How to study Go in Asia?

[orihara]

I am serious about Go, and I want to be the best I possibly can. I was wondering if anyone had any tips, info, ideas, etc. on how to be able to study Go in Japan, China, or Korea. How can I apply for classes, and other things like that? How do I go about at doing this?

[walpurgis]

From your other posts I'm assuming you're still quite new to go. How old are you?

If young, convince your parents to move to China/Japan/Korea, find a go school and get a good teacher.
If adult, move to one of the countries on your own and do the same.

More likely, you should first find a local go club and see how long your enthusiasm stays. If you're young and turn out to be very talented after considerable amount of time has passed, then maybe you could start thinking about the very vague possibility of moving oversear to study go

I think this thread has some general advice and commentary on a similar topic: viewtopic.php?f=48&t=5029

--
(If you just wanted some general information about studying go in J/K/C, I don't really know much about that - I'm sure others will fill you in)

[dankenzon]

Your best shot is to go an academy or study travel.

Guo Juan have some trips to China, and some people also organizes 1-2 months trips.

In south Korea there is the BIBA that has room all the year as long as I know.

Japan is harder because there's no such big clubs or amateur academies like BIBA there. And to get a chance to be Insei there you have to be kind of 7D in KGS as minimal already to try to get a shot.

[tchan001]

You can also aim for a degree in Baduk Studies at Myongji University in Korea.

[MJK]

You can also aim for a degree in Baduk Studies at Myongji University in Korea.

I recommend not to.
Unless you are a pro, or was very close to be one, but too tired to be competitive, and still want to work as something with Go in Korea. Most of the students there are pros or ex-inseis.

There are many baduk academies in Korea waiting for a foreign student. And even more in China. I'm not sure of Japan.

[Dusk Eagle]

How about just getting a teacher online here first, and seeing how you like it? There are many professional teachers that teach in English online.

[otenki]

I'm going to study in Wuhan with Guo Juan's program starting september, although only for two months Another student is going for 9 months+. So if you want to study weiqi in china but don't want to live there for years this program might be good for you.

http://internetgoschool.com/goinchina.vhtml

Cheers,
Otenki

[hyperpape]

Let me offer a mildly contrary opinion: go for it!

In college, I spent six weeks in France as part of a study abroad program. We did take two courses, but the material was relatively unimportant. I'm still really glad that I did the program. If I could have spent another summer in China, Japan or Korea studying go, I would have gladly done it, regardless of what came of it.

You probably want to wait until you've been playing a bit longer so that you know that your enthusiasm won't wane--and try to spend a lot of time studying so you know that you can put in the mental effort. But you're not going to find a program and jump on a plane tomorrow in any case.

[Kanin]

I am serious about Go, and I want to be the best I possibly can. I was wondering if anyone had any tips, info, ideas, etc. on how to be able to study Go in Japan, China, or Korea. How can I apply for classes, and other things like that? How do I go about at doing this?

If you have a true passion for the game and you're not too old, why not!? But you need be prepared to put in a lot of time, effort and most likely money. If you have the funds (or your parents) to pay for training you can do as someone suggested and get an online teacher first. You can get personal professional coaching every day of the week if you want, in English. Later if you rise in level quickly you might very well be able to become an insei in Japan or Korea with some support.

Or if you have money you can always go directly to Korea and/or China and pay to live and study at one of the many go schools.

If you are a bit older and don't have much money then... More difficult But there are still ways to get some pro training. Take me for an example, I learned some Chinese, went to China to teach English and now I live in Shanghai and I have plenty of chances to play with strong amateurs and professional players. One way has been for me to teach some go for kids at a go school in return for receiving teaching games by the stronger teachers, or exchanging English lessons for go lessons with pros.

Anything is possible if you are ready to work for it. My best tip, though, is to take small steps. Start by taking a small first step and see how it feels. After a few steps you might realize the path you want to take is different from what you first had imagined. This is life