Complete beginner looking for strong guidance (Sensei)!

Hello!

I understand your desire to immediately jump to higher ranks through teaching games and I encourage you to look for them, but there’s a bit of a warning here.

Dans are playing entirely different game, they see (and expect you to see) things that we can only dream of (for now). I’ve played several dans in real life, I’ve had my games reviewed by them and it boils down to a simple thing: none of them could teach. None of them understood what I needed and our effort was for nothing (well, not entirely for nothing, I had fun, but I feel like their time spent was not spent effectively, I hope you understand what I mean).
So, my first advice is look for teachers, not necessarily for “strong amateur players”. A good teacher only few stones stronger can teach you more than a high dan player.

My second advice: Have your games reviewed. If you have a basic grasp of all the things you’ve written about, make a few notes during and after the game so the reviewer knows what you are looking for (this should go without question and is a polite way to ask for a review).

The third thing is simple: Do not underestimate studying. Study tsumego (the right way, e. g. do not ever, — ever, ever, ever! :smile: — look at the answer before you are committed to your solution), study Sensei’s Library, read books (e. g. Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go), see lectures, after a bit you can start replaying professional games (this is where a dan player can become very handy!).

The fourth thing is the most important. Play, play, play. Play live games, play correspondence games, play blitz games. Play on 9x9 to learn how to live, play 13x13 to learn how to manage territory, play on magnificent 19x19 to taste the awesomeness of this wonderful game.

Actually, the fifth thing is the most important: Have fun doing all the things above.

And then, everyone learns differently. Experience (playing, reviewing) and studying (tsumego, books, lectures); find the right balance for yourself!

Good luck!

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