If Dirty Harry played go
Pekka Karjalainen
Here is something that came up with some friendly banter at KGS.
"This is Taisha, the most powerful 5-3-point joseki ever invented."
"If you don't play the best moves, it will blow your stones clean off the
board."
"Now, you may be thinking to yourself: If I cut there, does he have five
liberties or six?"
"To tell you the truth, I am not so sure myself with all this excitement
... but you have to ask yourself: Do I feel lucky?"
"Well, do you feel lucky, punk?"
I was watching a friend of mine play - someone who has, shall we say, a
lively and aggressive style not much given to defensive plays, and was
suddenly moved to produce a preliminary version as a piece of kibitz
(nugget? morsel?). I regret that I haven't checked how authentic this
later and much expanded version is to the original, but clearly there is
some similarity between the movei character Dirty Harry and people who
enjoy playing the taisha joseki.
Another good movie for go inspiration is _A Few Good Men_. You can find
the ideal teaching method exemplified by the interrogation scene. If you
have watched the movie, you should remember the scene where Tom Cruise
interrogates Jack Nicholson's Colonel Jessep. Now, consider it in terms of
a go lesson.
(I am not telling to whom this is dedicated, but he ought to know :)
Besides, he was just a little drunk and must surely be excused.)
Sensei: You want answers?
Student (puts his stone back into the bowl): I think I'm entitled to them.
Sensei: You want answers?
Student: I want the truth!
Sensei: You can't handle the truth! Son, we play on a goban that needs
walls. And those walls have to be build from stones one by one. Who's
gonna do it? You? You, Mr Just-starting-to-play? I have greater
responsibility than you can possible fathom. You weep for your corner
group and you curse my tesuji. You have that luxury. You have the luxury
of not knowing what I know; that your group's death, while tragic, was not
necessary. And my play, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you,
killed it... You don't want the truth. Because, deep down, in places you
don't talk about over the goban, you want me to kill your groups. You need
me to defeat you over and over again.
We use words like hane, ko, liberty .. we use these words as the backbone
of a life dedicated to playing go. You use 'em as a punchline. I have
neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who stays
home and sleeps under his blankets while we play go all night at the club,
and then questions the way in which we play. I'd rather you said thank you
and resigned now. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a stone and play your
move. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to.
Student: Did you play a trick move?
Sensei (quietly): I played what you wanted me to play.
Student: Did you play a trick move?
Sensei: You're goddamn right I did!
I believe that this exemplifies the proper attitude that a go teacher
should have. The proper teaching method includes cowing your students into
submission with sustained monologues, and sometimes patterning them after
well-known shared models can reinforce the learning process. Hey, what's
the fun of being a go teacher if you don't leave your students with
lasting scars?
You don't want to end up with the zen master approach.
Student: I don't understand this move, master.
Sensei (staring into distance): I don't understand myself...
There may have been some elements of jocularity involved in this posting.
This really means that I'm not ever going to admit I actually posted this,
but claim that someone hacked into my account while I was busy
channel-surfing Finnish TV. They also show quality Hollywood movies, you
know. (not these two lately, but some things stay with you for a long
time)
--
Pekka Karjalainen
Apparently every Hollywood movie is really about go. Who knew?
ro...@telus.net
Karjalainen) wrote:
>"This is Taisha, the most powerful 5-3-point joseki ever invented."
>"If you don't play the best moves, it will blow your stones clean off the
>board."
>"Now, you may be thinking to yourself: If I cut there, does he have five
>liberties or six?"
>"To tell you the truth, I am not so sure myself with all this excitement
>... but you have to ask yourself: Do I feel lucky?"
>"Well, do you feel lucky, punk?"
I love it! But please allow me to rewrite it with greater fidelity to
the original:
"Uh-uh, I know what you're thinkin': 'Will he be able to get six
liberties, or only five?' And to tell the truth, with all these
variations, I kinda lost track myself.
"But bein' as this is the taisha, the most complicated 5-3 joseki in
the game, and if misplayed will blow your group _clean_off_ the board,
you gotta ask yourself a question: 'Do I feel lucky today?'
"Well, do ya, _patzer_?"
-- Roy L
Bill Taylor
> "Uh-uh, I know what you're thinkin': 'Will he be able to get six
> liberties, or only five?' And to tell the truth, with all these
> variations, I kinda lost track myself.
> "But bein' as this is the taisha, the most complicated 5-3 joseki in
> the game, and if misplayed will blow your group _clean_off_ the board,
> you gotta ask yourself a question: 'Do I feel lucky today?'
> "Well, do ya, _patzer_?"
EXCELLENT!
I'd do something similar in reply, but "a man's got to know his limitations".
Which incidentally, would be a damn good proverb for Go!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Taylor W.Ta...@math.canterbury.ac.nz
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Go ahead and cut - MAKE MY DAY!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ian....@durge.org
Bill Taylor wrote:
> ro...@telus.net wrote
>
> > "Uh-uh, I know what you're thinkin': 'Will he be able to get six
> > liberties, or only five?' And to tell the truth, with all these
> > variations, I kinda lost track myself.
> > "But bein' as this is the taisha, the most complicated 5-3 joseki
in
> > the game, and if misplayed will blow your group _clean_off_ the
board,
> > you gotta ask yourself a question: 'Do I feel lucky today?'
> > "Well, do ya, _patzer_?"
>
> EXCELLENT!
>
> I'd do something similar in reply, but "a man's got to know his
limitations".
>
> Which incidentally, would be a damn good proverb for Go!
>
Eastwood? :->
Juan
>From _The Good, the Bad, the Ugly_
"There are two kinds of men, the ones who kill groups, and the ones who
kill stones. You, kill those stones"
Juan
ro...@telus.net
"There are two kinds of groups in this game, my friend: those that
have two eyes, and those that run. Yours run."
-- Roy L
ro...@telus.net
>Is there enough material for a full parody - Play Go like Clint
>Eastwood? :->
"Nothin' wrong with cuttin', as long as the right groups get cut."
"Go ahead, make my eyeshape."
"If you want a decent shape, play a joseki."
"When I see a 7-dan chasing an eyeless group toward his own wall with
a knight's move and a cap on, I figure he isn't doing it to make
territory."
"I have strong feelings about erasing moves. If there are moves
around, I want to be erasing 'em."
"Dyin' ain't much of a ko threat, boy."
"I tried being in gote. I didn't like it."
"A good move always has its limitations."
"Shinogi's got nothin' to do with it."
"It's a hell of a thing, killin' a group. You take away every liberty
it has, and every liberty it's ever goin' to have."
-- Roy L
Pekka Karjalainen
> I love it! But please allow me to rewrite it with greater fidelity to
> the original:
>
--
Pekka Karjalainen
Aidan Karley
wrote:
> I'd do something similar in reply, but "a man's got to know his limitations".
>
> Which incidentally, would be a damn good proverb for Go!
>
... For a Fistful of Stones
... For a Few Stones More
all starring The Stone With No Name.
--
Aidan Karley,
Aberdeen, Scotland,
Location: 57°10'11" N, 02°08'43" W (sub-tropical Aberdeen), 0.021233
Bill Taylor
> A Stone Too Far
WOWIE! That title rings all sorts of bells!
I think it might well be an apt description of my style.
(But isn't it based on "A Bridge Too Far" - not Clint.)
________
Bill T
""""""""
"This is a 4-4 magnum Hoshi! It can blow your group clean off the board!"
=======================================================================
1
That's still not as faithful to the movie as you can make it:
"Ah-ah, I know what you're thinking, patzer. You're thinking, "Will he be
able to get six liberties or only five?" And to tell you the truth, I've
forgotten myself with all these variations. But being as this is a taisha,
the most complicated 5-3 joseki in the game, and if misplaced would blow
your group clean off, you've got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel
lucky? Well, do ya, PATZER?"
To ja Wento
//