Winning streaks and losing streaks

[kirkmc]

As for the unusually long winning streak: Perhaps you really improved, and learning something that the average KGS 5k doesn't know but the average 4k does. Such things can produce pretty scary streaks until you find an opponent who can deal with it. Even if you don't know anything specific, such things can happen subconsciously

That's what I thought. But how come I've forgotten whatever it was I learned already?

You are ranked 4k now, aren't you? Assuming you can hold that rank and don't fall back to 5k, it may be that you haven't forgotten, but are just playing more opponents who know it, too

(Of course that argument has the little flaw that we don't know what "it" is. Never let the facts get in your way )

No, in fact the losing streak was what put me back down to 5k.