How to git gud ft. Sheik

[Papasmurf645]

hey guys so I've only been playing melee for about a month kinda and I absolutely love it. I mained ganon for a couple weeks and took him to a few tournaments and even tho I 0-2'd w him I still had loads of fun and smashed some *******. But I decided to pick up sheik since I'm a huge zelda fan and love her fast aerials. I just wanna know how to I practice with her? I have no one to practice with so all I've been doing the past week is fighting a lvl 9 falco (because 99% of the players in birmingham main falco of course ) just to get the matchup down. But if anyone can give me tips I'd be so happy. I can wave dash kinda and I'm practicing how to wavleand.

 

[Scroll]

Start to practice the reaction tech chase asap (grab a fast faller, downthrow, and react to their escape option)
Look up what is optimal to do for each case and grind it.

Grind movement as much as possible.
OoS options (WD OoS, Nair OoS, Upsmash OoS and buffer roll)
Find out how to do standing grab out of Run aka JC Grab (Less laggy) and also learn the Boost Grab (Dash Attack animation interrupted into a grab (HUGE range))
Ledge Stalling (Shino Stall, Sami Stall and DJ Sweet spot)
How to grab ledge fast from stage.
Spacing aerials on shield -> dash away
Chain grab relevant characters
Other follow ups up your Downthrow

Find the timing for when Dash Attack and various Tilts end so you can follow up on them with aerials, namely Fair.

These are some of the things you can practice on your own

 

[Papasmurf645]

I think my down throw game is excellent now because of the tilts you can throw out after. Like a basic one is DThrow-Ftilt-Fair on spacies. I'll look up how to do the other stuff, thanks for the help man!

 

[Scroll]

You're welcome - feel free to come back if you got any questions or concerns about the stuff.

Also, at the percents where downthrow leads into Ftilt most spacies will most likely DI away so that the Ftilt cannot connect.

 

[Papasmurf645]

ALso this is such a vague question but when should you wavedash while playing? I know how to do it but what's the purpose of it and when should I do it? Following up after attacks or just movement??

 

[Gnarsty]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0alnT4DiOco

Good Luck!

 

[Scroll]

WD is used alot by Sheik.
It has so many uses so it will be hard to list them all. But some of the very common uses include:
WD Back near the Ledge to grab it.
WD OoS (Out of Shield) to punish laggy attacks on your shield where Grab OoS can't reach.
WD Back Ftilt as a strong defensive neutral option.

 

[Jugglez]

Practicing with CPUs is all good and fun but it can also lead to developing some bad habits since CPUs won't try to read you. However, it's still good, "Don't get hit" practice, and I enjoy doing it. I've recently been picking up the character as well and I've taken some time in training mode just to work on combos and stuff. I've been taking in Marth just bc I feel like it's one of Sheik's harder matchups, but I'd recommend Falco in your case. It doesn't instantly make you better, but it gives you some time to just practice your combos and see how you'd follow up what with what, and what your good kill percentage is for whatever character your practicing against. I'm no genius or expert, but as someone who's also practicing Sheik, that's just what I'm doing when I'm practicing by myself.

 

[ChivalRuse]

Wavedash out of shield isn't just used to punish laggy moves. It's also good for getting out of pressure (or out of shield) to retreat away from the opponent safely.