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Alabama Thread! (10/26/2016 update)

Dusta_Rhymes

Dusta_Rhymes

Smash Cadet
Joined
Dec 31, 2015
Messages
34
Location
Alabama
3DS FC
1392-8248-1307
Oh there's a video game tournament but it's not specifically for smash or run by any weekly club or organization. Other than that , there's nothing here
 
Dusta_Rhymes

Dusta_Rhymes

Smash Cadet
Joined
Dec 31, 2015
Messages
34
Location
Alabama
3DS FC
1392-8248-1307
Well, if I started an org here would you guys consider coming? I'm trying to gauge how many people would actually attend something like this. I figure it could be like an alternative to the UAB scene for people that are too far out
 
Combo Wombo

Combo Wombo

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Jun 16, 2016
Messages
82
NNID
jack_childree
3DS FC
1934-1187-4703
Yo found this thread and just saying I'm down for something bigger in al
 
Dusta_Rhymes

Dusta_Rhymes

Smash Cadet
Joined
Dec 31, 2015
Messages
34
Location
Alabama
3DS FC
1392-8248-1307
Mahgnittoc said:
I'm not going to Cullman because I enjoy being alive. Maybe if my skintone was different if be down.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's a pretty big pain in the ass. However, the campus at Hanceville has a fair amount of PoC and on campus, they're much more tolerant than Cullman itself. I could understand why you wouldn't want to come, though. Really sorry about that :(
 
Keet

Keet

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Mar 19, 2015
Messages
277
Location
Birmingham, Al
Dusta_Rhymes said:
Yeah, that's a pretty big pain in the ***. However, the campus at Hanceville has a fair amount of PoC and on campus, they're much more tolerant than Cullman itself. I could understand why you wouldn't want to come, though. Really sorry about that :(
Click to expand...
wait wtf, this actually a concern?
 
Dusta_Rhymes

Dusta_Rhymes

Smash Cadet
Joined
Dec 31, 2015
Messages
34
Location
Alabama
3DS FC
1392-8248-1307
Keet said:
wait wtf, this actually a concern?
Click to expand...
I just moved here, and I haven't seen anything first hand, but there are not very many PoC here, and most of what I know is just hearsay. I haven't seen any racism first-hand up here. On campus for sure isn't bad though. Cullman might be pretty different.
 
Tr4n

Tr4n

Smash Cadet
Joined
Nov 15, 2015
Messages
69
Dude, all of you need to go to sleep... doors open for MCS in 8 hours! Get your beauty rest
 
Keet

Keet

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Mar 19, 2015
Messages
277
Location
Birmingham, Al
I like the direction the Smash 4 scene in this state is headed.

First time since I've been playing that I feel like we are all improving as a scene.
 
Possom

Possom

Smash Cadet
Joined
Sep 6, 2016
Messages
60
Keet said:
I like the direction the Smash 4 scene in this state is headed.

First time since I've been playing that I feel like we are all improving as a scene.
Click to expand...
I really am jealous of you guys. I have a couple of guys to play with down here but no one actually better than me and that makes it difficult to improve. You guys have so many tournaments to attend to and I'm down here in 10 man locals.
 
100AngryTurtles

100AngryTurtles

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Sep 22, 2015
Messages
191
Location
Birmingham, Alabama
NNID
AngryTurtles
You need to drive
Possom said:
I really am jealous of you guys. I have a couple of guys to play with down here but no one actually better than me and that makes it difficult to improve. You guys have so many tournaments to attend to and I'm down here in 10 man locals.
Click to expand...
Drive out to birmingham tournaments more often
 
Keet

Keet

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Mar 19, 2015
Messages
277
Location
Birmingham, Al
You don't need to play people better than you to improve. Sure, it helps, probably a whole lot. But it's by no means necessary.

The first step to improving is making the conscious decision that you want to actually get better at the game. This is not synonymous to playing the game more if you are just mindlessly playing the same character you always have been.

If you are a relatively experienced played at the game, then the best way to improve is to practice being mindful while you play.

At any moment (and hopefully eventually every moment) during a game you should be able to mentally pause, analyze your current situation, notice what you're doing wrong and adjust. That's probably 80% of what makes a player good. Seriously. I see so many new players with refined tech skill, great fundamentals, and a strong understanding of matchups that don't do well in tournament simply because they are not playing mindfully.

Almost nobody does this perfectly, and at a super high level you have to constantly re analyze and adjust your play style because your opponent is doing the same. I know that I struggle with this immensely as well, and I think it is, along with the majority of the state, the weakest part of my game.

So how do you improve at this?

Take baby steps. Do one thing and see how your opponent reacts to it. Play like you always do, except keep your opponents reaction to that one thing in mind.... and when you find yourself in a position where that one thing you did is a smart move, predict there reaction. Even if you don't know how to punish that reaction, just watch it happen. Take it slow. As you get better at predicting what your opponent does to that on action, try to notice patterns in how they react to other options you may choose. Is your opponent spot dodging when you go in for a grab? Pivot grab. Are you getting punished for unsafe options on shield? Space your attack better, or reset neutral as opposed to going in. Is your opponent constantly shielding on platforms? try going for a tomahawk. These are extremely basic examples but obviously there are dozens of unique actions and reactions based on the characters in the match.

The point is, TAKE IT SLOW. Played 10 games against the same person and still can't predict how they're going to react to that one thing you do? Then it looks like you've found your problem! Don't stop, keep trying because EVENTUALLY you will be able to predict there reaction, even if it is far in the future. The point is you are practicing being mindful in game.

This is coming from a guy that outside of tournaments has very little opportunity to play Smash at all. Spend time going over matches you lost. Chances are, you will probably very quickly notice QUITE a few things you did wrong. Learn from these. Next time you are playing in tournament make sure to take moments in game to ask yourself if you are making any of the same mistakes you have in the past. It's so easy to get caught in the moment during a match and start playing totally reactionary with little thought put into you or your opponent's actions.

Don't just evaluate your own matches, but watch other's matches and note things they could improve on. Just train yourself to be able to recognize bad play and know how that player could do better with actual, concrete ideas and options.

And most of all, don't get hit.
 
Last edited:
Possom

Possom

Smash Cadet
Joined
Sep 6, 2016
Messages
60
Hey thanks for the write up. You're right, not being able to play better players doesn't mean I can't improve. It is no excuse, look at PPMD he became one of the best in the world playing in a region that wasn't really that good. I am working hard to get better even though most of that time is spent alone.

I have met loads of the people you mentioned that have all that game knowledge (MU's tech skill etc.) but can't actually play their opponent and adapt. I like to think I am not one of those people but I certainly know what you mean by that.
 
Doc_Pickle

Doc_Pickle

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Sep 3, 2015
Messages
110
Abadango Saga is happening while Bham Brawl is going on. Who wants to be a hero and setup a stream so we can watch it?
 
Keet

Keet

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Mar 19, 2015
Messages
277
Location
Birmingham, Al
Possom said:
Hey thanks for the write up. You're right, not being able to play better players doesn't mean I can't improve. It is no excuse, look at PPMD he became one of the best in the world playing in a region that wasn't really that good. I am working hard to get better even though most of that time is spent alone.

I have met loads of the people you mentioned that have all that game knowledge (MU's tech skill etc.) but can't actually play their opponent and adapt. I like to think I am not one of those people but I certainly know what you mean by that.
Click to expand...
I'm definitely not singling you out, but my point is that I don't think anyone in AL is nearly as good as they could be because of this. I'm not saying the no name players in our scene suffer from this, I'm saying all of us do. In smash 4 this aspect of the game is just much more important than in games like melee where you can just force your will onto your opponent using raw ability. Smash 4 is more of a conversation.

I've just had this view for awhile and felt the need to share it through a post fr.
 
Possom

Possom

Smash Cadet
Joined
Sep 6, 2016
Messages
60
Keet said:
I'm definitely not singling you out, but my point is that I don't think anyone in AL is nearly as good as they could be because of this. I'm not saying the no name players in our scene suffer from this, I'm saying all of us do. In smash 4 this aspect of the game is just much more important than in games like melee where you can just force your will onto your opponent using raw ability. Smash 4 is more of a conversation.

I've just had this view for awhile and felt the need to share it through a post fr.
Click to expand...
Eh don't worry about it. I go on long verbal rants to the scene down here in the Wiregrass all the time about how we all need to improve. There are some down here that are really talented but are held back by a bad mindset or improving in the wrong direction. I'm sure you see the same thing up there and have been wanting to say that for a while.

To give you an idea of how scrubby the scene is here, I have had my wins discredited because I was playing DK. They don't think he is a fair character. Same thing when I played Diddy/Falcon.
 
Possom

Possom

Smash Cadet
Joined
Sep 6, 2016
Messages
60
Keet said:
lmao wut....
Click to expand...
Don't you know? DK vs ZSS, Fox, Pika, and Rosa are all unfair MU's. They are finally starting to get over it. I had won every tourney around here for a few months so I think people were just salty.
 
Wundermittens

Wundermittens

UAB Smash Club VP
Joined
Oct 11, 2015
Messages
175
Location
South Birmingham
NNID
Panionator
Keet said:
You don't need to play people better than you to improve. Sure, it helps, probably a whole lot. But it's by no means necessary.

The first step to improving is making the conscious decision that you want to actually get better at the game. This is not synonymous to playing the game more if you are just mindlessly playing the same character you always have been.

If you are a relatively experienced played at the game, then the best way to improve is to practice being mindful while you play.

At any moment (and hopefully eventually every moment) during a game you should be able to mentally pause, analyze your current situation, notice what you're doing wrong and adjust. That's probably 80% of what makes a player good. Seriously. I see so many new players with refined tech skill, great fundamentals, and a strong understanding of matchups that don't do well in tournament simply because they are not playing mindfully.

Almost nobody does this perfectly, and at a super high level you have to constantly re analyze and adjust your play style because your opponent is doing the same. I know that I struggle with this immensely as well, and I think it is, along with the majority of the state, the weakest part of my game.

So how do you improve at this?

Take baby steps. Do one thing and see how your opponent reacts to it. Play like you always do, except keep your opponents reaction to that one thing in mind.... and when you find yourself in a position where that one thing you did is a smart move, predict there reaction. Even if you don't know how to punish that reaction, just watch it happen. Take it slow. As you get better at predicting what your opponent does to that on action, try to notice patterns in how they react to other options you may choose. Is your opponent spot dodging when you go in for a grab? Pivot grab. Are you getting punished for unsafe options on shield? Space your attack better, or reset neutral as opposed to going in. Is your opponent constantly shielding on platforms? try going for a tomahawk. These are extremely basic examples but obviously there are dozens of unique actions and reactions based on the characters in the match.

The point is, TAKE IT SLOW. Played 10 games against the same person and still can't predict how they're going to react to that one thing you do? Then it looks like you've found your problem! Don't stop, keep trying because EVENTUALLY you will be able to predict there reaction, even if it is far in the future. The point is you are practicing being mindful in game.

This is coming from a guy that outside of tournaments has very little opportunity to play Smash at all. Spend time going over matches you lost. Chances are, you will probably very quickly notice QUITE a few things you did wrong. Learn from these. Next time you are playing in tournament make sure to take moments in game to ask yourself if you are making any of the same mistakes you have in the past. It's so easy to get caught in the moment during a match and start playing totally reactionary with little thought put into you or your opponent's actions.

Don't just evaluate your own matches, but watch other's matches and note things they could improve on. Just train yourself to be able to recognize bad play and know how that player could do better with actual, concrete ideas and options.

And most of all, don't get hit.
Click to expand...
You spelled their wrong...
 
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