Re'evaluation

Back in early May I decided to make a training regiment that I was going to stick to in order to strengthen my game.  And I must say, it has worked tremendously.  Recently within the past 3 weeks, I've played SF4 in an entirely new way.  I would even be inclined to say that the way that I look at SF4 competitively in general, is completely different then before.  I learned that by giving myself time to play to improve and learn, I achieved so much more compared to playing just to win.  The game literally started to unfold in ways I never thought...I began to take simple concepts to very technical analysis in which has helped me substantially in my game play.  Essentially I reevaluated my entire play style, and in doing so, I've become a stronger player.  

In my first week I said that I wanted to stop certain bad habits that I picked up.  However I found that after about 3 hours of play, I wouldn't do these bad habits until I started becoming frustrated in my matches.  This was a very important lesson learned.  I realized that I play completely fine and on point, UNTIL I let my emotions of defeat, or anger shake my focus.  This is where I learned the importance of composure.  It's crazy to think that in my first week, this small little epiphany dawned on me so quickly.  I've always known to a lesser extent that anger led to unfocus and unfocus led to poor play.  However I was able to truly value this aspect of competitive play overall, and accept that it was in my nature to be affected by these things, however if I could control them better, my ability to play would be much stronger.  However I digress from the main objectives of the first week.

I began to anti air more, and eventually started thinking of the play field divided into 5 sections.  I go into this in further detail in my Ryu video tutorial, however the main gist to it was the fact that certain ranges delegate what attacks a player should use.  Stumbling upon THIS epiphany, I was able to look at it and be more aware of such ranges in my overall gameplay.  These small little basics fell into my lap without me really searching for them.  They were all so simplistic too, however so vital to know as a player in order to play great as well.  

Over the days, I began to realize that my play style had changed completely from aggressive to defensive.  The brash reckless decisions I once made, I wouldn't dare do in my current style of play (unless I was unfocused enough hahahaha).  For instance, when I would get rushed down I would look for the quickest possible way to Shoryuken out of the situation.  However now, I simply block and wait out my opponent's block string, look for holes in their string, and look at my options and think carefully about them.  It's not to say that my previous play style didn't think about these things...it's just that more or less with a defensive mindset, I've learned how to keep composed for a longer period of time, in order to realize all my options and think them through instead of acting quickly.

Now, I realize this blog got a bit technical real quick, however I guess the main point I want to make is that...lately I've been fortunate enough to completely reevaluate my play style.  In doing so, the game seemed to unfold to me, showing me basic simplistic aspects that I could think about more detailed and analytically.  I've learned the power of playing for improvement instead of playing to win....So I urge you to take a look at your weaknesses...see what you can do to make them stronger.  Play to improve, not to win, and I'm sure you'll be just as enlightened as I am.

 - Mickey D'