Life In 19x19

Bill Spight wrote:That reminds me of something that Ben Hogan wrote about golf. The perfect golf swing is smooth and precise. But at the start, he recommended not trying for a smooth swing, but to try to hit the hell out of the ball. He said that if you don't develop your power from the start, you never will.

In archery it's the other way around: You start with light draw weights and care about your form, then start increasing draw weight while maintaining form.

I think whether in golf, archery or any other sport it's usually easier to increase power when you've already got control. Getting control over power too big for you to have a handle on seems harder to me.

Pandazilla wrote:I think whether in golf, archery or any other sport it's usually easier to increase power when you've already got control. Getting control over power too big for you to have a handle on seems harder to me.

Similar to many aspects of Go, both are continuums:

• Zero power (asleep, in a coma, etc.) to "optimal" power: a continuum;
• Zero control to "optimal" control: another continuum.

Therefore, "getting control" is not binary; it's also a continuum.

EdLee wrote:

Pandazilla wrote:I think whether in golf, archery or any other sport it's usually easier to increase power when you've already got control. Getting control over power too big for you to have a handle on seems harder to me.

Similar to many aspects of Go, both are continuums:

• Zero power (asleep, in a coma, etc.) to "optimal" power: a continuum;
• Zero control to "optimal" control: another continuum.

Therefore, "getting control" is not binary; it's also a continuum.

I think part of it may come down to the level of precision required to achieve the task. For target shooting there is a very immediate, very specific goal (projectile must hit small circle).

For golf and go while we're at it, it depends on the stage. For putting and tsumego, "control" is key. It's important to get them right, then once you're getting them right you can move on to harder things.

However when you're in the teebox (or the opening / middlegame for go), things are much less precise. The target for your drive might literally be the size of a football field, and odds are most of use aren't going to make a game losing mistake by choosing to approach a corner from the wrong direction. There may exist some theoretical perfect way to play, but it is not achievable for a human in the forseeable future. Instead it's better to play something (almost anything, really) that you're comfortable with and there's a good chance you'll still end up in a playable spot. In those cases, I think I'll side with Mr. Hogan (=

Im not sure how Tygem and WBaduk match up but seeing as they are both Korean servers I assume they are quite similar. Here's my story. When i was 5k on KGS I began playing on tygem and found myself at 10k because I would get flustered by the opponents crazy style and try to immediately counter and punish it. But as i progressed to now 2k on KGS with better fundamentals I play as a 1D on Tygem. Because when my opponents play a amarigatachi or over extending attacking style, i just make good shape. Then in the later middle game I can usually find a cutting tesuji and kill simething. The key is to be patient and wait for the opportune moment. You usually can't punish a bad play immediately. Slack moves or overplay moves normally have a lasting effect on the game. So how did I improve almost "ten stones" on Tygem and learn proper timing? Well i suggest reading Attack and Defense, Life and Death, and Tesuji. All great books for single kyu players.