Current Skill You Are Developing - Page 6

daryn · #51 03-08-2007, 01:09 AM

boxing
muay thai kickboxing
guitar

theBruiser500 · #52 03-08-2007, 01:12 AM

So far I think the dude who is going to thailand and learning how to pick up guys is the coolest, and then second coolest is me. BTW for chess I will make my number one recommendation Tal's book becuase he is a great writer.

Quark · #53 03-08-2007, 01:12 AM

I'm learning happiness, which means to be happier and to feel better, through mind training.

viciouspenguin · #54 03-08-2007, 01:15 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Silman's book is fine for rank beginner's. Avoid Reinfeld and Schiller like the plague.

I think the advice to study ANY opening book until one has a firm grasp of middle and some grasp of endgame is really bad advice. Once the tactics and how to win won games are mastered, booking up on 1-2 opening lines as W/B is trivial.

Naj

5...a6, obviously. [Polugayevsky variation, however.]

[/ QUOTE ]

you're right, booking up is not as important as basics. what do you consider to be a "firm grasp"?

Mister Z · #55 03-08-2007, 01:20 AM

I'm working on the "singer/songwriter" thing harder than I have in the past. I finally made the plunge into PC audio recording lately and I'm as excited about it as I was with poker when I first started 2+ years ago. I also had my 2nd singing lesson last night. I highly recommend this to anyone if you can find a good teacher. I've sung for years but was never sure if I had good or bad habits. Lastly I'm working harder on songwriting than I have in 4-5 years and the results seem really good so far.

I plan on hitting these 3 things extra hard over the next couple months as I'm about to have a lot more free time on my hands. It feels great to be excited about something. Poker is really not stimulating me the way in did a year or so ago.

kidcolin · #56 03-08-2007, 01:21 AM

daryn did you join a boxing gym? I've considered that. A friend of mine is a praying mantis kung fu disciple, and we'd train with him, and he'd add 15 minutes of American boxing into the end. It's a lot of fun.

My skills:

Classical guitar. Haven't actually started yet, just need to find an instructor. Hopefully within a couple of weeks.

That's about it. I'd like to learn more about bike mechanics in the near-term future. Right now all I have is a beat-up Puegot converted to a single speed (yes it looks like a hipster bike). The wheels suck and need to be replaced and French bikes are a pain in the ass in general. My plan is to buy a decent road bike, commute to work via train and ride home 2 or 3 nights a week (20 miles). Take it apart, put it together, that kind of thing. Then build a nice fixie on my own so I can pick up punk rock bike sloots.

BadMoon · #57 03-08-2007, 01:22 AM

I'm adding songs to my guitar repertoire. I'm looking to add to the three or four songs I can play with any skill. It's good to play something other than "Hotel California" or "House of the Rising Sun" every time I'm asked(er, not that often, but often enough to need new stuff).

I'm thinking the Beatles' Yesterday, maybe an Elvis song, and Dio's Rainbow in the Dark (sans solo of course) to begin with. I love classic rock and early metal, any suggestions?

BadMoon · #58 03-08-2007, 01:31 AM

OOOOOOOOOOH

Classical guitar is so on my long-term list of things to do. It's just so different and difficult.

And sexy. That is all.

theBruiser500 · #59 03-08-2007, 01:33 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I'm working on the "singer/songwriter" thing harder than I have in the past. I finally made the plunge into PC audio recording lately and I'm as excited about it as I was with poker when I first started 2+ years ago. I also had my 2nd singing lesson last night. I highly recommend this to anyone if you can find a good teacher. I've sung for years but was never sure if I had good or bad habits. Lastly I'm working harder on songwriting than I have in 4-5 years and the results seem really good so far.

I plan on hitting these 3 things extra hard over the next couple months as I'm about to have a lot more free time on my hands. It feels great to be excited about something. Poker is really not stimulating me the way in did a year or so ago.

[/ QUOTE ]

mister Z what is an example of something they'd teach you in singing lessons? More than most things it seems like something you're good at or not, I don't see how osmeone would practice/learn that stuff.

daryn · #60 03-08-2007, 01:38 AM

kidcolin,

yeah i joined a boxing gym. it's like 500 feet from my house too so that's cool. it's easy to go regularly and very fun, challenging and satisfying. recently i've started actual sparring once a week, not trying to kill each other but not really that light either. it's been great and i feel like every week i'm learning something new and getting better. last week we started videotaping too, and soon the vids will be put on a dvd so we can watch our progress and check out any weaknesses or whatever.