Is this what high level play is?

[BlueXenon]

Since I started playing the game nearly a year ago, I have always wondered what makes up high level play. I think I have the answer now. Please tell me if I am wrong or missing anything.

• Decision Making - High level players need to know their options in all situations that aren't neutral and have to try to pick the best option for each situation.
• Reads - Once you adapted to your opponent well enough, you can start to guess what their going to do and counter it. You can also make reads based on your opponents character or by completely guessing.
• Spacing - Using your moves with the hitboxes that are most favorable to you.
• Zoning - Setting up a "wall" of attacks to keep your opponent out.
• Mechanical Skill - The ability to do basic things like jump, short hop, dash...
• Technical Skill - The ability to perfect shield, tech, DI, platform cancel, and do character specific things (like ic's chaingrab).
• Neutral Stance - Winning in neutral stance is very important because it gives you the advantage.
• Resetting to Neutral - A player with the advantage can decide to go back to neutral if he is scared he can't keep his advantage and a player with a disadvantage can attempt to return to neutral instead of trying to go from disadvantage to advantage.
• Stage Control - The player with a better position on stage has stage control.
• Recovering - Getting back on stage or to the ledge with out getting hit.
• Edge guarding - Preventing your opponent from recovering.
• Ledge guarding - Trying to punish your opponents attempts from getting back on stage from the ledge.
• Juggling - Trying to keep your opponent in the air by hitting them with frame traps, direct attacks, or baiting.
• Character Match ups - Knowing your options, how to edge guard (if possible), how to play neutral stance, character specific things (weaknesses and strengths) , and knowing what you need to avoid (chaingrabs) and how you are going to avoid it.
• Strategy - Deciding how you are mainly going to play an opponent.
• Punishing - In high level play, you need to punish your opponent whenever you have the chance. Otherwise you might lose the match.
• Adjusting - Once you know what your opponents habits are or what their stategy is, you need to find ways to counter it or punish it.
• Conditioning - Making your opponent think you have a habit by doing the same thing in the same place multiple times, but then doing something else.
• Mindgames - Doing something different than what your opponent expects you to do to get a hit or a positional advantage.

 

[Luigimitsu]

Mindgames - basically decision making/reads, but more to do with what you do and whether or not they will see it coming. When you throw out an attack will they react to it and avoid it with a shield or an air dodge? When someone stands there shielding you can either grab them or try to hit them when they remove the shield, which is just down to timing your actions. When they are above you, If they think you're going to jump up and hit them they will air dodge, so sometimes you should do it then other times you should wait and punish the air dodge, or they might go for an aerial which you might be able to punish safely, usually people try to make it hard for you to read where they are going to land.

Mix ups - Don't always do the same thing, be creative and mix up those attacks/options. Top level players are always harder to predict, but then you have conditioning/option covering:
http://youtu.be/BW53Vxsv9y4

It helps to learn when you can do something safely and think about what the other player might do in reaction. Sometimes using an attack is your safest option, for example when recovering, or from the ledge when people want to try and hit you do a retreating aerial, the ledge is your safe zone .

 

[TreK]

The flowchart I used to teach my friend Brawl goes like this :

Skills you need to win, from easiest to hardest to obtain :
-Knowledge <=> Knowing what buttons do : frame data and hitbox data, understanding of the mechanics
-Hand-Eye coordination <=> Pressing buttons : reflexes, technical ability, technical consistency
-Experience <=> Knowing what buttons your opponent will likely press : matchup/metagame knowledge, stage knowledge, situational awareness, strategical awareness
-Decision making <=> Knowing what buttons to press : spacing/zoning, adaptation, mix ups, conditioning, mindset consistency, and probably a lot more stuff I'm not skilled enough to know about.

Your definitions for spacing, zoning and match ups seem to be incomplete, btw. I suggest you read a few articles from this board's stickies.