searched and didn't find anything, so i have a theory

[full_95]

Alright, I've been thinking about this for a while:

Just as a preface, when I say "smash," I am referring to Melee (the travesty that is Brawl need not be included). And sorry for the length, but it's not like the melee boards have much else going for them right now. There will be cake for those who finish it.

What puts a smasher on the very top? Obviously, those who practice the most and have a deep understanding where the intricacies of the game are concerned are the top players. However, among those top players, there are a few who just stand out both past and present including: PC, M2k, Ken, Shiz, Mango, Bum, BS, KDJ, Azen, Forward, Chu, Cactuar, Cort, Isai, Aniki,... etc (obviously, this list is longer, hope I don't offend the smash gods). Why are they the best?

A fairly large number of people constitute the top tier of smash as it were, but names like the ones mentioned before are different. They, for some reason, have set themselves apart from other top smashers. There are many who know just as much about the game, practice just as much, go to just as many tournaments, but cannot ever be as good as the very top smashers.

For purposes of the post, I am assuming that knowledge, understanding, experience, and skill are essentially equivalent among the, for lack of a better word, generic top smashers and the tippy top bestest smashers (again, not trying to offend anybody, any of those "generic" top players would whoop my a** in about a minute flat). How does one make that transition? How do you go from being great (which all of the generic top smashers are) to being among the best in the world? from my perspective, this is the hardest leap to make in all of smash.

I argue that most will never make it there no matter how much they play, no matter how much they know, no matter how smart they are. At the top level, it becomes a question of the physiology of the person rather than their experience or skill. Take Isai and SSB, for instance. Why was Isai undoubtedly the best at SSB? It is because, for whatever reason, that game spoke to him. He intuitively understands what to do in every situation at a level that most cannot dream to duplicate. It must be physiology because there are plenty of people with near equivalent skill at SSB, but he can pretty much 5 stock anybody with any character he chooses.

It is the same in Melee. Some people just intuitively know how to play the game. The game physics are the same for everybody. If we were all the same physiologically, then no prodigies like the ones previously mentioned would really emerge. However, the very top smashers are almost wired to play this game. For whatever reason, their brains can multitask much more efficiently than can the "generic" top smashers. What I mean by multi task is this:

1) Complex Analysis
- This is the ability to see what is happening right now and what will happen in the immediate future with great clarity. This would not be as hard but for the complicating factor of also having to extrapolate past analysis (that is, analysis that you have made before within the same match) in every present analysis. IE: X player did Y in Z situation, how will he react to this one?

2) Making of Decisions
- The ability to act on your analysis in a split second with the correct decision is perhaps the most paramount skill. Incorrect decisions are minimized by the cream of the crop. Many times, it is the player who makes less incorrect decisions that wins in matches between the very top players.

3) Reactions
- If you can analyze and make the correct decision in a split second, but your hands cannot keep up, you will never reach the very top.

4) Hand/Eye Coordination and Excecution
- While this may be an offshoot of #3, I think that it deserves its own spot. When the brain tells the hands to do a certain thing, your hands may be able to keep up, but they may not be as precise as needed. Your fingers must be able to precisely and efficiently press buttons with minimal wasted energy. The best of the best smashers excecute every movement (or almost every movement) on the controller nearly perfectly with their fingers.

I use the guitar as an analogy. When you reach a certain point, you realize that if you press too hard on the strings, you will never get faster. The fastest guitar players press as lightly as possible to produce a pitch on a given fret and also pluck with only the amount of energy necessary to produce the note and no more. This allows the fingers to move much more quickly and precisely because you are not wasting energy by pressing too hard or plucking too hard. It is the same for smash, the lighter you hit the buttons, the faster your fingers can move with precision. Essentially, you need to learn how to hit the buttons with just as much pressure as you need to perform the desired function and no more. If you are crushing the buttons every time you hit them, it will slow you down and make you imprecise.

5) Handling of Pressure
- This ability approaches the importance of decision-making. For instance, I can do every AT in the book fluidly and with little effort when im messing around against a comp. However, as soon as I am in a pressure situation (even if it's just me and my friends playing in my room), my hands become, for lack of a better word, ********. I start gripping harder and pressing buttons harder which inevitably decreases my precision and speed and leads to technical mistakes. Not only does my hand/eye decrease, my analysis becomes cluttered and leads to poor decision-making.

The ability for these top smashers to play even better in those situations (like the grand finals of large tournaments) that are mentally straining is something that 98.362% of smashers simply cannot do. The very top players have this skill to simply block out the rest of the world and focus purely on the game with a calm, clear state of mind. The worst part is that you cannot learn this. You either can or you cannot maintain a sound mental state in stressful environments.

Sorry I really got carried away, but I think I brought up some good points that can spawn some good conversation. Let me know what you guys think.

PS: The cake is a lie

 

[Da Shuffla]

I've hit that point in my game where my technical skill is good, but I 1: Can't perform the same way under pressure and 2: Am having trouble with the more defensive aspect of my game. This comes as a result of not getting enough human competition. Couple of days ago, I lost to someone FAR less skilled than myself. My tech skill decreased, and I didn't think about all that I had learned. I could feel myself becoming nervous. The "lights were on," so to speak, and I lost my nerve. For example, he played Marth, and I remembered ON THE RIDE HOME, that I could have done the "Marth killer" edgehog. I'm starting to play humans more, but that just shows how important facing humans really is. Next time I play him, it will be a COMPLETELY different story.

 

[Red the Ghost]

Very well written, but I disagree with one thing in the "handling pressure" section, about not being able to learn to play well under pressure.
An obstacle such as that can be overcome by facing the situation repeatedly. The more experience in tournaments you have, the less stressful they are going to seem. One can work through it in time.
I am certainly aware that it is not easy, however.

 

[MikeHaggarTHAKJB]

^^Some people are just less effected by pressure then others, though, as a part of their personality.
But overall I agree, if you do something you just get used to it lol.

shuffla-it happens to most, beleive me. Don't worry about it and keep practicing.
And don't forget to just play gay and smart.

 

[Doomgaze]

Stress tolerance is to a great extent a skill one can learn, as is keeping a calm state of mind, and a sound attitude towards the game.

Successful athletes (and any other competitors) usually have perfect attitudes towards the sport/game that they practice and of course also towards themselves (for instance handling losses and other such psychological defeats).

An interesting read nonetheless!

Now where's the cake? ^_^

 

[full_95]

I guess you are right to some extent. But you see it in real life as well. Why is Tiger Woods undisputedly the best golfer? Yes his skills are second to none, but he has an uncanny ability to perform in pressure situations that exceeds his normal performance. Did you see the last US Open? It was never more clear to me than that. Tiger made every shot that had the tournament riding on it. I think he made three putts that, had he missed, the tournament was over. He just has something that no one else has. That is what I am talking about when I say handling pressure.

Obviously repeated exposure to pressure situations will somewhat buffer your capacity to handle them. However, I don't think that one can gain this trait from experience (maybe I am completely wrong, if one of the smash gods is reading this, perhaps they could weigh in on their experience with pressure situations). Perhaps it is related to confidence. Maybe through winning in pressure situations some one can learn it. However, I think if you repeatedly lose because your nerves get to you in those situations, it would have the opposite effect. IE: you would have less confidence in yourself to perform in a pressure situation.

You guys remember that SF final at Evo I think where Daigo did that rediculous parry on Chun-Li's crazy super kick thing (if not, check it out, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KS7hkwbKmBM )? Most people would not even try that, but Daigo zoned out the screaming crowd and excecuted something that took nothing short of perfection. Most would probably argue that no other SF player culd have pulled that off in that situation, but Daigo has that X factor of being able to handle pressure like Tiger (I am not comparing them athletically, believe me, just physiologically). Now that I think about it after writing my OP, I think that this trait/ability may be the single most important distinction between the best of the best and the rest of the best.

Edit: I just watched that clip again. There is no way I could ever do that. I mean did you hear how loud that crowd got? Even with all the skill and pressure situation experience in the world, I would have messed up because the sheer volume of the crowd would have thrown me off. I think the same goes for probably 99% of people out there.

 

[MikeHaggarTHAKJB]

I really don't think it is the single most important factor. Skill is.
If you can't pull that parry of at all, in any situation, it doesn't really matter if you're able to perform at your best in any situation (b/c your best isn't very good) >.>

 

[full_95]

I underlined where in my OP you should read. I am NOT trying to differentiate between good and bad players. I am theorizing as to what physiological factors the select few tippy top smashers posses that allows them to surpass others who are equally skilled in terms of gameplay. IE: SilentWolf is/was arguably the most technically proficient smasher around, period; but he is not considered one of the true greats. What I mean is that he does not go out and win or nearly win large tournaments consistently, CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG (AGAIN I AM NOT TRYING TO CALL ANYONE OUT, JUST TRYING TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF WHAT PYSICAL AND MENTAL TRAITS MAKE THE VERY BEST PLAYERS)!!!!

For instance, MangO beat M2k (along with several of the best players in the world) at Pound 3. Can you imagine the amount of pressure that was on him to not only defeat M2k's fox as a jiggs player, but all the other cream of the crop smashers he beat on the way to becoming grand champion? He either had a great day of smash, or he is one of those lucky enough to block almost all pressure from affecting his gameplay.

 

[Popuri]

No Jhons or not No Jhons?

WARNING
if you want answers read on... If you like the way you feel about yourself after beating someone then dont.




I think you should read about personality types, or even do a introverted/extraverted test if you want. It will be valuable information on the type of person that is always going to work better under pressure. (also look at Dyslexia and what it can do to people's ability to play well)

In addition I think you should read about Body types; Mesomorph, Endomorph, Ectomorph. This can be useful in realising that people are not all the same, some will always be tuned better for some things than others from birth and while Red the Ghost is right YES practice will defeat all, The TOP players will be ones who spend hard to beat hours playing AND have perfect stats from birth (It's very unlikely that someone has all these characteristics wich is why they stick out when they do)


But you could always just ignore my post and bake me some Cake (''(n_n)'')

 

[jugfingers]

how do you parry in streetfighter, ive seen that clip of daigo before but i know nothing about "parrying" in terms of how to do it, looked mad technical though.


I think "unbending intent" to win, or to be the best is a good attribute to have if you want to be the best. and may be what separate top smashers from the elite.

 

[Requiem]

Do I sense a sirlin 2?

This rivals any short version of playing to win, good job!

And to parry in street fighter 3d strike, you need to press forward a few frames before the attack you want to parry hit you....luike 6 frames or something
Daigo is a beast

 

[Cactuar]

*shows interest*

I have made several pretty lengthy posts about natural talent vs dedication in the past but I'm not sure they are still searchable. I would love to see this topic kept going for a while to see how other people feel about it.

 

[Requiem]

No Jhons or not No Jhons?

WARNING
if you want answers read on... If you like the way you feel about yourself after beating someone then dont.




I think you should read about personality types, or even do a introverted/extraverted test if you want. It will be valuable information on the type of person that is always going to work better under pressure. (also look at Dyslexia and what it can do to people's ability to play well)

In addition I think you should read about Body types; Mesomorph, Endomorph, Ectomorph. This can be useful in realising that people are not all the same, some will always be tuned better for some things than others from birth and while Red the Ghost is right YES practice will defeat all, The TOP players will be ones who spend hard to beat hours playing AND have perfect stats from birth (It's very unlikely that someone has all these characteristics wich is why they stick out when they do)


But you could always just ignore my post and bake me some Cake (''(n_n)'')

I overlooked this post,

What you are forgetting is that there are people that are just plain weird, and contradict their own personality in certaint situations,
Take me for example, I am always extremely self concience, wich makes me either really shy, or really overcompensating in trying to be your new best friend, wich also would makes me really vulnerable for peoples opinions, hence also be affraid to play people I don't know well enough, or play while people look that I don't know well enough.

But that last part is everything but true, I don't give a rats *** about people opinions, and don't give a crap about who i play and who watches, ESPECIALLY not at a tournement, I can keep my mind calm, because the reason I go to tournements is not to win it , but to get as many sets as I can against people that are better at me, hence forcing me to learn under the pressure.

I just want to say that you can indeed catagorize people under things like Mesomorph, Endomorph, Ectomorph (this would be the physical type) but that 8 out of 10, or maybe even less or more are just plain weird in selective situations.

 

[full_95]

Well now that I know a top level player is checking out my thread (*points at Cactuar), do you mind if I ask you a few questions? I basically made all that up, I've never talked to any top level players about it, so I might be way off with what I am saying.

1 - How hard do you press the buttons (obviously that is a relatively subjective question)?
- I mean, when you hit the buttons do you fingers turn red then white? Or do they just get kind of red? Or do they not really change color too much? Or have you not really taken the time to notice the color of your fingers while annihilating people's hopes and dreams?

2 - In terms of analysis, how do you go about deciding what to do next?
- Do you have like a mini-convo in your head at light speed? Do you just do what feels right? How much do you "think" about what to do?

3 - And finally, how do you handle pressure?
- Can you remember ever getting really nervous and cracking? Or are you a cool customer in those environments?

 

[HT F8]

1 - How hard do you press the buttons (obviously that is a relatively subjective question)?
- I mean, when you hit the buttons do you fingers turn red then white? Or do they just get kind of red? Or do they not really change color too much? Or have you not really taken the time to notice the color of your fingers while annihilating people's hopes and dreams?

ITT: 99% of SWF now pays WAY more attention to the colors of their fingers while smashing...
...and is now waiting for Cactuar's answer to replicate finger color.


Good thread though, I've enjoyed the intelligent discussion so far, keep it up.

 

[full_95]

I am only asking about finger color because I play guitar pretty seriously. And when playing for speed (especially arpeggios) it is absolutely imperative that you keep your fingers as light as possible (almost no coloration). If you press a little too hard, your fingers get red. And if you press way to hard, they become mostly white at the tip of the finger and nail, while closer to the cuticle is red. It is nearly impossible to consistently (if you can at all) match the speed of an arpeggio played using very light pressure if you are pressing too hard. First of all, it takes more energy/time (I am talking fractions of a second here) to lift and press a finger if you put too much pressure on it. This small discrepancy leads to technical error. Second, this tiny discrepancy leads to a much slower arpeggio, or one in which your fingers cannot keep up with the picking because they are wasting too much time per note. (This is an arpeggio, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1hmb9VPfvU, you can even see in this video that he barely presses down on the strings)

High level smash requires finger speed close to what is necessary to really shred an arpeggio (obviously using mostly thumb and index in smash and index, middle, ring and pinky for guitar). Only the shoulder buttons require more pressure than a guitar string, while the face buttons are fairly analogous. My point is that the best way to increase finger speed and precision is to waste as little energy as possible when hitting buttons. If you press too hard, your fingers simply cannot keep up with your brain. Conversely, I can only imagine (since I haven't really played in a long time and this didn't occur to me when I was playing) that lightly pressing buttons is the only way for your fingers to keep up. I want to see if there is any credence to this assertion, hence my question about finger color to Cactuar.

 

[Cactuar]

Well now that I know a top level player is checking out my thread (*points at Cactuar), do you mind if I ask you a few questions? I basically made all that up, I've never talked to any top level players about it, so I might be way off with what I am saying.

1 - How hard do you press the buttons (obviously that is a relatively subjective question)?
- I mean, when you hit the buttons do you fingers turn red then white? Or do they just get kind of red? Or do they not really change color too much? Or have you not really taken the time to notice the color of your fingers while annihilating people's hopes and dreams?

2 - In terms of analysis, how do you go about deciding what to do next?
- Do you have like a mini-convo in your head at light speed? Do you just do what feels right? How much do you "think" about what to do?

3 - And finally, how do you handle pressure?
- Can you remember ever getting really nervous and cracking? Or are you a cool customer in those environments?

1. I used to hit the buttons pretty hard when I was a mid level player. At some point, I noticed that Ryoko, and later Azen, made almost no sound at all while playing, and started adjusting the way I used the controller. My hands don't really change colors while playing as I am very gentle with my controller now.

There are several benefits from playing quietly.
- Your controller will last a lot longer. I have been using the same controller since pound 2.
- You can press the buttons faster. The harder you tap the buttons, the more force you are putting into doing so, and the longer it will take you to recoil from that force. The buttons don't register a difference between tapping them hard and soft, only how long you are holding them down.
- People can't hear when you do certain things (tech, approach). Most people don't really try to listen to you during matches, but it's definitely noticeable and helps them react to your actions if they get a warning from your controller every time you do something.

Don't try to make every button press feather light, as you do want some pressure behind it, but it is completely unnecessary to slam the buttons.

2. I've had several conversations with players of various skill levels about this topic actually. Most mid to high level players don't really think while they are playing. They sit down, start doing things, and completely blank out in their matches. If I'm trying to train someone to play, one of the things I stress is that they pay attention while we are playing. If they start falling for the same thing over and over, I know they have spaced out again. It is important to keep your mind alert in matches and always be attentive to every action the opponent does.

Personally, I have a problem where I think in branching sequences of events in very short periods of time, both in real life and in smash. It's like one of those web outlines people use in writing. I combine this with always watching my opponent's movement and can usually pick out patterns in their movement, as well as habits as far as how they position themselves on the stage and what attacks they use dependent on where I am positioned in relation to them. I am terrible at comboing, so it is very important for me to be able to land a lot more initial hits than most other pro level players, and this way of thinking allows me to do that.

3. I have cracked under pressure several times. It happens to everyone. The only real way for that not to happen is getting a ton of tournament experience. There are tricks to it, like making yourself not care as much about the win/lose aspect of the game, but that tends to decrease your performance as well.

People that are far more tech skill oriented usually have a much easier time in that, even while they are pretty nervous, their fingers do most of the work for them. If they crack hard enough, their hands might shake and mess them up, but in general they have it better off. Mindgamey players have it rough as every action they make is impacted by the pressure put on them, and vs a techy player, they can easily get overwhelmed.



If you want me to elaborate more on anything, or have any other questions, feel free to ask.

 

[MikeHaggarTHAKJB]

^^Great post cactuar.

Although I don't fully agree with the tech skill oriented player part... Many players that I know that are very reliant on tech skill tend to mess up their technicals when they get nervous... and therefore they get obsessed with how they weren't able to do that, and they want to do it to prove to themselves (and people around them) that they can do it. First of all, they end up focusing on the wrong things and second of all they get really predictable b/c they keep trying to do the same thing over and over

I used to have that problem myself, for example when I had just learned shffling, i would do nothing but spam nairs (as fox), which led to me getting ***** by anyone who knew how to cc or shieldgrab (ie everyone)

Then I realized the value of playing a smart, simple, gay and cheap style so now I'm much better .

Oh well maybe I'm just speaking to much out of my own (small) experience... but i dont feel like not posting this when i wrote so much lol


I have some questions btw:
How important do you think fast reactions are in high levels of play? Do you mostly do things on reaction or prediction?

Also, are you good at multi-tasking? It might seem like a weird question but I'm just wondering if this talent is related to the "branching sequences" type of thinking you spoke of.


And this is a great thread btw, and thanks for clarifying that about skill full 95. Lets hope more people with lots of tourny experience (like cactuar) posts here

 

[Hibiki]

Very nice thread.
The handling pressure thing depends on the person. If you don't think about it, then it helps.
Just pretend like it's another computer, but without AI, and actually knowing what they're doing.

 

[Cactuar]

I have some questions btw:
How important do you think fast reactions are in high levels of play? Do you mostly do things on reaction or prediction?

Also, are you good at multi-tasking? It might seem like a weird question but I'm just wondering if this talent is related to the "branching sequences" type of thinking you spoke of.

Reaction speed is very important imo, but not super necessary. M2K's reaction speed is only around average, but his strategies are designed so that he doesn't need it that badly.

My own game is heavily based on my reaction speed, as it is very very good.


I am pretty good at multi-tasking, but usually the branching sequences thing is more oriented towards a single situation and pretty much floods my thinking, so when I am doing it I can't really think about anything else. It's like a form of OCD really...

 

[Da Shuffla]

Great thread. I heard that it helps to do a "warm-up routine" during a match. Something to get your fingers ready. Is this true?

@Mike Haggar: YES! That is what I kept doing when I first learned to shffl. I was so excited and SO predictable. Except I kept doing Dairs. Still, I was quite predictable. I just need more human comp, and to fine tune my technical game so it is no longer an issue when trying to focus.

 

[gr8ape]

I think what you are saying here TRANSCENDS smash as a "skill" or "ability".

Any activity, game, sport, or other things of competitive nature will have players who are advantaged by something other than skill, finger speed, or understanding of the game. You can shift the balance using skill and speed, but alas, not every man is born equal.

Some people will never bee good at hockey, and some will be the best, while all of them had the same amount of practice. Is it only of genetic and physiological nature? or is there something more to it....love? obsession? i dont think we will never know because those who dont have the x factor cannot explain it due to the fact of simply not possessing it and those who do have cant explain it due to the very nature of this x factor...

 

[Cactuar]

I don't think it's a love thing. I don't even like smash, and have never even had a desire to be a top player. It's probably why I don't practice.

 

[ZoSo]

I don't think it's a love thing. I don't even like smash, and have never even had a desire to be a top player. It's probably why I don't practice.

All of my perceptions have been shattered.

 

[slartibartfast42]

I don't think it's a love thing. I don't even like smash, and have never even had a desire to be a top player. It's probably why I don't practice.

First you beat me to mentioning that M2K has average reactions, then you crush all of my hopes and dreams. Great.

 

[gr8ape]

I don't even like smash

Then why do you play?

 

[DTKPch]

I think it's just like any sport, where the good player thinks, but the great player reacts.

Take NFL linebackers for example. When they see the snap, they're not supposed to contemplate too much. They have to make an unconscious (yet correct) decision on what angle of pursuit to take, whether they should blitz or not (on an option), and stuff like that.

Take Roger Federer. Watching him on the tennis court, he practically floats and does everything naturally. His strokes have definitely become muscle memory, while his mental game is probably more subconscious now. Every good tennis player still has to have active thought, but the more it becomes second nature, the better you are.

I get the same feeling in Smash. I stop thinking so much. For example, when I tech chase a stomp with Falcon (possibly one of the most fun things to do. Ever.) I don't really actively think about what direction, what buttons to push, etc. I just do it. I'm not saying that I'm anywhere near the pros (I'd probably get 5 stocked in a 4-stock match), but I'm assuming that barrier to the next level is an innate ability to just know what to do without thinking about it.

 

[Problem2]

Committing actions that usually go together such as shuffling and wavedashing and knowing when to press Forward-B to sweet spot the ledge are important because it clears your head and allows you to think more about decision making and scouting your opponent's play style. Like Cactuar said, it is not a good thing to go into a spaced out mode because then your playing on pure muscle memory and tech skill, leaving the same holes in your play and not exploiting your opponent's.

The way I see it, awareness and decision making is the ignition to your dynamite, which is the tech skill. With awareness, you will be able to better work what you've committed to reflexes, but without reflexes, you want have any power or real force behind your decision making (as you'll mess up and possibly ruin your own plan).

 

[JFox]

I don't think it's a love thing. I don't even like smash, and have never even had a desire to be a top player. It's probably why I don't practice.

If u don't like smash, why do you play this game? It can't be for money cuz u sandbag heavily and dont really try to hard to win first.

 

[Cactuar]

If u don't like smash, why do you play this game? It can't be for money cuz u sandbag heavily and dont really try to hard to win first.

Because I enjoy helping the people around me get better.

Some people just need that little boost in confidence to really help them get through mental barriers preventing them from really improving, and I am the perfect person to do that for people in my region as I have made a name for myself in being awesome, and my word is pretty well respected.

End result? People randomly take matches from me and feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

You know what I'm talking about JFox?

 

[full_95]

Yo Cactuar, were you at Komosutro's tourney last year (Lancaster)? I went and got absolutely destroyed cuz it was my first tourney. I think I remember people saying your name. Anyways, yea, I was b*tched around so badly that I basically stopped playing. I have very good tech skill, but the nerves got to me so bad and I just couldn't play (I swear to God, if anybody says "no johns" I am just going to freak), so I decided I should probably put all the energy and time I was spending with smash into school and stop getting crap grades, haha.

This is another example of how important the ability to keep your cool is, cuz I was pretty competitive with Komo when we were playin casuals the week before (not really, but I took a decent amount of games when he wasn't being gay with marth, haha), but the tourney rolls around and I am absolute garbage. Though I did beat some one there pretty easily, but he'd just started playing like 3 weeks before...

 

[MikeHaggarTHAKJB]

Cactuar, since you've seen Azen's hands play, do you know how the **** he mashes out of grabs so fast?

 

[gr8ape]

Because I enjoy helping the people around me get better.

Some people just need that little boost in confidence to really help them get through mental barriers preventing them from really improving, and I am the perfect person to do that for people in my region as I have made a name for myself in being awesome, and my word is pretty well respected.

End result? People randomly take matches from me and feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

You know what I'm talking about JFox?

Im not sure if your serious or not
If you are, then I suggest you spend all that altruistic energy on something else than a video game

 

[full_95]

Im not sure if your serious or not
If you are, then I suggest you spend all that altruistic energy on something else than a video game

AHEM, can we stay on topic sir?

 

[Cactuar]

Cactuar, since you've seen Azen's hands play, do you know how the **** he mashes out of grabs so fast?

Haha. I never really payed attention. The fastest way is to circle the control stick and mash your buttons.

Im not sure if your serious or not
If you are, then I suggest you spend all that altruistic energy on something else than a video game

I am serious. I am also likely quitting after the upcoming Kansas tourmament.

 

[cykofox]

Well I hope I can play you at the tournament then Cactuar.

 

[MikeHaggarTHAKJB]

Nooo don't quit That'd be super gay.
and grape, why not give that energy to the people within the ssbm community? He's doing THEM a favor, and he makes them happy. Where's the harm?
Scar for example, is one of the few new ssbm players that is actually really good. I doubt he would've ever become that good without cactuar. Ask scar how much he has appreciated cactuars training.
I think the community needs more people like cactuar, since people like that makes it easier for new people to come into the community (w/ the training).

 

[Scar]

I came in just to say that I hate Cactuar and laugh about it, but this is an awesome thread, I really like your articulation of "complex analysis," well put.

It's a very long road to the top of competitive Smash, there has been much discussion about it because of how interesting it is that some people are THAT good, and it's def worth talking about.

Just to throw in my two cents, I think experience is probably one of the most important factors on the road to becoming a top smasher. It is, however, fairly clear that this particular list assumes players to have a lot of experience with the game.

In my opinion, though, a player's ability to effectively analyze the game comes very very much from past experiences, and ultimately from just how quickly that player learns from his experiences.

p.s. Cactuar is not quitting b/c he's going to give me intense spacie/marth practice and we're both going to reach the next level.

 

[Tomacawk]

Cactuar, if you're quitting after event 52, you WILL be playing some friendlies with me. If you don't, I'll egg your house. Seriously. Eggs.

 

[Cactuar]

My real reason for quitting is partially that my controller is going to break pretty soon. (It is already starting to go.) I'm assuming it's going to finally die at Event 52, and I don't feel like breaking in/getting used to a new controller.

But yeah, anyone going to Event 52: If you want to play me in friendlies, just find me at any point and I'll go to a TV with you for at least 5 or so matches, and I'll use whatever characters you want.