Life In 19x19

In the short term, maybe you take lessons from a pro (maybe Guo Juan?), but if you want to reach pro-level, you're going to have to study with a pro. For that, you'll need to go overseas.

judicata wrote:In the short term, maybe you take lessons from a pro (maybe Guo Juan?), but if you want to reach pro-level, you're going to have to study with a pro. For that, you'll need to go overseas.

Oh, that I know. I was just looking for a pro to help me with the "first step". This is why I was asking for recommendations.

Feng Yun has many strong students,I know she used to give private lessons too

Let's upgrade this journal a little bit.

Today, I found a teacher. Since I don't have lots of time to play and study, I found a 2d who was willing to teach me for free from time to time. Pretty sweet. However, I'm still looking for a teacher who would give me weekly lessons. I looked at Guo Juan and Feng Yun, but the price is outrageous (80$/hour). Alexandr Dierchtein offers the best deal so far with 40$/hour with a first lesson at 20$ as a sample. Already better, but I'm still looking.

Anybody have a good trick against headaches? With the end-semester rush in school and go studies, my head is killing me very often, making it hard to sleep sometimes.

However, I started winning as a 7k, perhaps I can expect to reach 6k soon.

Leyleth wrote:Let's upgrade this journal a little bit.

Today, I found a teacher. Since I don't have lots of time to play and study, I found a 2d who was willing to teach me for free from time to time. Pretty sweet. However, I'm still looking for a teacher who would give me weekly lessons. I looked at Guo Juan and Feng Yun, but the price is outrageous (80$/hour). Alexandr Dierchtein offers the best deal so far with 40$/hour with a first lesson at 20$ as a sample. Already better, but I'm still looking.

Anybody have a good trick against headaches? With the end-semester rush in school and go studies, my head is killing me very often, making it hard to sleep sometimes.

However, I started winning as a 7k, perhaps I can expect to reach 6k soon.

Yes, pro lessons can be expensive (which, if you ever become pro, you'll learn to appreciate ). If you're having a lot of headaches for no apparent reason, go to a doctor. Check your caffeine intake.

I haven't had lessons with Alex, but he is very well-known, as is Feng Yun. Guo Juan is a very good teacher, and would be great for you in the short term (she also has connections to a program allowing you to study in China). Another option may be Mingjiu Jiang. I don't think his lessons are cheaper, but he is hard core--he will make you work. If this is your dream, I encourage you to find a way to make it work. I'm not telling you to neglect school--I went to 8 years of it myself . I just think you could serve both goals by studying a language and go abroad.

Leyleth wrote:Let's upgrade this journal a little bit.

Today, I found a teacher. Since I don't have lots of time to play and study, I found a 2d who was willing to teach me for free from time to time. Pretty sweet. However, I'm still looking for a teacher who would give me weekly lessons. I looked at Guo Juan and Feng Yun, but the price is outrageous (80$/hour). Alexandr Dierchtein offers the best deal so far with 40$/hour with a first lesson at 20$ as a sample. Already better, but I'm still looking.

Anybody have a good trick against headaches? With the end-semester rush in school and go studies, my head is killing me very often, making it hard to sleep sometimes.

However, I started winning as a 7k, perhaps I can expect to reach 6k soon.

I don't think their prices are set up with individual students in mind, they tend to teach groups. Yilun Yang's lessons are quite affordable as I remember. Something like $30/hour online, don't quote me though.

Aiming for pro when you're only 7 kyu. That's pretty ballsy.

I started playing go about 5 months ago and my passion and progression was fairly strong, and like you, I could see myself obtaining the hand of god in the near future. I'm currently 3 kyu on KGS. Yet, though I played a ton before, for the last month or so I haven't really been feeling the urge to play and I can instead see myself obtaining the wrist of god flipping burgers at the local Burger King.

Best of luck to you. Don't put all your eggs in one basket though.

Leyleth wrote:the price is outrageous (80$/hour).

How is it outrageous? Have you looked at the cost of a good education (or private lessons) in other fields?
Piano? Engineering? Medicine? Physics? Mathematics?
Have you researched the actual total monetary cost (of tuition, living expenses, etc.) to become a Go pro in China, Japan, or Korea?

Leyleth wrote:Since I don't have lots of time to play and study

You want to become a Go Pro and you don't have much time to play and study and you want it cheap? You're wasting both your time and ours.

EdLee wrote:

Leyleth wrote:the price is outrageous (80$/hour).

How is it outrageous? Have you looked at the cost of a good education (or private lessons) in other fields?
Piano? Engineering? Medicine? Physics? Mathematics?
Have you researched the actual total monetary cost (of tuition, living expenses, etc.) to become a Go pro in China, Japan, or Korea?

Leyleth wrote:Since I don't have lots of time to play and study

You want to become a Go Pro and you don't have much time to play and study and you want it cheap? You're wasting both your time and ours.

I meant, is isn't cheap, let's keep it to that. Please don't be so rude, btw. What I was saying is that RIGHT NOW I don't have lots of time to play because of an end-semester rush. But, once this is gonna be over, I'll have the whole winter break of some almost non-stop go. It's not that I want it cheap or not. It's just that a student's budget is a little bit more tight than the one of a working man.

As a 7k, what you need is to drill in your basic skills so well that when you really get pro instruction, they can teach you how to use your mastery of basic skills to formulate go strategies. So make use of free resources like gochild and practice those tsumegos as best you can. Make use of the many free English lectures at Wbaduk.

Leyleth wrote:I meant, is isn't cheap, let's keep it to that. Please don't be so rude, btw. What I was saying is that RIGHT NOW I don't have lots of time to play because of an end-semester rush. But, once this is gonna be over, I'll have the whole winter break of some almost non-stop go. It's not that I want it cheap or not. It's just that a student's budget is a little bit more tight than the one of a working man.

It may seem rude but he's right. Having "the whole winter break of some almost non-stop go" isn't enough. A month or two of studying and playing as much as you can isn't going to get you where you need to be, as Araban said there are kids much younger than you who are already much stronger and are spending almost all day everday on Go, not just their breaks from school. If you really want to be a pro you'll have to do the same. Get a job if you don't have one already and start saving up money so you can go study with pros and other players that are trying to become pro in Asia; and when you're not working you need to be playing or studying.

Edit: While you're saving up the money to go study in Asia you can also use that time to see if it's really the right path for you. If you end up deciding it's not you'll have money saved up so when you go back to school your budget won't be so tight.

I recently spoke with a guy who took a couple months off of university and went to a korean baduk school for 9 months. He said his spendings were the same here and there.

Josh Hatch wrote:

Leyleth wrote:I meant, is isn't cheap, let's keep it to that. Please don't be so rude, btw. What I was saying is that RIGHT NOW I don't have lots of time to play because of an end-semester rush. But, once this is gonna be over, I'll have the whole winter break of some almost non-stop go. It's not that I want it cheap or not. It's just that a student's budget is a little bit more tight than the one of a working man.

It may seem rude but he's right. Having "the whole winter break of some almost non-stop go" isn't enough. A month or two of studying and playing as much as you can isn't going to get you where you need to be, as Araban said there are kids much younger than you who are already much stronger and are spending almost all day everday on Go, not just their breaks from school. If you really want to be a pro you'll have to do the same. Get a job if you don't have one already and start saving up money so you can go study with pros and other players that are trying to become pro in Asia; and when you're not working you need to be playing or studying.

Edit: While you're saving up the money to go study in Asia you can also use that time to see if it's really the right path for you. If you end up deciding it's not you'll have money saved up so when you go back to school your budget won't be so tight.

I perfectly understand that. However, school's very important too. If I decide to stop going to school and play go 24/24h, then I'll fail my exams and have to take back another full year of school. I'll first finish school, then I'll start studying go "full time".

Still working towards the shodan. However, I'm starting to notice how hard the path really is. Not only is it hard, but my time has almost ran out already... School's so time consuming, I'm starting to doubt.

I found a teacher, Li Ang. If some of you know him, it would be nice if you could give me some critiques about him. As far as I know, he's a good teacher. Any of you have experienced his lessons yet?

Just a couple of weeks (2-3) left before school finally ends. As soon as it is over, I'll start spending my days in front of my goban. I hope I can make. I must find a way. But going shodan with only 1 month of intensive training seems impossible to do.

Let's not think about the future. Step by step I'll climb this hill and achieve my objective. I can't fail. Otherwise, I know I'll keep on thinking about it. Let's focus on making the first step, for now.

Leyleth wrote:the price is outrageous (80$/hour). Alexandr Dierchtein offers the best deal so far with 40$/hour

Don't complain about outrageous prices but choose teachers with reasonable prices. E.g., I (went from 14k to 3d in 19 months, am now 5d and) offer the discount prices 6.4 EUR/h for playing, 12.8 EUR/h for analysis, in between for mixed mode:
http://home.snafu.de/jasiek/teach.html

For becoming pro quickly, invest at least 14h/day (ok, if you are still visiting school, it has to be less). Read all the good books:
http://home.snafu.de/jasiek/isbn.html
For a start, solve 1500 problems, study 1500 pro games and study 1000 openings. Let your blunder rate drop to 10, then 5, then 2, then 1, then 0.5 per game.