What Should I Know In One Month?

[JFB (JurgaBurgaFlintines)]

I'm a Marth main and I feel as though I'm progressing very slowly. I started taking competitive Melee seriously about a month and half ago. I feel that I'm not progressing as fast as I should be. I started out knowing how to wavedash and Dash Dance and maybe some L-Canceling every now and then.
My question is what do you think a new Marth main should have accomplished in a one months time after starting to play competitively? I get roughly about 4-5 hours of practice a week if you guys are curious.

 

[djmath]

grab more. control the game. know the matchups and exploit them. learn "guaranteed" or 50/50 combos and setups and execute them. don't get played. dash dance harder. down tilt more. shdf. fast fall l-cancel aerials into tilts, dashes, or grabs. win more. take the lead and make your opponent approach. don't lose a lead. f throw f smash. don't get punished. don't over commit. that's my advice

 

[FlashG]

While djmath did just give some excellent advice involving game knowledge, I'm going to go down the mentality route. It sounds like you're trying to compare your progress to the progress of others, and I think thinking this way can only hurt you in the long run. You shouldn't worry about how long it's taking you to learn something compared to others, you should focus on trying to be the very best you can be. Everybody learns things differently and at different paces. Don't try to learn something the fastest way, try to learn it the best and most effective way for you. If that means practicing l canceling for an hour a day until you have it down perfectly, then that's what you have to do.

The thing that's great about being new is that there is a whole world of things to get better at, so you know what to practice. Practice your l-canceling, wavedashes, dash dancing, SHFFL aerials, dtilt mastery, SH double fair, etc. Practice anything that seems useful. There is always something more to practice. While this may seem daunting to you, remember that learning to play Melee is a slow process even for the fastest of learners, and the worst thing you can do for yourself is to get discouraged or demoralized.

Don't be afraid to fail. Everybody that has ever or will ever play this game has failed. Use your failure as a learning experience, and don't be too hard on yourself. If you strive to be the very best you can be, and put in the practice, you will most certainly become a good player in time.

I hope this helped

 

[AirFair]

Don't push yourself to learn things super fast as the learning pace is different for everyone. djmath and FlashG offer great tips for both the techniques and mentality you want to learn, but take it one step at a time. I'm not very experienced myself and all these things seem daunting to me as well, so you aren't the only one.

if you are curious, I have been playing since July of this year, and only now am I starting to constantly incorporate wavedashing, l cancelling, shffling, and dash dancing into my play. I know about things like shdf and the neutral game, but it takes practice, as with all things to really understand

Good luck, from one newbie to another.

 

[JFB (JurgaBurgaFlintines)]

Don't push yourself to learn things super fast as the learning pace is different for everyone. djmath and FlashG offer great tips for both the techniques and mentality you want to learn, but take it one step at a time. I'm not very experienced myself and all these things seem daunting to me as well, so you aren't the only one.

if you are curious, I have been playing since July of this year, and only now am I starting to constantly incorporate wavedashing, l cancelling, shffling, and dash dancing into my play. I know about things like shdf and the neutral game, but it takes practice, as with all things to really understand

Good luck, from one newbie to another.

I know I shouldn't push myself, but I'm getting ready for a tourney on the 16th of November (it's a local btw) as well as Apex 2015 which I plan to break out in. I really want to win more than anything to prove to my parents that I can compete and win money that I can potentially use for my education (Only 15 btw). I really like everyone's advice and I really appreciate it. I will honestly never get demoralized because my eye is on #1 LOL.

 

[Gannonspetmoblin]

I know I shouldn't push myself, but I'm getting ready for a tourney on the 16th of November (it's a local btw) as well as Apex 2015 which I plan to break out in. I really want to win more than anything to prove to my parents that I can compete and win money that I can potentially use for my education (Only 15 btw). I really like everyone's advice and I really appreciate it. I will honestly never get demoralized because my eye is on #1 LOL.

It's good to set your sights high, mine are quite high as well, but if you think after a couple months you can win enough prize money to fund your education, you need a shot of realism (which I'm sure Apex will provide you). It's good to have absolute confidence in yourself even if you fail, because I think it leads to greater progress in the long term, but thinking that you will be taking everyone's money at a national for a game that's almost as old as you are, that you just picked up, is doing everyone who's worked at this game a real disservice.

 

[djmath]

don't listen to the haters. Keep playing.

play against everyone you can. the more you play the better you'll get.

game sense and matchup knowledge > tech skill

 

[AirFair]

I know I shouldn't push myself, but I'm getting ready for a tourney on the 16th of November (it's a local btw) as well as Apex 2015 which I plan to break out in. I really want to win more than anything to prove to my parents that I can compete and win money that I can potentially use for my education (Only 15 btw). I really like everyone's advice and I really appreciate it. I will honestly never get demoralized because my eye is on #1 LOL.

Lol you are so lucky your parents would let you compete in Apex. I'm the same age as you and I can only go to a local about once or twice a month.

 

[Espi]

Honestly, travelling to play Melee is one of the fastest ways to improve. If you have the money that is.

 

[TheBestinWestPalmBeach]

I really want to win more than anything to prove to my parents that I can compete and win money that I can potentially use for my education (Only 15 btw).

Not trying to be mean or anything, but you simply aren't going to earn a decent amount of money playing Melee or any game really based on the amount of time you're going to put into getting good enough to earn ANY amount of money. People that make money playing games in any capacity most likely didn't start out with that intention.

That being said, go out to your locals or play with people that are better than you as often as possible. Force yourself to sit through however many losses you can and just play to get better. If it's casual (not in tournament) try everything you're working on so you can get it faster. Losing because you messed up a Hax dash in casuals might not be too fun, but it makes you better.