burp
1st September 2000, 03:32
Howdy!
Several months ago, before the time when E-budo was down, there was a thread relating to how we first learned or heard about Go. I made a mental note back then to tell everyone how I learned about Go. After digging around in storage boxes, I've found the particular periodical that gave me my first real introduction to Go ... "Journal of Asian Martial Arts", Volume 3, Number 1 - 1994. Sound familiar to anyone? I'm sure the Journal of Asian Martial Arts (JAMA) does.
Back when I was in Japan, I may have run across Go, but I don't remember. It was something I didn't really know anything about. It wasn't until 5 years later in the United States, when my interests in the martial arts had been peaked, that I ran into JAMA and found Go too!
The article in JAMA that caught my attention was entitled: "The Game of Go & The Martial Arts" - by Fred D. Baldwin, Ph.D. The idea of a game that related to the Japanese martial ways and history intrigued me. I read the article again and again. Fortunately, there was an address and phone number at the back where I could find some Go books, equipment, and computer software. I got on the phone, ordered a catalog, purchased some books and a board, and never looked back! I absolutely fell in love with the game! Sometimes, I would sit one the floor late at night in front of my go board and play through an old game or two that was played before the Shogun in his castle many years ago. Could almost imagine that I was actually there myself in front of the Shogun.
So ... my interest in Go actually began with my interest in the martial arts of Japan.
I'd like to quote a couple of parts from the article in the next couple of weeks, because I think everyone on E-budo would be quite interested ... .
Allow me to start with this -
Fred D. Baldwin, Ph.D. begins his treaties on Go:
"But the Master pulled away from this slashing attack, and, counterattacking to the right, blocked the thrust ... had the Master dodged away and turned to in-fighting by way of counterattack? Or was he asking for a slash so that he might slash back, wounding himself to down his adversary? - Kawabata Yasunari, The Master of Go (Meijin)
"The passage quoted above may sound like a description of a sword or stick fight or perhaps of a test of skill at karate. In fact, it comes from a novel entitled The Master of Go, written by Nobel Prize-winning Japanese author, Yasunari Kawabata. A casual observer of the scene being described would have seen nothing more dramatic than two men, one of them elderly, seated (or kneeling) at opposite sides of a wooden game board, each taking turns at popping down small disc-shaped stones at various points marked on the board's surface. The battle being described is an ancient Asian strategy game usually known in the West by its Japanese name go."
More later ... .
Enjoy!
mikehansen
Several months ago, before the time when E-budo was down, there was a thread relating to how we first learned or heard about Go. I made a mental note back then to tell everyone how I learned about Go. After digging around in storage boxes, I've found the particular periodical that gave me my first real introduction to Go ... "Journal of Asian Martial Arts", Volume 3, Number 1 - 1994. Sound familiar to anyone? I'm sure the Journal of Asian Martial Arts (JAMA) does.
Back when I was in Japan, I may have run across Go, but I don't remember. It was something I didn't really know anything about. It wasn't until 5 years later in the United States, when my interests in the martial arts had been peaked, that I ran into JAMA and found Go too!
The article in JAMA that caught my attention was entitled: "The Game of Go & The Martial Arts" - by Fred D. Baldwin, Ph.D. The idea of a game that related to the Japanese martial ways and history intrigued me. I read the article again and again. Fortunately, there was an address and phone number at the back where I could find some Go books, equipment, and computer software. I got on the phone, ordered a catalog, purchased some books and a board, and never looked back! I absolutely fell in love with the game! Sometimes, I would sit one the floor late at night in front of my go board and play through an old game or two that was played before the Shogun in his castle many years ago. Could almost imagine that I was actually there myself in front of the Shogun.
So ... my interest in Go actually began with my interest in the martial arts of Japan.
I'd like to quote a couple of parts from the article in the next couple of weeks, because I think everyone on E-budo would be quite interested ... .
Allow me to start with this -
Fred D. Baldwin, Ph.D. begins his treaties on Go:
"But the Master pulled away from this slashing attack, and, counterattacking to the right, blocked the thrust ... had the Master dodged away and turned to in-fighting by way of counterattack? Or was he asking for a slash so that he might slash back, wounding himself to down his adversary? - Kawabata Yasunari, The Master of Go (Meijin)
"The passage quoted above may sound like a description of a sword or stick fight or perhaps of a test of skill at karate. In fact, it comes from a novel entitled The Master of Go, written by Nobel Prize-winning Japanese author, Yasunari Kawabata. A casual observer of the scene being described would have seen nothing more dramatic than two men, one of them elderly, seated (or kneeling) at opposite sides of a wooden game board, each taking turns at popping down small disc-shaped stones at various points marked on the board's surface. The battle being described is an ancient Asian strategy game usually known in the West by its Japanese name go."
More later ... .
Enjoy!
mikehansen