I belong to the minority of Western go players indeed. Needless to say, East Asians could compensate for weakly described terms by frequent access to many strong players.
I see this whine trotted out quite often, and I don't really accept it. Yes Asia has many strong players but "frequent access" - hardly.
I posted a game recently where a country doctor in Japan had to play by post with Segoe yet was still strong enough to play him on 3 stones. There has been nothing to stop western players playing by post, and with the internet access is now immediate.
I have been in many oriental clubs. My experience is that most strong players there are just like most dan players over here - mainly interested in their own progress (and often hubris). They don't teach weakies.
You can of course pay for lessons, but you can over here, too. Over there you could, in theory get access to a Meijin, but in reality it's like a football fan here wanting access to David Beckham. You'll get it, but just once, if you own a major company that is willing to sponsor a go tournament.
Access to "lesson pros" is possible, but for rather more money than westerners want to pay usually, and with more commitment than westerners usually want (e.g. you may be expected to attend for years and join in the pro's club events such as spa holidays).
The only real advantages I see that Orientals have are social or cultural: notably having parents who are aware that being a go pro is an acceptable profession and having teachers who are part of a network, so that they can feed you up the chain to higher level pros if you have talent. In theory even these avenues are open to westerners, but westerners seem to think these opportunities should be presented free or cheap or as scholarships. In reality parents have to pay the pros for years, and the budding pro may have to be prepared to give his teacher his first few years' income as a pro. Exceptions have happened, but exceptions are exceptions by definition. I can't see that a western 5-dan in his late 20s, say, is ever going to be made an exception of.
The solutions are (a) to stop whining and work, and (b) stop whining and not work.
My 10 years delay to 14.5 was caused by the rules, a not replying federation and playing venues inaccessible for children.
Orientals usually don't belong to a federation and children aren't normally allowed to go to clubs in town. A school often has a go club, of course, but usually with no strong players. They accept the rules instantly and don't fritter away ten years on trivia or whining.
My ca. 1 year delay to 10k was caused by not having the idea of learning from mistakes.
Are you sure you have now embraced this idea? I don't see much evidence of it here. Every time anyone points something out you just say "Wrong" and dig an even bigger hole than the one you're in (e.g. telling native English speakers about their own language).
I always like to be constructive so here's a third solution: stop whining and stop digging.
Oh, BTW = not sorry for derailing this thread.
