Instructor - The Brawl Tutoring Program

I recently had the idea of starting up a Brawl Tutoring Program in the German community, which since then has met great acceptance and appreciation. I believe this should go global via SWF so people across the world can learn.

This is an excellent way for newcomers to the competitive scene to learn the ins and outs of their respective characters and Smash/ Brawl in general. Experienced players offer their advice and instruction through instant messaging and online play.

This kind of tutoring has been present since the release of Brawl, but in private. In my opinion, the Smash scene could greatly benefit from an organized form of these lessons, giving newcomers the chance to easily make the transition to the competitive scene. By having experienced and successful players as tutors, a high level of skill is achievable for new players, as opposed to going to tournaments, getting their ***** handed to them and quitting because no-one there has the time to help them get over all of their mistakes.

Other players could also benefit from this. If someone wants to learn a new character as secondary for instance, they can have a couple of training sessions with an experienced main of that character, picking up the playstyle and matchup-specific tactics faster than with any other method.

First thing's first - We need tutors and a way of deciding who is fit to do the job. I suggest that the Smash Back Room decides who is accepted as tutor, in order to keep the quality of the lessons high. Tutors could post their application here, and I'll keep a list of all the BR acknowledged tutors. Also since lag in wifi matches and time-zones are an issue, tutors need to include their location. Students will then apply to be taught by a tutor in their region.
There will definitely be more people interested in being taught than people willing to teach others. Because of this, tutoring will take place for a set amount of time (say several weeks), before the next round of students gets to be instructed.

A way of reducing the amount of players asking to be instructed (which will be quite a few) is limiting the program to players who are actually willing to enter the competitive scene, but don't have any good players around them that could help them get going. Players aspiring to be taught should also have some basic knowledge about the game and their main characters, which can be gathered by reading the forums. Only those who are truly willing to learn to play Brawl competitively should be offered that chance by the more experienced players, who will be investing their precious time. On the other hand, tutors have the chance of giving something back to the community and even learn a thing or two about themselves.

Ideas and opinions on this are welcome.


Tutors so far:

Europe:

Yomi-no-Kuni, Germany (Sheik, Pokemon Trainer)
Tero ($hYne on Smashboards), Germany (Ice Climbers)
Makkura, Germany (Wolf)
Vegeta214, Germany (Snake)
Serpit, Austria (Lucas)


Anyone who thinks they are capable of being tutor, go ahead and apply. Please state your location (country or state is sufficient) and main character, along with a short introduction, a description of how experienced you are at Smash and why you consider yourself suitable.

Good idea, but are people willing to put in the time to tutor others? And what instant messaging service would you have in mind? (AIM seems to be a popular choice, albeit I personally am not fond of it)

we haven't had problems with the number of tutors so far. and I suppose any IM is fine, its up to the tutors and their respective students.

Im up for this idea for as long it helps players in the U.S as well.

Wow, someone beat me to the idea. It'd be great, but wouldn't you have a limit of people who want to get tutored, because tutors will most likely not want to tutor 24/7 or something close to that.

yes, the possible amount of students is dependent on the amount of tutors. but remember that once the tutor finds that the student has learnt enough to continue on his own, the tutor can always accept another if he so wishes.

That would be an great enrichment for the Smash scene arround the world.

Great idea, I personally would like someone telling me where I'm going wrong.

this idea is great. Know of any rob players that would tutor?

I support this idea.

wow, not much support for this idea...

we´d need to get some good or at least avereagly good players to be tutors...

This is a great idea. Also, to make it possible to have more people being tutored, a mentor could take on more than 1 person in their area. There could be 3 person matches (with the two students fighting one another and then the tutor could suicide and watch and give each person tips). Just an idea.

I am definitly in need of a smash tutor, so I support this. Also, would it be possible for the US to be tutored? Cause I am an american smash fan, so...

sure, thats the whole point of this thread and exactly what i meant by saying "going global".
before we can start though, we need more tutors, so step it up if anyone thinks theyre fit to do the job.

Meh is a good idea, but people will get bored of 'teaching' very quick if there isn't some kind of insentive.

eMORAY21 said:

Meh is a good idea, but people will get bored of 'teaching' very quick if there isn't some kind of insentive.

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It's not like it has to be a long term thing. It could only be a few lessons within the span of week and then they could have someone else take over. Anyways, I think this is a fantastic idea because I tutored someone about two weeks ago with Ness, taught him some new strategies, and pointed out things that he could work on. I believe it was a great experience for both of us.

Regarding this idea, I think it would be best if every main had at least 3 tutors to it so this could be a good flowing system instead of a buttload of people having to make reservations for one person. There would definately need to be volunteers because, as previously stated, if it's always the same people then they are going to burn out pretty quickly.

The idea is pretty good, but we need more people!

I love this idea, it's really great, but we need more tutors. I suck, otherwise I'd probably do it.

Are u saying tutors as in Advanced Gameplay tutors
or Specific Character Tutors?

I'd say eventually branch out and offer both.
Amazing Idea, if executed properly.

I support this, since I spent at least an hour looking for a thread like this.

I'm personally looking for a pro Zelda (And maybe Sheik) player to teach me to play on a competitive level. Although I main Zelda and play pretty well generally, I admit I suck on a competitive level and would be grateful if somebody tutored me.

FootFace said:

Are u saying tutors as in Advanced Gameplay tutors
or Specific Character Tutors?

I'd say eventually branch out and offer both.
Amazing Idea, if executed properly.

Click to expand...

We would like to offer both advanced gameplay tutoring AND character specific tutoring in one and the same package. The trainee's main character needn't necessarily correspond to the tutor's main, but it definitely helps a great deal.
The number one priority is teaching competitive smash, with character specific tactics and traits forming the basis.

Bump because this idea shouldn't be ignored.

So far no one in the US...
i suppose i could tutor in washington, but my internet gets pretty laggy when i play people too far away.
Not to mention, we need some Dedede tutors. maybe Ganon and Snake too.

This should be advertised in the various character boards.

I doubt the mods would approve of that. I recommend that anyone remotely interested in this (as student or tutor) continue to post in this thread. If we keep the thread alive people will notice it.

Especially the US is still lacking in tutors, so apply!

I'm up for tutoring... the first step for me is playing brawl for the first time. ;X

I'd apply to be a tutor, but I'm not sure if I'm considered good enough

Great idea, though.... WHY AREN'T MORE PEOPLE POSTING!?

no idea :D
you have to tell which character Zap (i´m guessing Olimar :D)

Yes, it would be Olimar.

(BTW: BUMP!)

I like to be a tutor for R.o.b and few other hevyweight characters like bowser and Dk.

Hello,

This is a great idea, beginners like me could use any help they can get.

Sticky this imo.

Take Care,

AmishTycoon

Vegeta214 said:

Tutors:
Please state your location (country or state is sufficient) and main character, along with a short introduction, a description of how experienced you are at Smash and why you consider yourself suitable.

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this was actually in the first post.