Mindgame Improvement

[Greasy_SSBM]

Hello all!

It's been quite awhile since I've posted on here. Anyways, I bring about an issue that has been addressed to me, and its that I seem to lack a strong mind-game when going into a set. I have been told that my tech skill is very good and that I should start to work on the thought process of the game (after all, tech skill is only half of the battle!). For about the past two months, I have been constantly watching my opponents instead of myself to improve my reading skill. I read a forum post long ago that stated that the hidden key to becoming great is always observing your opponent. Having read this almost 5 months ago, I put it off and focused on tech. I recently dug it up and started practicing, and oh boy is it paying off.

Here is where things get difficult-I get upset with myself very easily if I'm not performing as I think I ought to be. If I misinput a jump just as I'm about to Ken Combo somebody and instead SD because I was locked in dair, I beat myself up for it-and I've been told I beat myself up pretty hard. I assume the issue is because I always think I can be better than I already am, and that I need to prove myself to people. When playing, I also tend to be very serious (as it is just who I am) whether it be in friendlies or in a set, and I've been told this is bad (despite me being a very serious person, I assume I'm expected to try and force myself to be jolly all of the time when I am of the serious nature).

I always keep in my head that a friendly match is a learning experience and to not get too upset with myself if I perform poorly, and, as my friend says, at the end of the day, its just a game.

Anyways, I think I need tips on mindset and the mind-game aspect of Melee.

Thanks a ton guys,
Greasy

 

[Dark Byte]

It's fine to take the game seriously. Some players are expressionless the whole match as though they are playing poker. But as for getting frustrated and upset when you mess up, I personally think of each mess up as a future success. The hardest part of the battle is seeing an opportunity in front of you. If you mess up and kill yourself, it's fine because the next time you will know what you did wrong.

So If I am destroying my training partners but still "losing" because I killed myself as far as I'm concerned I won that game.

 

[Greasy_SSBM]

It's fine to take the game seriously. Some players are expressionless the whole match as though they are playing poker. But as for getting frustrated and upset when you mess up, I personally think of each mess up as a future success. The hardest part of the battle is seeing an opportunity in front of you. If you mess up and kill yourself, it's fine because the next time you will know what you did wrong.

So If I am destroying my training partners but still "losing" because I killed myself as far as I'm concerned I won that game.

This is a great way to look at it, and I'm going to keep this in my mind each and every time I mess up. Thanks for the insight!

 

[Ravengeance]

This is a problem a lot of people have. IDK how much of your "tech flubs" come from the pressure you feel in a match. Most of the pressure we face in match comes from what we allow ourselves to feel. We can't turn off our emotions but we can try to control them. My friend has very similar problems to what you describe. He gets visually angry if he makes a bad mistake and he's harder on himself than anyone else could ever be.
There's no simple solution but a couple friendly tips might be if a mistake costs you your stock take a moment to compose yourself. Don't just come out of the next stock guns blazing going full aggro or if it costs you the match instantly doing a salty runback. A composed opponent will take advantage of this. Only you can decide how much something bothers you. You can view each mistake as a chance to learn just remember that it's still just a game and also that the top pros and players all make mistakes every set they play too.

 

[Greasy_SSBM]

This is a problem a lot of people have. IDK how much of your "tech flubs" come from the pressure you feel in a match. Most of the pressure we face in match comes from what we allow ourselves to feel. We can't turn off our emotions but we can try to control them. My friend has very similar problems to what you describe. He gets visually angry if he makes a bad mistake and he's harder on himself than anyone else could ever be.
There's no simple solution but a couple friendly tips might be if a mistake costs you your stock take a moment to compose yourself. Don't just come out of the next stock guns blazing going full aggro or if it costs you the match instantly doing a salty runback. A composed opponent will take advantage of this. Only you can decide how much something bothers you. You can view each mistake as a chance to learn just remember that it's still just a game and also that the top pros and players all make mistakes every set they play too.

I appreciate the tips and feedback as it makes me feel better that I'm not the only one with these habits. I am slowly but surely taking steps to work on this and I won't forget the advice you've given me. Thanks a lot man!

 

[Dolla Pills]

Usually what I try to do is laugh it off, and then I keep it in mind so I can avoid it happening in the future. I think laughing it off helps you to be more comfortable which in turn will make you play less nervous and miss less things.

 

[Greasy_SSBM]

Usually what I try to do is laugh it off, and then I keep it in mind so I can avoid it happening in the future. I think laughing it off helps you to be more comfortable which in turn will make you play less nervous and miss less things.

Sometimes I do this, however I've been told it makes me come off as a jackass, so I don't really do it anymore. (Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't laugh obnoxiously, I'd laugh when I flubbed. For some reason this comes off bad to some people.....I don't know why.)