bojo
My name is Brian Jones, and I am from Fairbanks, Alaska. I am currently studying at UAF, double majoring in Art and Japanese Studies. I am also working on a Foreign Language degree, and may finish my Computer Science minor. In Fall, 2005 I will be going to Japan on exchange, to Sapporo, on the island of Hokkaido.
I first ran into the game of Go around the beginning of August, 2002. Since then my addiction has grown.
My current level of strength: KGS Graph.
Discussion
On Joseki :
I noticed people begin to study joseki sometime during their trip through the low kyu, but I am wondering if they are worth studying at all. In an article I read in which Go Seigen was interviewed, it seemed that he hinted at the fact that the study of joseki is detrimental to a more important global board view. While I probably can't apply either joseki or a global board view right now anyways, I'm wondering if not studying joseki will be helpful or detrimental to my play in the future.
Joshual000: Rather than 'studying joseki' I would recommend one of the excellent books that discusses joseki choice in relation to the whole board: 'The Great Joseki Debates', 'Whole Board Thinking in Joseki', 'Get Strong at the Opening', 'The Direction of Play'. This list is in the order that I have found them useful, with Direction of Play being still a bit beyond my (currently 5kyu) abilities to grasp insight from - Joseki Debates is a very well put together book in my opinion, and it aided my jump from 8kyu to 5kyu.
Charles There really is a lot to learn from joseki. A course of study suitable for a future Go Seigen is hard to envisage, anyway. Trouble is, however often players are told to study joseki, but not in the stupid way - they study them in the stupid way. Evidence: complaints when the opponent makes a mistake ...
Joshual000: There was a great 'aha' moment for me when discovering how a given joseki can match a particular whole-board strategy. This has led me to belive a local loss due to an improvised sequence is still superior to playing a rote joseki which fails to support a plan. Studying joseki in general has helped me with corner tesuji & sacrifice tactics - but I still seem to get myself into trouble when attempting sharper lines, probably due to not _really_ understanding the purpose of all those stones.
bojo: Thanks for the comments and suggestions. I wrote this a few months ago in contemplation, and have since come to understand studying as Charles put it. Study it, but not in the stupid way. I interpret that as what Joshua1000 said, "This has led me to belive a local loss due to an improvised sequence is still superior to playing a rote joseki which fails to support a plan." I started reading Pieter Miochs Gentle Joseki a few weeks ago, and approached each problem as a suggestion of play in regards to situations in relation to corners. I'm going to continue this approach, and definately look into the books suggested.
Misc :
I signed up at Wikipedia, and am going to start contributing to the website. I have already edited the Insei page so it isn't a 'stub' anymore, that feels real good :)