Hate Speech: A Formal Introduction

When you start to apply this idea, this fundamental rule, know that it's GONNA be hard. A lot of players are guilty of just getting into a flow and doing whatever comes naturally, like Hates said this is where patterns become really obvious.

Having to stop and force yourself to think about each situation is gonna make you hesitant, at first. You're gonna freeze up, you're gonna think of the "right" move for the job after the fact, and yeah you're probably gonna lose some games. It's gonna be frustrating, but thinking about the choices you make in the course of a game is the only way you're going to improve past just knowing some combos and attack patterns.

Once you get the hang of thinking this way, this becomes the key to adapting on the fly in a given match. If there is REAL thought behind what you're doing, you'll be able to make observations about the opponent much more quickly. You'll hear sometimes how an experienced player "downloaded" a new player who was holding his own in the first game of a set, but got crushed straight rounds afterwards. That's because these experienced players are able to make the kinds of plays and reads that Hates is talkin about.
 
I think the ideal state that Hates describes can be likened somewhat to musicians who are exceptionally good at improvisation. They are constantly adapting on the fly to chord and rhythm changes in songs, and oftentimes those changes are unannounced or not very obvious. Reaching that level requires one to be aware of all the possibilities available to them, and getting to THAT point means studying a lot, practicing a whole HELL of a lot, making a shit-ton of mistakes and generally just finding what works, often by finding out the hard way what doesn't work.

Consequently, even though music appreciation is a highly subjective realm, the best improvisers (to my ears, anyway) are the ones that know how and when to "break the rules," so to speak.

I mean seriously, skip to 4:40. It's just not fucking fair.
 
Lol, the Cleo picture killed it for me!

Thumbs up to Hates for this thread and promoting thought into this game. I wish I got a chance to play you when you where at quakecon last year. Didn't know it was you until everything was over (nor did I recognize your face to even ask for a match).

Anyways I can't say too much on thoughts seeing as i'm tired as fuck so I'll just say one quick thing from my personal experiences.

The more people you can play, the better you can become. Certain patterns seem to carry between a majority of people so once you figure that out then you can get sort of an edge.

Oh wait I gotta finish this later, g2g....
 
I'm a Talim player and I focus on ring outs but when I play I do the following.

Step A: I predict an opening strike and usually I windsalt away, depending on the character I am fighting I either go straight into an unblockable, wind charmer K, or windsalt forward A.

Step B: Take a second to determine if my opponent is a tactical player or a button masher. Button mashers should be guard impacted and beat up and or rung out as soon as possible.

Against someone more tactical I start by making them underestimate me, I play a more nooby mashing game in round one while I learn their style, in rounds 2 and 3 and more so I slowly unveil more of what I know, hoping to use a key move here or there to get an edge but then to never repeat it untill another match.

I tend to beat people using this strategy the first time I beat them but once they learn my playstyle I tend to lose more if I repeatedly fight the same person, just my experience.
 
I love Hates already. As for Fundamental Rule...

Troll answer: Play the gayest character possible in the game (Yun-Seong, Benimaru, etc.).

Real answer: Have real goals during a match.

Casual-play goals may include: try a new fighting style, focus on GI, focus on CH, or try ridiculous things to be funny.

Tournament-play goals may include: put opponent into a rhythm, focus on spacing for a Ring Out, turtle effectively, use more feints...

Simply "kill the other guy" isn't good enough for me. Goals keep my mind sharp and focused.
 
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