Shizwiz doesn't claw. He's fast as a mother ****er too.
I use to not claw.
I use to shield with L too.
Then Colbol did **** I couldn't, and I decied Claw had very minute advantages.
Since clawing my:
Dashdancing, moonwalking, ledgehop power missile regrab, and generally any technique related to fast horizontal movement of the control stick has improved.
Upon learning the 'claw', I could no longer shield with L comfortably, but I learned to WD OoS with Just R, still having some problems with it though, I might invest some time into re-learning L.
Vertical movements with the control stick remain relatively the same as far as I can tell, though.
Also for anyone who's interested my transition consisted of:
Learning to claw the control stick.
L canceling with Z.
And learning Wavedash OoS with R.
Altogether I would say I was at roughly the same skill level within a month or two of casual play. With any big differences getting smoothed over in the first week or two. With the benefits I mentioned above.
But then again given the same amount of time one might be able to become just as proficient with these techs without the use of the claw. But I'm not sure, so it's whatever, claw looks cool :D, and this way I feel like if there is any advantage I'm already gaining it.
P.S. I highly recommend learning to L-cancel with Z. Especially if you play a char with really fast SHFFL's. Saves your tech window.