Top Super Street Fighter 4 players offering paid lessons

Just an early heads up to keep the feedback/comments on here constructive. It's perfectly OK to have a negative viewpoint about this idea, but please don't get out of hand.

I seriously don't think you're going to learn $50 worth of info in an hour. Watch a few hours of gameplay videos instead for free.

@ 2

Agreed. With all the character guides, matchup charts, and videos floating around...why would you pay to learn?

Nothing wrong with this at all. There are places where people better than you will help you out for free but no one of this caliber. I've heard every single one of these guys make spot on predictions while commentating on matches.

I'd say, depending on how bad you want to get better (and by how much), these lessons are totally worth it.

I can understand the idea behind wanting to learn from a pro like this, but personally I think people will learn more through their own trial and error than having a pro tell them everything they're doing wrong constantly. It's still a game after all.
But hey, if they think there's a market for this kind of thing, more power to them. I know if I was good enough that people would pay me to teach them to play, I'd do it without hesitation.

I don't see why people would complain about this. If you could get gutair lessons from Eric Clapton do you know how many people would sign up? That dude is mega rich so he wouldn't give lessons to people for money, but there ain't anyone forcing anyone to take these lessons and if these guys can make some money from people who want to learn from them why not?

I wouldn't mind playing JWong because I think my skills are real good and getting to play him for an hour I might be able to beat him. That would be worth it for me then I could youtube the videos afterwards.

Honestly its too expensive. If it was hands on, then maybe ok. But everything is being done through voice chat, it not easy getting insight like that. This is for rich people who doesnt have time to learn.

Gootecks has tournament-level characters? Who'd he borrow them from?

No and no.

Comparing this to paying for guitar lessons is actually really insulting. If people are willing to pay for lessons on how to play this game on a competitive level then go ahead. But they would have to be really desparate and stupid to do so because this is a game where you can only really learn and improve through practice.

What is so great about street fighter is that it is easy to play but hard to master. If you think you need to pay for lessons on how to play this game then you're clearly not playing enough..

Hmm... Although it would be sweet to get a few tips from the Pros of the community, I would rather practice more and talk to other Juri players on SRK. I really don't think that at 40-50 dollars in 1 session I am going to learn much from them.

Time, Patience, and Practice > $40-$50 of "good job" and "now keep working on that" I.M.H.O.

Cool to those that decide to sign up for this. I hope its worth it for them :-D

@8 LMAO....$40/hr for Gootecks, who does he think he is

@Jamesl88

You think you can become the next guitar god just by getting lessons and that's it? You've probably never played an instrument in your life! You don't know what you're talking about, it takes a lot of hard work and practice on your own time to get good. People showing you the ropes and techniques can save you lots of time though, but you gotta put in the time yourself to get good at guitar.

To Gootecks:

Who do you think you are?!

Sincerely,

A SF FAN

@2

Dear God this. Super Street Fighter IV costs 40 USD TOPS.

The kind of people who would benefit from this most are tournament players who learn something with every match they play. Those people, however, can learn all they want when wreck house in tournaments, which is usually what they are doing.

I don't like this because it's taking a step back as a community. In Japan they SHARE this kind of stuff and take people under their wings and try to get better as a whole, but this is like "Pay to get better!" and $hit.

I guess these guys aren't going to offer to do this stuff for free, but they should contributing more to the community so everyone can get better and we can beat all of the people from Japan!

i think 35 is reasonable..at best, for wong.

While I respect their hustle, I think that for most people, this is useless. If you've ever been completely destroyed in a match (like they would most likely do to you), you know that you pick up a couple things about the matchup but that won't make you better. You need to play people with your same skill or a little bit better so they can push you and it'll be a close match. That's when you know what you're capable of doing and know what you need to improve on. Good example, I suck against Viper but playing Marn's Viper won't change that since I'd probably get stunned way to quick for me to have learned anything.

I only see this being worth it for people that are already really good at the game and need to play top players to get their game to the next level (which I guess is the point of this).

I think the idea is ok but $40-50 for just one hour is a little much. I obviously can't say from experience that you wouldn't be getting your money's worth, but I'm not seeing how that could possibly be true. Then again, "getting your money's worth" is pretty subjective, so whatever.

i used to tutor algebra 1 for 30 bucks. SSF4 is way more complicated than algebra 1. They can probably see a player's tendencies and "needs improvement parts" just by watching a couple of vids. Also gootecks being not that good in tourneys doesn't mean he's a bad teacher. For all we know, he's the best teacher of all of them. Just like Phil Jackson wasn't really a really good player but he's the best coach.( i know the comparison is kinda far off, but oh well)

Although Wong is a high level player, I think he'd make a bad teacher because of how he communicates.

This is from jwongg's website

http://jwonggg.com/?page_id=331

"$30 PER HOUR
$60 FOR TWO HOURS
$80 FOR THREE HOURS
$100 FOR FOUR HOURS"

Obviously the prices are increased because everyone knows only d!ckriding people are going to drop the bucks. Why? Because the people who pay for this are more interested in interacting with popular players than learning SF.

"omg justin wong talked to me and i got to play his rufus" *jizz in my pants*

Street Fighter isn't a game that can really be taught that well. It's more about reading your opponent and reacting to what is happening. No one can teach that to you, it's about practice. I can understand learning some fundamentals and other things; but overall, this is a pretty bad idea. The game itself costs less than half of the players. Save the money and watch videos or check forums.

Actually, Gootecks and JWong have been doing this kind of thing for almost a year now through various places.

I think while the comparison to guitar playing is okay, I think there are a few flaws in it, most visibly the fact that playing guitar isn't a competitive thing (unless you're in Crossroads). Your success as a musician isn't determined by how much better your knowledge of the chromatic scale is than the next guitarist, for example.

My opinion, aside from that I believe it's too expensive, is that sometimes you see that the best players don't make the best coaches, and the best current players being coaches is almost unheard of.
Most times, instead of taking lessons from the best swimmer in the world, I would rather take lessons from the guy who has an impressive record of coaching eventual olympic swimmers. Even then, you gotta be a natural swimming prodigy like Michael Phelps to make it like that.
Even going back to guitar, you don't wanna take lessons from Clapton because he can make you such a better musician and unlock your potential. You want to take lessons from Clapton because he's a celebrity and you can say you met and took lessons from Clapton.

tl;dr version: It's too expensive and they'll never teach you how to beat them so even if you pay you'll still never be the best. You can't teach genius.

P.S. inb4 "My Fight Money!!!!"

So I can pay $40 bucks to gootecks so he can teach me How to throw my stick when I lose in a tourney hell yeah sign me up

If you've got money burning a hole in your pocket, feel free to do this. I think it's too much money. Bad investment. Like it was previously said, time, patience, and practice are much better than throwing money away like this.
DX

#16
This is just proof of how greedy ppl are over here. You know what...I am offering my services for free. Anyone want to learn some basic stuff that you can expand upon and get better hit me up. Dead serious.

This is like if ppl offer you a service of unbricking your psp for free, but then you have some dude that may be known a little more than the freebies, that charges $100.

I understand that ppl dont want to tutor folks all day for free but man...for that price you can really go bite yourself.

You want to help the community? Then help the damn community! Don't try to milk and pimp us like a bunch of dummies.

For those that have yet to catch on...It is a game. Nothing more. Hype as hell but still just a game. Don't try to rush your growth... I know this is the microwave instant generation but do some hard work and be patient for once.

Daigo worked his ass off to get as awesome as he is today. If he can do it...ANYONE can do it.

@23

or that information could be outdated..I don't think he'd use EA emails anymore.

Lolol. I guess total joblessness for all 4 of these losers makes this a "why not? there's a sucker born every minute!" idea thats hard to argue.

These guys all seem like they would be terrible teachers, but gootecks cant even play the damn game. He should be teaching lessons in how to pretend your someone by just saying your own name constantly and hanging around real players. Hahah

#26

"For 35 dollars an hour, you too can be a scumbag!"

I can see both sides of it, These guys are just trying to cash in on thier skills, but this is a different skill altogether, people have to go to school to be teachers or just be talented at teaching. So although it's great idea from a monetary perspective and there are people out there that will pay, I don't think you'll be able to give a quality lesson over voice chat, as you can in person, you can't learn guitar over a phone, you need someone there to demonstrate, show you where to put your fingers and how to strum. In this game it's no different. Honestly 10 bucks for feedback on 10 matches I've played that is what I would pay for some game service, remember back in the day the nintendo power hotline??? LOL

@29

The point is...it used to be 30 dollars an hour. Justin Wong wasn't any less of a top player before. The prices being this high now is a big F.U. to the fans.

Lessons from gootecks? I wouldnt pay 40 dollars to learn how to lie and throw tournament sticks at people.

@33

point taken.
we can all agree though
"Gootecks, who do you think you are?"

Wow, just a little over the top with themselves there. I could see 40 to 50 for one four hour session but no way per hour. Just stick to the srk forums and keep watching videos...same help.

Wong - I would, except I play none of those characters. Maybe for MvC 2 or 3S.

Ross - Yes, for Blanka. Plus he seems like a chilled guy.

Marn - I've been wanting to get into Viper and Dudley, so probably so.

Gootecks - Don't kid yourself. Not even a top level player, unlike the three mentioned above. Not to metion seeing footage of his student lose to Juicebox Abel and throw his controller illustrates how bad of a teacher he is. Surprised he hasn't quit after failing hard at almost ever Evo, as well as life.

For someone like me, living in Australia, this is quite a good opportunity. Although the price range is a bit steep, I don't think we can really comment on what can be obatined from a lesson until you actually do one. For all you know, it could produce fantastic results. Real life is an ideal situation for most - and I hope to get to New York after school to do some training there - but this system is actually quite considerate for those who can't get to those locations.

I am not that serious... but I like the idea.

thats pretty stupid, why dont you just go out to arcades and play people that are better than you, these guys arent Gods of this game.

@ PrimalHunter lol! Dude, honestly, we can learn alot from practicing trails over and over then we can from others, cause everyone has a style, you just need to find the right character that fits your style of play and just practice, you're not gonna be great in one hour, but one year, possibly 20 years! That's how long the franchise been around, we learn to throw our first fireball when we were like 10, so it takes alot of time and dedication, but... most of us have life outside of SSF4, it's not like it's a career you can make a living off of. only .01% of all of california give a fart about us being badass in this game, the other 99.9% will tell us to get a life, so we're a long way before this becomes a sport where we make millions of dollars off of.

Also #18, You implying JWong has never gone far in a tourney before? haha oh wow.

The price is too high. They ask as much as a senior economic/IT consultant with decades of experience. If they raise the price a bit, they almost ask as much salary as a dentist.

As other people stated before, you can't improve to Godsgarden-level by paying $50/hour to let a good player tell you how much you suck.

How about you take that money that you would spend on these lessons and use it to enter tournaments where you can gain real experience.

Wasnt Justin doing lessons at Family Fun Arcade ((AKA in person)) a while back?

I guess this way he can teach anyone from anywhere, so it makes sense!

Well, can't fault him for making a "business choice" but dude, if it were that great, there wouldn't be Eventhubs or SRK Forums where you can spend more than an hour browsing, studying and watching videos gettin feedback, play others.

@44

Yeah but it wasn't this expensive.

Hell, it wasn't this expensive yesterday:

http://twitter.com/JWonggg/status/203...

There making a smart business move good for them.but cmon do you really need to pay someone to teach you how to play?Heres an idea find your own fighting style and teach yourself!

LOL. I dunno, something about this just seems off. Whatever happened to just giving out random advice if you beat someone, like what you were looking for?

Some stuff you just can't learn from someone. A lot of it is experience and the way you think about situations.

I'd rather just play (all of) them...for free.

i have no idea why most of you are trashing this idea, but clearly many are missing the point. this isn't "how to mash dragon punch" lessons -- you're likely to get a decent breakdown of what someone skilled is thinking watching you play.

what are your weaknesses, what are your patterns, where could you press the advantage more? are there situations you are being too conservative/not conservative enough? maybe you don't know a good option select that could really pay off for you and change the way you approach certain situations. these are the sort of things someone at that level will be able to bring to your attention -- and that you're not likely to suddenly understand/spot yourself until they are brought to your attentions.

think of it as a step up to the next level. you've spent the time training, you've got to your first 5000BP, and you've plateaued. how do you take the next step? what are you missing?

most pro sports or activities offer some kind of masterclass; hell, sports, photography, music, just about anything. i think it's GREAT that the same thing is now on offer for the SF4 community. it's a sign of the maturity of the genre.

if you think you haven't plateaued yet, you don't need this. it's not for you -- but why begrudge anyone else who thinks they could do with some additional insight to take the next step? $30-50 really isn't that much for the potential chance to get another wave of excitement from the game as you gain mastery...

FYI: i did a basketball masterclass 10+ years ago when i played seriously; university level, 2nd division national league -- was a GREAT move. i got insights into my traits on defense, movement off the ball, and a couple of other subtle things. totally worth the money. they were all small things, but they made a difference, and they were things you would find very tricky to spot/correct yourself. and, most importantly, just because someone showed me the door... i still had to walk through it ;p

I'll say just this. If someone takes the lessons and start winning at tournaments, you can bet that there will be people lining up for it.

The idea is cool if you ask me, but the price... well just doesn't feel right. I find it too expensive, there's no way you can possibly learn that much in just an hour.

Of course if money it's not the issue, I guess that cannot hurt.

@42
Strippers charge $20 for a 3 min lap dance and most of them never finished high school. Anyways, IT consultants are a dime a dozen. But if you want the "Justin Wong" of IT consultants you will pay much more then $50/hr.

Personally I think its cool if they can make money off their talent. For some, I'm sure the novelty of getting to play SSF4 with some of the biggest names in the game would be worth it.

I think this is valid (and could be very worthwhile for the client), I'm just bothered by it being online (particularly at this price range). You can't really watch videos together (that is, in perfect sync and hearing comments and pointing at stuff), a lot of time might get wasted setting up lobbies, restarting matches and so on, and you can't use training mode. (On the plus side, you get to save replays)

For maximum productivity, I'd seriously suggest to getting a video or two for discussion before scheduling a lesson, and try to record the whole session for further analysis. But still, I'd rather try to book them for an in-person meeting at some event we both happen to attend.

I'm gonna take the flip view of many here and say that the idea of charging for lessons is not a bad idea (but it is not a 'business choice')

However.. the people who PAY for these lessons.... just shoot yourself now and relieve this world of another salad-tosser.

And for the sane people... lets get back to training mode.

While I do agree that Gootecks isn't the best player, I think it he's getting it much worse than he deserves. He's probably placed higher more tournaments than anyone here. He also seems like a pretty nice and chill guy, I think I'd take him after Mike Ross and before Wong or Marn. Just because he's not as skilled doesn't mean he won't have much to teach.

ya i dunno what the gootecks hate is. i mean, he might not be jwong but his balrog is pretty darn good (considering he doesnt seem to play NEARLY as much as he used to)

i remember watchin vids of him all the time in sf4 but no more in ssf4

and i think gootecks would probably be the best teacher out of all of them

also for me personally, id rather have someone literally telling me what im doing wrong then on an srk board
not that i would pay for this, but im just a better learner that way

Here's my personal thought on the idea....Not bad. But to anybody considering this I offer this tip. Play on XBL/PSN for as much as you can for about a month. If you can record your matches, then sit down and watch a few wins and watch all of you losses. Then compare the two, judge yourself and learn from yourself. Then play some more for about 2 weeks. If you at that point think "I wonder how far I've come along?" give one of these guys a ring play them and see how content you are with your performance , record these matches, watch them learn some more and repeat the process from Step 1 and always be aware of your own progress. You gotta learn to crawl to walk and walk to run. Getting your face mashed in consistently by a pro is not the best way to learn this game.

Well, if they got talent in teaching and you improve drastically, great! Maybe they are worth the money. But till then I'll wait and see if that happens it's not like you make 50 bucks an hour, that's freakin almost 7 hours or more of minimum wage depending where you live. So you'd really have to think long and hard if it's worth 1 day of work for what you can learn in an hour, plus, they don't have a lesson plan of what to teach you, you have to tell them what you know and don't know, 1 hour for one combo or shortcut technique is not gonna get you to a money match at a tournament. You have to be prepared to invest 100s of dollars if you're dead serious about paying for lessons. I'm a personal fitness professional, I can't magically transform an overweight person in 1 hour, they meet with me 3-5 times a week for 3-6 months at 30-50 bucks and hour, and it takes 6 weeks to notice a real difference! So It would be the same for this, unless you're a true genius and grasp everything the first time and can do it 9/10 times everytime you try.

I wouldn't pay for it, but if some people find it worth 40-50$ then go for it.

It's a very bad thing I think.
That's not the versus fighting's spirit.

Yeah its a little pricy, but how about: If you beat them in a match the lesson is free? haha

why would i pay for something i can get here and on srk for free? Not to mention the tons of vids of high level play u can watch on youtube(they stream everything now). Is it really that hard to learn how to play this game?

It IS rather expensive, but the idea, is that they can evaluate your play, and give you a personalized assessment. Basically, telling you exactly what you should practice, what you do wrong/right, etc.

No match video can ever tell you these things the way a knowledgeable human being can.
Of course you COULD learn this stuff by trial/error, but it would likely take a helluva lot longer, since you would have to discover them for yourself, and figure out solutions by yourself, which could take even longer.
OR...
You could play these guys for an hour, and get all that info right away, so you can engage in FOCUSED training, as opposed to unfocused(often foolhardy) practice.

Still, the price is too high. $35 would be a bit more reasonable, imo.

wow these guys are asking for way to much for a video game. At tops you should be asking for $20-30 an hour. If your rich then by all means go for it. So what if you turn pro? Winnings in tournaments are so low you cant have a good life where you can travel and have family. No offense, but I don't see any top players having a family cause they spend all their time playing video games and not making money.

I play street fighter for fun... I'm alright with my current skill level, I'm no pro but bettter than most of my friends...

with that money i'll buy the Character costumes(both sets)

It's really not about the money it's about the dedication. These are LESSONS! Your not paying for a chance to play a Pro player your paying to improve your game significantly. This is not a Miracle Pill your buying, this is an INVESTMENT. Your not gonna learn everything in one hour or one day, this is something you need to sit and think about doing for probably long term.

Wong, Marn, Gootecks, they all take these games very seriously, it's what seperates them from other players and why they are so good. If your looking at the price as being too high then this is probably not for you. There are plenty of ways to learn how to play without paying for anything but to be honest, what is presented here is for the SERIOUS PLAYERS! The ones who want to make this a career, possibly.

This is not to say you can't get good without it but it's an option and ONLY an option. I mean you could learn how to animate cartoons or program a computer all on your own, mos tpeople have but some want more special on hands training so they go to school for it. Thats an INVESTMENT. You take what you get from that investment. So if they want to charge for lessons fine. But I do have some small quips though.

1) I do feel even though they are charging for personal lessons they SHOULD contribute to the community. As one mentioned, the Japanese share their findings and we need to be just as proactive, did'nt Diago mention this is what the US players need to do?

2) As for the lessons I would like to know wha thtese lessons would provide. I could ask them what I want to learn but does he have a comprehensive plan of attack to help you? We all know these guys are good but where are their credintials for teaching inexperienced players. Even the Miracle Pill has testimonies.

I guess I should add while I have no problems with them charging for lessons I do agree with some of the folks here that 50 - 60 bucks is a bit too high. I know these guys are pros but just because they are pros does'nt mean they are great teachers.

I mean, I can draw and paint really good but I'd probably suck at trying to teach you how, you know what I mean?

I like it!

This sort of goes to the heart of why I like following the Fighting game community, and it's sort of disheartening that it isn't viewed in remotely the same light as spectator sports.

Like if you were super into boxing, could you throw down $50 for an hour with Mike goddamn Tyson?

No, it would probably cost you thousands, and you would probably die.

It's the same for team sports, how much would it cost you to throw an American football around with the Green Bay Packers for twenty minutes? Is there a number that high?

I'm not too bothered about meeting the top level street fighter players, but if I wanted to play Daigo for example, I'd just need to buy a cheap short-hop flight over to England for SVB, and maybe offer him a couple of Euro for a money match.

Boom. Done.

I've played the best player in the world, and it cost me very little.

My point is that Street Fighter's "Heroes" are all very accessible to any member of the community who wants to meet them.

The four guys here might not be your heroes, but if they are, it's cool to know you could throw down with them for an hour pretty easily.

This is pretty much at the core of why I think:
Following Fighting Games > Following spectator sports

I don't see it as that bad.

I don't really plan on doing this myself, as I don't know of anything they could really help me with that doesn't just involve practice.

Shoot, now that I think about it though, I might find it ok to pay for maybe 20-30$ for a match with a review follow up. That seems a lot more reasonable and it doesn't have to take an hour.

@37
> seeing footage of his student lose to Juicebox Abel and throw his controller illustrates how bad of a teacher he is.

I see his young padawan is learning well!

@65
+1
It's a big difference being around someone who really knows what they're doing.

Even compared to playing and learning with your local community, there could be a big hole in your scene's dominant strategy that these experienced, well travelled players could easily pick apart. What you're really paying for, IMO is that distillation of information that these guys have collected from all those tournaments across the world.

An hour drinking JWong's super-concentrated man-juice, if you will. XD

@37
.....You know that vid was a joke right? It's not actually Gootecks's student. Don't understand the hate for him, he's doing alot more for the community then you haters.

$40 to $50 dollars for learning how to pay a video game!? I can understand paying for guitar lessons, but SSFIV? It's a video game, come one. It be easier to just become friends with the guys and do it for free.

This is a good sign the fighting game community is maturing.

I can definitely see this appealing to some people though. There many players who go out and throw 150 bucks on an arcade stick and they only use it for like a a couple of minutes before giving up. There are a lot of people who want to be good, but are lazy and thoughtless. They want a method where they can be instantly good at this game, or at least given the idea that they can. "I got trained by a top player" gives you that sensation for an hour before you go back and play and realize you're in the same position as before.

#74
I know hahaha.Was just taking the piss.

Another biweekly combo video from Maj :).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn3c7w...

Personally I think the community is helpful enough to its members already, but I suppose getting trained by these top players never hurts. I'd rather learn on my own, that's how they got started too right?

I swear I read $35/hour for Jwong, and &30 for Marn on their twitter pages. And I remember gootecks/mike being 20-25 or something around there.

Mike Ross, Marn, and Gootecks are just pissed that the've played for hundreds of hours and there not making much money like Diago.

Once you take something you love and make the main focus about some cash it becomes a job. And no matter how much you love your job, sometimes you just rather be doing something else than be at work.

@82

Yeah you're right. I posted here to show that a couple of times.

They raised the rates for the hustle. If people want to play video games with you that badly why not take them for everything they got.

It's funny how some of these players ofter talk about the need for the USA/EU communities to step up, share ideas and work together to catch up with Japanese players. Then again, ideas such as paying for SFIV lessons pop up. And it's not cheap either, 50 bucks? Come on... That's what you call a double standard.
Gootecks has come up with a lot of good ideas and initiatives to help the fighting community (specially newcomers), but this is definitely a step back.

Ummmm i like all these players except marn lol but yeah $50 an hour for jwong who lost to gamerbee?? an adon he said sucks?? ummmmmmmmm no thanks..f**k off i rather learn from gamerbee -_-

No offence, but this is a pretty retarded service.
Ofc, it's awesome to get advice and tips from a skilled tournament player. But paying 40-50$ per hour for something you can just google and find in a random forum.
But yeah, they'll probably get alot of customers. I mean, people are still paying for random crappy softwares for their phones.

The only people that are going to pay are either fanboys or lazy people who can't put enough time themselves into the game to get decent at it.

Sure you can get lessons from these pro's but that doesn't mean they're actually good teachers.

Still..you gotta put in alot of hours yourself to get decent at the game.

I agree that this service is ridiculous,heck,they're literally wh*ring SSF4 out.

Mister,mister--50 bucks for a good time! Me play you long time!

Didn't gootecks already do a kick ass rog tutorial on YouTube already for free

Just wanna say that I was asked if I would be interested to do this. "yo mike, wanna train people for money?" me: "uhm, sure why not?"

And yo, if someone messages me asking to get better and doesn't have a dime to their name i'm not gonna be a piece of feces and turn them down. gtfo. but hey if you wanna rub my shoulders for 5-10 minutes i'll take the exchange :).

Whether 0 people wanna do this or 500, I won't lose any sleep (well unless it is 500 then I guess I won't be gettin any sleep).

If there exists a market for it they have every right to do it. That's it anyone who says otherwise is a jealous buttwind.

So it's finally come to this huh? People making business out of playing street fighter...

Personally, I don't see the point in paying someone to teach me to get "better". Like many people here have already mentioned. Street fighter is a game where only constant practice and playing against other people (especially now that we have online play) is the only way to really improve and learn in the long run.

But to each's own I guess. It's another way for these "pro" players to generate income.

Oh and like others have already pointed out. For those interested, only take these lessons if you already have a sufficient enough knowledge about the mechanics of the game (translation: don't even consider signing up if you're a complete beginner and know nothing about the fundamentals).

I see no problem. I don't belive it works, though. With everything you can find for free on the web, there's definitevely no short of knowledge on how to improve.

It's all about having the skills and reflexes. Something that may be aquired in time, with practice, but cannot be simply teached.

So I have nothing against the idea, and I really think those guys are very smart to make money from this. I just wouldn't pay for it myself.

40 to 50 dollars an HOUR? My guitar lessons were incredibly cheaper and more rewarding.

Also training someone online is very annoying and usually doesn't help your metagame or execution. When I taught my friends how to play SSF4 I was right there next to them so that they could watch and listen to me in real time.

My view: too expensive, kind of elitist, and a counter to the free, open information that the SSF4 community needs to hear.

Oh, and while I disapprove of Catalyst directly linking to their pages, I hilariously approve of the picture used in the article.

Only a true boxer can type on a keyboard and hold onto wads of cash while wearing his gloves.

anyone who isn't going to a tourney paying for more than an hour needs friends. and no matter what anyone says Gootecks knows what he's doing and he damn good at it. btw if it weren't for him evo probably would have went salty suite free. nor would we have cross counter, so quit being douches

I promise that if I ever improve... I will never charge for lessons. Friendship is more than enough. Now I have to get my ps3 working again. The blinking red light finally got it...

sca sca sca scaaaaaam

pay if you want 2, nooobs

That money is better spent going to tournaments. You will learn just as much and if you are observant, probably faster.

Wages are a function of preferences, not fairness. With that being said, though it may not be the best thing for the community (if the desire is to share information), it is definitely not a bad idea for themselves if they have some belief that people are willing to pay that much for their assistance.

Let them give the lessons. Whatever it does to their reputation and the community (good or bad) is irrelevant to whether or not they aught to do it.

on jwong's facebook it says hes doing it for $35.. ?

They been doing this in Halo for years. From what Ive read from that comunity, there is a market for this service.