Please forgive me.)
On my blog and facebook I always emphasize how
important it is to build a strong basic foundation
and how important it is to practice repeatedly.
Here's another example.
Once I saw a very interesting TV program about
Japan's top gymnasts.
In the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens the Japanese
male gymnastics team in the all around event won
the gold medal for the first time since 1976.
The Japanese male gymnastics team was once the best,
surpassing the former Soviet Union.
In 1952 the Soviet Union male team in the all
around event won the gold medal.
In 1956 the Soviet Union male team in the all
around event won the gold medal, and the Japanese
team got the silver.
In 1960 The Japanese male team in the all around
event won the gold medal, and the Soviet Union got
the silver.
In 1964, 1968, 1972, and 1976 it was the same result.
So the Japanese team was the number one for many years.
After that, the Japanese team couldn't win the gold
medal anymore. They got the Bronze only twice.
The Soviet Union kept winning the gold medal repeatedly.
Then some Japanese gymnastics instructors, who are
former Olympic medalists, went to the former Soviet
Union and learned about how the Soviet team trained
in children.
They trained children in the basic movements over and
over again it seemed like forever. When the Japanese
team kept winning the gold medal, they stopped this
endless basic training method.
In fact the former Soviet Union team learned this
from Japan after they lost out to Japan in the Olympics
for several times.
The Soviet team visited Japan and learned about how
the Japanese team was training in children.
And the Soviet team started training in their students
the exact same way; eventually they started winning
the gold medals again.
So the Japanese team went back and started teaching
children an old-fashioned way, and after some years,
their efforts paid off.
In the 2000 summer Olympics the Japanese male gymnast
team won the gold medal again. In the 2004 Olympics
they won the silver.
Moreover, Kohei Uchimura, Japan's best gymnast, won
all-around finals in the 2011 World Championships
in Tokyo, Japan.
This was his third All Around World Championships win;
he is the first person in history to achieve this.
I read somewhere that in South Korea children have to
solve so many basic problems repeatedly. So I think
there are similarities about Go and gymnastics.
(If I'm wrong, please correct me... Thanks. )
When it comes to adult Go players, I also think it
is important to practice basics repeatedly because
unlike children it takes adults a long time to learn basics.
Go is one of the most difficult games, and you have
so many things to learn such as the opening, middle game,
the endgame, tesuji, and life-and-death, shape, invasion,
attack, defense, moyo, etc. It takes a long time to learn
each of them. Without learning the basics, it’s not easy
to become strong.
But when it comes to Go, some people don’t seem to care
about learning basics. Instead they keep playing…
When I think of the Olympic gymnastics, if you have 3-hour
free time, it seems like a good idea to study at least
2 hours to learn Go basics.
(When it comes to a tournament or the Go Congress,
it’s different. It’s a great to opportunity to play
many serious and casual games. You have the opportunity
to meet and make lots of Go friends and play with many
players. It happens only once a year! Please don’t miss it!)
