Movement help? I feel stuck in place.

[Dedgehog]

So I've been playing melee competitively for about 4 months now, and I feel have somewhat good tech skill. Obviously not the best, but I can wavedash, l cancel, short hop, waveshine (I play Falco), and all of that. When I practice on my own, I feel like my movement is on point. I can do all of my tech, and I can fly across the screen. However, against other people, whether it be at a local or on netplay, my ability just disappears. I try to short hop laser, and i just hop and fast fall with no laser. I end up full hopping sometimes when I want to short hop. Hell, sometimes I feel like I slam the stick to the side as hard as possible, and I end up walking very slowly instead of dashing. I feel like mud is stuck on my characters feet and I feel like I'm stuck in place. This is really holding me back, as I feel the only reason I'm losing is because I can't react to anything even when I know whats coming. People combo me to oblivion because I just stand there and take the beating, and I feel like I can't do anything about it. Any help regarding this issue would be much appreciated, thanks.

 

[ChivalRuse]

A few things that will immensely help your defense game:

Learn dash away (full run) short hop reverse laser. This allows you to retreat while keeping up a wall in the form of the laser hitbox.

Practice dash dancing a lot and learn its application - how it can move you out of a dangerous spot to a safer spot. Dash has quicker startup than a wavedash and also is actionable immediately (can shield or jump on frame 1 of dash, whereas you can't do anything for 16 frames when you wavedash as Falco).

Don't be afraid to roll, spotdodge, and dash shield, all as mixups (also sometimes crouch cancel). Know when you're doing something out of habit, and try to have more deliberation behind your actions rather than just acting out of panic.

 

[KlWl]

So I've been playing melee competitively for about 4 months now, and I feel have somewhat good tech skill. Obviously not the best, but I can wavedash, l cancel, short hop, waveshine (I play Falco), and all of that. When I practice on my own, I feel like my movement is on point. I can do all of my tech, and I can fly across the screen. However, against other people, whether it be at a local or on netplay, my ability just disappears. I try to short hop laser, and i just hop and fast fall with no laser. I end up full hopping sometimes when I want to short hop. Hell, sometimes I feel like I slam the stick to the side as hard as possible, and I end up walking very slowly instead of dashing. I feel like mud is stuck on my characters feet and I feel like I'm stuck in place. This is really holding me back, as I feel the only reason I'm losing is because I can't react to anything even when I know whats coming. People combo me to oblivion because I just stand there and take the beating, and I feel like I can't do anything about it. Any help regarding this issue would be much appreciated, thanks.

If you say that in practice you can move pretty much how you want to, but you can't do it in the game, I would think that it is more of a mindset issue. Do you get nervous when playing? Do you start to get upset once you start messing up your tech? If its just a mindset thing just relax when your playing and have faith in your ability. On top of that, just keep practicing it so that even when you start getting nervous in tournament you can still perform your tech without much problem.

 

[Dedgehog]

I

If you say that in practice you can move pretty much how you want to, but you can't do it in the game, I would think that it is more of a mindset issue. Do you get nervous when playing? Do you start to get upset once you start messing up your tech? If its just a mindset thing just relax when your playing and have faith in your ability. On top of that, just keep practicing it so that even when you start getting nervous in tournament you can still perform your tech without much problem.

I wouldn't say I get nervous while playing. But I do feel stuck in a survival mindset. I just realized I spend more time focused on trying to not lose a stock instead of trying to take theirs.

 

[dvatch]

when you practice, you should pretend that your playing another person. Imagine their attacks and space around them.

 

[magicsixball]

I feel like mud is stuck on my characters feet and I feel like I'm stuck in place.

Haha I went through the same thing and that's exactly how it felt, but it's kind of hard to describe. When you play vs another person, your sense of timing changes. This is because of things like hitlag, shaky execution, and your body's adrenaline (?) from the tension. When you're getting stuck like that, it's cus you're acting too quickly. If you act before you're out of lag, you're going to get stuck.

I'm still in the process of getting over this myself so idk what the improvement curve looks like. But I recommend playing more often to get comfortable in a tense environment. It's part of the process, so don't get discouraged! Also, I recommend playing while reacting to visual cues, not just pressing the buttons the exact same way you do in practice. The timings for when you land and l-cancel changes based on factors like whether there's hitlag or when you fastfalled, etc. In that sense, you have to be more flexible with your practiced inputs.