good tourny. thanks to level up live, team oxy, sung, arian, and anyone else who helped TO (i sure as hell didn't!)
shoutouts:
rc: thanks a bunch for the ride! you always have a smile on your face, dude.
your play style reminds me of tofu in how you utilize the top platform, abusing falco's vertical dominance over every other character. the only reason i beat you is because i started rolling out of your shield pressure every time and you didn't adjust
jake: didnt get to see many of your matches or play with you much, but it's always better having you around
studmuffin: sheik fits you! socal really is becoming the land of sheiks. it's an adjustment going from "good player in friendlies" to "good player in tournaments," but keep playing rob and you'll adjust in no time. your drive to improve is obvious; i enjoyed how you kept bugging me for friendlies!
rob: at the moment you're definitely my no. 1 inspiration in my drive to improve. people try to discredit your style by saying you're just camping, but they have no idea what they're talking about.
the most important thing in the game is not getting hit. it is so much more important than anything else.
by proxy, this includes movement. that is where the metagame can be exploited. move better than your opponent and you'll get hit less than your opponent.
imo sheik has a certain psychological profile. she will not be in control with the approach, but like a ninja she can strike fear in your heart. she dances around, fishing for a grab or a gimp, and quite frankly she should commit to NOTHING but a grab or a gimp.
all other energy should be geared towards stifling approaches in such a manner that grant a grab (or tech chase) or a gimp, running around, threatening movement but only attacking to keep your opponent honest. get a lead, camp the ledge, and use the threat of camping the ledge as an approach. that is when sheik turns into a beast.
god i love sheik
nardis: we didn't play but looks like you have a decent marth
mike haze: how much you improved in just a couple of hours! a very patient dash dancy fox that fishes for grabs. hope you keep showing up and we play in tournament
alec: that was a fun set that helped me learn the matchup quite a bit.
the problem was you gave me way too much space to operate with. you respected me too much, so while coming into the set i had little confidence v jigglypuff, during the course of the set you allowed me to set the ground rules for the engagements and as a result i never felt pressured the unique way a zoning jigglypuff can make you feel.
you missing a rest at the end of g1 is, to me, just the material embodiment of that psychological state. in other words, it's a lot harder to consistently convert punishes under pressure when you're practicing avoidance in creating those situations in the first place.
i'm also glad i didn't cop out and go fox, whom i suspect you'd have more trouble with =P
bryan: you are the homie! i was blown away by your affability and overall chillness factor. and dude, your sheik is hella good! i dunno if you still have that spark for her, but it may be an avenue worth (re)exploring. also mad respect for always teaming with the same partner.
sergio: <333
boss: your fox was looking hella nice in those team friendlies. been a loooong time since we've played, dude. next time i see you i am rectifying that.
joey: you lived up to your word! i had no idea you had this in you. it really puts into perspective the depth and relativity of this game, dude.
"warming up." in the past i thought "warming up" was mostly a physical thing, but that was a naive point of view. it's psychological: the warming up of testing your talent against opponents, against expectations, of having a lead and playing from behind.
i tend to think of my skill as this static expression of being, but i had it all wrong: it's actually a dynamic force that is in part brought or willed out by my opponents.
you have such incredible talent/instincts honed from playing elite players regularly. i used to wonder why top players would (almost) always beat the same players, but occasionally go through some extremely close sets to do it. now i'm beginning to understand. i have more thoughts on this but i am rambling.
while i was playing you, i thought i wasn't playing particularly well, but watching the set, i was wrong. that was about as well as i was going to do. i just knew going in that my sheik v spacies game needs a lot of work, particularly with regards to approaching and tech chasing. i also need to re-master nair out of shield (which is what all those whiffed grabs were).
but those are just johns. you weren't playing close to your best and you still won decisively, so good ****.
i spotted weakness, though. i can tell you don't like sheik. the camping/shino stall was getting to you. when i get a lot better at that, as well as the aforementioned qualities, you best believe i'm going to give you a run for your money.
mccain: we have such awkward interactions, don't you think? maturity is funny.
i was looking through the stream and i was shocked by how good you are v fox. in my head i'm always like, "i would love to play mccain; beating him is a pick 'em." but i realize that has less to do with your own phenomenal skill and more to do with the fact that i just happen to be comfortable versus your style.
i still wanna money match with you with fox, though. it's a buck! and you're prob like 90% to win. what's up with people refusing my $1-2 mms?!
wes/johnny: what is this i don't even
hugo: you're mad good but i can take you
nardis/bardull: we didn't play but looks like you two have decent marfs
sung: hahaha, man, all your characters are so good! you're the most methodical, compartmentalized player this side of fly amanita. been a long time since we sat down and played a lot of friendlies. and i know you're the man who will gladly accept all my $1 mms. my sheik and fox v your sheik, marth and falco. sick **** on beating johnny!
jeremy amanita: what i respect most about your style is your stability, particularly since i know it's something you've struggled with immensely and probably still struggle with. i was content with how i played v you in tourny. that was an accurate representation of my ability: methodical but maybe a little too cautious. talented but not quite psychologically ready for the big boys.
it's a valuable direct contrast to how i play you in the comfort of your home, friendlies only we know about, vs in tourny, with all the world (tongue in cheek) watching.
i am closer to bridging that gap. we'll save more for another day!
arian: i'll preface this by saying you know i <3 you and all, and i don't mean to hurt your feelings, but you're still kind of a noob. i don't know why, either, because i never get to play you.
on one hand you confuse me because you go to a bunch of tournies and are super dedicated to the community. on the other hand, vis a vis your dedication, your skill is, in comparison, way behind. it's awkward bringing this up because it's not to give the impression the quality of your character is determined by skill, or lack thereof.
do you believe in yourself? that you can be not just good, but great? you cheer a ton for your oxy boys, but i wonder if it's displacement or vicarious living, too. (and, tbh, while as a whole i enjoy your commentary a great deal, your unfiltered bias for team oxy is imo unprofessional at best and a discredit to their opponent at worse)
anywho i just think it's odd you so willingly pass up a once-in-a-lifetime chance for incredible socal practice for commentating ALL day. i mean, i LOVE commentating, but i love improving more!
albert: fuuuu i really wanna play you. in tournament i'll go sheik but i bet my fox can take you too. money match me! good **** on beating lucky
this game is just amazing. what keeps me coming back?
in one sense this game is a vacation. it's a psychological trip to the netherworld. in objective terms, think about what we just did: we sat down and, obsessively and compulsively, sparred with each other, kung-fu style, for 8-12 consecutive hours.
gone to the outside world. i did not check or care about my phone or e-mail, did not think about anything other than the nuances of improvement.
through the tool of technology we materialize our psyche and make manifest our inner perceptions, desires and priorities through the timeless masculine appeal of combat. may we one day eventually realize -- not just
know, but transmute knowledge into wisdom -- we are only competing with ourselves.
man cannot
not communicate. i understand everyone i play so much more intimately than i could ever understand just by talking to you. intangibles are communicated through our casuals.
i think that's why it's so difficult to talk about anything non-smash related when we're just hanging out. we've just experienced and shared parts of our souls to each other. what can words hope to communicate in comparison?
![Эикельманн [РУС]](/data/avatars/l/153/153661.jpg?1415225120){kind=avatar}
