Perversion
Smash Cadet
Hello, everyone. I attempted to post a topic like this in the competitive section because I thought it pertained more to that board than General. However, it was removed and I can also understand that. I would like to touch on an issue that may have been touched on, but possibly not in depth. While at a tournament, I feel fine and relaxed. I play friendlies, and usually I play very well within them. However, as soon as bracket starts, my skill level plummets quite a bit. Now, as far as reasons for this, I've come to the conclusion that there are four possible causes for this:
Hey Perv! What if you're just not good at the game? Well, fine thread-goers, I am not good at the game! However, there's a large disparity between me playing while relaxed and focused and while I'm in bracket. The people I practice with all the time have seen me in tournament have have mentioned that they didn't recognize my play style as it was far worse than what they're used to with friendlies.
Now, I know a lot of this has to do with experience and getting stuff down to muscle memory. I'm just seeking out things that could possibly help with reducing said nerves. What has helped you out to overcome these tensions?
- Fear of losing/getting kicked out of bracket. We all want to stay in and keep playing the game and the pressure of losing can cause dips in skill. However, as someone who started competing in NorCal, I regularly went 0-2 and 1-2 regularly. So losing is no stranger to me, but now that I'm in a new region and I've actually started going higher in bracket, losing becomes a bigger pressure than it has been to me in ages.
- With the fear of losing comes the pressure of wanting to win. We all have the desire to win, and now in a setting where winning becomes more realistic to someone like me due to the change in setting, the idea of pushing further also puts pressure on someone who doesn't normally go far.
- Finding out how skilled your opponent is before the match. My last time in bracket, before I went up against my Winners Round 2, I was told that my next opponent was Top 10 PR within my region. In the end I psyched myself out and got in my own head, and lost. My opponent, before the match even saw this, as when we sat down I mentioned what I heard and even said something along the lines of "So you're on PR? Time to get my ass kicked." He replied with "You shouldn't think like that." So again, I got into my own head with a poor mindset.
- I also come into the idea that I kind of just panic or go through a blank state of mind. Where I mentally dump all the skill I've accumulated and tech I'm able to do and just resort to very stupid tactics, and knowing that it's a bad option and stupid idea while in the middle of a match.
Hey Perv! What if you're just not good at the game? Well, fine thread-goers, I am not good at the game! However, there's a large disparity between me playing while relaxed and focused and while I'm in bracket. The people I practice with all the time have seen me in tournament have have mentioned that they didn't recognize my play style as it was far worse than what they're used to with friendlies.
Now, I know a lot of this has to do with experience and getting stuff down to muscle memory. I'm just seeking out things that could possibly help with reducing said nerves. What has helped you out to overcome these tensions?