I will say this, I hovered around for a few years before I really got into forward flight. You need to know your tail and left and right in orientations at the bare minimum, but I would strongly suggest learning nose in as well and every other orientation in between. Slow pirouetting circles (rudder only) will teach you way more than just static hovering. It will require you to make adjustments to the helicopter as it is spinning in space. Definitely practice this on a sim before doing it in real life. Yes, the sim is boring after an hour or so, but trust me, it can and will save you a crash.