Contact play for sabaki
There is a saying, Sabaki is attachment. When playing inside the opponent's sphere of influence, an attachment is often indicated.
Bill: There are several reasons for that.
- First, an attachment can end up strengthening both sides. Since the invader is weak to start with, that can benefit him.
- Second, the normal response to an attachment is a hane[1]. By playing a crosscut or counter hane, the player seeking sabaki opens up possibilities. That is light play.
- Third, if the opponent responds with nobi, that can reduce the local possibilities, but runs the risk of being kikasare.
- Fourth, an attachment almost requires the response of a nobi or hane. How the opponent commits himself may resolve the question of future development. See probe.
Comments
Charles Matthews (moved from contact play): As a general rule the unsupported contact play will be a sabaki sequence in the making. I've noticed 4 dan players handle these with some confidence. A supported contact play may or may not be seeking sabaki - in the usual joseki it isn't, so the sabaki continuations tend to look like special techniques. My feeling is that 5 dans begin to play them properly. I had a period of studying them intensely in the Chinese style.
DrStraw: Someone asked for this page to be renamed "attachment for sabaki". I disagree. They way I use these terms is that a contact play is used in isolation in an attempt to create sabaki whereas an attachment is used in the middle of a sequence. I know that tecnically these are the same, and I would not be surprised if the same word is used in Japanese (anyone know?), but as we have two perfectly good English words I prefer to made the distinction. I believe this leads to a clearer understanding of the underlying concepts.
Bill: Actually, I made the request because contact play is ambiguous. It has a more general sense than attachment. In particular, Bruce Wilcox uses the term for a shoulder blow or a hane in his writings on contact fights. The Japanese proverb that this page title is a rendering of says Sabaki wa tsuke. Which has the more specific meaning of attachment.
I think your comment underlines the problem with contact play in the title. Wilcox uses contact play in a more general sense than attachment, you use it in a more specific sense. Attachment is unambiguous and carries the meaning of the original proverb.