“Physical Go…” the true martial art (or “healthier living thru go”)
The game of Go is a martial art. The dependancy on mind is equivalent to the dependancy on body. Each person’s natural skill at the game is different, but a poor mental image is as bad as an unhealthy body.
I used to be a swimmer with an average of about an hour of practice a day (or more). This isn’t to say I was olympic (I don’t have near enough raw talent for that), but I was in shape. A college career and a few jobs later has made me a true American (though at least recoverably so). My new goal is to practice my martial art daily - strength must grow with tsumego, but inner strength is needed as well.
I’ve taken some Tai Chi (enough for me to do damage to myself without more classes). Unfortunately classes had to end (my teacher’s lease ran out) - but I realize I must continue daily practice until I can find a new class to join. I’m not a complete idiot, but this martial art is hard to learn out of a book. Luckily I’ve gotten a lot of the early basics already and know what to think about as I practice on my own and try to figure out the 10 or so forms that I hadn’t learned yet (I got up to about 70 on the Yang long form, but much of the rest is similar, and I’ve followed along in class).
First and foremost, this is NOT a goal! I vow to complete (and attempt to remember without using notes) the entire loosening exercises (qi gong) and tai chi form. I also vow to complete an entire practice before I eat anything for the day (ergo the goal is to complete practice in the morning rather than late at night).
I have been on a whole grain kick, but I’d also like to push this even further… this might be harder because, although I’m not a daily fast food eater like much of this country, I don’t think I could give it up forever!
More on that after I’ve implemented the above phase of my training.








