REGISTER HERE TODAY!
Welcome to Smash Boards, the world's largest Super Smash Bros. 64, Smash Bros. Melee, and Smash Bros. Brawl community! Over 110,000 Smash Bros. fans from around the world have come to discuss these great games in over 4 million posted discussions!
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest, which gives you the ability to view most discussions and articles. By joining our FREE community you will be able to post new topics and reply to threads, communicate privately with other SmashBoards members (PM), sign up for Smash Bros. tournaments, and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free, so please, join our community today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact support.
|
Did you know: When you login, you see less forum advertising?
Social Group
This is a moderated group.
Hook, Line, & Sinker- NCs tips to catch the Catfish
This is a place where NC smashers will have serious discussion concerning the advancement of their skills in their mindset, character proficiency, and overall knowledge of smash.
I will update this with important points/posts made by people in this group after discussions have been finished up so that the material is easy to access.
First order of business: deciding discussion topics. This will be done by anyone coming in with an immediate question/topic for discussion.
Once we have a good list of topics to discuss, we will(as a group) go through each topic as thoroughly as possible, and after such discussion a concise, informative summary of the discussion will be posted here so that it can be easily referenced.
Let's show everyone what we're capable of!
First topic: Tourney nerves
Boss Hog(also talks about learning to play differently some): Fiz- Yeah I've seen this a lot and it does have a lot to do with your nerves. Playing a lot of matches with different people helps this. If you play too often with one person, or a select group of people, then you tend to make habits according to those specific styles. So when you start playing somebody new or you're in a match that's worth something, your nerves tighten up and it's harder to play with full tech skill.
The best tip I can give you is to just play a lot of different people, and don't try to go into "autopilot" when playing VS anyone. Always focus and be aware of whats going on in a match. Matches that are worth something help a lot too. Like money matches or tourney matches. It all comes down to experience. You'll get there.
Ph00t- A big help with nerves can be telling yourself that you're good and you can win your matches and just repeating it over and over until you want to tell yourself to shut up, and that you know already. By that point, you'll have started believing yourself, and that'll help your confidence immensely.
PP- Boss Hog made a good point about nerves. What he said combined with music or deep breathing exercises(which I have started to do and are very helpful) can really have an impact on how you play. Take your time in between matches of a set or before one begins, realistically you won't hold the tournament up at all if you take a minute or so to calm yourself down. In that time period, you want to breathe deeply and relax all of your muscles. If you're in between matches, you should also try to use this time to think about what happened during the previous match(that made it close/why you lost) and how you can fix it.
Karn(fresh angle)- One issue with nerves is, as Boss Hog said, not going into auto-pilot mode. Nerves make you go into auto-pilot. One good way to get out of auto-pilot mode, which I told pp a while ago, is to start looking at a different aspect of the match. Most people tend to either focus on themselves, their opponent, or rarely, some set point on the stage. Figure out which you focus on in auto-pilot mode and then when you go into auto-pilot mode force yourself to focus on a different place for a while and it usually takes you out of auto-pilot. Most players tend to focus on themselves, because they need to before they develop good spacing. However, your reaction time is usually much better when you focus on your opponent, so you should probably learn to focus on your opponent for most of the match.
** Will update with friendlies/general advice soon
2nd topic: Friendlies
Moo- I like to counter pick in friendlies. Keeps it from being the same neutrals over and over again. Plus changing up your character every now and again instead of the same guy for hours on end. Just my opinion to keeping them fun.
PLUR- i WISH people would counterpick stages against me in friendlies. i need more rainbow cruise/pokefloats experience. those stages are fun.
vZakat- Well I think playing a lot of different people is good. I usually don't like to play with someone more than 3/4 matches if I'm at a tourney (unless they're super good). Playing a lot of different styles is very beneficial to improving.
As far as teaching someone during a friendly, I'd say just point out any bad habits you notice them doing. For example if someone always rolls towards you after you throw them.
Ape saying stuff- -how to make the most of them
you can use em to learn your opponents habits ahead of a tourney match
valuable experience for certain matchups and player styles
stage experience, practice the counterpicks. cause it's unlikely you'll get alot of stage specific experience in tourney. if you don't know the counterpick stages you might as well forfeit if they win the nuetral.
play different characters. a good idea is to play characters you have problems with or have lil understanding for.
-how to keep them fun
loosen up, play slack, don't take them seriously
it's a friendly afterall
if they get monotonous do items, or free for alls, something that actually brings the partygame aspect out. you won't get much out of it for tourney experience, but hey... who cares, it's fun.
-how to teach people?
sandbagging is a joke imo
on that note, i do it all the time
i just don't take matches seriously, therefore i basically sandbag
critiquing vids helps alot. in friendlies this isn't the case i just wanted to point this out
really focus on what you think are their weakpoints
if you notice you're exploiting something on somebody, point it out to them.
help them work on it, discuss options and counter-options etc etc
also vice-versa, if you notice they're doing something right. point that out and tell em why it's good.
discuss options, counter-options etc etc.
remember they're not going to get stuff right away and become magically better
it takes work, time, and experience . so don't get frustrated if you feel they're not getting it fast enough
remember, you sucked at some point too
-how long to play each person/people?
as much as you want
if you don't want to play with someone
don't
that simple
just friendlies
they **** an attitude
**** em
Sengin(different spin)- Ah, friendlies. I love 'em. Unfortunately, I think a lot of the better players don't like them with anyone but the upper tier of players, which leaves a lot of decent players playing beginners - which will help the beginners, and somewhat the decent players, but not as much as the other way around. This leaves a pretty large gap between the decent players and the better players. It can be quite intimidating to ask a better player for friendlies, and because I've never actually seen a better player ask a worse player (even if by only a small amount) for some friendlies, I think they should (note: I am not claiming that they don't, but because I've never seen I'm going to assume it doesn't happen often). This way the state as a whole can grow, and not just the lucky ones who get to take on the better players by bugging the **** out of them until they have some matches.
Also, please don't sandbag. That's just bull****. The only time I think sandbagging is ok is when you are still playing better than your opponent, just one step ahead instead of three. Then as you start to see them improve and match your step, you hold back less. The opponent will start seeing that they keep getting closer and closer and it's exciting for them. Of course, not everyone likes that and would prefer no sandbagging whatsoever, but I that that part is a matter of opinion. I personally prefer no sandbagging when playing someone better.
I think for helping people get better it's great to point things out mid-match. I like to say "oh nice didn't expect that" or "ouh, nice DI there" or "nice tech." Small things help a lot. I agree that it's good to point out bad things as well, such "you always roll left" or "you always approach with 2 lasers" (which a lot of falcos do, by the way). I personally feel that it helps, and people need to stop being a ***** if someone's trying to help them by politely pointing out something they can do to help (seriously, tell someone something that hints at them not being perfect and they start getting pissy and *****y). Also, it really helps if the onlookers don't start with some bull**** like "oh man PP is just murdering this scrub, haha" or "you got hit with THAT? Ahaha."
So basically: people aren't getting enough experience vs better players and people need to stop being dicks (both to those trying to help them and to those trying to learn).
Ace-
I'm also opposed to sandbagging, unless both of you are obviously goofing off and trying to have fun. Playing "seriouslies" will better prepare both players for tournament play in more ways than one. When you make a mistake, it needs to be punished to the fullest extent of your opponent's ability. It could be argued that punishing mistakes is what this game is all about. If mistakes go unpunished, you're much more likely to continue making them. Also, playing seriouslies implies a bit more pressure on your game and the outcome of the match (as opposed to goofing off in friendlies), which is good mental exercise for dealing with nervousness in tourney.
3rd Topic: Tech Chasing
PP- Tech chasing, from an offensive position, is not cut-and-dry. It is NOT formulaic. It is largely based off of positioning and movement of each character as they land, but factors like nervousness/crowd pressure/intensity of the combo preceding the tech situation can cause more predictable techs. Factoring that out of the equation ill be vital for this discussion to go anywhere, so I won't include it, especially since there are enough things to deal with as it is.
One factor involving manipulation of tech options is the action of the tech chaser. If the tech chaser is running towards the person laying on the ground, then the person on the ground will most likely react quickly. This is because it is difficult to react to tech options while moving quickly. There is usually a pressure/predictive component of running towards someone that causes them to act somewhat similarly each time they are approached. Most players that feel such pressure will roll towards the runner, and this means that most players who run towards those laying on the ground will WD backwards when they get fairly close to the person on the ground. This is a good strategy(offensively) when pressuring/comboing someone hard, as the one being comboed tends to roll towards the middle of the stage for some breathing room. Now then, most players I have seen tech away to avoid this and, if they're a spacie, to avoid the punishment of abusing their best option(tech in place). To compensate, many players punish a tech towards them once, and then overshoot afterward since players being punished are LESS LIKELY to tech in the way they were punished hard for initially. Now then, let's say you have a player who knows all of this(or an experienced player). Their first reaction is to roll backwards when being dashed at because of this. An experienced tech chaser can, theoretically, react to this and punish, but it is less likely since most players expect a tech towards them in the first place, and adapt more consistently throughout the match/set.
**this gets into reacting vs predicting a little, which is something I will address in a later post/later on.
Teching in place is when there a player wants to get into the action quickly/decides when it is safest. For spacies, a tech into shine is a great defensive option, so many players try to cover this option vs them first before reacting to rolls. the speed of a tech in place, and the quick reactions that can be executed off of it(dashes/grabs/jabs/etc) are a force to be reckoned with. With the overall usefulness of this option, as stated before, it is wisest to know when this option is truly safe to use, as it will typically be focused on more than the others in competitive situations.
The final option, not teching(and usually waiting/reacting to the chaser) is used by more experienced players as well. Most people, when able to tech, do so almost every time. Not teching adds a new dimension to tech chasing, since jab resets and attacks that could be harder to time on techs in place can be used. This is used to either wait until a dasher/jumper is past you so that you can getup attack(I don't feel like discussing it now, S mah D, but it deserves it's own recognition as a strong option) or roll/getup reactively(usually in the direction you were approached from).
From an offensive perspective, this usually happens when you start DD'ing all crazily around a person who hasn't teched. Slow things down so you can quickly punish a missed tech. It is almost always best to smash/aerial or jab reset a non-tech vs wait it out because then you'll have to react to a movement vs a standstill hoping they can push A to clank with your attack.
Another factor in tech chasing is position of the tech chaser and the one being tech chased. If the tech chaser is controlling most of the stage, then he is more likely to cover the tech in place/non-tech/roll backwards option, since the roll backwards will not go as far/grant as much free space as a tech in place or towards the opponent.
** Quick note: it may be in the chaser's best interest to be mentally prepared(a factor i forgot to mention) for a tech towards them or a tech in place. This is because they will have more STAGE CONTROL(another topic to be covered later? Definitely) over the player teching close to the edge. **
If the person who is being tech chased is off of the screen, then the chances are the person trying to tech chase is flying full throttle over to where they landed in order to punish what the techer is doing. In my personal experience, I typically see players rolling towards the player moving in on the offscreen player because there is much less time to react to the roll when it is already halfway finished then when it initially starts up. I've seen LoZR usually WD back(as mentioned earlier) even when he can't see them at all but this may have to do with him actually getting to them before the roll starts up due to Fox's speed than experience. Either way, this is a safer position for the techer because they can choose an option without being reacted to easily. In my opinion, it is safest to TYPICALLY techroll backwards, since their position isn't discovered until they are almost standing up.
If a chaser is on the edge and creates a tech from an opponent more towards the middle of the stage, their is usually little that is productive that can be done unless the move being used gives the chaser enough time to get to the tech in place point(pivotal point for tech chasing since you can react to their options there....I should put this somewhere more useful lol). Most players never tech backwards in this situation, so it is usually safe to approach forward without much concern.
Karn(expanding on reaction vs prediction with regards to tech chasing)- One thing to note, though: You should learn when your character can tech chase off of reaction and when you have to actually guess where your opponent goes. A lot of Sheik and Fox's tech chases can be done purely reactively for a long time. If this can be done, there is not reason to try and guess where they are going when you can just wait and see. However, falco and falcon (I think) seem to have to actually guess where their opponent will be in most tech chases. Now, if you are in a situation where you have to guess, try and see what kind of patterns your opponent has. Those patterns should have something to do with what their stage position is, so try and note that as well. However, if you notice that you are consistently getting outplayed in tech-chasing opportunities you can always just not go for the tech chase and put yourself in a good position for after they do whatever. One thing most people don't realize is that you are pressuring your opponent simply by standing in certain places on the stage. But that gets more into stage control so I won't go into that now.
General Advice(whatever type stuff):
Lots of Ace-Moo, the more you understand different aspects of the game the more you will notice different types of mistakes. Theoretically, every time you take damage you should analyze the situation and see why you took damage. Same goes for KOs/getting KO'd; always try to go back and look at what led up to the kill. If you don't have vids, you should try to get recorded ASAP. I'll be glad to record some friendlies with you next time we're at a tourney. In the meantime, check out videos of players that play your main and analyze their mistakes (vs various characters, not just top/high tiers), and DON'T hesitate to look at minor details.
*In my opinion, it's good to watch videos with a fellow smasher and point out stuff. What I mean is, say stuff like "wow that was bad DI" or "he so could have tech'd that" or "why didn't he dthrow instead?" type stuff. You never know when something will be said that the other smasher had not previously heard of/realized. I think it gets both of your minds thinking more about competitive smash. /random tidbit
**I think just hearing that other people have the same problem did a few of us some good. Although I already knew I wasn't the only one with nerve problems, it helps to know that other people deal with it in smash (just trying to be honest).
I think one of the best things a smasher could do is talk to other people about the game (preferably someone with tons of experience) and keep an open mind. Even discussing mental strategies that may seem insignificant to the teller may be beneficial to the listener (like for a Ganon ledge dash, I drop from the ledge with down and then hit jump immediately and hit over and R, and it wasn't until like 6 months ago that I started rolling from down to over because someone said to do it in a "haduken" motion which made it a lot easier for me - pretty player-specific example I know, sue me).
You need to be a member of this group to view its contents
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 09:24 AM.
|
Hook, Line, & Sinker- NCs tips to catch the Catfish
This is a place where NC smashers will have serious discussion concerning the advancement of their skills in their mindset, character proficiency, and overall knowledge of smash.
I will update this with important points/posts made by people in this group after discussions have been finished up so that the material is easy to access.
First order of business: deciding discussion topics. This will be done by anyone coming in with an immediate question/topic for discussion.
Once we have a good list of topics to discuss, we will(as a group) go through each topic as thoroughly as possible, and after such discussion a concise, informative summary of the discussion will be posted here so that it can be easily referenced.
Let's show everyone what we're capable of!
First topic: Tourney nerves
Boss Hog(also talks about learning to play differently some): Fiz- Yeah I've seen this a lot and it does have a lot to do with your nerves. Playing a lot of matches with different people helps this. If you play too often with one person, or a select group of people, then you tend to make habits according to those specific styles. So when you start playing somebody new or you're in a match that's worth something, your nerves tighten up and it's harder to play with full tech skill.
The best tip I can give you is to just play a lot of different people, and don't try to go into "autopilot" when playing VS anyone. Always focus and be aware of whats going on in a match. Matches that are worth something help a lot too. Like money matches or tourney matches. It all comes down to experience. You'll get there.
Ph00t- A big help with nerves can be telling yourself that you're good and you can win your matches and just repeating it over and over until you want to tell yourself to shut up, and that you know already. By that point, you'll have started believing yourself, and that'll help your confidence immensely.
PP- Boss Hog made a good point about nerves. What he said combined with music or deep breathing exercises(which I have started to do and are very helpful) can really have an impact on how you play. Take your time in between matches of a set or before one begins, realistically you won't hold the tournament up at all if you take a minute or so to calm yourself down. In that time period, you want to breathe deeply and relax all of your muscles. If you're in between matches, you should also try to use this time to think about what happened during the previous match(that made it close/why you lost) and how you can fix it.
Karn(fresh angle)- One issue with nerves is, as Boss Hog said, not going into auto-pilot mode. Nerves make you go into auto-pilot. One good way to get out of auto-pilot mode, which I told pp a while ago, is to start looking at a different aspect of the match. Most people tend to either focus on themselves, their opponent, or rarely, some set point on the stage. Figure out which you focus on in auto-pilot mode and then when you go into auto-pilot mode force yourself to focus on a different place for a while and it usually takes you out of auto-pilot. Most players tend to focus on themselves, because they need to before they develop good spacing. However, your reaction time is usually much better when you focus on your opponent, so you should probably learn to focus on your opponent for most of the match.
** Will update with friendlies/general advice soon
2nd topic: Friendlies
Moo- I like to counter pick in friendlies. Keeps it from being the same neutrals over and over again. Plus changing up your character every now and again instead of the same guy for hours on end. Just my opinion to keeping them fun.
PLUR- i WISH people would counterpick stages against me in friendlies. i need more rainbow cruise/pokefloats experience. those stages are fun.
vZakat- Well I think playing a lot of different people is good. I usually don't like to play with someone more than 3/4 matches if I'm at a tourney (unless they're super good). Playing a lot of different styles is very beneficial to improving.
As far as teaching someone during a friendly, I'd say just point out any bad habits you notice them doing. For example if someone always rolls towards you after you throw them.
Ape saying stuff- -how to make the most of them
you can use em to learn your opponents habits ahead of a tourney match
valuable experience for certain matchups and player styles
stage experience, practice the counterpicks. cause it's unlikely you'll get alot of stage specific experience in tourney. if you don't know the counterpick stages you might as well forfeit if they win the nuetral.
play different characters. a good idea is to play characters you have problems with or have lil understanding for.
-how to keep them fun
loosen up, play slack, don't take them seriously
it's a friendly afterall
if they get monotonous do items, or free for alls, something that actually brings the partygame aspect out. you won't get much out of it for tourney experience, but hey... who cares, it's fun.
-how to teach people?
sandbagging is a joke imo
on that note, i do it all the time
i just don't take matches seriously, therefore i basically sandbag
critiquing vids helps alot. in friendlies this isn't the case i just wanted to point this out
really focus on what you think are their weakpoints
if you notice you're exploiting something on somebody, point it out to them.
help them work on it, discuss options and counter-options etc etc
also vice-versa, if you notice they're doing something right. point that out and tell em why it's good.
discuss options, counter-options etc etc.
remember they're not going to get stuff right away and become magically better
it takes work, time, and experience . so don't get frustrated if you feel they're not getting it fast enough
remember, you sucked at some point too
-how long to play each person/people?
as much as you want
if you don't want to play with someone
don't
that simple
just friendlies
they **** an attitude
**** em
Sengin(different spin)- Ah, friendlies. I love 'em. Unfortunately, I think a lot of the better players don't like them with anyone but the upper tier of players, which leaves a lot of decent players playing beginners - which will help the beginners, and somewhat the decent players, but not as much as the other way around. This leaves a pretty large gap between the decent players and the better players. It can be quite intimidating to ask a better player for friendlies, and because I've never actually seen a better player ask a worse player (even if by only a small amount) for some friendlies, I think they should (note: I am not claiming that they don't, but because I've never seen I'm going to assume it doesn't happen often). This way the state as a whole can grow, and not just the lucky ones who get to take on the better players by bugging the **** out of them until they have some matches.
Also, please don't sandbag. That's just bull****. The only time I think sandbagging is ok is when you are still playing better than your opponent, just one step ahead instead of three. Then as you start to see them improve and match your step, you hold back less. The opponent will start seeing that they keep getting closer and closer and it's exciting for them. Of course, not everyone likes that and would prefer no sandbagging whatsoever, but I that that part is a matter of opinion. I personally prefer no sandbagging when playing someone better.
I think for helping people get better it's great to point things out mid-match. I like to say "oh nice didn't expect that" or "ouh, nice DI there" or "nice tech." Small things help a lot. I agree that it's good to point out bad things as well, such "you always roll left" or "you always approach with 2 lasers" (which a lot of falcos do, by the way). I personally feel that it helps, and people need to stop being a ***** if someone's trying to help them by politely pointing out something they can do to help (seriously, tell someone something that hints at them not being perfect and they start getting pissy and *****y). Also, it really helps if the onlookers don't start with some bull**** like "oh man PP is just murdering this scrub, haha" or "you got hit with THAT? Ahaha."
So basically: people aren't getting enough experience vs better players and people need to stop being dicks (both to those trying to help them and to those trying to learn).
Ace-
I'm also opposed to sandbagging, unless both of you are obviously goofing off and trying to have fun. Playing "seriouslies" will better prepare both players for tournament play in more ways than one. When you make a mistake, it needs to be punished to the fullest extent of your opponent's ability. It could be argued that punishing mistakes is what this game is all about. If mistakes go unpunished, you're much more likely to continue making them. Also, playing seriouslies implies a bit more pressure on your game and the outcome of the match (as opposed to goofing off in friendlies), which is good mental exercise for dealing with nervousness in tourney.
3rd Topic: Tech Chasing
PP- Tech chasing, from an offensive position, is not cut-and-dry. It is NOT formulaic. It is largely based off of positioning and movement of each character as they land, but factors like nervousness/crowd pressure/intensity of the combo preceding the tech situation can cause more predictable techs. Factoring that out of the equation ill be vital for this discussion to go anywhere, so I won't include it, especially since there are enough things to deal with as it is.
One factor involving manipulation of tech options is the action of the tech chaser. If the tech chaser is running towards the person laying on the ground, then the person on the ground will most likely react quickly. This is because it is difficult to react to tech options while moving quickly. There is usually a pressure/predictive component of running towards someone that causes them to act somewhat similarly each time they are approached. Most players that feel such pressure will roll towards the runner, and this means that most players who run towards those laying on the ground will WD backwards when they get fairly close to the person on the ground. This is a good strategy(offensively) when pressuring/comboing someone hard, as the one being comboed tends to roll towards the middle of the stage for some breathing room. Now then, most players I have seen tech away to avoid this and, if they're a spacie, to avoid the punishment of abusing their best option(tech in place). To compensate, many players punish a tech towards them once, and then overshoot afterward since players being punished are LESS LIKELY to tech in the way they were punished hard for initially. Now then, let's say you have a player who knows all of this(or an experienced player). Their first reaction is to roll backwards when being dashed at because of this. An experienced tech chaser can, theoretically, react to this and punish, but it is less likely since most players expect a tech towards them in the first place, and adapt more consistently throughout the match/set.
**this gets into reacting vs predicting a little, which is something I will address in a later post/later on.
Teching in place is when there a player wants to get into the action quickly/decides when it is safest. For spacies, a tech into shine is a great defensive option, so many players try to cover this option vs them first before reacting to rolls. the speed of a tech in place, and the quick reactions that can be executed off of it(dashes/grabs/jabs/etc) are a force to be reckoned with. With the overall usefulness of this option, as stated before, it is wisest to know when this option is truly safe to use, as it will typically be focused on more than the others in competitive situations.
The final option, not teching(and usually waiting/reacting to the chaser) is used by more experienced players as well. Most people, when able to tech, do so almost every time. Not teching adds a new dimension to tech chasing, since jab resets and attacks that could be harder to time on techs in place can be used. This is used to either wait until a dasher/jumper is past you so that you can getup attack(I don't feel like discussing it now, S mah D, but it deserves it's own recognition as a strong option) or roll/getup reactively(usually in the direction you were approached from).
From an offensive perspective, this usually happens when you start DD'ing all crazily around a person who hasn't teched. Slow things down so you can quickly punish a missed tech. It is almost always best to smash/aerial or jab reset a non-tech vs wait it out because then you'll have to react to a movement vs a standstill hoping they can push A to clank with your attack.
Another factor in tech chasing is position of the tech chaser and the one being tech chased. If the tech chaser is controlling most of the stage, then he is more likely to cover the tech in place/non-tech/roll backwards option, since the roll backwards will not go as far/grant as much free space as a tech in place or towards the opponent.
** Quick note: it may be in the chaser's best interest to be mentally prepared(a factor i forgot to mention) for a tech towards them or a tech in place. This is because they will have more STAGE CONTROL(another topic to be covered later? Definitely) over the player teching close to the edge. **
If the person who is being tech chased is off of the screen, then the chances are the person trying to tech chase is flying full throttle over to where they landed in order to punish what the techer is doing. In my personal experience, I typically see players rolling towards the player moving in on the offscreen player because there is much less time to react to the roll when it is already halfway finished then when it initially starts up. I've seen LoZR usually WD back(as mentioned earlier) even when he can't see them at all but this may have to do with him actually getting to them before the roll starts up due to Fox's speed than experience. Either way, this is a safer position for the techer because they can choose an option without being reacted to easily. In my opinion, it is safest to TYPICALLY techroll backwards, since their position isn't discovered until they are almost standing up.
If a chaser is on the edge and creates a tech from an opponent more towards the middle of the stage, their is usually little that is productive that can be done unless the move being used gives the chaser enough time to get to the tech in place point(pivotal point for tech chasing since you can react to their options there....I should put this somewhere more useful lol). Most players never tech backwards in this situation, so it is usually safe to approach forward without much concern.
Karn(expanding on reaction vs prediction with regards to tech chasing)- One thing to note, though: You should learn when your character can tech chase off of reaction and when you have to actually guess where your opponent goes. A lot of Sheik and Fox's tech chases can be done purely reactively for a long time. If this can be done, there is not reason to try and guess where they are going when you can just wait and see. However, falco and falcon (I think) seem to have to actually guess where their opponent will be in most tech chases. Now, if you are in a situation where you have to guess, try and see what kind of patterns your opponent has. Those patterns should have something to do with what their stage position is, so try and note that as well. However, if you notice that you are consistently getting outplayed in tech-chasing opportunities you can always just not go for the tech chase and put yourself in a good position for after they do whatever. One thing most people don't realize is that you are pressuring your opponent simply by standing in certain places on the stage. But that gets more into stage control so I won't go into that now.
General Advice(whatever type stuff):
Lots of Ace-Moo, the more you understand different aspects of the game the more you will notice different types of mistakes. Theoretically, every time you take damage you should analyze the situation and see why you took damage. Same goes for KOs/getting KO'd; always try to go back and look at what led up to the kill. If you don't have vids, you should try to get recorded ASAP. I'll be glad to record some friendlies with you next time we're at a tourney. In the meantime, check out videos of players that play your main and analyze their mistakes (vs various characters, not just top/high tiers), and DON'T hesitate to look at minor details.
*In my opinion, it's good to watch videos with a fellow smasher and point out stuff. What I mean is, say stuff like "wow that was bad DI" or "he so could have tech'd that" or "why didn't he dthrow instead?" type stuff. You never know when something will be said that the other smasher had not previously heard of/realized. I think it gets both of your minds thinking more about competitive smash. /random tidbit
**I think just hearing that other people have the same problem did a few of us some good. Although I already knew I wasn't the only one with nerve problems, it helps to know that other people deal with it in smash (just trying to be honest).
I think one of the best things a smasher could do is talk to other people about the game (preferably someone with tons of experience) and keep an open mind. Even discussing mental strategies that may seem insignificant to the teller may be beneficial to the listener (like for a Ganon ledge dash, I drop from the ledge with down and then hit jump immediately and hit over and R, and it wasn't until like 6 months ago that I started rolling from down to over because someone said to do it in a "haduken" motion which made it a lot easier for me - pretty player-specific example I know, sue me).