how to be the best

[TaFoKiNtS]

Breaks are good and I've been noticing fatigue around the 2-3 hr mark. I'm still amazed at some of the younger players that can maintain a high level of play and mental acuity after hours of play.

Then again, the drop off might be less significant depending on the person.

 

[NintendoKing]

3 hours is more along the lines of 2 hours and 15 minutes thanks to the 15 minute breaks. Breaks are where it's at. Stops your mind from going into autopilot.

I like to review what I've done as well so that the next time I play I remember what problems I had so I can work on them the next time I feel like playing. I never practice to perfect one technique though. I always practice to become proficient with techniques, then once I feel I have a good understanding for whatever I'm trying, I move on to something else.

After I've worked on quite a few things, I tend to go through an accumulative review process where I practice all the techniques I've been learning so that I can build a strong understanding of what techniques work well with each other and which ones don't. The other benefit of the accumulative review is it allows myself to increase my consistency with all those techniques.

Unfortunately when tourney time comes, my nerves get the best of me and I forget how to play LOL.

 

[DanteFox]

On the other hand....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Parker#Early_career

In the late thirties Parker began to practice diligently. During this period he mastered improvisation and developed some of the ideas that led to bebop. In an interview with Paul Desmond, he said that he spent 3–4 years practicing up to 15 hours a day

That's how you become the best of all time.

 

[TheZhuKeeper]

Your posts always have some relevance to me.

Keep writing because you'll always have at least one reader.

Thanks for doing everyone a good service.

 

[NintendoKing]

On the other hand....



That's how you become the best of all time.

I hope this is a joke.

This more sounds like you're trying to disprove what I said by using my example of practicing music completely out of context. I'm sorry my music example wasn't 100% bullet proof. In fact, I'll disprove you disproving me.

Charlie Parker never had to roll through a saxophone tournament battling other saxophonists. Playing music can be done solo or with other people. When a musician plays improv with other musicians, they are on the same page, understand where the music should go together, and try their best to express their feelings through there instruments.

Melee involves out thinking the other opponent and not just relying on technical skill to win. Silent Wolf would be an amazing example of this. There is no working together (**** teams in this discussion), and you're not trying to express your feelings through your character.

My point was that in practicing music, I notice I learn more when I have more intent and focus. I'm not making melee my life, just a part of it. Charlie Parker made music his life. He ate, drank, slept, and **** music. So no wonder he could practice 15 hours a day for 3-4 years and be able to maintain that type of diligence. Not only that, but melee can't be practiced by yourself if you want to become the best. You can easily do that with music though.

I don't know of a single melee player that makes melee his whole ****ing life. So yeah, if you want to be the best, make melee your life and play everyone all the time for a billion hours a day. Good luck with that.

If you would like to take the title of this thread literally under the pretense that we're only discussing what theoretically makes a smasher the best, fine by me, but it's a little unrealistic.

Wow, you annoyed me with that tiny post. That's incredible. Congrats.

EDIT: **** your argument once more. In music, no one is the best. Silly.

 

[DanteFox]

The truth hurts Nintendo King. Greatness takes sacrifice.

And yes in music there certainly is "the best," philosophical technicalities be damned.

 

[Kira-]

Yea dude i honestly dont think you're gonna be the best practicing 2 hours and 15 mins a day

 

[NintendoKing]

The truth hurts Nintendo King. Greatness takes sacrifice.

And yes in music there certainly is "the best."

You don't anything about music then.

While you are correct in saying greatness takes sacrifice, that doesn't account for the fact that you took my example out of context. Once again, my point was intent and focus. Once again, theoretically, you would be correct. The type of practicing in music and melee is completely different.

Don't argue just for the sake of arguing. That's not what this thread is meant for if I know Adam's thinking. We're not lawyers here. I'm annoyed that you decided to argue my example but taking it out of context. It sounds like you just want to be acknowledged. I acknowledge your post, and don't completely disagree with it. Assuming that I was upset that you dropped truth on me is arrogant and presumptuous. I have no respect for someone who assumes they know anything more than anyone else. Disgusted.

EDIT: I'm not saying I'm trying to be the best. I'm just throwing out my opinion on practicing to be the best. If you can effectively practice for 8, 10, 15 hours a day, yeah you're gonna be great. Taking parts of my argument to disprove my post just shows you aren't in the conversation to promote the idea of being the best. Argument for the sake of argument is great if we're trying to go for this. I don't feel like that's what this thread is for. So ****ing annoying.

EDIT: One other thing. I disagreed with Adam merely due to the fact that everyone learns differently. Some people are ridiculously talented and can get by on a mediocre amount of practice. Others need to put their all into practicing and that's cool as well. SC players in Korea are known to be regimented at 8 hours a day and look how good all of them are. There was this amazing Canadian player that didn't do that though, didn't have the same amount of technical skill, but had his starter and mid game down well enough that by late game, he was able to remember everything that every single one of his buildings and units were doing and was able to utilize that ability to take games from even the koreans. Everyone is different and everyone learns differently.

 

[DanteFox]

Think about it. Everytime you play smash in tournament, when you play against a good player, there are instances where your fingers fail to execute a move and it costs you. These add up in a set and can cause your downfall. Woodshedding and grinding practice all but assures that this doesn't happen. Same applies to mindgames. The more you build up your mental game the less mental energy you have to expend to play at a high level. This goes for music too. When you're soloing on a 300 bpm rhythm changes, you don't have time to figure stuff out right then and there. You've be able to essentially hum with your fingers. You've gotta have it down cold. What's "cold"? One of my sax teachers once said "you gotta be able to wake up in the middle of the night and play it right then. That's all there is to it.

Just for the record I can't actually solo on rhythm changes at 300 bpm but that's the conclusion I've come to so far in my limited study of music.

 

[NintendoKing]

Think about it. Everytime you play smash in tournament, when you play against a good player, there are instances where your fingers fail to execute a move and it costs you. These add up in a set and can cause your downfall. Woodshedding and grinding practice all but assures that this doesn't happen. Same applies to mindgames. The more you build up your mental game the less mental energy you have to expend to play at a high level. This goes for music too. When you're soloing on a 300 bpm rhythm changes, you don't have time to figure stuff out right then and there. You've be able to essentially hum with your fingers. You've gotta have it down cold. What's "cold"? One of my sax teachers once said "you gotta be able to wake up in the middle of the night and play it right then. That's all there is to it.

On the tech skill and consistency side of things, I agree with you 100%. There does come a point where your unconscious takes over (props Adam) and your muscle memory and endurance allow you to perform your mindgames flawlessly. In terms of mindgames though, to be the best you need to go tournaments to figure out all the different mindgames out there. That's sheer exposure and as much exposure as you can get. You will not be able to get that exposure constantly every day. It's much more accumulative and can't be practiced every day unless you run theory in your head of what might happen, unfortunately you'll never know what the other player will do in your head, you can try to exhaust all possible outcomes but that's not the point of mindgames. Mindgames are meant to confuse your opponent by doing the unexpected. If you want to counter the unexpected, you have to be able to read the tactic used the first time it's used and not fall for it again. That is mere exposure and reaction, not amount of hours consistently practiced with tech skill. The two different aspects require two different styles of study.

EDIT: If I seemed hostile it was only because I felt like I wasn't understood. To discount what I said based on your own forgone thoughts and conclusions without considering what I was trying to convey is what upset me. Refer to Adam's buddah quote.

EDIT: Charlie Parker is amazing and inhuman. That is all.

 

[shadrach kabango]

I disagreed with Adam merely due to the fact that everyone learns differently.

Agreed.

There was this amazing Canadian player that didn't do that though, didn't have the same amount of technical skill, but had his starter and mid game down well enough that by late game, he was able to remember everything that every single one of his buildings and units were doing and was able to utilize that ability to take games from even the koreans.

Are you referring to Grrrr...?

Your posts always have some relevance to me.

Keep writing because you'll always have at least one reader.

Thanks for doing everyone a good service.

That means a lot. <3

 

[NintendoKing]

Agreed. Down here we (mostly) must abide by the law of duality.



Are you referring to Grrrr...?

I believe so, maybe. I do know he won a WCG years ago, but that's about it.

EDIT: I do not sit and think before I type and went back and read what I wrote. I did post a little egotistical statement by saying max 3 hours and 6 hours is too much and blah blah blah. I retract that in place of saying, "FOR ME, max 3 hours etc." My bad =/

 

[HyugaRicdeau]

I came across a candy called "Fagottini" in the market here in Dubrovnik today.

I figured this would be the best place to inform everyone.

 

[Kira-]

lololooooooololol hey that's offensive sheridan

wtf you're in Dubrovnik? That's awesome

 

[NintendoKing]

I came across a candy called "Fagottini" in the market here in Dubrovnik today.

I figured this would be the best place to inform everyone.

Thumbs up!

 

[shadrach kabango]

Pattern Recognition

When it comes down to it, this and reaction time make up the most important components of top-level play.

I can only tip my toe into this topic at present.

Here is my attempt to sum up pattern recognition into as few key concepts as possible:

Edge guarding

Stage control

First hit

These can be delineated into offensive and defensive categories.

Sub-concepts:

Edge guarding: ?

Stage control ---> movement --> angles of attack

First hit: ?

 

[baka4moé]

^ any chance you can elaborate on this? I like where this is going.

 

[shadrach kabango]

Right now I'm pretty much done with the game, and this time it feels permanent. I'll never say never, but I'm done until at least 2013. We'll see where life has taken me then.

I would suggest looking up Forward's old posts/his blog. Maybe someone else can run with this. Or not. Either way it was nice while it lasted.

 

[clowsui]

i'm a brawl player but i've heard you're one of the better teachers around. are you on AIM often? i'd like to learn from you =)