by a stone or two because I can't yet put it all together. Obviously, it is frustrating to see your rank drop, but being able to identify the things that I've learned to do that I couldn't before has kept me motivated.
MysteryFTG wrote:
As for me, I'm forcing myself right now to play at least one 19x19 game each day, even though I have a bit of an anxiety problem. I also play a handful of blitz 9x9 games on my phone and do half a dozen go problems each on a couple of website and in Graded Go Problems 2.
I try to keep track of my played games, rank development and the number of solved problems in a very simple Excel spreadsheet.
Maybe this is all overkill, especially for a beginner, or a good idea. I don't know.
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