Best way to practice defensive play?

[Duck SMASH!]

I just don't know how to train my defensive play.
I'm good on offense, tech chasing, edge guarding to a limited extent, and being aware of what attacks to throw out when.
But my defensive play is terrible.
I always roll or hold shield for too long, resulting in a grab.
I can't spot dodge for life. I also cannot power shield. In both cases I panic and shield/dodge too early. Or too late when I calm down.
And I usually get hit a few times before I air dodge someone at the right time.

What do I do? It's a big issue preventing me from advancing my play...

 

[Deleted member 269706]

I think the biggest thing you need to work on is reads. I too struggle with the things you say (especially spot dodging). The trick to reads is figuring out what approaches your opponent is using, and find a way to counter it in a way that you will be able to react and punish ASAP. I think another huge aspect is spacing. Practice keeping yourself distanced from your opponent in a way that their attacks will not reach you. I'd encourage you to do two things in order to get better:

1. Watch players using the same characters as you, and study how they react in situations. Then, when you are in those situations, do the same thing that they did. You'll see a lot of the same techniques being used by several different players, the reason that everyone uses them is because they work. Don't be afraid to copy, it's necessary to improve.

2. The other thing you should do is save replays of your playing, both when you win and when you lose. Don't save too many, but save the good matches, and take them apart piece by piece to figure out where you need to improve. For example "instead of rolling, I should have spot dodged" or "A Bair would've worked better than a Uair right there." Self criticism will help you improve.

I main Falcon and Ike, so I've been learning a lot about proper spacing. It's hard to play against projectile based characters with Ike and Falcon because they're up close characters, but you do learn how to space yourself with them. When I play Ike, I do my best to hit with the end of my sword rather than the base as it allows you to evade situations sooner. With Falcon, I focus on hit and run tactics.

Lastly, as far as spot dodging goes, I think the trick is to use it like a roll, but staying in place instead. Like, if you're trying to dodge an attack, and you normally roll, try spot dodging instead. For power shielding, just be trigger happy and throw out a lot of shields when you think your opponent is up to something. I can't offer too much more advice than that, but I hope it was helpful. Best of luck!

 

[Duck SMASH!]

I think the biggest thing you need to work on is reads. I too struggle with the things you say (especially spot dodging). The trick to reads is figuring out what approaches your opponent is using, and find a way to counter it in a way that you will be able to react and punish ASAP. I think another huge aspect is spacing. Practice keeping yourself distanced from your opponent in a way that their attacks will not reach you. I'd encourage you to do two things in order to get better:

1. Watch players using the same characters as you, and study how they react in situations. Then, when you are in those situations, do the same thing that they did. You'll see a lot of the same techniques being used by several different players, the reason that everyone uses them is because they work. Don't be afraid to copy, it's necessary to improve.

2. The other thing you should do is save replays of your playing, both when you win and when you lose. Don't save too many, but save the good matches, and take them apart piece by piece to figure out where you need to improve. For example "instead of rolling, I should have spot dodged" or "A Bair would've worked better than a Uair right there." Self criticism will help you improve.

I main Falcon and Ike, so I've been learning a lot about proper spacing. It's hard to play against projectile based characters with Ike and Falcon because they're up close characters, but you do learn how to space yourself with them. When I play Ike, I do my best to hit with the end of my sword rather than the base as it allows you to evade situations sooner. With Falcon, I focus on hit and run tactics.

Lastly, as far as spot dodging goes, I think the trick is to use it like a roll, but staying in place instead. Like, if you're trying to dodge an attack, and you normally roll, try spot dodging instead. For power shielding, just be trigger happy and throw out a lot of shields when you think your opponent is up to something. I can't offer too much more advice than that, but I hope it was helpful. Best of luck!

Thanks for the tips man. Really helps.
Reads are something I subconsciously do. I don't really think about whether someone will do something. But I do pre-emptively throw out a hitbox just in case.
One example of where my lack of reading causes problems is against a good Falcon.
I main him myself, and I know how a falcon would think (for 90% of the FG scrubs it's a bunch of HOO HAHs), but I don't react fast enough, or I get punished if I act too early. If I shield for a dash attack, I tend to get dash grabbed. If I throw out my jab to beat a grab, I get dash attacked. If I jump and try to SH an aerial, I get Uair'd. T_T
This is an extreme example, but you get the idea...

I have plenty of replays of my matches. However, some of them are of course more useful than others. Whenever I get badly beaten knowing I put my best effort in, I save the replay and analyze it, or if I see techniques I can apply to one of my mains.
It does show me what I'm doing wrong but I don't always have a solution...

I tend to roll early, predicting an attack, so I can exploit the endlag. This is why I cannot treat spot dodges like rolls because I instinctively move, but the timing needs to be more precise for spot dodging.
As I mentioned earlier, I tend to shield too much... a lot of the players that beat me tend to grab a lot - it indicates I'm shielding way too much and making myself a sitting duck...

 

[Deleted member 269706]

Subconscious reading is one thing, but full on conscious reads are something else you'll want to work on. Like "he likes to airdodge immediately after I throw him, so I'll buffer this attack." or "this guy tends to spot dodge when I run at him, so I'll do a pivot grab." Stuff like that. Reading is just as defensive as it is offensive, so don't get caught up in throwing out hitboxes, as there are several other types of reads. I also personally utilize the idea of faking my opponent out. Dash at them, roll back as you get close, see how they react. Later in the match, do the same thing and chances are they will have a very similar reaction, so now you know how to punish them.

And I'm very similar in terms of rolls and spot dodges, I do find spot dodging much more difficult, and I'm in the habit of moving instinctively just the same as you. But that doesn't stop me from trying. Sometimes when an opponent and I are stuck right next to each other, I will randomly throw out a spot dodge for the sake of seeing what will happen. Half the time it works, half the time I get punished. But that's how you learned how to do everything, right? There was a time where you always got spiked when coming back on stage, or where you ended up gimping yourself trying to KO the opponent off stage. Just like everything else, you can't be good before you're bad. When going against the scrubs of FG, mess around with spot dodges, try and limit yourself to using no defensive means but that (unless otherwise necessary). And whatever you find works, take into the more serious games. Whatever doesn't work should be left behind.