Quest to Become the Best: ROM 3 goals, Amsah vs Jman discussion?

[Sharky]

I was making a dbz reference =(

 

[Nø Ca$h]

i was joking =(

 

[Deleted member]

So yeah guys, expect a sick post soon.

so post it.

 

[DunSkies]

how are things going now?

 

[JesiahTEG]

Dunk- Thank you for blessing my blog with your presence.

So last post was a long time ago, in California. I stayed with Mang0 and Dunskies for a week, and if you guys remember I didn't have my controller because I left it in Irvine and when I went back it wasn't there.

I played so little Smash, probably the least amount of Smash I have ever played in like the past two years during my week, week and half stay in Cali. However, it's also the most fun I've had as well...When everyone was there that is. When they were busy or not there I was playing Chrono Trigger or on the computer. When they were all there though we got drunk and had tons of fun like, every day haha. Mango and Dunk are hilarious together. Everyone has one of those "Best friends" and they're definitely like that together.

Also, special shoutout to Hugs for being the funniest Smasher on the planet. Him and I just clicked and we just did the most fun **** ever, and I have most of it on camera so you guys can see when I upload it all haha.

In terms of Smash, I didn't want to let the fact that I didn't have a controller to stop me from playing, so whenever Mango played I just watched and tried to learn as hard as I could.

One thing that he does is, in friendlies, he is always testing the most random things. Everyone beats him in friendlies because he's just trying new things all the time. Like, for edgeguards he'll jump out as far as he can just to see if he can make it back or not. He'll combo with weird moves to see if they put him in a better position, etc. It's a very smart way to practice, I'm definitely going to start doing that.

The biggest thing I learned from Mango, and this is also one of the biggest things I learned on my trip altogether, is creativity. Just watching him really helped me become very free flowing and not bound by what I think "Should and shouldn't" work. He really showed me that so much is possible in Melee, it inspired me to practice unorthodox things and become more unlimited in my playstyle I guess you could say.

Lastly, I think a big thing I took from Mango is to emphasize spacing even more. I think when we start to play Melee we learn some skills...Spacing, tech skills, reading people, etc. We become mediocre-good at these skills, and then we start trying to learn new things. I think I could be a lot better if I just went back and focused even more on my spacing, and taking that to the highest level I possibly can. That also makes me want to go back and fine tune things to the point where I mess up even less. Taking all of the technical things I've learned and practicing them over and over so I can do them 95% of the time, instead of 90%.

I played Hugs and Hugs plays very much like Forward. Whereas playing vs Mango feels like you're trying to figure out which direction to swim in a storm, playing vs Hugs feels like a chess match. The only difference is, Hugs' character is more limited than Forward's character selections, so I had less to worry about and it put me on more even ground with him. However, his spacing is much better than mine, and he guesses right more than I do so he won pretty much every match...Although, I couldn't wavedash at all lol since I was using Mango's controller that doesn't have an X button. Samus is one of those characters that I feel once I've played against her for a long time I'll be able to beat her consistently. I could be wrong, but I'm not so there.

From Hugs, I learned that even if your opponent only has 2-3 options to work with in a given situation, they can completely still obliterate you if they can read you better than you can read them. He also knows his character, very very well and I can definitively say Hugs is a master of his character. I'd like to see him back in top 10 status in the U.S., I think he just needs to wipe a little more rust off of that armor though.

Next blog coming tonight.

 

[Nø Ca$h]

****

tennrrapes

 

[prog]

when are you coming to LI

 

[Sharky]

still no word on how you got your controller back =(

 

[JesiahTEG]

07-19-10 - Sixth Post

I also forgot to mention that while I was in California, DJMirror took me all around Irvine and let me sight see. He asked if there was anywhere in particular I wanted to go, and I said Newport Beach because that's where my ex gf Madison was born, and it meant a lot to me to see where she came from. I was very appreciative of that, thanks Jason.

So, this is where things kind of go downhill. My mom had been in the hospital before I left my trip, but while I was in Cali, my mom's friend called me saying that she didn't have much time left. I asked what he meant, and it turns out she has Hepatitis C, Cirrhosis of the liver, and a leak in her esophagus. I called her in the hospital and she wasn't doing so good. In fact, over the next few days she was so close to dying, I had to leave California to go home and see her. So, my grandma in Texas called me and when I told her I was going home, she told me to come to Texas so in case she died we could all go to Rochester together as a family since my Aunt and Uncle are here too. So, I flew to Texas.

I had one carry on, but I decided to put it under the plane and only take my phone on the plane with me, and my DS. When I arrived in Texas, I went to baggage claim to get my bag. I got my bag, and I decided to put my DS in the bag so I wouldn't have to carry 2 things. I opened the pocket and put my DS in, but it wouldn't fit in the pocket. I thought, "That's odd, I know I've fit it in there before." So I took the DS out, and reached into the pocket to see if something was blocking it...Surely enough, there's my white controller.

Yeah, it was in my bag the whole time. Fail much? I felt really, really ******** and for a split second I got super upset, but I instantly calmed myself down and thought, "Well, at least I have my controller." I figured there are a lot other things going on in the world right now that are horrible, I'm not going to sit and cry about my controller.

So, we're all on standby for my Mom, and luckily she has not passed away. Instead, she was told unless she gets a new liver she has less than a year to live. Since she's a heavy alcoholic and drug user, they are reluctant to give her a new liver. At any rate, I was really trying not to think about that situation while I'm on my trip. My dad and my brother are both dead and I already think about them enough at random times. I'm on a trip to learn Smash, and unless I need to go back home I want to keep improving.

D'oh, a really good Peach player, got in contact with me. We met at ROM2, and he invited me to a tournament in Houston, about 6 hours away, where Darkrain and Wobbles would be. I went to the tournament and stayed with Thespis, one of the coolest Smashers I've ever met. I had met Wobbles 2 years ago and he remembered me, and we talked about Smash a lot in the car ride. At any rate, we played for a few hours before bed, then tournament time came around at University of Houston.

I started warming up and I was playing decently. Then, I was challenged to a MM by a disabled kid. I didn't underestimate him at all, and he ended up winning the 5 dollar money match 2-1. I then challenged him to a rematch and I won 2-1. We were going to play another set but he had to play a teams money match. I was playing pretty good in friendlies, won a few matches, then had to play Darkrain.

This tournament would prove to be one of the most influential tournaments in my Smash career. I lost to Darkrain 2-1, but it wasn't the fact that I lost, it was how I lost. I was just playing really good before that in friendlies, and then I started playing technically about 80%, which is actually pretty good compared to how I usually play technically in tournies. ( About 65-70) But, I stopped thinking. All of a sudden I lose the ability to think in situations. I can space, but with no thought process behind it. So, I end up throwing out moves and hoping they hit. With Marth, that's an auto loss. So, I got obliterated and I switched to Fox because I can laser him to come to me, which means less thinking, and then I can just work spaced aerials and pressure from there. I don't think he was playing that good, but I also don't think I was playing that good either. Regardless I won that match, and then got 2 stocked the next match.

I'll elaborate more later, but then I had to play Broly, the really good disabled Marth player that we were even with in money matches. It was Marth dittos on FD, and I got 4 STOCKED!! Yeah, I didn't even take a life off. I don't even remember the match, I wasn't even thinking during the match. I was just throwing moves out which is ********. I don't know why I lose the ability to think sometimes during matches, it's very odd. Then I switched to Sheik and played very well and won 2 stock, then on Yoshi's I had a ******** death, but also I feel I got outplayed as well. So, I lost. I wasn't really upset then, and I didn't even think that much of it for the next few days.

Then, D'oh and I got together and played for about 8 hours one night, and, it was the best I had ever played. My Sheik, Marth and Falco were all playing amazingly. I was using everything I had learned on my trip and before. It was the greatest feeling ever, I didn't want to stop playing. Also, D'oh was playing really good and I think he's definitely the #2 Peach behind Armada. Maybe 2-3, cuz of Vwins when he's playing his best. He can death combo any character with Peach, amazing edgeguards, and very smart use of Dsmash. I was genuinely happy playing him not because I was winning or because I was playing near perfectly, but because D'oh is just such a great Smash player, and I can't make mistakes or I die. He also has a great attitude and it's very fun playing with him.

At any rate though, that night really opened my eyes. I have always been conflicted as to how good I am at Melee. Sometimes, I feel untouchable, but I never play pro players, so I think, "Am I really this good, or is it just because I'm not playing pros?" But then I have so much confidence that I am a top 30 player, I think I'll do fine against pros. Then in tournament I never place well, so I think I'm not as good as I think.

I realized something HUGE that night playing against Landon (D'oh). I am a very, very good player. I'm not really afraid of that many players anymore, and I actually feel if I played my absolute best I would not lose to any Falcon players or Peach players, besides Mango and Armada. I normally would never say anything like this, but I actually mean it this time. So why do I usually not place well in tournaments?

Because, I don't know how to compete as a tournament player. My ability to outthink people and do everything technical that I need to is that of a professional player, I'm convinced of it. But there are things I have had too little experience with that I need to work on. Those things are as follows.

-Not getting mentally fatigued during a tourney
-Being able to focus and think clearly in tourney
-Not getting nervous before every match, even in pools
-Learning counterpick stages
-Learning tournament tactics- keeping the lead when i have it, stage control, risk vs reward decisions
-Matchup experience in matchups I'm unfamiliar with (Low tiers mainly)

My maximum skill in terms of being able to beat people player vs player is very very high. However, all of the little details of tournament play I have never focused on. I've written them off as gay and unimpressive. Now I realize, even if I think that stuff is not that important, I've probably lost so many matches that I shouldn't have because of that.

There's a lot I need to work on now, so I can place as well as I deserve to in touraments, after how much I know about this game and all the work I've put in. Smash is the most emotional thing for me in my life. I've always been good at everything I've done, and I've never worked as hard towards anything as I have in Smash. So, when I lose to someone I feel I shouldn't, it really takes a toll on me. I really feel like a loser, and I have to do whatever it takes to prevent that feeling.

I still have more to talk about, but I'll end it there for now.

 

[HugS™]

In my opinion, there are different levels of concentration a player can obtain during tournament matches. They are, in my opinion, as follows, from worst to best:

1. No thought process - Where you are simply playing with your hands. It sounds like this is what you do during tournaments.

2. Match Awareness - Where you are aware of the match, but unaware of yourself within the match. You can think of tactics, gameplans, etc, but you fail to make the connection of where you lie within it all.

3. Self Awareness - Where you are completely in tune with yourself and your actions. However, contrary to "Match Awareness", you cannot see how YOU fit into the big picture.

4. Total Awareness - Where you are in tune with yourself and the match on every level possible. The word "possible" is key. Total awareness does not involve knowing everything, just what you already know. It's about reaching your limits. With this ideal amount of focus, noise and distractions don't exist. In fact, because you are so aware of the match and yourself, you are instantly able to tell when foreign thoughts are creeping in.

The screen seems bigger and your opponents actions more predictable. How does he become more predictable? Well, with your full understanding of yourself and your environment, you are capable of understanding what makes SENSE. You can know his methods and act accordingly.

I'm going to write a blog on this later, but I thought I'd just touch on that since you brought it up. Good reads.

 

[JesiahTEG]

Hugs- 2 things. First, great insight. Make sure you post in my blog when you write yours because, I want to read your expanded version on this.

Next, read my thread in tourney discussion. I thought you'd laugh.

 

[TheManaLord]

never say never

good stuff jesse, wish i could be around more but its getting to be like that for me again. hope all is well with you and your fam and everything

 

[joeplicate]

nice jesse


i think a very big part of getting upset/frustrated when you play has to do with playing with an ego. there's nothing that makes me lose focus as bad.

Basically, the way I define "ego" is anything that comes up that makes you think about yourself. You can tell when the emotion starts rising up in your stomach, and you have little thoughts about "oh i should've gotten that," "I'm not really trying right now," "this guy's not good," etc.

What you need to realize (what everybody needs to realize) is that your gameplay doesn't reflect back on you as a person. I know you get maddd serious when you play, which can be good, but at the same time when you get worked up, let something get to you, or internalize your failures as a sign that you're a bad player, you're letting your ego get the best of you.

Idk what the precise definition of "ego" is, the wikipedia/Freud definition, but this is really what works for me. It's any thoughts that you have that make you think about yourself in a negative way. I used to get pretty down on myself, especially playing my bromancer Lovage, because not winning any friendlies meant that I was not keeping up, or that I was "bad."

Nothing could be further from the truth! Think about the best players, do they ever get down on themselves? Do you ever hear mango extrapolating from friendlies, "Well, cactuar beat me in a serious set so he's probably better than me." Nope! This also has to do with being too results-oriented, which is another thing you should avoid. (You know exactly how good you are and what you need to work on, so don't sweat it!)

I was thinking about what you said, Jesse, about that book, which says that talent is only putting your conscious effort towards improvement. Trying to play on instincts 100% in smash won't get you anywhere, you can fall into bad habits, start johning, etc. At the very best, your instincts will only get you hit-and-miss. The fastest improving smash players are thinking about the game all the time, bringing up pictures of situations in their mind, either on their own or during videos, and articulating and analyzing things.

Having an ego gets 100% in the way of this process. Playing with your ego sitting on your shoulder, whispering discouraging thoughts into your mind and making you wanna cry, is the exact opposite of the mental focus you should have when you're playing to improve. How do you avoid it?

My solution: learning to let things go. Mango gave me this phrase awhile ago, after he played wobbles. He said once you get wobbled, you can't let it get to you. You have to let it go if you wanna keep your head in the game and keep playing to win. Forget about everything that happens after you get hit by a move. Forget about what it may or may not mean. "Oh man, s2j ***** me in a money match! Does this mean he's finally better than I am??" Maybe, but who cares! I'm DEFINITELY not gonna let this get to me when I'm playing in tournament. (I have in the past, and I got ****ed up for it!)

Remember, it's just a game, and you're trying to consciously put yourself in new situations so you can learn. You need to be on some zen-level **** to fully play without an ego. You can't have an ounce of negativity in yourself. Stay focused, and stay happy, most importantly. Don't think about how you relate to the player you're playing--after all, you're really only doing as well as the game shows. If something's bothering you, take a break from friendlies, close your eyes, and figure out what it is. Come up with a mental solution to the thoughts that have been gnawing at you. Above all, you need to be able to let things go.

Hope this helped, I just got through with a bit of that thinking myself. Every person I see who keeps their ego alive and well hinders their self in a really big way.

btw i really liked the part about playing mango being figuring out the right way to swim in a storm, i know that feeling exactly haha

good **** jesse

 

[JesiahTEG]

07-20-07 - Seventh Post

It's pretty late and I'm going home soon before Apex to play at least a few days before Apex with my friends. I didn't get to go to every place I wanted to due to some crappy circumstances, but I'm going to do this again next year, with more knowledge of travelling and Smash in general.

At any rate, I figure I'll let out my secret that's really not that much of a secret to most people. I want to be the best Melee player in the world. I've wanted to for the past year or so now, and after travelling for a while I'm confident I'll be able to. I don't know how long it's going to take or what exactly will be involved, although I have a good idea.

In order to become the best, I've done a few things. I've moved more roomates into my apartment which will save a lot of money on rent, allowing me to travel more. I've also taken off another year from school. It's very hard for me to focus on more than one major goal at once, so school's going to have to wait right now.

Also I'd appreciate if you witheld the comments telling me I shouldn't take it so seriously. I think a lot about my life and I'm confident in all of my decisions. School will always be there, Melee might not.

Another reason I'm doing this is to keep the community alive. Anyone with the motivation and passion I have for this game has a duty to step up and become a top player. Some breakout players recently that have kept the scene alive and going strong: PeePee, Zhu, Jman, Axe, Teczero, Vanz, Kage, Raynex and the Canadians, Kels, Hbox, and others I'm sure I'm forgetting. They're not THAT recent, but if it weren't for them training their ***** off for the past few years, the scene wouldn't be nearly as impressive and we'd lose a lot of talent. And, as sad as it is, everyone quits Melee at some point. Zhu has already gotten bored once, and Jman keeps saying he will be quitting soon. More people need to step up or it's inevitable that Melee will die.

I'm nervous about a lot of things in this quest. I think one of the reasons I really want to become the best is because, my father was also like me. Very unorthodox in his life decisions. His passion was music, and anyone who knew him said he had the best voice out of anyone they'd ever heard. He spent his entire life, 30 some odd years, really trying to make it in the music field. He was well known by famous producers, he had all the connections in Hollywood and Nashville, knew people around the country. He was faced with many roadblocks like lack of money among other things. He could have been famous, an absolute millionaire from what everyone tells me. Why didn't he, with all those years to make it happen?

He had some mental illnesses, one of them being bipolar disorder. One of his main symptoms was his inability to finish anything. He'd get so close to completing a record deal, or signing with a big producer...He had made tons of CD's, but never published any. Everytime he got close, he left and came up with a new idea. Everyone says he was afraid of success, whatever that means.

I'm not really sure, but my dad had a lot of potential. I know I do too, and I don't want to waste it by stopping when I get close.

I think to myself, "What are the big things that are going to be obstacles along my way?"

One of the main things I see in the future being possibly the hardest obstacle to overcome, is making the transition from being one of the best, to the best. I mean, let's look at what's going on right now in terms of top players.

Mango is the best. This is the level I need to get to, or higher.

After that, you have Hungrybox who's pretty much the second best player at this point. He has close sets with top pros like Jman and PeePee, even losing to PeePee once. You can even put PeePee and Jman up here I think. Zhu, Armada, Mew2King, Amsah. All of these players are so good it's unbelievable.

Then you have Mango, who is more consistent than all of them. These players are the second tier of players arguably, and they can't beat Mango. I'm so confident I will get to the second tier level, no problem. I know what I need to do to get there, and I know what I need to work on. It's a matter of working on it and putting in the practice to get to that level.

After that though, no one has been able to beat Mango, and when I think of what separates him from the rest of the above mentioned players, it's harder to pinpoint. Some guesses I have are:

*Slightly more effective punishment* - What I mean by this is, maybe once every match he'll choose the correct move and get a kill off of it, instead of continuing a combo like other players would. The other players will eventually drop the combo, and reset to the neutral position which isn't even bad necessarily. But, Mango takes every opportunity and pushes it to the maximum, even slight ones which add up over the span of a few lives, a few games, a few matches, and eventually over a few years, and translates into becoming the most consistent player in Melee history.

*Less bad choices* - I don't want to say better decision making overall, because I don't believe I am good enough yet to watch Mango's videos and compare them to say, Zhu's, and be able to point out significant decisions made differently between them. I can to an extent, but not yet to the point I'd like to be able to. What I can see though, is that Mango's playstyle lets him make less bad decisions than other players. Watching even his Falco vs M2K's Marth, he never puts himself in a position to get grabbed, and is extremely patient, whereas say Shiz will put himself in lots of positions to get grabbed because he's constantly aggressive. Shiz's playstyle is effective, but even getting grabbed once more than Mango per match means less consistency over long periods of time.

*Quicker Adaptation*- Just adapting and changing what he needs to mid match slightly quicker than most players.

Other than those things, I'm really not sure. Mastery of more niche situations maybe? I'm just nervous because I have no gameplan right now to tackle the obstacle of moving from pro to the best other than, hope that when I get there the answers will be clear. However, I know they won't, otherwise these tier 2 players would already be at Mango's level. I hope one of those players gets to Mango's level soon, so I can talk with them and get some advice.

Lastly for tonight, I'm turning this blog into a blog that will document nearly every single thought I have from now up until the point I become the world's best player. Every training session I have, every new strategy or everything that I want to test, I will post here to get feedback. Everyone is welcome to share their knowledge and chip in, or even ask me questions or just say random stuff to get my brain jogging.

I'll start with this question: Can I do it with Marth?

Does Marth have the tools to win every matchup, and if he does, can he consistently do it?

Taking a look at previous Smash history, Ken's only inconsistencies were to Sheik really, losing to KDJ and DSF randomly. He also lost to M2K and PC, but I don't think he was playing that good in those sets.

Taking a look at M2K, he also lost to Drephen's Sheik and KDJ's Sheik during his reign.

Those are the highest level Marth performers ever, and while yes, I am aiming to be better than both of them, I can't ignore these facts. Should I be prepared to switch vs Sheik, or can I become good enough to win consistently vs. the best Sheiks in the world? (Amsah, Tope, KirbyKaze)

Suppose the answer to that last question was no. What characters would I play? Taking a look at more recent Smash history, the only character to ever be able to win in every single matchup consistently has been Jigglypuff, as demonstrated by Mango. I would say Falco or Fox, but his Falco and Fox can't beat Hbox's Jiggs as far as I know, and until he can do that 2-3 tournaments in a row, we really have no proof that they can.

Maybe it's best to master all 4 top tiers, and practice with them all in every matchup, on every counterpick stage, and gain complete mastery of the giant that is Competitive SSBM. That way, I will be prepared for every situation possible, but I will also be sacrificing some of my pride, as I love Marth so much. Feedback and whatnot is encouraged and appreciated.

 

[JesiahTEG]

Joe- Wow, absolutely incredible advice. Thanks a lot man, can't wait to see you again. I will DEFINITELY be using that advice.

 

[Tee ay eye]

thanks for that post, joe

it shall be your downfall! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

[DoH]

I think he's definitely the #2 Peach behind Armada

O_o

<3

I love a good read. Keep it up!

 

[joeplicate]

LOLOL

you gotta get at my level first, *****es! i'm already like 2 weeks ahead of you guys @ melee zen mastery!!

jesse, i love you dude. i can't wait to see what comes of this. and you know i'll stay checkin it out!

 

[AXE 09]

*Post*

Dude... I feel like you are 100% right. Lately, I've really been having doubts about myself and thinking a lot of negative things... But your post made me realize that I need to look at things differently and learn how to cope with hard situations. Seriously man... Thank you so much for making that post. That really helped me a lot. Thank you so much


Jesiah - Man, it's so awesome that you want to be the best in the world. I personally think that it's an amazing goal, and it's totally fine to be serious about this. The people that say "it's only a game" just can't understand what it's like to have a passion in something like this. Look at famous sports players. You could say that a certain sport is "just a game", but players have shown how much passion they have in them to become the best. I don't think it should be different in Melee. I also have a very extreme passion to become one of the best in the world at this game, and I don't think I'll ever stop until I reach my goals. Even if you end up becoming my greatest rival, I will always admire you for how much determination you have.

Good luck on your journey Jesiah. I support you 100%

 

[Cactuar]

If you're in my area ever, you are more than welcome to stay at my place as long as you want for training. But you know that trip from NY to PA is sooooo long. Anyone that has that "quest to be the best" mentality is someone I support. Plus... I'm all good with Marth and stuff...

 

[Jim Morrison]

I actually did, good read

 

[Ch3s]

I think Joe kind of touched on this, but its something that I noticed while you were in Phoenix (I found out that I was the first game you played on your trip i think, that friendly falco ditto and my luigi :D ), but its a mentality you have about "should have." Thats the best way I can put it. I mean im sure you have heard the expression, "no shoulda woulda coulda, just did or did not." My football coach gives me that alot of times. But in terms of smash I think a better way to look at it is that should have really doesnt exist. You "should have" beaten that marth player in Texas should not be running through your mind. Instead, think of how you "could have." Basically the could have part is exactly what joes post was about. You always can beat anyone. But that also means they can always beat you.

Basically what im saying is always go in to a match knowing you can win, but the only thing that "should" always happen when you play melee is having fun/ getting better. That is to say that any time you catch yourself thinking that you should beat this person, it should be an easy win, think instead about how hard youre gonna have to work to 4 stock this person, and go into the match completely focused on reading the person and 4 stocking them, instead of focused on going through the motions because they should be an "easy win."

Im sure youve heard all of this before but thats my take on it =/ Oh and if you think marth vs shiek is a hard matchup, all that means is you have to practice it more. I think marth is just as likely to be the best as any. Oh and everyone loses sometimes, Ken was still the best in the world after he lost to KDJ once, M2k lost while he was the best, Mango lost to Kage :D They all lose, but they keep playing and win the next time. I dont think ive ever seen Mango or Ken lose a match more than once in a row, its maybe happened once. So dont worry about being perfect to be the best, worry about being closer to perfect than anyone else. Which you can do with Marth

 

[Fly_Amanita]

Here is an article pertinent to Jesiah's concerns: http://gladwell.com/2000/2000_08_21_a_choking.html

It's longer than it needs to be, but it's worth reading.

 

[Red the Ghost]

This is a fascinating read, though I'm light years leagues away from all of you in this game. ^^;

If you don't mind me going off-topic somewhat in your thread, I feel like I have a problem rather similar to what you said about your father. I really want to be passionate about something, but it's like I can't decide on what that should be (as if it is a simple decision like that). It's like I'm just dabbling my toe in many different pools, waiting for somebody or something to push me in because I'm too scared to jump. I've done it with Melee, with Smash 64, with music, with drawing, with chess and some other things. I've kind of got a plan to realistically support myself (with a computer-related job, just something easy for me), but I still don't feel it with networking or anything in that field. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this, but it's one thing that has always bothered me.

I'm not trying to take control of your thread or anything; I should probably make my own thread, but I feel as though I might get relevant responses in this thread.

Also, I'd like to add that I wish you the best in your plight. Be a Melee pro fo sho, Jesiah. v:

(You can shoo me away and tell me to make my own thread if you'd like )

 

[JesiahTEG]

Axe- Your support is appreciated so much, you don't even know. Can't wait to play with you again.

Tuar- You're the man, I'll definitely be taking you up on that.

Fly- Wow, thanks for that article man, it really really helped. Do you have any more "Mindset" articles that you could show me? That's the kind of stuff I love reading, and really helps me.

 

[Red the Ghost]

That really was a great article; I just read it myself.

 

[Foy]

You write too much

 

[Deleted member]

Jesiah is a noob.

 

[JesiahTEG]

Mindset

So, I've literally been sitting here for the past 10 minutes thinking about what to write. It's not that I don't have anything, quite the opposite actually. I have so much. I wish I could explain what's happening to me right now. All I think about is Melee. There are so many things I randomly think about during the day that I need to explore, I downloaded a notebook application on my phone, and every time I think of something I put it in there, so I don't forget.


I guess the first thing I should write about is my new mindset. I have been working on a new mindset for a while now, and it's very tough emotionally, although I feel not only will it make me a better player for sure, but it will also benefit me outside of Smash as well.

1
There is no gayness, just obstacles that need to be overcome. I'm not the worst Smasher when it comes to complaining about gayness, but I do ***** about it every once in a while. From now on, when I think "gay," I will consciously tell myself "Tactic that is preventing me from being the best," and I want to be able to crush any and every tactic being deployed against me. The goal is to eventually reach a point where there is no more frustration in playing against "gay", (effective) strategies, and instead of feeling that frustration, my brain will automatically start thinking of ways to overcome these strategies...At the very least, automatically make my conscious mind aware that I need to think of ways to deal with the situation.

2
No ego. This one is going to be so hard for me, but it will benefit me in more ways than just Smash. My ego is not too big, but I can feel it getting there as I improve. I can't let that happen, because that leads to a few things, cockiness being the first, and being cocky can lead to underestimating an opponent. I can't even let there be a 1% chance of me underestimating even a 5 year old. (lol) Next, as I think it was Joe that pointed out, (Joeplicate a few pages back) I need to stop thinking "I should have beaten him." That leads to negative emotions, which leads to frustration, which leads to multiple unwanted consequences such as trouble concentrating, and even more importantly, me saying harmful things to my opponents, which I've tried to avoid so hard since I've started playing this game, but unfortunately I've slipped up a few times.

The truth is, I respect everyone who plays this game, and linking back to the first mindset change above, if someone is using a strategy to beat me that I can't overcome, it is absolutely illogical to get angry at them, and say something mean. I appreciate them taking time to play me whether it's in tournies or friendlies, and appreciate them even more for using effective strategies against me, giving me the opportunity to learn and improve.

Now here's something else that's very interesting. People have in the past, and will continue to trashtalk me. Not even trashtalk, but get angry and say things that are aimed at hurting me emotionally..."You're not that good" which is something that will hurt anyone that has put as much time into this game as I have. "I'm only losing because I'm messing up," "Your character is godly," "Wow you're dumb who falls for that."

From now on, and I've already began practicing this, when people say these things during tournaments or friendlies, I hear nothing. Nothing will make me feel even the slightest emotion, because I know what my goals are, where I stand as a player in this game, and nothing can affect that. From now on, I welcome people to trashtalk me or john consistently while practicing with me. That's more opportunity to learn complete focus, which is what I need for tournaments anyways. I want to become so mentally untouchable, so emotionally impenetrable, that every tournament I go to from now until the rest of my Smash career, I can have everyone in the venue cheering against me, saying whatever they want, and it will have absolutely NO effect on how I am playing.

3
Absolute confidence. This one is tricky. Throughout my life, everything I've chosen to be the best at, I have. I'm not trying to brag at all either, but, we all value different things in life. Most people value going to school and getting a good job, aka financial security. Some people value travel. Some people value music a lot.

A lot of what matters most to people matters very little to me. The only thing I can say I value with all of my heart is the ability to be the best at whatever I choose. I don't want to be the best at everything, nor do I think that's feasible anyways. But, when I choose something to be the best at, I expect to get there, one way or another.

However, there is one problem with Smash that I've never faced in anything I've become the best at in: Randomly losing tech skill and mental awareness. It happened again today, I woke up and for the whole day I've been playing like mid 08 Jesse. This has caused me to have a lot of trouble in staying confident in tournaments, and again it's not my intention to brag even one bit here, but having a lack of confidence is something I am terribly unfamiliar with. It's scary, it's foreign. I don't know how to deal with it. Smash knocks me down constantly, and now I understand why some of my friends can't talk to girls, or are nervous to ask to join in on a game of 2 on 2 basketball. It makes sense now, however, that just means I need to do everything I can to successfully make this 3rd mindset change. That includes:

*Working as hard as possible to determine the cause of my tech and mental failures, and fix them. I've been working at this for 2 years now when I realized I had this problem. Cold hands, lack of sleep, eating habits, stress outside of Smash, the time of day I play. I've tested so much, and still my tech skill continues to fail at what seems like random times. I'm not giving up trying to determine the cause though. However, since I've been doing this for 2 years, I realize it is not enough. I need to do more.

*Learn every little detail about every legal stage, neutral and counterpick...Figure out every single advantage and disadvantage each of my characters have on each of these stages, in every relevant matchup. And when I say relevant, that translates to a lot of matchups. There are so many good Melee players, I want to be prepared for every situation, including every top tier, and even the least frequently used characters in the odd chance I have to play against them in tournament.

The reason I'm willing to put so much time into this is precisely BECAUSE of my tech skill failures. I want a backup plan for my backup plans. My Marth is really good at the Falcon matchup. Unfortunately, the last time I played that match in tournament, my tech wasn't on and I lost my mental awareness, and Darkrain ***** me.

Ok, so switch to Fox. What if my Fox is having tech failures? What about switching to a stage where Sheik can outmanuever Falcon and make it very difficult for him to get in, with needles and tilts? That requires less tech skill and I'd go as far as to say even less mental awareness. I'm reducing the amount of options I have to think about, easing my mind and allowing me to direct whatever focus I have left towards maybe a simple wall strategy.

And if I don't feel confident in that, I want something else.

I want to make it clear though, that although I don't consider certain tactics "gay" like other players, I will most likely not be resorting to strategies like Jigglypuff's edge stalling or others I can't think of right now. Not because I think they're gay, but because I feel like in the long run, those strategies will limit my potential as a player.

The only problem I see myself running into in this area is, although my region is getting better, I don't really have any pros or even semi pros to practice against...So, how good is my practice going to be if I ask someone to play Mewtwo vs my Sheik on Brinstar? LOL They have trouble thinking of ways to get around my top tiers on neutrals, what are the chances of them thinking of strategies to get around incredibly disadvantageous situations like that?

And I would say, "Oh I can just play OOS players." But, A.) sometimes it's hard to get concentrated playtime in vs. those players, and B.) Who wants to practice weird *** situations like that?

I don't know what exactly I'm going to do about this problem, but I definitely will be thinking.

Lastly, buying a new controller and breaking it in so in case maybe I'm not playing so good with one on any particular day, maybe I have even a small chance of me playing better with my other controller. Probably not, but anything to maximize my chances.

That's all I can think of for now. A few closing notes for this post.

*Anyone reading this that is planning on playing me in the future, don't worry, this doesn't mean I will be a completely serious player focused on doing everything I can to **** everyone in friendlies. I still go for goofy stuff and laugh whenever silly stuff happens. It will still be fun to play me I promise...It has to be otherwise no one will want to practice with me lol.

*My goal is to be able to win just like most every other top pro can do...On neutrals, in any matchup with their main character. If my tech skill was consistent, this would probably be much easier. I'm simply doing all of these things to increase my chances, and in no way am I basing my playstyle off them.

*Lastly, I appreciate all of the advice everyone has given me so far, and encourage as much as possible. I know some top players won't want to share their strats and I completely respect that...But if any of you are reading this right now just know I won't mind if you ever decide to share some stuff. If anyone ever wants to IM me to talk about Smash, please feel free. Eveofmorse is my screename.

 

[JesiahTEG]

Interesting Concept- Punishing people for doing the right things

Here's something effective and interesting to think about.

As time goes on, the metagame advances and people figure out new ways to handle situations.

A simple example that I'm starting to see more and more people do, is delay their combos when they know there will not be enough stun to continue them, waiting for their opponent to double jump out and then following the double jump with a punish of their choice.

I'm not saying this is brand new, but it's something that pretty much every high level player does now, as opposed to a year or two ago.

For the most part with a few exceptions, every high level player knows how to get out of every situation that is possible to get out of. I'd like for anyone reading this to help me if they don't mind in listing as many of these situations as possible. I'm going to list the situations one by one, and below each, will be listing strategies I've thought of to overcome these situations.

Smash DI'ing Fox's Uthrow Uair

Mostly Jiggs and Peach come to mind here. People are so good at smash DI'ing Fox's Uthrow Uair. I think most people do it with both the control stick and the c stick (Someone correct me if I'm wrong here) but that would mean that if I, as Fox, jumped up PRETENDING I was going to Uair, they would slightly move to the opposite direction I'm coming from, and do a fair or a bair. You can see where I'm going with this.

Why not just jump up, fake the Uair, wait for them to whiff their attack that results from trying to Smash DI, and Uair them for the kill, or bair if they're at higher percent? Here are some problems with this that I have thought of:

*It may be hard to position yourself to punish their missed Smash DI, and if you jump up to fake it, Fox falls too fast to double jump up and punish.

Ok well just one problem I thought of I guess, I'm tired cut me some slack. Here are 2 solutions I thought of.

*On a stage with platforms, waveland on the top platform so you can double jump and punish. The advantage to this is not only do you get to double jump so you can reach them, but when you waveland on the platform you can choose which direction to waveland in, and position yourself as close/perfectly to them as possible to hit them.

*Jump up and shine, which will stall you for a second, allowing them to miss and you won't fall too fast to punish. You can then jump out when they miss and punish. At higher percents vs floaties like Peach and Jiggs, I can't say I see this one working very well due to the fact that they will still be too high. But, there are 2 really useful things about this option. 1st, when they are at perfect Uair kill range, meaning high enough percent to die from the Uair but not high enough to where you can't reach them, I think you can always hit them with this. Also, if for some reason you can't, you are in such a good position to space yourself and cover as many options as possible.

Think about it, you can jump and waveland onto a platform to position yourself, jump out and foxfire to make some characters waste their aerial stalling abilities (you act like you're going to foxfire into them, and then do it away..Vs marth he may use his double jump, or his first side b which means the rest will lose momentum..not much, but even the smallest advantage as good), or you can just keep shining and stalling while you fall, then double jumping and shine stall as you're falling...who knows maybe you can bait them into attacking you from above, then you can drop down quickly by fastfalling, hit the ground and then punish.

Thoughts on this one? Practical? Am I missing anything?

Smash DI'ing Fox's shine

After a drill or even a nair now, everyone Smash DI's Fox's shine. In order for me to be more sure on this one, I need to watch vids and see what people do most commonly after they succesfully Smash DI the shine...From what I know now, most people roll, and generally roll away which is ******** considering that's the direction Fox is moving anyways, making it easy for him to follow up...but anyways...the concept is simple. If you have good evidence your opponent will Smash DI your shine, then after you shine, WD out like normal, and then dash dance to cover whatever option they do. Let's face it, the only way they can beat that is if they just smash di and stand in place, expecting the dash dance. Yeah, very unlikely.

If they roll like usual, chase with whatever move is most beneficial at the time...If they're in killing range, Usmash, and if you don't feel like you can react fast enough with Usmash, dash attack after they roll, follow up with either Usmash if they're fast faller, or uair for floaties...If there's platforms and the dash attack sends them up on one, bair if they miss tech or hit it.

At lower percents you're probably going to want to grab.

Using Shine OOS with Spacies to get out of pressure/combos

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong because this is information that I really need to know, but Fox and Falco can both Shine OOS in between certain pressure strings from opposing spacies...Most specifically, I'm referring to Fox and Falco's Dair/Nair --> Shine. I'm pretty sure both spacies can shine OOS in between an opposing spacie's dair/nair and the shine.

If you think they're going to do this, do your nair or dair, then L cancel into shield, then immediately Usmash OOS. This will cause them to shine your shield, and they're going to jump after the shine to bair/nair you, (If they're Falco) and then they will get hit by the Usmash, and as an added bonus they'll be DI'ing up automatically which might kill them a percent or two earlier.

Potential Problems with this solution:

*Do Fox/Falco have enough time after their dair/nair on the opponent's shield to shield themselves to protect from the Shine OOS counterattack? Framewise?

*Will the stun time be small enough for your Usmash OOS to hit, or does the shine stun your shield long enough for them to jump out of their shine fast enough and get away? I'm assuming no considering there's very small stun time on shields for the shine.

Peach and to an extent, Sheik Nair'ing out of combos

This one's easy, and I LOVE this because it absolutely demolishes Peach, especially at low percent, and leads into so much mental destruction of your opponent. (That sounded kinda bad ***) Anytime you pop Peach even slightly into the air (It actually works best when she's not very high up) and you feel she will have enough time to nair before the next hit of your combo continues, or even if you know you can continue the combo, but the timing needs to be super tight otherwise she will nair you out of it, stop the combo, dash dance away from the nair or WD away, and make her whiff it and come in and punish.

This works really well Sheik vs Peach. At low percents to mid, Dthrow Peach, they will almost always nair, and you just WD back, wait for her to land with nair, then come in and regrab. I've even done it twice in a row on multiple occasions.

The added effect to this is purely mental. They will have to adapt, and not nair after the dthrow, giving you a safe fair or usmash depending on DI, whereas normally the timing would be very tight. Also, from my experience, although this specific situation of dthrowing and then waiting for the nair will register in any good player's mind, the general concept of waiting for nair's won't register immediately.

A situation where this information would be useful would be in the match at P4 vs Armada and Amsah on FD. Amsah did Dthrow to weak hit of bair which hit, and then he connected it into a fair but it tied with Armada's nair.

What I'm saying is, even if Amsah had done this dthrow regrab trick earlier that I was talking about and Armada caught on, (Like he's expected to) he still would have nair'd after the weak hit bair out of instinct and because...well i mean it's the right thing to do. Anyways, that would have given Amsah a free hit with no trade, maybe even Usmash for the kill, but unlikely...Or maybe another weak hit bair to setup for the same situation.

The above example may be super complicated and complex, but hey, this is what most of us are striving for, am I wrong?

Lastly, something I want to test with Marth is using the weak hit of my sword on Peach but spacing myself very carefully, to give the illusion that she will be in little enough stun to nair me as i continue my combo, and then I can wd back and space a perfect tipper for kills at good percents.

When I get around to it, I'm probably going to change the first post around a little bit, and post a link to this post so people can easily find it. I want to continually come back to this post and add more of these situations, and come up with creative, effective solutions. Lemme know what you guys think...

Oh one last thing. I just want to let everyone know, I am actually very nervous talking about these strategies. It's not the specific strategies themselves I'm worried about, but the initial topic. Now that I'm thinking more like a high level player, I can see why pros/semi pros don't give away their strategies. THEY'RE GOOD, and it's nervewracking knowing that your competition not only has access to these strategies, but they might be using them against me. And that's not to say I'm some kind of genius and people will be slobbering over my strats, becuase that's far from it. But still, just the thought makes me nervous.

There are a few reasons why I go through with posting though.

A.) I'm sure a lot of you can provide great feedback and help me out, because as you can see from what I've written, I don't have enough knowledge to really figure out if these strats are as good as I hope they are.

B.) If people do manage to get some use out of these in tourney, that will only mean improvement, and even if it's my opponent that has improved, I want every match to be as hard as possible, so when I eventually reach the top there are no flukes, or nothing they could have done better to beat me. I want to deserve every bit of whatever success I achieve.

C.) I'm a god **** pimp

 

[Dekar173]

The only person standing in your way is Scorpion Master.

He's a very large man to want to pass.

 

[Silly Kyle]

I love this thread...

There is so much I want to say...

 

[RATED]

Jesiahteg: one of the things you should look to also is improve reaction time is a VERY VERY important factor to be good at any competitive game. Doing simple exercise like Jogging or a very helpful thing is to play Tennis or the tennis in the table one that I can't remember what's the full name in english. it improves your reaction time by a ton.

 

[omgwtfToph]

My solution: learning to let things go. Mango gave me this phrase awhile ago, after he played wobbles.

whoa

reminds me of the time me and mango were watching ka-master play amsah in 3rd round pools at pound 4 and when ammon suicided mango was like "it's ok ka-master! just pretend it didn't happen!"

and for some reason "pretend it didn't happen" has been one of the most influential mantras I've had with me for WHENEVER I suicide or make any kind of technical mistake, or for whenever I lose a game/bunch of games/etc.

:D

mango gives good advice lol


edit: jesiahTEG your bit about beating the shine OOS by shielding the shine isn't going to work unless they are the kind of weird player that will always shine OOS after your shine; not after your aerial. If you have enough time to reach the ground after your aerial and put your shield up, you could just shine their shield and continue the pressure for free instead of assuming they shine OOS. a lot of fox players might just shieldgrab you anyway, which definitely will beat your shield.

now, if you're assuming that they will always shine OOS after your shine (as in they'll wait for you to hit the ground, shine, and THEN they shine OOS) then you might as well like, aerial their shield and then grab them or something. o_O but that sounds really hypothetical and impractical tbqh.

third paragraph is good though, it's a marked sign of improvement as a player that you're realizing that stuff. i fought a peach this weekend (Kei, if anyone remembers him) on FD only with falco a bunch, and at first when I would do dair -> shine -> dair and try to catch him falling with an utilt to continue my combo, he would just float for a second, then come down to punish my whiffed utilt. I started catching on, so I'd wait to visually confirm his fall until I utilted. but Kei is hella good so he immediately noticed what I was doing and he'd just float away or something. anyway, that's mindgames! haha. you can't win 'em all.

 

[Janne]

This thread seems serious but something about it isn't.

 

[JesiahTEG]

Automation and Spacing

So, just randomly thinking about stuff today, as usual. I started thinking about the neutral position, which is something I have an immense amount of trouble with vs good players.

Before I went on this trip, I never paid too much attention to the neutral position. I don't mean I didn't think of strategies to get the first hit in. Of course I did. But, what I didn't realize is that in the neutral position, all good players are constantly thinking.

Here's a good example. When I'm Marth vs Peach and I'm DD'ing in the neutral position, any good Peach is going to pull turnips and start pressuring with them. For some reason, I completely accepted this as part of the matchup, and that there was nothing I could do. So, a few years ago, I learned how to deal with turnips.

What I never really thought about until my trip though, is that every single action in the neutral position counts. What I mean by this, using the example above, is Mew2King vs Armada. He dash dances in perfect range, and when Armada reaches for a turnip, Mew2King instantly WD's in and Fsmashes. The timing to do this is so small, but very possible.

So, now I'm constantly thinking of how to win in the neutral position everytime. Here's where it gets tricky, just post and let me know if I'm being confusing (if you even care lol.)

When I first played against Forward, he just out thought me in every situation in the neutral position, and got the first hit in about 75% of the time. After playing with him for a few hours, I began to see that I should be thinking wayyyy more about how to get the first hit in. So naturally, I began to pay attention to every situation and try and think of ways to win in them.

The problem with this is that not only is that hard to do, but it clogs up my mind. It gives me so much stuff to think about, my mind starts thinking in so many directions and I lose focus. It's stressful, and combined with trying to react to certain things in certain situations...I mean, it's ridiculously hard. I have to think of whatever situation I'm in, whether it's Falco lasering, Peach throwing turnips, me standing at the edge trying to get away, then I have to predict what they're going to do, react, punish, think of options, try to trick them, etc.

I came to a conclusion kind of on my own today, but now that I think of it this is what Dr. PeePee (A very good Smash friend of mine) was trying to tell me the other day: I have to simplify. There's no possible way anyone can memorize all of this stuff and use it to win. It's just not feasible. Instead, PeePee was telling me to memorize the most common options my opponent has, and to get a feel for how and when they were going to execute those options...Have solutions to them that I've thought up and practiced before hand, and just ****.

So, what one of my goals is, is to figure out how to combine trying to trick my opponent, pressuring, reacting, and being aware of the most commonly used options my opponent has, into a mindset that allows me to fluidly and precisely win in the neutral situation all of the time vs. every opponent. Now, I don't truly believe I will win all of the time and get the first hit in consistently vs amazing pro players. But, that doesn't mean I won't try my hardest to do that.

So I started trying to think of ways to do this, and I believe the first step in doing this is to "automate" as much as possible. When I say automate, I mean developing certain tactics or techniques, and practice them consciously as much as possible until the point where I don't need to think about them in my matches. I can already do this with Smash DI'ing Fox's shine, dash dancing to punish an approach (Sometimes that's actually a bad habit...Note, work on that as well), and other situations like that.

I'm going to use this post to come back to and list more and more things that are able to be automated as I continue playing and gaining experience. For now, the things I know I can do this with and work on are:

*Constantly being in perfect spacing with Marth- Believe it or not, as a Marth player, sometimes I get too close to my opponent and end up getting hit, or too far away and giving them time to laser or needle or turnip, etc. I want to consistently, without thinking, be in perfect range to cover as many of their options as possible in the neutral position. By automating this, like every high level Marth player needs to do, I can direct more of my energy towards predicting and reacting to my opponent.

*Good spacing and being unpredictable with Falco's lasers- This is one of the only things that's holding my Falco back from being able to use him as a serious tournament threat. People have enough time to jump out of shield after my lasers a lot, in fact they have a lot of time to do a lot of things before I actually approach. What I've gotten good at doing is hitting their shield with my laser, predicting what their move will be, and punishing. Like, if they roll or jump out, or attack out, or WD back, etc. However, by having better spacing with my lasers I can reduce the amount of options they have, and by being unpredictable I can make them choose stupid options for dealing with my lasers.

*Spacing in general, with every character- My spacing has slipped over the past year or so. It must be absolutely impeccable, as I believe spacing is the most important skill to have in Melee. It's also an incredibly fascinating topic to me. Here's why.

Spacing is easy to learn, but very hard to master. There are only 4-5 players in the world who I genuinely think have near perfect spacing. (Mango is the best, M2K, Amsah, Hbox, Armada) Spacing can take a player's game to the next level no matter how good they are. I bet there are pro players below the skill level of the above 5 I mentioned that could reach that level, or at least improve their game by going back and working on spacing. It can do everything from helping you to avoid getting shieldgrabbed, to helping you avoid trading hits, to being able to squeeze into the tightest situations and get a hit in.

So, actually now that I've written this all out, I think I'm going to slow down a little bit, and just focus on spacing for the next 8-10 hours that I play against people. Pure concentration on making sure I can hit them, but they can't hit me. Marth has that advantage, and I've only seen one current Marth player use it properly, and that's M2K.

Here's something that I absolutely believe that will be interesting to share as a closing note: Although I am completely impressed by Mango's spacing, and I admire his playstyle perhaps more than anyone's for having such a high level of mastery in this area, I do believe it's possible to have better spacing than him, and that's what I'm striving for.

How is this possible? Well, since he's so **** good at it, I think the only way would be to space properly in more situations than he does, to put it simply. Let's face it, even Mango messes up his spacing once in a while, so I'm going to use Mango's spacing as a measure of how far along I am in mastering this skill.

Mango *****.

 

[JesiahTEG]

Random Thoughts

Just want to post some random thoughts I have so I don't forget them later.

Although I'm doing a good job of thinking for myself and coming up with my own strategies, have I really taken all that I can out of current videos that are out there? The answer is an obvious no. The better I get, the more details I see when watching matches on youtube. I think I need to dedicate like a whole day to just watching matches, picking out useful existing strategies and integrating them into my playstyle. The process would go something like this:

*Watch matches
*Write down the strategies or tactics I find useful that I don't already know or use
*Make sure to understand exactly why they work and why the player did them (Maybe even go so far as to ask the players themselves how they work, provided they don't mind sharing. )
*Practice them until I know when to use them properly and I can execute them fluidly
*Use them vs people, figure out any weaknesses they may have, and improve upon them

Here's an example of something I do that came from the above process. (High level spacies players pay attention to this, because you all get horribly ***** by this.)

When Marth tippers a space animal off the stage and they live, 99% of the time and I mean that percentage quite literally, they will start their foxfire as far away from the stage as possible, and above the stage. This is actually probably the smartest option they have, as it not only gives Marth less time to think of what to do, but they now have the advantage of choosing any direction with their foxfire, and on top of that being able to DI any direction when they are freefalling from it, should they choose to go high.

M2K knows this, and after he tippers, he waits for them to use their double jump, then jumps out and does a bair to turn himself around, then dairs them out of it.

He's been using it for so long now I'm surprised people haven't caught onto this and started countering it. I mean, high level spacies started to get around his gimps but I guess people either don't pay much attention to that strategy or actually they probably do...Maybe high level players know about it, but maybe their instinct just takes over anyways. Eh whatever, benefits me anyways.

*I also need to start practicing my strategies and the things I come up with one by one, and make sure I can master them before moving onto the next. It requires a lot of conscious effort and I get lazy sometimes, but that's the best way to learn something I feel.

*This one is a little bit less important for me to do, but I still think it would help. Falco's shield pressure, one of my favorite things to do in Melee. I think it's just so beautiful and effective when done correctly. I truly truly appreciate it and love doing it.

When I'm playing very good, I am convinced my shield pressure with Falco is top 10 in the nation, maybe even better. Of course I can be wrong, and maybe I am...But this is just going off of experience, videos watched, etc. Anyways, back to the original thought. When I'm "On," I don't even really think about the shield pressure, but I end up choosing the correct options at the right times subconsciously. (Shine to grab if I feel like they will stay in shield after the shine, retreating aerials on shield to bait shieldgrabs, delaying my aerial after the shine to prevent attacks OOS, etc.)

What I'd like to do when I get around to it, is writing down every option my opponent has to escape my shield pressure, and every option I have to counter each of his options...Then, begin the process of automation by deducting the more unorthodox options, and building a shield pressure sequence that I use most frequently in order to cover as many of their most likely options as possible, which will allow me to direct more conscious effort to predicting what they're going to do to escape the pressure, that my shield pressure sequence doesn't cover...AKA, the more unorthodox options.

POTENTIAL SMASH EPIPHANY

Is that how they do it? Is that how Mango and other high level players think? It seems perfect doesn't it?

Figuring out the most commonly used options at high level play in any given situation, and building a strategy to cover those options...Automating that strategy so that's how you normally play, without having to think about it, and then directing your conscious thoughts and energy to predicting and reacting to the rest of the options that your strategy that you've built doesn't cover, and punishing accordingly.

Can any high level players reading this be so generous as to post or PM me in regards to this? I'd really appreciate it, although I will DEFINITELY be testing this on my own anyways. Wow, that idea has a lot of potential. It's crazy how my mind works. One minute I'm set on spending my next 10 hours of play time practicing spacing, and then after thinking about more things, I eventually go through a series of mental events and situations that lead me to what's potentially a really good strategy. I get excited and then start thinking about it more and more. I can't get ahead of myself though, one thing at a time. Spacing first. I will make this the #2 thing on my list to work on.

*NEW FALCO IDEA*

Oh I'm excited about this one. At higher percents when my opponent is shielding, doing a quick string of shield pressure to diminish their shield, and then dtilting it to shield stab for the kill. Wow, Falco is so broken, he has the potential to be so creative. I wonder, if my opponent is smart enough to angle their shields against my pressure, would that work to my advantage in being able to shield stab with the Dtilt even earlier? Like, if my opponent is angling their shield up to make it harder for me to hit my L cancels properly, will that mean I can dtilt after less shield pressure? Are people even good enough and consistent enough to do that? I don't remember seeing anyone do that, if anyone has any videos or anything showing players doing this, please let me know so I can determine how often high level players do this.

Last question I need to figure out regarding this topic: What's the least amount of pressure I can apply to a shield to be able to shieldstab with Dtilt? Would a dair-->shine--> retreating nair be enough? If so that would be amazing, because in the chance they take the retreating aerial bait and shieldgrab, I won't even need to shieldstab the dtilt, it will just hit as they miss their grab...The dtilt outranges every character's grab, right?

Ugh I want to go test more and play, but I need to do one last thing first. I'm thinking of so much, I'm getting unorganized. I need to go through my previous posts and compile a list of questions I need answered in order for me to figure out if these strategies are viable or not.

 

[Ch3s]

Mango *****.

Scorpion Master is better

 

[jetfour]

Shieldstab with dtilt is great and easy, I do it very often. I've seen Mango do it a bunch too, now that you're aware of it you'll notice it more if you watch his old matches again.

Kage loves to shieldstab with dair by delaying it so it is very close to the ground and hits their feet. People naturally shield high against an aerial so he punishes that very hard.

As for watching videos, something I suggest you try is rewatching old Ken videos. As much as you know them, when you become a smarter and more experienced player, you'll notice things in his old videos that blow your mind. You'll understand more why he made those decisions that seemed so basic but actually covered certain options so well.

Watching old videos of Isai are mesmerizing as well. He controls the air and fakes out his opponent so well. He is so patient and fluid. He is a master of the basic double jump approach, something I feel like only Kage and Hax apply much these days.

 

[HyperEnergy]

However, there is one problem with Smash that I've never faced in anything I've become the best at in: Randomly losing tech skill and mental awareness.

First off, I just want to say I love your blog.

Second, I also tend to have the same problem as that section of your blog I've quoted and so I'd like to offer some advice. Basically, whenever I find myself unable to recall what I'm supposed to do in a match, I have a mental technique prepared to activate my memory.

You've mentioned that you are pretty much good at whatever else you do and that you don't randomly forget your knowledge and stuff in those situations. I think this is because there is a lot of external stimuli to activate your memory. Take a job at McDonalds for instance; when you go in and you see the fry basket low, that activates the thought, "I need to cook more fries."

In the high pressure situation of a tournament match though, if your mind goes blank you need to give your brain a jump start. In my case, I think about boss battles from games that I've really enjoyed, like facing Dark Samus from Metroid Prime 2, The End from Metal Gear Solid 3, or Mithos from Tales of Symphonia. Because I really enjoy those boss battles, whenever I play them I am super focused and having tons of fun. If I imagine I'm playing those very boss battles before a match, it activates my focus and strategies in situations where I lose them. And the best part is that your mind being blank automatically activates thoughts of reactivating yourself.

Once you do come up with something, practice that mindset until it becomes a habit. As an example, say you came up with remembering how much fun shield pressuring with Falco is ( ;p ) to activate your mindset. So before a match, imagine yourself shield pressuring some poor soul with nairs, dairs, shines and grabs and then when your match happens and you play well, your mind will attach Falco shield pressure to playing well. And after the habit is formed, one little thought will be able to activate your ability to play well on a moment's notice.

If you're worried about using your activation technique and then playing horribly and attaching that mindset to playing horribly though, just use that advice posted by omgwtfToph about what Mango said. "Just pretend it didn't happen."

So yeah, creating some sort of activation technique can be something you could try to improve your consistency.