Advice for New Travelers: Learning from Personal Experience (Blog Entry, School Assignment)

J.D.E.

Well-Known Member
Standard Donor
I made an updated blog of Why Should you go to Tournaments? This blog was for a grade. So I highlighted some key points that new competitors should know or at least that I feel that they should know. I hope you all enjoy the blog entry and will post my older one here as well with the Tournament Newbie Thread.

http://justinearvin.blogspot.com/2017/03/so-you-want-to-compete-huh-well-heres.html

Older Blog: http://www.freestepdodge.com/threads/why-should-i-go-to-tournaments.4519/

@CyberEvil's Tournament Newbie Help Thread: http://www.freestepdodge.com/threads/tournament-newbie-help-thread.2545/

Blog Entry Reads as followed:

Mai+18_koftrailer03.jpg



So you want to start traveling and competing? First off, congratulations to you! You have taken the first step in becoming a competitor. Now, you must follow the concepts of becoming a solid player. Competing in fighting games are fun, yet challenging. There are some things that you must know when preparing for battle. You must start from scratch.

  • Changing your outlook on fighting games and how long will it take you to learn them
This is the most important one because most players fall under this category. At first, they're all excited to get into a game with very high expectations, but the moment that they run into a match with someone who's at a higher skill level (and lose in such a demoralizing matter), they go to doubting themselves. This is a part of the process. You must play someone either on the same skill level or higher in order to get stronger because they are the ones who can provide solid feedback in your gameplay. This in return will help you go into the training lab and perfect your technique. Fighting games will take you some time. This is something that you must remember. Most people in the fighting game community get all up in arms about them losing too much. You can't do that. You're going to lose. That is all there is to it. Don't get to a point to where you want to play players beneath your skill level because you can "beat them." All this does is give you a false impression of your gameplay. More importantly, don't turn into one of those egomaniacs who only plays people beneath them, but run into a player on the same skill level or stronger that gets all upset because you get beat. Players on your skill and players who are stronger are the route to go. Please, clear your heads, drop the impression that you have to be good the moment that you step into a tournament, and grind the game. No, I'm not talking three to six months. I'm talking some serious grinding. Fighting games are like being committed to a relationship with the guy or girl that you love the most. It is similar to being in a marriage, you have to stay with the the process. It can suck, but it is well-worth it in the end.

Tournament nerves are also something that you will experience while playing. In order to address this, warm up by playing some games with someone before the event to build your confidence and make yourself loose. This helps a lot! If you don't like experiencing the crowd noise, then bring your mp3 player or an iPod to play some music while playing. This helps drown out the noise. Also, keep in mind that you are not playing to impress people around your nor impress the stream viewers. You are playing for yourself and yourself only. Some of them are critical of players and don't even compete themselves. So you're a lot better off than them because the more that you go to tournaments, the more you learn. The more you learn, the better that you'll get. Take it from someone who has been there, done that, and is still doing it. Do not just focus on "winning". Look for ways for improvement in your gameplay while playing.

  • Do not switch from character to character. Pick a character, learn them and main that character.
This is another important thing. I've mentioned this in my older blog, Why Should I Go to Tournaments? Find you a character. Find the character that you like the most, the character that suits your style of play, learn the game, and learn that character. Stick with that character. If that character doesn't suit you, then okay. If you're trying to play around with the buttons in order to understand how moves work, then great. However, if you're trying to play more than one character at such a level as a newcomer, you're literally making your road of learning that much harder. It stops your progression as a player. Don't even think about this even just once until you've learned the game and your main character. Once you've gotten to a certain skill level to where you're absolutely sure that you can win with your main and understand the game, then you can pick up another character. This is why you see many players do this in tournaments. They have been playing the game longer than you have and got to a point where they can play more than one.

Most of the time, when players learn another character, it's to have a comfortable pocket character that does a better job against a character in certain match ups. However, let's forget about that and save that conversation for another day. Then you'll see players who aren't that good use multiple characters and then complain about "this character can't win" or "this character doesn't suit me." This isn't the case a lot of the times with those types of players. These are players who haven't given themselves enough time to play their character or the game. Sometimes, it's the fact that they're not as good as they think they are. That is why. Forget about how good or bad each character is at this point. Play who you like to learn the game and worry about that later on where you've established yourself.

Another thing about choosing a character is unless it's recommended advisement, do not let anyone decide your character for you. Some of the people who try and tell you to choose a certain character will show complete bias or won't give you a solid answer. Have someone knowledgeable help you decide the character, the difficulty, and help you decide how a character suits you. Lastly, keep in mind that your favorite character may not be suited for you. They may be either too hard for you for the time being or may not have the tools to play the way that you want to play.

  • BYOC: Bring Your Own Controller (or Arcade Stick)
Have your own personal controller ready to use at any event. Honestly, this is a self-explanatory thing. It's all preference, and it's your own controller. I personally use a controller pad for some games and use an arcade stick on the other.

16472996_10212238242773858_714086310835250386_n.jpg

  • Last, but not least, be friendly, opened-minded, and have fun
You don't always have to go to compete. The main reason (besides us competitors) is to have fun and enjoy each other for the weekend. There's more to going to fighting game tournaments than competing. You go to hang out, meet new people, and ultimately learn. As long as you show respect in the forums and throughout communities, you not only get it as a player, but people also respect you personally. At the end of the day, despite the characters that people use, despite each player's skill level, and despite each person's differences, having a great time is what it's all about.

17202804_10212587852233876_7529851081313324780_n.jpg
 
Last edited:

Awesmic

Well-Known Member
Standard Donor
Hygiene. Don't forget hygiene.

Believe it or not, some people will actually condone bad hygiene as a "tactical advantage" over their opponent, when really it's a bad matchup to everyone surrounding them.

Don't let bad hygiene be a 10-0 in their favor when you don't have to... bring your own deodorant.
 

J.D.E.

Well-Known Member
Standard Donor
Hygiene. Don't forget hygiene.

Believe it or not, some people will actually condone bad hygiene as a "tactical advantage" over their opponent, when really it's a bad matchup to everyone surrounding them.

Don't let bad hygiene be a 10-0 in their favor when you don't have to... bring your own deodorant.
Definitely
 

J.D.E.

Well-Known Member
Standard Donor
@deathofaninja thanks dude. @DestructionBomb @Awesmic @KasumiLover69, it's honestly not even funny. I think it's pretty fucking sad that people have to actually take it upon the community sites amongst the entire FGC to tell people that they need to improve their hygiene. It's terrible.

I should have added an online section part too because people get too flustered over it. Then again, it goes with my 1st 2 paragraphs.
 

SilverForte

Well-Known Member
Yes please, a bad odor ruins everyones experience, be considerate.

Not to mention it perpetuates the myth that the fgc is a bunch of slobs.
 
ALL DOA6 DOA5 DOA4 DOA3 DOA2U DOAD
Top