Sheik and the Claw

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Personal backstory:
About 4 months ago my thumb pain became so bad that I had to stop playing entirely.
Bottom most bone of thumb's tendons got irritated through extensive stress from SH and WD OoS mostly.
I told myself to get 100% before starting to play again and to switch to Claw Grip to relief my thumb from too much stress.

I totally forgot about the claw grip when I found myself well again after my thumb healed and now the pains are already back after just 2 weeks of playing.
I have no choise but to switch to Claw completely.

I currently find myself feeling almost handicapped trying to claw. I can't even jump at will. My total nightmare is JC Grab.
It feels almost as if I am starting completely over.

What kind of learning curve can I expect? Is there anything I can keep from my old arsenal?
Where do you place your fingers? When do you change that position and why?
For now I am using (RHand)
Thumb: A, B, C.
Index: Y.
Middle: Z and R
I heard some people use Ring for R. In both cases I feel the grip is really loose. Is that normal? The only solution I see is to put pressure on the palm instead of grabbing on with fingers.
Any help or any input on the subject from people who claw will be highly appreciated.

If anything I am looking for some motivation because I am currently feeling sad because of this

 

[The Lemon]

Hmmmm, that is quite a bummer to hear.

I don't really have any advice, just because I'm used to not clawing, and it works for me, but anyways, I feel like you're not at a total disadvantage for being forced to claw. I think with practice, things should be better.

SH nair OoS should be easier. WD OoS too, I would imagine.

But anyways, I just wanted to post this link to a blog post by Wobbles that I was reminded of after reading your post. Maybe it will inspire you!

http://www.compete-complete.com/2013/06/skill-rules-and-self-imposed-limitations.html

Hope things get better for you!

 

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Ty Lemon.
Nice read on that blog post. It's very inspiring to read about an accident turning into a learning experience.
I am actually starting to look at my own case as such too.
I have now switched to Ring on R and done alot of tech chase practice using Middle for Z. The JC grab is still proving troublesome unless I use thumb on X (like old times) so I think that's one of the few cases where I will be using thumb on X still.

My tip for myself and for others who are trying to convert to Claw is to get used to having middle on Z and ring on R while keeping thumb on X AND index on Y for a transition. For me, at least, getting used to using other fingers than index for shielding, wd and grabbing was/is huge! So taking one step at a time seems to ease the process.

For now I am looking forward to having a few months pass so all of this will feel more natural, but I can already feel improvement.
Rising aerials are already easier than ever =) WD not so much

 

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I wanna come back and document my progress if anyone is interested. If anything for my own sake. I hope that's ok.
The claw grip is already feeling almost completely natural to me (after about 2 weeks).
Honesly it even feels alot more free with little to no restraints.
Every OoS option is so much easier with instant access to the Cstick (The tip of my thumb resting on B, sort of).
Before using Claw I used Cstick to SH OoS Nair. That method is deffinatly inferior to doing the standard claw SH on Y and just press A haha.

I used to do everything with R except Lcancels. Now I do WD/WL with L too.
Ocasionally I find myself doing WD and jumps with thumb on X and R still. But that will iron out soon enough.
The only time I need to use thumb on X on purpose is when doing JC Grabs.
I am working on doing that with Y too.
Many many new techniques to work on, phew!

All this aside I do still feel in worse condition performance wise. Having to think about techniques during matches is such a disadvantage. This too will iron out over time. But I can see it's gonna be a while.

The most important part is that I have absolutely zero hand pains!

 

[Cho]

Mmmh, thanks for the report!

Is there anything that you think is more difficult to execute with the claw grip?

 

[Scroll]

Mmmh, thanks for the report!

Is there anything that you think is more difficult to execute with the claw grip?

In the long run clawing has no downside afaik. I highly highly recommend it!
I wish I would have used it from the very beginning

 

[Arrestme]

How about using D-stick up with Z? It's fairly safe. Then mayb also a few D-stick Up-jumps OOS and z for nair :> (wut this guy does (points to myself(twice(why not?))))!
Not making light of this incredible self-awareness challenge, but yes I do assume you've tried it.

 

[Scroll]

How about using D-stick up with Z? It's fairly safe. Then mayb also a few D-stick Up-jumps OOS and z for nair :> (wut this guy does (points to myself(twice(why not?))))!
Not making light of this incredible self-awareness challenge, but yes I do assume you've tried it.

Are you talking about Nair OoS?
D-stick?
With the standard grip I used C-stick up directly onto the A button for perfect rising Nair OoS. Gimmicky techniques are not needed with claw though.
You can simply SH with pointer and instantly press A with thumb.

 

[Arrestme]

Are you talking about Nair OoS?
D-stick?
With the standard grip I used C-stick up directly onto the A button for perfect rising Nair OoS. Gimmicky techniques are not needed with claw though.
You can simply SH with pointer and instantly press A with thumb.

I won't go into why I call it a D-stick atm here, but I do suggest u join us 2 revolutionists. The reasoning may not be sound enough for some, but should be since it is the most soundly accurate compared with another other misnomer.

& no, I must reassert I truly was talking about a JC grab as the only other possible method you didn't already post. Jumping with the left thumb "D-stick", & grab-canceling with your middle finger's "Z". I tested it myself & imo was superbly easy. Almost felt like I was crouch canceling, instead of jump canceling, cuz I would use the d-stick for both in these examples.

I only mention the NAir OOS after like this because it's seeming availability to both clawer & traditionalist alike. I simply wonder if this opens up any other doors for improvising your control. & if you haven't considered it, or dropped it as an option, why? No pointer finger needed, which will be awkward! Using Up-jump with d-stick seems a logical split in energy for this state of play, as in 1 button max per hand, to do JCG & OOS NAir. Interestingly enough, I always find that 2-hands/1-button cooperation promotes the both technique's availability & successful execution. Just like wave-dashing, you just know how to minimize time in between the 2 pressed buttons very well.

Yea I ranted. But u thought I was an inadequate, & so now it's my turn <.< i jk I know you get it.

Thanks!

 

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I won't go into why I call it a D-stick atm here, but I do suggest u join us 2 revolutionists. The reasoning may not be sound enough for some, but should be since it is the most soundly accurate compared with another other misnomer.

& no, I must reassert I truly was talking about a JC grab as the only other possible method you didn't already post. Jumping with the left thumb "D-stick", & grab-canceling with your middle finger's "Z". I tested it myself & imo was superbly easy. Almost felt like I was crouch canceling, instead of jump canceling, cuz I would use the d-stick for both in these examples.

I only mention the NAir OOS after like this because it's seeming availability to both clawer & traditionalist alike. I simply wonder if this opens up any other doors for improvising your control. & if you haven't considered it, or dropped it as an option, why? No pointer finger needed, which will be awkward! Using Up-jump with d-stick seems a logical split in energy for this state of play, as in 1 button max per hand, to do JCG & OOS NAir. Interestingly enough, I always find that 2-hands/1-button cooperation promotes the both technique's availability & successful execution. Just like wave-dashing, you just know how to minimize time in between the 2 pressed buttons very well.

Yea I ranted. But u thought I was an inadequate, & so now it's my turn <.< i jk I know you get it.

Thanks!

That makes so much more sense lmao
D-stick is a nice word. D for direction I take.
Analog is more precise imo since it does not only read direction but let's not discuss it here.

I am going to give your method a shot and for fun trying the Nair OoS with analog too

 

[Arrestme]

Hurray! xD btw how do you boost grab? Not asking how it's done, but how do you do it I'm wondering? Just A+L?

 

[Scroll]

Hurray! xD btw how do you boost grab? Not asking how it's done, but how do you do it I'm wondering? Just A+L?

A+L does not work for me. Can I be missing something?
I use A+Z.
Thumb on A, middle finger on Z.

 

[Arrestme]

It's a secret I think that's why I asked.)) U dash for the atk, but when u press A u dont let go & hold it. Then u just press L or even R or Z to shield grab. I kno i first tried doing A, letting go, then L+A to shield grab hah. then i thought hmm, how about ill just try and press A, then L. Then I found u have to hold in A to 100% ensure it boost grabs, as long as u press L before time runs out. i could've been just a noob tho & talking nonsense.

but it allows you to get the most distance with the boost grab i think, with only 2 inputs.

 

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Reporting back just over 3 months since I switched to the claw grip.

Now it feels absolutely 100% completely natural.
I have no problems grip related anymore, well aside from some minor WD issues and those are being ironed out.
Any concerns I might have had back before the switch have been adressed and let me just tell you:
There is absolutely no downside to clawing.
Everything feels so free and stressless execution wise. I have more control over analog jumps as well as drift control. Rising aerials is a breeze.
My advice to you if you feel tempted to switch is to:
DO IT! Right away! And don't look back.

At first it will feel awkward, but it's deffinatly worth it.
Yes 2-3 months sounds like a long time, but some people even experienced a shorter handicap period than me.

One thing I ended up doing was to remove my X button from my controller (actually remove the underlying rubber for that one button, handicapping it) to eliminate and punish myself directly if I ever tried to use it with my thumb.
I only somewhat recently did that and I wish I did before.

Lemme know if you need any guidance or anything regarding switching grips