By Nam Chi-hyung
Nowadays, Baduk is taught in about 1,000 elementary schools in Korea as an extra curricular activity, which means that about 100,000 children are learning the game at this moment.
However, it is difficult for all the kids to fully appreciate the virtue of Baduk and continue learning and playing it for a long time. There are various reasons why children lose interest in a game; they may find other things of interest, or they may have no spare time to spend on a pastime.
Many young players give up because they think it is just too difficult to become good at.
Even grown-ups consider Baduk a game usually for those who like puzzles and solving difficult problems.
They say that their lives are already too complicated and they don’t want to use their brain for the sake of a game.
However, Baduk is actually like singing a song. Have you seen the movie “The Sound of Music?” There you learn that if you know the notes, do, re, mi, then you can sing most anything. Baduk is just like that.
If you know the fundamentals, you can play all sorts of variations to the game.
Perhaps the reason why your head aches while you’re playing Baduk is that you are too concerned with winning.
However, there is a very simple way to win; place more handicap stones. If you cannot win against your opponent with two stones, then place three stones to win.
When you become strong enough to feel comfortable with three stones, you can come back down to two stones. This is a better way to learn, since the opponent will play more seriously when he plays three-stone stonehandicap games than two-stonehandicap games.
To win a game is just one of the many joys you can get from Baduk. Don’t let your desire to win take the joy from the game itself. People also hate to memorize josekis and opening formations. You want to imitate what professional players do, but if you don’t know the meaning of a brilliant move, it’s better not to play it. A joseki you don’t understand often causes complicated situations you cannot handle.
Imitating professional moves can make you unable to know exactly what’s going on. The opening stage, where you usually need to know josekis and formations, is a white canvas where you can draw your own sketch.
This is aunique phase in a game when you can spread your dream for the future of the game. The middle game and the endgame depend on what you do during the opening. Therefore, it is really important to be sure of your opening move.
All the difficult sequences of Baduk are not the object of memory but comprehension. If you think it is too difficult to understand a certain sequence, then just leave it and play your own move.
Perhaps the above-mentioned things can help you enjoy Baduk better. However, the most important thing for fully enjoying the game is to put all
your strength and ability into every single game. You may say that you don’t have that energy after a hard day at work. But, just as you will feel healthier and refreshed after a powerful game of tennis or a long run, I’m sure you will feel your brain being recharged and invigorated after a serious two-hour game of Baduk.