Dumb question...how can i practice by myself?

[Zedic!]

I recently picked up sheik, and unfortunately I have no one to play against atm.
I want to practice (about 45 minutes a day?) so when I have someone to play against I can at least have improved a bit.
I heard that practicing on level 4-5 cpus is a bad thing, and I want to know why and if this is true.
I play sheik and dr mario, and am really just a beginner with both of them; are there any techniques I need to use when playing with them?
All in all, I just want to know how to practice by myself and what i should be practicing...
ps. Is learning to laser hop (spacies) hard?

 

[Varist]

the billionth thread posted this week asking the exact same thing.

Practicing isn't bad against any CPU level, but some levels are more useful than others. Try 7 and 1.
There are tons of techniques you need to know with both those characters. Incorporate character-specific and general techs into them over time.
Practice tech skill, mild comboing. That's all you can effectively do.
It's not hard to shorthop laser with spacies.

 

[40secondz]

You might want to check the Regional Boards for people who live near you. I bet you could find tons of people to play with. They could probably tell you what techniques you should be using with each character.

Short Hop laser with Falco is pretty easy, and Fox is a bit harder to execute. Just lightly tap x or y to short hop, then press B to shoot out your laser.

 

[SSBMLahti]

http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=312313

No moar questions plebs/

 

[Sinji]

It's funny how 10 threads are created in one day

 

[EthereaL]

Perfect every aspect of your control of your character.

i.e. Tech skill

 

[CableCho57]

isnt it a good thing threads like this are created??

that means NEW players!

 

[VGmasta]

I'm glad to see the melee smash community is bringing in new people. I've been seeing quite a few of these "How to practice" threads being created in just the past few days.

The laser hopping with the spacies is fairly easily as long as you can control your hops. Just get use to hopping (shorthopping and fullhopping) with Falco or Fox. Once you grasp good control of your hops, try lasering in between leaving the ground and landing on the ground. The best thing is that the lasers will auto-cancel as you land (meaning you don't even have to L-cancel the lasers).

As for using Doc, you could learn a lot from here:
DOC BOARDS

The wavedash is really important. At the very least, check out this thread: "Not to be Taken Orally" Doc Guide by Cyphus *Plus tutorial vid by SmashMac*

 

[Sinji]

Get a good feel of your controller before you stick it in the port and play the game.

 

[Mr.Jackpot]

That isn't a dumb question at all, I played competitively for 6 months before finally finding a training partner and a little bit longer before my first tournament. The first thing you should try to learn the basic advanced techniques likes SHFFL'ing and wavedashing, both of which are really useful for Doc and Shiek. Practicing on level4-5's isn't bad as long as you don't treat them like real people. Try to replace almost all of your backwards rolling with backwards wavedashs and don't shield roll around in general.

 

[Planet Piss]

The level of the cpu determines the computer's ability to DI and respond to your attacks. Fighting lvl 9s is, for the most part, useless because they continuously DI straight up and nair you out of your combos. Instead, pick a lower level cpu and set the match to unlimited time. Don't memorize any combos or movements (because a human player will no doubt react differently; don't think that by having the ability to repeatedly gimp lvl 1 Fox, you have become M2K.

-practice consistency. 0-death the computer as many times in a row as possible with as many different move variations as possible.
-don't forget about the approach. The more you practice against a computer, the more you will begin to accidentally treat your real opponents like computers. When practicing, pretend that your opponent is a human and dash/wd/wl/pc,shffl all over the place, just to get in the habit of spacing against an opponent that doesn't inhibit your movements by walking slowly towards your edge of the map and jabbing you incessantly. You don't have to, but punish yourself by SDing every time you do something punishable. If you can start to catch yourself making mistakes, you don't have to wait for someone to show you that you can't l-cancel your dairs.
-practice a lot. If you want to get better you're going to have to practice more than 45 minutes a day. Maybe not, but it's like learning a musical instrument. Just be sure to have at least one sparring buddy on whom you may practie your combos.
-try to stick with one or two characters.
-watch Youtube matches frequently and with discernment. See Mango do something cool? Learn it. If you see someone do something that you cannot, practice it until you can do it better. Sometimes you'll get stuck on learning one specific technique for hours at a time, but if you're not trying to expand your tech skill when you're playing by yourself then you're doing something wrong.
-turn the lights off

'S all I really got.

 

[Planet Piss]

The level of the cpu determines the computer's ability to DI and respond to your attacks. Fighting lvl 9s is, for the most part, useless because they continuously DI straight up and nair you out of your combos. Instead, pick a lower level cpu and set the match to unlimited time. Don't memorize any combos or movements (because a human player will no doubt react differently; don't think that by having the ability to repeatedly gimp lvl 1 Fox, you have become M2K.

-practice consistency. 0-death the computer as many times in a row as possible with as many different move variations as possible.
-don't forget about the approach. The more you practice against a computer, the more you will begin to accidentally treat your real opponents like computers. When practicing, pretend that your opponent is a human and dash/wd/wl/pc,shffl all over the place, just to get in the habit of spacing against an opponent that doesn't inhibit your movements by walking slowly towards your edge of the map and jabbing you incessantly. You don't have to, but punish yourself by SDing every time you do something punishable. If you can start to catch yourself making mistakes, you don't have to wait for someone to show you that you can't l-cancel your dairs.
-practice a lot. If you want to get better you're going to have to practice more than 45 minutes a day. Maybe not, but it's like learning a musical instrument. Just be sure to have at least one sparring buddy on whom you may practie your combos.
-try to stick with one or two characters.
-watch Youtube matches frequently and with discernment. See Mango do something cool? Learn it. If you see someone do something that you cannot, practice it until you can do it better. Sometimes you'll get stuck on learning one specific technique for hours at a time, but if you're not trying to expand your tech skill when you're playing by yourself then you're doing something wrong.
-turn the lights off

'S all I really got.