“I enjoyed the article about being stuck at certain levels (The Spirit of Play: “I’m Stuck” 10/29 EJ)” writes Pierre-Yves Laflèche. “In my experience the 2-kyu (or thereabouts) block has been the biggest one for my students. I’ve found that often, trying to power through with problems or reviews can leave the player frustrated if his efforts don’t pay off. It’s one thing to recommend doing problems and game reviews to improve, but what if the student does that and still isn’t improving? A complex situation like that would best be served by a teacher and lessons, but that isn’t always possible with time and budget constraints. One solution that I’ve offered my students has been to change up their playing style, in an attempt to broaden their go horizons and get out of unproductive or unsatisfying habits. The classic example would be to emulate the great Takemiya Masaki’s moyo play, but that is not the only path. I’d be interested in hearing other possible solutions, as this problem is something I’ve thought about quite a bit.”
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