Overcoming Yourself

[タオー]

Over the past few months I've been improving my technical and mental game, and have felt a real advancement in my overall skill level; however, the moment I am put into a tournament situation I almost always sandbag like crazy, to people I know I can walk all over. Some people have told me I put too much pressure on myself, effectively crippling my mental game and resorting to my technical autopilot.

Sorry for the long winded introduction, but my question is:

What kind of mindset should an aspiring Falcon approach a tournament with to overcome these internal pressures?

 

[Rachman]

I suffer from similar problems. My last weekly I showed up and decided I simply wouldn't try to win. I put some man on the moon on my phone/headphones and just cleared my head and played. Nonchalantly and with no real investment in the game, I simply ALLOWED myself to play and I played by far the closest to my peak/actual skill (even if I flubbed quite a bit of tech and was drunk) I have ever played in tourney. Hope this helps

 

[タオー]

I've been thinking of using some music, I feel it could really help with my focus. Thanks for the tips

 

[Xtra_Crispy]

I try to keep in mind that it's just a game, and if you aren't having fun then what are you doing?

Find some stuff that you enjoy doing in this game. Falcon is fast enough where he can afford to run around a little extra for joy. I make it more about trying to get into my opponent's head and let them know that I'm there (ie dashing back and forth across their shield) to **** with them because honestly that's just more fun to me. Find some stuff that you can do (not frequently enough to get read) that just lightens the mood for yourself to take the edge off. Hell you even see top level players smiling and laughing during serious tourney sets (see Axe vs M2k staredown) just as long as you can come back to focus.

Dance around some platforms, moonwalk a bit, and remember that Falcon's play the game to have fun, otherwise we would just play fox lol

 

[Captain JOHN]

I had a very similar problem at a local a couple weeks back. Playing for 3rd in singles, and aiming to win in doubles with my partner, the "tournament jitters" or, falling apart happened to me. I flubbed just about every tech against a sh*tty Fox i could've 4-stocked with zero to deaths every stock and I ended up getting 5th, no payout . And in Doubles, the same thing happened. I believe that focusing on placement made me fall apart. So, my advice to you is to not focus on your tournament placement, but how well you play. You could play the best of your life and still not make top 32, depending on your tournament. Try to play your best, not beat your PR for tournament placings

 

[SwiftOfDaSouth]

Don't focus on how you feel, focus on how the character feels. You have to become Captain Falcon. Understand what you want to do, and do it. Mess up execution? No problem. Roll with it. What would Falcon do?

 

[Broder Daniel]

drink some beer and focus on having fun

 

[Nicco]

Don't listen to scrubs.
WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN.

If you want it badly enough, eventually you'll get it.

 

[タオー]

As a continuation on this same frame of thought, when you feel you are not well versed in a certain match up, what tools do you rely on to close out the set?

 

[SwiftOfDaSouth]

As a continuation on this same frame of thought, when you feel you are not well versed in a certain match up, what tools do you rely on to close out the set?

Play to win. Do things that will GUARANTEE tacking on %, like smart, spaced nairs, calm gameplay, and crisp (but not greedy) punishes. Be scrappy, you'll have to exert yourself, but you'll likely come out on top.

 

[Xtra_Crispy]

When I don't know a matchup, I really like having space to move around. I would rather outrun them and be able to engage when I want to and get space when I feel I need it, so I would honestly say stage selection as a big tool. I go to Battlefield/ dreamland most (Ex ganon main means I LOVE top platforms lol), but FD is not a bad pick either. I tend to rely on just dashdancing and making them swing first and just play super patient and reactive. I like FD because it simplifies the neutral a lot and allows you to DD and wall out with nairs against a lot of the cast

But yeah when I feel uncomfortable or like a matchup isn't going my way I try to rely on waveland tricks a lot to cheese out some stocks. Fullhop WL(low platform) + first hit nair + grab, or knee/upair instead of nair. Land in front of them + waveland back to bait out some sort of attack. Stuff like that.

 

[タオー]

When I don't know a matchup, I really like having space to move around. I would rather outrun them and be able to engage when I want to and get space when I feel I need it, so I would honestly say stage selection as a big tool. I go to Battlefield/ dreamland most (Ex ganon main means I LOVE top platforms lol), but FD is not a bad pick either. I tend to rely on just dashdancing and making them swing first and just play super patient and reactive. I like FD because it simplifies the neutral a lot and allows you to DD and wall out with nairs against a lot of the cast

But yeah when I feel uncomfortable or like a matchup isn't going my way I try to rely on waveland tricks a lot to cheese out some stocks. Fullhop WL(low platform) + first hit nair + grab, or knee/upair instead of nair. Land in front of them + waveland back to bait out some sort of attack. Stuff like that.

When your opponent catches on to your bait and punish play style, how do adjust? Do you take notes of your opponents habits, and learn how to beat out the player themselves?

 

[Captain JOHN]

When your opponent catches on to your bait and punish play style, how do adjust? Do you take notes of your opponents habits, and learn how to beat out the player themselves?

When he/she/it catches on to that, then just go hypo-aggro because Falcon can get away with that. Just relentlessly attack them, forcing them to respect the aggressive playstyle too, allowing you to go back to bait-and-punish. Hope this helps!

 

[Schned]

I've been thinking of using some music, I feel it could really help with my focus. Thanks for the tips

I've been having the same problems recently, and I would highly recommend listening to music while you play. I usually listen to instrumental music since lyrics throw off my focus, but listen to whatever helps you relax.

Another thing, if you're getting worked up in the middle of a match, try doing some breathing exercises in between stocks. Take a deep breath in through your nose and exhale out your mouth, and repeat until you feel relaxed. This helps me when I need to clear my head after taking a beating. Don't worry about the guy sitting next to you (the headphones really help here), he's probably focusing on the match anyway.

 

[タオー]

When he/she/it catches on to that, then just go hypo-aggro because Falcon can get away with that. Just relentlessly attack them, forcing them to respect the aggressive playstyle too, allowing you to go back to bait-and-punish. Hope this helps!

I've never thought about using aggression like this. I'm already excited to try it.

 

[Twinkles]

Discipline. If your autopilot is losing and you're not actively changing it up, you're done.

Have a set of plans on how you play neutral, be able to comfortably switch between those on the fly (spamming aerials in place, dd baits, long approaching aerials, tricky waveland movement, etc.)