Outgrowing your Practice Partner

[VegiLohrd]

So my buddy and I picked up the game at the same time and over the last two months I've really enjoyed playing and practicing with him. But over the last month I've noticed that frankly I've just improved so much more than him, so much so that whenever we play I'm constantly 2 and 3 stocking him like its nothing. He's gets so frustrated that he'll actually just throw the controller down and stop playing after just a half hour. I've found that some games I'll actually lose on purpose just so he keeps playing with me.

So the question arises: Do I keep playing with him, or am I better off striking out on my own and practicing solo?

 

[Sempai]

So my buddy and I picked up the game at the same time and over the last two months I've really enjoyed playing and practicing with him. But over the last month I've noticed that frankly I've just improved so much more than him, so much so that whenever we play I'm constantly 2 and 3 stocking him like its nothing. He's gets so frustrated that he'll actually just throw the controller down and stop playing after just a half hour. I've found that some games I'll actually lose on purpose just so he keeps playing with me.

So the question arises: Do I keep playing with him, or am I better off striking out on my own and practicing solo?

Find people better then you and play them. Or you will beat your friend so many times they will never play you. At least if you find someone else you get better practice and maybe get your friend inspiration as well

 

[rawrimamonster]

That depends on your own personal skill level, what characters you both use and what you're actually doing to motivate him. If you're still both relatively low skill level I suggest looking up tutorial videos for basics that he might have missed or might not be considering. When you have a practice partner it's best to hold onto that, because when you practice with CPU's solo you're only gonna stale your gameplay and develop bad habits.

 

[VegiLohrd]

That depends on your own personal skill level, what characters you both use and what you're actually doing to motivate him. If you're still both relatively low skill level I suggest looking up tutorial videos for basics that he might have missed or might not be considering. When you have a practice partner it's best to hold onto that, because when you practice with CPU's solo you're only gonna stale your gameplay and develop bad habits.

He plays Falco/Marth and I main Ganondorf. He says he knows of whats possible and what to do but he doesn't have the technical skill to do it.

 

[rawrimamonster]

He plays Falco/Marth and I main Ganondorf. He says he knows of whats possible and what to do but he doesn't have the technical skill to do it.

Well that means he needs to apply himself and get better.

 

[VegiLohrd]

Well that means he needs to apply himself and get better.

And lets assume he doesn't apply himself nearly as much as me

 

[K.Louis]

Most high/top level players train and practice in areas where they're by far the best in their region. It helps but you don't necessarily need someone as good or better than you to get better.

 

[PiBs]

Your friends characters are more technically demanding at high levels than yours; so it may take him a bit longer.

 

[Xyzz]

Regarding the "I know what to do, I just don't have the technical skill for it"-line: That's usually not addressing the issue. Sure, it is possible (especially as Falco) to solve many problems by throwing more techskill at them, but applying more brainpower works just as well. At least for the neutral position. In case of combos, yeah, some require a degree of technical ability to perform what pops up in ones mind. On the other hand, there's usually just as strong follow ups without using overly technical options; and well, as Marth it's not necessary to combo much at all. There's always just getting the opponent in a bad situation (the general airspace above you) and then abusing that to get more hits.

Regarding practice partners: The better your competition, the faster you'll learn, no doubt about it. It's not necessary, though. E.g. Armada used to (or "is"?) be better than pretty much anybody in the world, without having access to Mango or other players in the top5 a lot.
I wouldn't really want to practice with somebody who gets mad about losing, though.

 

[DerfMidWest]

I used to be in your friend's position. It sucked donkey ****. Things didn't change until I started sitting down every day and grinding techskill out.
He might also want to try switching mains. A lot of times, people just don't "click" with the characters that they start out with.

 

[EPsilon933]

If the anger problems don't seem nice anymore, you're better off not playing with him anymore

Players improve faster when they play against opponents better than him. He'll learn faster if you constantly give it your all and he can take it

Strategy > ability. Is he making stupid decisions? He needs to be aware of developing patterns and finding patterns in opponents. He needs to know what actions are good against other actions

If that fails, you could play Street Fighter (3 3rd Strike) online to help teach you prediction

 

[ZaXXoR]

tell your friend to stop johnning or quit smash, in the meantime read up on practicing alone and try and get some good competition

I find its best not to give advice when people are being pricks about it so just kick their asses and let them be mad

 

[Waverider900]

If I get to the point where I'm consistently 3 stocking my main training partner (which happens quite often. I main CF and he mains Doc), I usually either try to start practicing some new tech, which makes me worse again for a bit. Or I practice my secondary. But yeah I agree with what Meds said as well, although it wouldn't hurt to encourage him instead of just treating him like a little ***** lol

 

[Tails_Glados_Puff]

This happens often with me. In the end, you have to realize that it's very unlikly you will be increasing at the same rate. Meet new people, don't be shy.

 

[SAUS]

This happens often with me. In the end, you have to realize that it's very unlikly you will be increasing at the same rate. Meet new people, don't be shy.

This is also important because you and your training partner should be able to be happy about each other's progress. When you go to a smash fest with your buddy and you cheer each other on and talk strategy with each other, you both get really good, really fast. It's good to have a rival that is also your friend. When that happens, you want to beat each other so you both try really hard to do so all the time, but then when it comes to tournament day, you're on a team and it is awesome. That "you got this" from that one guy is so powerful you have no idea.

 

[Massive]

So the question arises: Do I keep playing with him, or am I better off striking out on my own and practicing solo?

Playing someone is better than playing no one (unless they're worse/more predictable than a CPU), but keep in mind that you will eventually stop improving entirely if they're the only person you play against.

 

[-ShadowPhoenix-]

Both falco and marth tech is not really demanding at all. Obviously falco has some crazy stuff, but the basic tech skill is super easy to learn ( short hop lasering, pillaring, etc).
I will usually rotate characters if the person I'm playing can't beat my fox in 5-6 games straight. I don't know if this is beneficial to my opponents, but it enlarges my epeen.

 

[Bones0]

Honestly, a Ganon beating a Falco is kind of normal for practice partners that have only been playing for a couple months. Tell him to practice pillar combos and spam lasers and it should get you guys on more even ground. Ganon vs. Falco is a super volatile matchup, but it's only volatile for the Falco if he can't laser-trap and consistently death combo Ganon. He might also just be a scrub if he thinks he's above practicing tech skill, though.

You can tell if your friend is a scrub by comparing him to the stereotype depicted in this article:
http://www.sirlin.net/articles/playing-to-win-part-1.html