My Little Issue.

[Bing]

So I'm going to start this off with a bit of a background story.

I have been watching Competitive smash since about late 2007. I became involved with the competitive scene(Considering attending tournaments) in about late 2010. I attended a smashfest at KirbyKaze's house in November 2010. Then another smashfest at Idea's in January of 2011. I attended two tournaments, one in February and another in March(Of 2011).
During this time I had switched mains from Jiggs to Mario/Luigi then Marth.

I fell out of the scene because I moved away because school finished. I began "training" again in August and have attended every Toronto monthly from September to Now except for January's because i was too broke from Attending Apex.

Now for the monthlies from September to December, I mained Marth, but between the december monthly and Apex and I decided to switch To Fox. My aggressive playstyle just wasnt working out as Marth. My first ever tournament as a Fox main was Apex, and I didnt make it out of First round pools but Im still very happy with how everything turned out.

Now I've been maining For since this time, and im making improvements, at the last tournament I made bracket for the first time ever(as a 3rd seed/top 4 made it out, 6 person pools)

Now to my issue, I do enjoy playing Fox, but I also enjoy playing EVERY other character. I like doing this because I dont exactly have a region(Theres a few people who are considering it, who are learning how to wavedash and thats it, so I get bored of always playing Fox alone after awhile)
Now my issue that I do my daily Fox(and Falco) practice at home, but once im done with that, I do a bit of practice with the other characters, I've been told that this might be effecting my tech skill, and that I should Focus solely on Fox.

Also during friendlies at tournament, I also enjoy using my other characters(Low/bottom tiers) over Fox because I just find it more entertaining and enjoyable. Also, I dont to waste my, In Mango's terms "Fox Juices".

Now also dont get me wrong, I do practice with Fox and tournaments, especially against people like KK, Unknown, Weon etc.

So what do you all think? Im looking for some outsides answers. Is what Im doing fine or should I narrow it down to Fox/Falco?

 

[Dan Salvato]

I think it really depends on how good you are. If you're still struggling with Fox then maybe you should practice solely with Fox. Every character has different spacing, responses, and mindgames, and if you practice a lot with several characters, you might jumble those up and develop bad habits. This is from my own experience having switched from Falco to Link.

 

[EPsilon933]

If you want to win more than anything else, stick with 1 character and perfect it. You can only play 1 character at a time. Having multiple mediocre characters give you only multiple mediocre ceilings. But also, resorting to other characters when your main fails is a bad mindset to have. Rather than tackling your problem head on, you go for a supposedly easier route

But you enjoy using other characters, so I don't think this advice applies to you well. Actually, switching characters once in a while can be a good thing. It'll reset your character-specific habits. It'll change the pace and keep your attention to the game. You can still apply stuff you've learned from your other characters to you main. It's just that you won't be improving as fast

 

[Bing]

I mainly use fox but I simply enjoy usng the others as a break. None of these other characters are serious though...

 

[Bones0]

It really comes down to how badly you want to win. If your goal (not your "dream") is to win nationals, you can't be playing 10 different characters at any given time. I used to do it myself because I only play one player and he always using Marth so Falco vs. Marth got boring. I used upwards of 10 characters, and then when I reverted back to just Falco/Fox/Marth, I found that I still had plenty to learn in the matchups if I got creative.

Moral of the story is, if you're bored because of your character, it means you need to expand your options and overall style with that character. I think this is actually a big reason people who stick with one character tend to improve faster. Players who play their main very linearly get bored, and thus use more characters. Players who are very creative and open to changing their options are less bored, so they don't feel that need to change characters to keep a fresh play style. Playing secondaries and reduced overall skill is more of a correlation than a causation. My advice if you want to continue to seriously improve (after all, there's nothing wrong with just wanting to have fun without worrying about improving) would be to change your play style instead of your character. If you're getting bored with Fox, stop playing your usual aggro and play as passive as possible. Try to learn every little nuance that comes with playing passive, and then try to apply that to your usual aggro game. You can even start doing more specific things like trying to apply WDing into your game more, or tomahawks, or anything you can think of. Brainstorm for things you don't usually do, and practice them. I can almost guarantee that when you start practicing like this, you'll not only improve more, but you'll enjoy it more because it is evolution on a much deeper level than swapping characters to change how you interact with the game.

 

[The Star King]

There is no evidence that focusing on one character will increase your improvement rate.

Some top pros such as Axe claim they would not be nearly as good without the things they learned from their secondaries. Others advise you to focus on one. We don't really know.

 

[Bones0]

There is no evidence that focusing on one character will increase your improvement rate.

Some top pros such as Axe claim they would not be nearly as good without the things they learned from their secondaries. Others advise you to focus on one. We don't really know.

I think virtually everyone would agree that once you get past a certain point, playing too many characters is certainly detrimental. I agree that playing secondaries can help, but I think there is a huge difference between playing 10 characters with only 1 you would use in tournament vs. playing 3 characters that you would all consider viable for tournament (M2K, Ice, etc.).

 

[The Star King]

Sure, I'm just talking about the people who are absolutely convinced that you SHOULD focus on just one or two characters and never play anyone else.

 

[Bing]

The only reason why I play so many characters is because I play alone for so long. when Im sitting at home, I normally warm up with Falco, play Fox for a long time (Couple hours) then do a cool down with randoms for about 30-45 minutes.

Another reason I play so many characters is so I can learn more about them. Like I've stated many times, my reasoures on in terms of people I play against outside of tournament, are VERY limited. So I play so many characters to learn them, so If they come up by chance in tournament, I have a better idea of what to do and what to expect.

 

[KrIsP!]

What your saying doesn't sound that bad, if you spend so much time with fox, cooling down with marth shouldn't hurt you. however, I'd imagine you would want to stick with your main at tournies, especially in friendlies, for the practice you say you don't get enough of. I'd say pick your main, give him 90% of the attention for now because there;s always more to learn, but this doesn't mean you can't switch around a lot so long as your main gets the most practice.

But hey, what do I know.

 

[Bing]

I dont like going majority Fox during friendlies because again, run out of "Fox Juices" lol

 

[EPsilon933]

You need more stamina

 

[Blu]

Elaboration on what said:

It's all about focus, really. But that's practically as deep as anyone ever ventures. Increasing stamina shouldn't be an effort, but something found either in your specific attitude, playing habits, or environment. It's also about eliminating the things that cause distraction.

If you find yourself entering autopilot, switch up your play-style, focus on your opponent; anything to keep your mind alert and focusing all your brainpower into the game.

If you find it easier to focus in silence, you may not be able to silence the crowd behind you, but there are things you can do to try to drown them out. One prime method is to bring an mp3 player. Just be sure to choose music that isn't noticeably catchy, has lyrics (this actually conflicts with your "inner voice" i.e. sub-vocalization), or fluctuates significantly in tempo. All of these can change your choices subconsciously, but the last thing you want to influence your choices during a match; especially if the timing is inappropriate.

Aside from the negative effects that inappropriate music can have, there is one great positive in that your mood will undoubtedly change to match the song that's being played, as long as you're not aware of it (aka focusing on the game and not what you're listening to!).

(Basically just be careful with music if you use it. Or just bring ear plugs. Or blast white noise through your headphones. =p)

Just find little every single little tidbit of data that could possibly affect your performance/focus and control it, eliminate it, or accentuate it according to your liking. (I tend to focus better if I'm on any floor other than the bottom floor. I've deduced that it's probably because my bedroom resides on the second floor, but my point is, there are almost always elements you haven't considered that have been affecting your ability to focus.)

The magic Fox juice is a myth. Everyone's brain functions differently. It's just about entering your element... and staying there.

 

[Bing]

I do need more Stamina, and I've been improving on that as of late.

A large issue with that, is that I have Epilepsy, and something that causes seizures is mental Fatigue, and I become mentally tired when playing Fox. So its almost a fear thats holding me back.

For the record, my Family Doctor and Neurologist have said its fine for me to play, but If I do become extremely tired, take a break(derp)

 

[Kal]

In my experience, players who use too many characters in tournament do not perform as well as those who focus on one or two. There are exceptions, but it's not a bad rule of thumb that you should focus on exactly one or two characters.

 

[Bing]

In Tournament play I use mostly Fox.

Last tournament I went all Fox in Pools Excluding 2 matches. I did Pichu dittos against KirbyKaze and Zelda Dittos against Reis (Both game 2, lost game 1 as Fox)

In Bracket I faced Riddlebox first where I went Fox vs his peach, then I switched To peach(I like the ditto) but he switched to Fox.

The next round a faced a guy named Hammertime who went Luigi.
Game 1 went Fox.
Game 2 Went Marth (I have experience in the Marth vs Luigi MU)

The Monthly before that. I went 100% Fox.

So Im saying that generally I do use Mostly Fox. I honestly thought I could win the Zelda Ditto, and I regret the ditto against KK, but when he went Pichu I kinda lost the urge to win as opposed to have fun. Which was a bad choice XD But I love Pichu Dittos

 

[JPOBS]

Any serious Fox main can play fox for HOURS without feeling physiologic affects.
If you resist playing in fox in friendlies because you don't want to expend some magical fox reserves, you're not going to learn enough about fox to be any good anyway.

Either play fox and get better with fox, or don't play fox.

 

[Bing]

Awesome Advice JPOBS -_-
Somehow I knew you'd say something like that.

Anywho.

 

[Beat!]

Sure, I'm just talking about the people who are absolutely convinced that you SHOULD focus on just one or two characters and never play anyone else.

There's a big difference between "focusing on one/two characters" and "never playing anyone else".



@Bing
Listen to Jpobs and Kal (and anyone else who said similar stuff, I didn't really read the long posts).

 

[Van.]

omg lol the smash community is frighteningly bad at reading comprehension.

Bing: Playing multiple characters will in no way whatsoever, not even a little bit hinder your fox/falco tech skill. Don't sweat it man

 

[Boomshaka]

Bing: Playing multiple characters will in no way whatsoever, not even a little bit hinder your fox/falco tech skill. Don't sweat it man

I don't think it's as much about hindering the tech skill itself as hindering the potential to increase tech skill. It's just logic, really: the more you spend doing something, the more familiar you become with doing said thing. As you further your understanding of it, you can change and better your performance through proper analyzing and active intuition.

But there's no doubt in my mind to suggest that if, for a significant period, you stop progressing a character and move on to another, its very possible for your tech skill to drop with the character you had been using prior to the switch. Your mindset when you go back to your first character might not have changed--you'll still have the same expectations of yourself as you did before--but you may not be as sharp as you were previously, depending on the amount of time you spent away from that first character. It also doesn't help that the "projects" you've been doing each have very similar methods (e.g. a controller in your hands, techs used across the cast, the same game) which only further the possibility of mistakes due to your mind not having much to differentiate between the two.

You can easily make up for this with a little warming up, but if you aren't used to switching between characters/comparing the minuscule differences between the ridiculously similar techs, it will take longer to adjust.

=

I'm sort of relaying the obvious, but just trying to avoid confusion and unnecessary arguments.

 

[Эикельманн [РУС]]

bing just play fox like every other scrub and press buttons. you'll get real far.

and of course getting far = fun so win win, duh.

 

[Van.]

I don't think it's as much about hindering the tech skill itself as hindering the potential to increase tech skill. It's just logic, really: the more you spend doing something, the more familiar you become with doing said thing. As you further your understanding of it, you can change and better your performance through proper analyzing and active intuition.

But there's no doubt in my mind to suggest that if, for a significant period, you stop progressing a character and move on to another, its very possible for your tech skill to drop with the character you had been using prior to the switch. Your mindset when you go back to your first character might not have changed--you'll still have the same expectations of yourself as you did before--but you may not be as sharp as you were previously, depending on the amount of time you spent away from that first character. It also doesn't help that the "projects" you've been doing each have very similar methods (e.g. a controller in your hands, techs used across the cast, the same game) which only further the possibility of mistakes due to your mind not having much to differentiate between the two.

You can easily make up for this with a little warming up, but if you aren't used to switching between characters/comparing the minuscule differences between the ridiculously similar techs, it will take longer to adjust.

=

I'm sort of relaying the obvious, but just trying to avoid confusion and unnecessary arguments.

IMO: I think Bing had all that already.

Related: OMGOMGOMG midwest florida OMGOMG where?????

 

[Bing]

Key West Florida lolol

 

[Blu]

IMO: I think Bing had all that already.

Lol I'm not saying he didn't or anything; in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Bing was actually better than me as opposed to his videos. Everyone has bad days and getting leveled by a pro is something that could happen to people of several skill levels and still look the same.

In short, Bing, keep being legit. And DON'T GIVE UP! (Not until after our meet-up and backpackings are done. ;] )

Related: OMGOMGOMG midwest florida OMGOMG where?????

Sarasota, man! No one lives here, so don't sweat it if you're not nearby. =p

AND YES. Boomshaka and I are one and the same. I thought I was set on a gamer tag, so I made that account, but Eikelmann pretty much changed my mind. (Or did he?)

Which name do you guys prefer? =3

 

[Bing]

Haha I'm going to drop some characters but keep some. 80% fox practice. 10% other 10% warmup