Wei qi life: slow growth in america

It is most exciting to see the budding interest towards go happening in america. Not only is it happening in america but in canada, britain and other european countries. Due to its asiatic origins, go/wei chi/baduk was only popular in asia until now. If we look at how long america alone has been interested in go, it has only been a little over a century. European and american countries do not have a long history of playing go unlike how it is with chess. Now the interest is steadily growing and more and more people want to learn to play and get better at it.

On this note, I want to talk about something that's been a concern of mine. It is important that we keep in mind how difficult it is to improve and become a strong go player. When it comes to competing in the international scene, we will be going up against countries who are much stronger than us right now. America does not currently have a stable professional system. There are next to no go schools or centers and parents will be hard pressed to find a qualified go teacher in their area.

Americans are barely beginning to even understand what this board game is about and certain other countries are at about the same level. But we know what a well-established professional system looks like, what a strong go team looks like and we can learn from the people who have been in this business and world for a long time. 

Right now in north america we have a good number of clubs and things are off to a good start there. Clubs help promote the game and garner interest but they are limited in what they're able to do because the go clubs are not really a serious place to train young talent. We need a go center or school in each place where there is a strong interest in go. A go center provides a much needed facility where serious studying and competition can occur. This is far less likely to happen at a cafe or park. I'm all for having fun, being relaxed and enjoying the game at one's own pace but when it comes to competition. It is just not going to be enough.

Should we have a go center in every state? Or maybe even more than one? I think any state that wants to seriously study go and raise up professionals, you must have your own go center.

I hope our small group of new and old american pros will take things seriously and at a good pace. Don't relax too much but don't get crushed by the pressure either.  

We need to focus on training good teachers who will then be able to teach the new and young players. Beginners at the game are not the same as advanced players and even higher than advanced is the professional level. To actually gain as much as one can from studying with a professional player, a player needs to be at least at the late beginner's or intermediate level. 

This way in the near future we will be able to see a professional go/wei chi/baduk team we can truly be proud of. This is what I hope for when it comes to the future of go in america.

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