So I just bought a Gamecube and Melee v1.0...

[DoritoCrumbMan]

Also got F-Zero GX. ANYWAYS

Like the title says, they just came in the mail a couple days ago. Now I have way more opportunities to practice than just messing around at my campus. I loved the game in my childhood and I still love it to this day, though I seem to always gravitate towards Sm4sh when it comes to how skilled I actually am.
So I'm looking to become better at Melee, but having issues getting a feel for the game. No one I play with is on a truly competitive level, as they never actually utilize advanced techniques like dash dancing or wave dashing. However, we all have at least a basic understanding of how to combo properly, avoid/use punishes, etc.

What I'm asking is, what are some good ways to practice Melee in general? I know the bare minimum basics of things like WD, and I've been getting good at desynching with Ice Climbers. But do you guys have ways in which you discipline yourself and practice as efficiently as possible?
My current mains include Ice Climbers, Sheik, and Mario. They're bound to change since I've already had a hard time finding mains in the game.
Thanks a bunch.

 

[AUS]

Personally I got good through Melee netplay since on it I was able to face people at a competitive level everyday, however not everyone has the luxury. If you can get your hands on a nice computer and a gamecube adapter than your good as gold. If you cant than I would suggest just getting used to tech skill against bots, I know it sounds odd to say face bots but when facing real people you usually tend to go back on your fundamentals and are afraid to add in tech skill. When fighting bots however you don't have to worry about loosing. Just try some bot matches where you wavedash to get everywhere and practice some L-cancels and dash dances. While I cant say for the other characters as a Shiek main I would suggest learning wavedash back and wavedash into grab since down throw to fair is one of your best moves. I would also suggest learning how to L-cancel your moves, practice by doing an arial and then L-canceling it after. This is at least how I learned how to tech with Sheik.

 

[AirFair]

Just practice different tech and combos on low level cpus. Check this post out too
http://smashboards.com/threads/falco-discussion-thread.256826/page-439#post-14739329

 

[EPsilon933]

I don't practice Melee alone. It's too boring. Instead, I play Street Fighter online to improve my fundamental skills, namely spacing and prediction. It's more fun to put in more hours this way. There's no replacement for playing against human players in person, though

 

[Spak]

Watch this video. It's about Falcon, but I think it offers some pretty solid ways of training for any character.

 

[DoritoCrumbMan]

Thanks a bunch for the responses guys. Can't watch the video cause I'm at work, but thanks for the thread link.
I've been playing/trying more "regular" fighting games like MvC2 (favorite) and SF4 (horrible at it), it's pretty interesting but can't do more than dabble as I don't own either at home. Sure my PC could run SF4 so I'll get it off steam right now. I'll be able to check out more stuff when I get home, thanks again guys

 

[MellowTV]

I love Luigi!

 

[DoritoCrumbMan]

I love Luigi!

I adore Luigi in Project M but have trouble using him in anything else :\ Still a great character tho

 

[JoeTango]

I ordered F-Zero GX from ebay a few days ago, I'm so pumped to play it. F-Zero X was awesome!!
Sorry not related to melee lol but kind of related to this thread... kind of...