For every low-mid level player i have coached, i find it very effective to go cold turkey on bad habits for a tiny bit. If someone relies on fishing for f tilts as squirtle to set up jablocks (as i tend to do), you can tell them to NEVER EVER f tilt in hopes of a jablock setup. After around 1-3 hours, i tell my “students” ok. Now you are allowed to f tilt in hopes of a jablock. As you know, low level habits are hard to break because when they are in situations where their habits are possibly manifested, they can’t think to do anything else and default to that. After going cold turkey for a day of quickplay, low and mid level players feel comfortable going for other options and have played around with the benefits of said options. Telling a low level ganon to not use smash attacks at all for 3-5 matches even, will give them confidence to kill in other ways. After you give them back their favorite toy, its really entertaining to see them instantly play smarter in their habit-situations What do you think about this philosophy? I feel its a super simple way to allow mid-low level players to explore new options and integrate new alternatives to habits. I would consider myself an upper mid level player, and i feel right now my improvement is more about applying all possible options i have when the time is right. I main pac and almost always do an oos option when i am confident it will hit, but i have not yet understood when holding shield or dodging can be useful. My oos is typically way more rewarding and consistent, but i need to understand my supplementary options
Well if its a move that can be spanked if whiffed (squirtle side b, wonderwing, pk rocket, these are extreme examples but still) i recommend 2 days. If its a move you are just using in the wrong situations (doc mario fair in neutral, fishing for fox drag down fairs from a combo starter, or a risky ledgetrap option) you can go a few hours (1-3). The difference is the first one is to learn to never use a move that you will get punished/remove it from your play unless its strictly neccasary, while the second option (1-3 hours) is just to explore alternative options and feel more comfortable with the other parts of your kits so you don’t default to that option
To everyone who says fighting CPUs isn't good practice, well most of my bad habits are cured in a stress free environment, it helps my punish game, and then I implement them online or in tournament. From this I've stopped using spot dodge after whiff all the time, better punishment on spot dodges, being more reactive and situational out of shield, and practicing good spacing. This was the first of your videos where it wasn't a new concept and I subconsciously developed a new look on the game after getting bodied in tournament and watching top level players. I found myself nodding along throughout the video. Every time I destroy an opponent in bracket I like to advertise your channel because it has gotten me away from so many blank times of no improvement.
I agree with this. From time to time when trying to implement a new technique I like to shadow box against the CPU players. I stop when I notice I am exploiting a weakness in the AI, but for practicing certain combos and setups I think it is great stuff!
Yeah I think CPUs can be useful if you use them for a certain reason. Just playing them as if its a normal match is next to pointless unless you're still learning how the game works, but if you're specifically practicing breaking a habit, punishing a certain move, learning to play extremely patiently etc. playing vs CPUs can be an easy way to start grooving in the new skills.
2:00 wow i definitely fall into autopiloting and i always forget to practice the ideas i tried in training mode in a real matchi notice i care too much about winning a match than learning something new, very frustrating thanks for the reminder dude =D
This was exactly what I needed to hear. I have been pouring so much time and effort into matches but not realizing I was trying to win every single match instead of experiment and make productive thought processes that produce better gameplay. Thanks Verm!
This video probably applies differently to me than many. Due to time constraints the longest play session I can ever have is an hour and most are around 30 minutes. My takeaway from this video is that I can still get valuable practice in that time if I make that the focus of my play sessions and that even if I magically had more time I wouldn't necessarily get better relative to my extra play time.
Good stuff, and easy to relate to my own experience with how I've often chosen ineffective methods of practicing Smash. It's nice to hear consistent, logical, and general steps for refining play.
Man verm your videos are so good and useful for those who are trying to get better at smash or really anything competitive! I think your best videos are 1. The perspective video 2.who can be a top player 3.grinding gets you nowhere 4. This video. Because they highlight the most important thing when it comes to improvement, The Thinking specifically the introspective thought, and deep thinking that's required to imporve. You get better by by thinking about the game, meaning like you said you have to examine your gameplay and ask questions. For example I play street fighter. Let's say I force my opponent to block they are scared of getting punished so they block. Well now I have to open them back up i could do this then I would think "Well how can I open them up?" Then I would look at my options and my gameplay and then I would get these options 1. throwing 2.high low mix up 3. Left right mix up(cross up) 4. Jump ins(empty or low) Then I could ask "okay am I using those options?" "Are they getting blocked why, and when?etc But all of that perspective and potential answers came from the fact that, you have to think and ask yourself these types of questions. you need to engage in self reflection and introspection and discover deeper parts of the game. It's really cool and fascinating. But it requires you to think and probe questions and situations deeper than normal. The key is to find the reason behind you losing and then build potential solutions or answers to that reasoning thus increasing your knowledge gameplay and perspective in the game. It's about having the proper thinking and mindset if you want to get better like you said in your who can be a top player video
At the time of watching I've actually recently started implementing this in my practice more. My thing right now is learning to look at the percent more, and when, but I find it very difficult to let go of the "play to win" mentality and sacrifice attention on gameplay in order to redirect toward forming that habit. I think saying "this won't revolutionize how you practice" is sort of selling yourself short, at least for people who don't know playing to win does not equal playing to improve, since if all one ever does is play to win then improvement is frustratingly slow, and for someone like that being told how to practice could definitely change their whole outlook on competitive smash.
Sometimes when you take a loss you just have to tell yourself "This is perfectly ok. This is part of the improvement process. You're going to take a lot of losses on that path"
The way you speak is amazing to listen to and it blows my mind how you analyze practice. I would mindlessly go online with Ganon and around the 2 and a half hour mark my brain would go numb and I wouldn't be thinking of my gameplan. Definitely taking this video into considering both when I'm playing for fun and for competitive play. Also as a fellow Ganon player I'm learning alot from the gameplay keep it up man
Normally I ask people for friendlies, and just grind a bit until I feel my play getting worse again because of me using risky things that are not going to hit. Yesterday I did something different. I asked a Joker who beat me in bracket for friendlies under the premise to practice the matchup. Naturally, the first couple of games were just me trying to get in. It's not until I focused and try to see what specifically I get hit by, did I improve. And since it was quite a long session I went through multiple cycles of looking for answers and implementing them. Only today I realized how effective practicing like this was, since I gave myself permission to lose, I focused on trying answering specific things. In the end, I even managed to take a couple games.
Excellent video as always. I've been struggling to work some of these ideas into my practice for a while, but hearing the way you structure the concept of good practice will help me a lot I think. Thanks for taking the time to make such a helpful video.
I've definitely gotten stuck in the brainless practice rut a bit too often lol. Recently I've been trying to restructure how I think about the game in general by not doing any of the same kind of grinding I used to do and also by trying to find alternate sources of inspiration for strategies. Interestingly enough, one such source has been competitive Pokemon. It operates on many of the same principles that Smash does but in a much slower paced and controlled environment, and removing those kind of barriers gives you more room (and at times almost forces you) to consider why you're making the decisions you're making. I feel like exercising that kind of thought process has really helped me analyze my own gameplay in a way that I never would have before and I feel like I'm improving a lot more efficiently than I used to
Loved the video, it looks like it works complementary to a video from dkbill from a month ago, i'll design a practice routine around this structure. Excelent content, thanks for your advice
Good video, it definitely accomplishes the goals that you outlined during the end. I wish I heard this stuff earlier! Especially the part about unintentionally changing practice time to "focus on winning time". I have one piece of feedback: sometimes it seems that you're speaking out loud very long sentences of text. Let's take 6:44 as an example. The way I hear it, you start it at that time and end at 7:17, that's quite long! On top of that, some explanations are quite complex which in the end makes the video hard to follow at times. I definitely had to rewind it back a couple of times. I don't know how your process looks like, but may I suggest running the script through the Hemingway Editor or a similar tool? It should catch those long sentences and complex word groupings which could be replaced by simpler ones. Cheers!
This is exactly what I needed to hear before practicing online again. Thank you so much for this video, Verm! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find out when and where to do short-hop up airs...
The matches that are playing in the background are so good that I often get distracted from the actual vid. Good stuff 👍
His ganon is by far my favorite one to watch
For every low-mid level player i have coached, i find it very effective to go cold turkey on bad habits for a tiny bit.
If someone relies on fishing for f tilts as squirtle to set up jablocks (as i tend to do), you can tell them to NEVER EVER f tilt in hopes of a jablock setup.
After around 1-3 hours, i tell my “students” ok. Now you are allowed to f tilt in hopes of a jablock.
As you know, low level habits are hard to break because when they are in situations where their habits are possibly manifested, they can’t think to do anything else and default to that.
After going cold turkey for a day of quickplay, low and mid level players feel comfortable going for other options and have played around with the benefits of said options.
Telling a low level ganon to not use smash attacks at all for 3-5 matches even, will give them confidence to kill in other ways.
After you give them back their favorite toy, its really entertaining to see them instantly play smarter in their habit-situations
What do you think about this philosophy? I feel its a super simple way to allow mid-low level players to explore new options and integrate new alternatives to habits.
I would consider myself an upper mid level player, and i feel right now my improvement is more about applying all possible options i have when the time is right.
I main pac and almost always do an oos option when i am confident it will hit, but i have not yet understood when holding shield or dodging can be useful. My oos is typically way more rewarding and consistent, but i need to understand my supplementary options
I like this philosophy, might try to use it. I play Young Link
Interesting indeed. I did this with rolls when I first picked up Smash and jump-ins when I picked up Street Fighter 5
McKay Oustrich So when you do “cold turkey”, should I not use said move for 1-3 hours or a day?
Well if its a move that can be spanked if whiffed (squirtle side b, wonderwing, pk rocket, these are extreme examples but still) i recommend 2 days.
If its a move you are just using in the wrong situations (doc mario fair in neutral, fishing for fox drag down fairs from a combo starter, or a risky ledgetrap option) you can go a few hours (1-3).
The difference is the first one is to learn to never use a move that you will get punished/remove it from your play unless its strictly neccasary, while the second option (1-3 hours) is just to explore alternative options and feel more comfortable with the other parts of your kits so you don’t default to that option
McKay Oustrich ohh thank you! :)
To everyone who says fighting CPUs isn't good practice, well most of my bad habits are cured in a stress free environment, it helps my punish game, and then I implement them online or in tournament. From this I've stopped using spot dodge after whiff all the time, better punishment on spot dodges, being more reactive and situational out of shield, and practicing good spacing. This was the first of your videos where it wasn't a new concept and I subconsciously developed a new look on the game after getting bodied in tournament and watching top level players. I found myself nodding along throughout the video. Every time I destroy an opponent in bracket I like to advertise your channel because it has gotten me away from so many blank times of no improvement.
I agree with this. From time to time when trying to implement a new technique I like to shadow box against the CPU players. I stop when I notice I am exploiting a weakness in the AI, but for practicing certain combos and setups I think it is great stuff!
Yeah I think CPUs can be useful if you use them for a certain reason. Just playing them as if its a normal match is next to pointless unless you're still learning how the game works, but if you're specifically practicing breaking a habit, punishing a certain move, learning to play extremely patiently etc. playing vs CPUs can be an easy way to start grooving in the new skills.
My mans really got 2 Ganocides, haha
2:00 wow i definitely fall into autopiloting and i always forget to practice the ideas i tried in training mode in a real matchi notice i care too much about winning a match than learning something new, very frustrating
thanks for the reminder dude =D
This was exactly what I needed to hear. I have been pouring so much time and effort into matches but not realizing I was trying to win every single match instead of experiment and make productive thought processes that produce better gameplay. Thanks Verm!
This video probably applies differently to me than many. Due to time constraints the longest play session I can ever have is an hour and most are around 30 minutes. My takeaway from this video is that I can still get valuable practice in that time if I make that the focus of my play sessions and that even if I magically had more time I wouldn't necessarily get better relative to my extra play time.
Good stuff, and easy to relate to my own experience with how I've often chosen ineffective methods of practicing Smash. It's nice to hear consistent, logical, and general steps for refining play.
Man verm your videos are so good and useful for those who are trying to get better at smash or really anything competitive!
I think your best videos are
1. The perspective video
2.who can be a top player
3.grinding gets you nowhere
4. This video.
Because they highlight the most important thing when it comes to improvement,
The Thinking specifically the introspective thought, and deep thinking that's required to imporve. You get better by by thinking about the game, meaning like you said you have to examine your gameplay and ask questions.
For example I play street fighter. Let's say I force my opponent to block they are scared of getting punished so they block. Well now I have to open them back up i could do this then I would think
"Well how can I open them up?"
Then I would look at my options and my gameplay and then I would get these options
1. throwing
2.high low mix up
3. Left right mix up(cross up)
4. Jump ins(empty or low)
Then I could ask
"okay am I using those options?"
"Are they getting blocked why, and when?etc
But all of that perspective and potential answers came from the fact that, you have to think and ask yourself these types of questions. you need to engage in self reflection and introspection and discover deeper parts of the game.
It's really cool and fascinating.
But it requires you to think and probe questions and situations deeper than normal.
The key is to find the reason behind you losing and then build potential solutions or answers to that reasoning thus increasing your knowledge gameplay and perspective in the game.
It's about having the proper thinking and mindset if you want to get better like you said in your who can be a top player video
At the time of watching I've actually recently started implementing this in my practice more. My thing right now is learning to look at the percent more, and when, but I find it very difficult to let go of the "play to win" mentality and sacrifice attention on gameplay in order to redirect toward forming that habit.
I think saying "this won't revolutionize how you practice" is sort of selling yourself short, at least for people who don't know playing to win does not equal playing to improve, since if all one ever does is play to win then improvement is frustratingly slow, and for someone like that being told how to practice could definitely change their whole outlook on competitive smash.
Sometimes when you take a loss you just have to tell yourself "This is perfectly ok. This is part of the improvement process. You're going to take a lot of losses on that path"
The way you speak is amazing to listen to and it blows my mind how you analyze practice. I would mindlessly go online with Ganon and around the 2 and a half hour mark my brain would go numb and I wouldn't be thinking of my gameplan. Definitely taking this video into considering both when I'm playing for fun and for competitive play. Also as a fellow Ganon player I'm learning alot from the gameplay keep it up man
Normally I ask people for friendlies, and just grind a bit until I feel my play getting worse again because of me using risky things that are not going to hit.
Yesterday I did something different. I asked a Joker who beat me in bracket for friendlies under the premise to practice the matchup.
Naturally, the first couple of games were just me trying to get in.
It's not until I focused and try to see what specifically I get hit by, did I improve. And since it was quite a long session I went through multiple cycles of looking for answers and implementing them.
Only today I realized how effective practicing like this was, since I gave myself permission to lose, I focused on trying answering specific things. In the end, I even managed to take a couple games.
Excellent video as always. I've been struggling to work some of these ideas into my practice for a while, but hearing the way you structure the concept of good practice will help me a lot I think. Thanks for taking the time to make such a helpful video.
criminally underrated youtuber
Ah, another fireside chat over tea and crumpets with the intellectual Ganondorf. I like these videos. :D
I've definitely gotten stuck in the brainless practice rut a bit too often lol. Recently I've been trying to restructure how I think about the game in general by not doing any of the same kind of grinding I used to do and also by trying to find alternate sources of inspiration for strategies. Interestingly enough, one such source has been competitive Pokemon. It operates on many of the same principles that Smash does but in a much slower paced and controlled environment, and removing those kind of barriers gives you more room (and at times almost forces you) to consider why you're making the decisions you're making. I feel like exercising that kind of thought process has really helped me analyze my own gameplay in a way that I never would have before and I feel like I'm improving a lot more efficiently than I used to
Loved the video, it looks like it works complementary to a video from dkbill from a month ago, i'll design a practice routine around this structure.
Excelent content, thanks for your advice
Good video, it definitely accomplishes the goals that you outlined during the end. I wish I heard this stuff earlier! Especially the part about unintentionally changing practice time to "focus on winning time".
I have one piece of feedback: sometimes it seems that you're speaking out loud very long sentences of text. Let's take 6:44 as an example. The way I hear it, you start it at that time and end at 7:17, that's quite long! On top of that, some explanations are quite complex which in the end makes the video hard to follow at times. I definitely had to rewind it back a couple of times.
I don't know how your process looks like, but may I suggest running the script through the Hemingway Editor or a similar tool? It should catch those long sentences and complex word groupings which could be replaced by simpler ones.
Cheers!
This is exactly what I needed to hear before practicing online again. Thank you so much for this video, Verm! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find out when and where to do short-hop up airs...
these vids are always great = )
Great videos as always. Question: Have you read Playing to Win by David Sirlin? I'm working through it right now and would love your input on it!
Commenting for the algorithm
I've missed that voice
edit: what are these end analogies? XD
Wait, that ness on quick play spamming pk fire is not good practice.
Jk love the vid
Your video is good for all fighting games I don't why you always advertise yours videos for smash