My Ryu: Gameplan and improvements

There are some things in which I've personally been trying to practice on with my Ryu.  After Evo I learned a whole lot regarding how to improve, and with that, I made a general gameplan towards my strengths as a player.  My strength mainly resides in my opponents mistakes...or to put it simply, I punish hard for mistakes.  I realized that if I can play a playstyle of punishing, I'll be able to play towards my strength and have a set goal of what I want in my match.  With this play style in mind, I also came to understand that to punish, I would also need to become good at baiting my opponent into mistakes (instead of just hoping that they come to me).  All in all, this post is just a quick "status update" as to what my personal game plan is with Ryu, as well as some other aspects I'm trying to work on with my Ryu.

Game Plan:  During the first match, try to learn as much about your opponent as you can in order to understand how you can learn his play style.  In this first match, play VERY disciplined to learn opponent's habits, patterns, and strengths and weaknesses.  After being able to understand the opponent's play style, learn how to counter it, and possibly set up for baiting later in the set.

Ryu improvements:

 -  Start using: c.mk hadou, sadc, c.mk hurricane/c.hk during footsies to maximize damage and grab momentum from footsie range

 -  Use more empty jump, crouch short combo's after un'techable knockdown's.  

 -  Make it a goal to try to hit f+hp every match.  Figure out how to succesfully hit this attack to execute hard hitting combo's

 - Start using "FA, absorb hit, dash in" more often against pokes or attacks with larger recovery in order to possibly get a free combo.  For example:  Rufus c.hp, Akuma c.hk, Bison s.hk, etc.

 - Start jumping over fireballs on REACTION instead of guessing.  

 - Start using "walk forward, hp shoryuken" as an anti air when not in distance to normally hit the SRK.  Air was doing this to me like crazy...it basically took away jumps in which I thought normally to be safe.  

What you can learn from a beat down!

Been a long time since I've posted...I wanted to talk about my money match with "Air" (a really strong Ryu player) and discuss what I learned through playing him.  After playing Air, I thought about why he won, and it really seemed as if his fundamentals were just plain better then mine were.  I think the essential traits that make up fundamentals are:  spacing/zoning, execution, momentum, adaptation, and discipline.

 = Spacing and zoning is a fairly basic concept...keeping the opponent at bay through controlling space (mainly through using pokes, anti'airs and fireballs).  Air made me realize that it's important to realize exactly WHAT pokes your opponent uses, in order to counter them with the proper poke for next time (adapting while spacing).  Basically, it's one thing to know what your character's best pokes are, but it's another to realize what your opponent is using and adapt to his pokes with a more high priority poke.  Air also showed me that it's VERY important to know your distances to a T, and to NEVER throw out pokes unless I was in range of hitting them.  There were to many times where I would throw a hadouken from a wrong distance, where he would react with a jump in to punish...or he would let me whiff a c.hk (by staying out of it's range) and jump in on me for free, leading to immediate momentum for him.

 = Execution is fairly easy to explain.  Air was crisp on almost all of his combo's and come to think of it, I don't think that he missed a single combo on me at all.  He was pulling 1 frame links off like crazy...combo's like f+hp, c.hp, ex tatsu which does 380 damage.  Aside from being amazing at combo's, he also understood how to maximize damage with his combo's...such as using 2 meters to use: c.mk, hadou, sadc, c.hk OR hurricane kick (depending on range).  Basically not only did he have crisp execution, however he also put importance on maximizing damage when getting even SMALL openings (such as the example given during a footsie battle) instead of just large openings (like a whiff'ed dp).

 = Momentum can get a bit lost in translation, but I personally categorize momentum as being able to capitalize off of opportunities in order to pressure your opponent.  What people don't understand is that when most players think "capitalize off of opportunities" they immediately think knockdowns.  However this wasn't the case when I played Air.  For instance, Air didn't get MANY knockdowns on me, however what he DID do was jump at almost the PRECISE ranges in which I couldn't anti air him consistently.  Whenever Air jumped at me, it was a jump so close to me that I couldn't react to anti air him...thus, free crossover into momentum, putting me in a block string potentially leading to mixups (throw, frame trap, overhead, etc.).  

 = Adaptation was Air's weakest of fundamentals (but when I say weak, it only means that the rest were already so high...Air's adaptation was fairly strong compared to the average player).  He was a fairly reaction based player in which he did safe (and smart) attacks which made it hard to do damage on him.  (For instance, he ONLY jumped on reaction to my poorly thrown hadouken's, OR if he was close enough to get a jump over crossover from being so close to me...safe and smart ways to attack).  However I will say that the ONE set that I beat him at was only because of MY adaptation skills.  I was able to see some of his habits in which he let out in our first 2 matches...I caught on a bit and was able to punish accordingly (he did some risky dp's at times and also let me f+hp quite a bit, while he was knocked down, letting me pressure him a bit for no real consequence).  He eventually caught on to his mistakes and took them away, while at the same time making it harder for me to get damage in on him.  All in all, adaptation is a strong fundamental aspect that everyone should work on when they want to strengthen their game.  I could go on about adaptation for days, but to keep it basic, I would encourage everyone to begin learning how to adapt to their opponent's.  As Bruce Lee said "Be like water!"

 = The only real strange "fundamental" there is discipline....which I personally believe that discipline is where a player doesn't make unwise decisions (bad habits or patterns), and instead a player that plays all around solid.  For instance, instead of backdashing or uppercutt'ing through strings, a disciplined player just blocks.  Basically a player that doesn't put himself into making mistakes in which he could potentially lose damage.  By playing disciplined you make it so that your opponent won't get free damage.  Instead, you make your opponent truly work for his damage instead of just giving it to him because of a good read...For instance there have been so many times where I exploit mashers on wakeup with frame traps or straight up walk up DP's....Bad habits and predictability lead to impatience and undisciplined players!  Don't let that be you!

My personal damage checklist

So last blog, I talked about the importance of knowing where your damage comes from. I decided (rather quickly as you'll see, I'm writing this right after the last blog) to write down my own personal checklist for other people (slightly different then the example given in the other blog). This blog's short and sweet, and it basically just sums up my checklists I have with Ryu.

- C.mk (70)

- Hadouken (70)

- Shoryuken (160)

- Throw (130)

- F+mp (80)

- F+hp > Combo (280)

This leads to 790 damage if I can get these every match. They are also very ROUGH estimates (for instance "f+hp to combo" is very broad as it can be doing anywhere from 280 - 610 for all i know) in order to play "against" myself in order to prepare myself for the "worst." All in all, if I can hit all these, I'm only leaving about 200 more damage to attain. This can easily be acquired through either: ground game, or another combo.

- Mickey

Where does your damage come from?

Last week when I was having a "training mode session" with Deezo, I began to realize just how important it is to know how your damaging your opponent. Deezo was doing various combo's on the training dummy, and I was shocked to see exactly how much damage potential she had when hitting these combo's. For those that don't know...Chun also has great mixup's after combo's. We started to look at exactly how much damage she was able to deal out, and the data we found was shocking (at least to me it was).

Chun's throws do 150 damage each, her instant over head (jump back hk) does 100 damage, and if I remember correctly a hazanshu did about 140 damage. Any combo that he'd do was about 250 - 300 damage (with the potential mixup of dealing out another one). Her main poke (c.hk) does 90 damage.

All in all, I came out with this theory...I told Mandel that if he could make a line where he could successfully hit these attacks, he would be dealing out nearly 400 damage. I explained it like this: if you could successfully knockdown with a move during ground game...say c.hk (90 damage), get a throw (150 damage), and hit the instant over head right after (100 damage), you'd be dealing out 340 damage straight out right then and there. When you begin to realize how much 340 damage is based off of 3 minuscule attacks...you start realizing that damage adds up QUICK. More importantly I realized the value of knowing where damage comes from, and how it can add up through specific lines of attack.

In a rough match, Deezo hits at the very least 1 combo a round (say 250 damage), and gets a knockdown about twice a match (totalling up to 180 damage). After every said knockdown, there comes a mixup with potential combo damage...however lets say to play a rough situation, he doesn't try to hit combo's...instead he hits the other attacks such as, throws, hazan shu's, or overheads. If Mandel could hit every one of these moves, including his combo's and knockdowns, he'd be doing nearly 80% damage. You can see how quickly the damage adds up by playing to this checklist.

By making a checklist of attacks you can really understand WHERE your damage is put in...now whys this important? If you know where your damage is coming from, you know where your damage ISN'T coming from. Sounds backwards right? But the logic is very plain...if you can see where your damage ISN'T coming from, you can work towards that, and learn how to fine tune your play style. Lets use Ryu as an example....

My personal check list goes something like this:

- Hp shoryuken (160D)

- Throw (120D)

- Overhead (70D)

- c.mk (70D)

- Hadouken (70D)

Now this is a VERY BASIC checklist, but look at how much damage it does...a total of 490 damage. When your realistically looking at things, by hitting each of these attacks, I'm taking off nearly 50% of my opponent's health. Now look at this....we haven't even got into COMBO'S yet. If I add THAT into my game, I'll be effectively taking of nearly 90% of my opponent's health now (a basic ultra/super combo does about 400 damage).

Now these are very cut and dry checklists. The little monkey wrench of "How are you so sure you'll get all these attacks in a round?" can always be thrown into the equation. More or less, the check list is there so that you know what options you have in EVERY SITUATION during the match...

Playing a ground game? That's where your c.mk and hadouken's come into play. Being pressured? That's why I threw shoryuken into there as it's very valid to be hit by a hp shoryuken reversal when someone is pressuring you....think about if you had ultra too! That 160 damage becomes 400 damage instead! Want to play it safe and not pressure for a combo because your opponent is reversal happy? This is where over head's and throws come into play...because these attacks are very subtle, they aren't abrasive enough to where you look as if your just trying to pressure all day (putting your opponent in the mindset to reversal you).

In other words, every attack here on the check list can be used in situations that happen all throughout the match. There's never ONE specific BEST attack to use in a situation...just remember the check list, and try to run through it, and you'll realize that by running through it, your giving yourself a strong fundamental play style that doesn't revolve around EXECUTION or PRESSURE, or COMBO'S just to win. In all honesty, while looking at the check list, your not even taking into perspective that your opponent might mess up or possibly make a mistake. For each mistake they make, you might as well make an assumption that your going to be hitting with a hard hitting combo...that's going to add more fuel to your fire since the combo's not even really a part of your check list...it's going to help you out and make you become more successfull without you even expecting it.

Realizing where your damage output comes from is really good to know because it'll make you realize how to tighten up and fine tune your play style. For instance, if you realize that you can only deal damage based off of combo's and pressuring, by making the check list, you can start to understand that you won't NEED to pressure all the time during a match just to deal damage...you'll start to see that your damage can come from somewhere different....somewhere that you weren't putting thought into!

- Mickey

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'

Ryu Numbers

I figured I'd make a quick blog about Ryu's combos.  I want to know the most efficient way to use my meter, and in doing so, I wanted to number crunch a few combos.  The combos will be split into multiple groups as I go on...more or less this is for "data" purposes.  A side note is that the ultra damage is calculated at LEAST amount of damage (not infinite meter on training dummy) so therefore the numbers are rough to play devil's advocate.  The D stands for damage and S for stun.  Lastly there are VERY few combos here that deal with using EX meter mainly because as I've said before, this blog is about realizing the most ideal/hard hitting combos, WHILE saving meter.  Only if an ex combo is truly worth the damage I'll put it up.  

 - BnB Combo's:  c.lk, c.lp hp shoryuken = 178D, 260S.  c.lk c.lp, c.hp, hk hurricane:  214D, 400S. 

 - Punishment Combo's:  c.mk, hp shoryuken = 230D, 300S.  c.hp, hp shoryuken: 260D, 400S.  c.mp, c.hp, hp shoryuken:  298D, 460S.  c.hp, ex tatsu 300D, 450S.  

 - F+hp Combo's:  f+hp, hp shoryuken 280D, 300S.  f+hp, c.lp, c.hp, hk hurricane: 314D 450S.  f+hp, s.mk, hp shoryuken:  318D, 360S.  f+hp, c.hp, hp shoryuken:  348D, 460S.  f+hp, c.hp, ex tatsu = 380D, 500S.  f+hp, s.mk, ex tatsu:  350D, 400S

Overall notes:  As far as punishment combos go, c.mk, shoryu is most applicable due to range.  The c.hp, ex tatsu, I don't feel as if should be used ever since you could instead do the c.mp, c.hp shoryu combo instead for same damage over all.  The f+hp combos are very difficult to hit without focus 2's, and with focus 2's come damage/stun scaling.  The combos with a focus 2 primarily do the same amount of damage as well with a bit more stun.  When doing the focus lvl 2 into these, don't even do the ex moves since the damage is scaled so heavily.  On top of that the f+hp, c.hp link is really hard, so I don't even count it to be too valid of a combo.  All in all the best (most valid during a match) combos to use are in bold.

SADC Combos:   FA lvl 2, f+hp, s.mk, hadou, sadc, c.hp, hp shoryuken:  381D 540S.  FA lvl 2, c.hp, hadouken, sadc, c.hp, hk hurricane: 329D 600S.  J.hk, land, c.hp, hadouken, sadc, c.hp, hk hurricane:  398D 740S.  

Notes on SADC combos:  A lot of these combos are at times character specific.  The only real valid combo I could really suggest that hits every time on every character is the one in bold.  

 - Super Combo's:  c.mk, hp shoryuken, super:  470D (500D if c.hp is used instead).  f+hp, hp shoryuken, super:  520D.  Jab shoryu, land, super:  430D.  c.mk, hadouken, super:  380D (410D if c.hp is substituted.)

Notes on combos with super:  Don't ever focus attack into super.  The scaling takes away so much percentage that it's not worth using all 4 meters for it.  Definitely avoid using the c.mk, hadouken, super combo since it's the worst output.  You want to be hitting around that 45% sweet spot.  All in all, best combo is high lighted in bold. 

 - Ultra Combo's:  hp shoryuken 381D   (at times 291D when anti aired).  c.mk, hp shoryuken:  424D (454D if c.hp is used instead).  F+hp, hp shoryuken: 474D.  c.lk, c.lp, hp shoryuken:  345D.  j.hk, land, c.hp, shoryuken:  495D

Notes on ultra combo's:  As you can see, the damage to hitting this combo could mean hitting either 29% or even 49%.  Thats a 20% difference, so I think it's safe to say that your TRYING to hit about 40%.  By trying to hit 40% your not settling for hitting a weak ultra, and your making the most out of it.  I also would like to say that FA lvl 2 into ultra is completely fine in my opinion BUT you MUST use the combo: f+hp, hp shoryuken...into it so that you can break about 42% (breaking the 40% mark).  So don't be afraid to combo into the ultra with a FA lvl 2.  At the same time, if a 29% is gonna hurt an opponent that bad, by all means go for it.  Just remember that you could be doing 43% by doing a jab shoryu into super though!  All in all, the combos to go for are in bold once again.  

After breaking the numbers down, I'm realizing just how important hitting that ultra is.  At the same time, you have to wonder wether to save 2 meter, or use for ultra.  The deciding factor is exactly HOW you hit it, and if your not getting 40% out of the combo, your not using it as effectively as you should.  

 - Mickey D'

In a slump, but my plan to get out

As of recently, I've fallen into a huge slump.  In my last 3 or 4 tournament appearances, I have placed the lowest I have in my SF4 career.  Throughout the majority of my tournament placements, I've mainly stayed in the 3rd to 5th range.  And to be honest, I'm fairly satisfied with my placements when I think about how strong our scene is.  But recently, I struggling to say the least.  

Last night I had went into a tournament with about 30 heads, and didn't even place top 8, which is incredibly rare for me.  The tournament before was at Gameworks where the participants were split up in about 6 pools, with about 10 people in each pool.  And as it so happens, I didn't even get out of my pool.  To go even further back, 2 weeks ago at a different tournament, I tied for 7th, the beginning of the slump.

After all has been said and done, I'm naturally trying to get out of the the slump at hand.  I'm realizing that I need to focus on the basics and fundamentals again.  I also have to focus on my emotions during matches as well.  Sometimes I bring in pressures that don't need to be added, and at times, it really affects how I play.  For instance, I played a really close friend first match, and afterwards in the tournament, I played a guy who I've had personal problems with in the past.  With the match with my friend, there was no pressure at all, however with Paullee, I felt as if I had this mindset of "You can't lose to Paul...It's PAUL for crying out loud!"  All in all, I'm going to try and focus on a training regiment where I can focus on breaking bad habits, and strengthening over all fundamentals so I can get back to being solid and consistent.  At the end of the month, it's been decided that we are going to be holding the round robin tournament very soon to decide who can partake in the 5v5 regional tournament at Evo.  All in all, I want to train hard so that I can do well for myself...to show that I can break out of a slump, and that dedication and effort do prove to be worth the time and hard work.  

In this first week, I'm really going to try and improve on anti'airing.  I want to be able to start anti'airing at all times.  On top of that I'm going to try and break my bad habits.  Recently I've been having terrible habits such as focus'ing too much, wake up DP'ing sometimes (after focuses too), mashing on throw when someone is close, and jumping at wrong times.  And the way that I look at it, is that there are very obvious ways to break these habits.  Stop focus'ing as much during matches...use it about very sparingly, and don't ever whiff a focus.  As for dp'ing during the wrong times, I just gotta stop doing that period.  I gotta also realize that instead of wake up dp'ing, I gotta realize that blocking is most likely the best/ideal defense instead of trying to cheap my way out of it with a reversal.  As for mashing throw, I need to tighten up my reactions to when someone does a crouching string, that when they STAND, to throw, not DURING their string.  The jump'ins need to stop period.  Daigo rarely jumps in on his opponents...he might jump in ONCE during his round.  So let me end this  just some quick notes and key facts :

Week 1:  Make an effort to anti air at all times, and end bad habits such as:  reversal dp's, focus attacking excessively, mashing on throw when trying to tech, and jump in's.  

In week 2, I want to focus very strongly on my ground game and spacing.  This kind of goes hand in hand with the criteria of week 1, as I can still focus on ending my bad habits, as well as increasing the consistency of my anti air'ing (control of space).  Footsies and space control are very important and vital to becoming a great player.  It causes the opponent to make unnecessary risks where one can take advantage of.  With Ryu, it's important to know WHEN to throw a hadouken and also understand why you throw a hadouken.  This is what I'll mainly be working on because it's such an important part to his overall game plan.  I'll also be working on baiting jump ins (this is where the anti air'ing comes into play) by throwing hadouken's as well as using c.mk's to make the opponent think I'm going to play a ground game (convincing the opponent to think it's the right time to jump).  The quick and dirty looks something like this:

Week 2:  While still focusing on anti'airing consistently, work on ground game heavily.  This means NO rushing down even after knockdowns.  Strengthen the fundamental basics of the fire ball game as well as general footsies.  Remember, learning how to control space is the key with this regiment.

During the third week, I plan on working on the basic principle of pressing the advantage.  At this time, I plan to keep working on Week 2 criteria (strong ground/spacing game) but at the same time I want to work on pressing the advantage more efficiently.  What this entails exactly to ME, is that I want to understand when it's the right time to pressure, how to exactly go about pressuring, different types of setups and tricks after a knockdown...things like that.  King explained to me the "My Turn" process, and I really want to begin playing with that mindset.  King said he learned about "My Turn" when KO and KSK were over at his house when 3s was hot.  

From what I understand "My Turn" basically is the idea of realizing who's turn it is to pressure/press advantage.  For instance, in the beginning of the match, unless an opportunity such as a knockdown or something happens, the turn is not specific.  At this point, this is where ground game comes into play.  However when a knockdown, or possibly a nicely timed jump comes into play, it is THAT person's (the aggressors) "turn."  This person's turn ENDS when he is pushed out of reach or sometimes the turn is continued after perpetual knockdown's.  All in all, it has to do with the mindset of knowing when to press the advantage, and knowing when it's not the right time to press the advantage.  I also want to point out real quick that in certain situations where it's not smart to "take your turn" it's okay to play into a ground game situation where the turn is not specific to anyone.  I understand and value this mindset, because in SF4, there are so many escape options such as lariat, or DP, SADC, etc.  The trick is to understand when to take your turn.  But once again, just to write down quick notes again:

Week 3:  While still practicing on ground game, focus more heavily on pressing the advantage.  Using the "My Turn" system, I can realize exactly when to pressure and how best to pressure my opponent.  

The fourth week kind of ties everything all together.  Hopefully at the end of it all, I'll have little to no bad habits, a strong ground game as well as a good realization of knowing when and how to pressure well.  In the end of it all, it should completely change my playstyle into a much more disciplined style of play, while at the same time still being very explosive.  If anything, I'll try to focus (after the 3 weeks) on trying to play matchups a bit differently.  I might try to focus on reading my opponent more, or maybe I might try and focus on strengthening up other things that I don't feel as if are strong enough.  All in all, I'm leaving this 4th week as a down time to collect all my thoughts, let my new play style settle in, and leave it as time to focus on any left over weaknesses that I might still have. 

But all in all, yeah, thats my training regiment, hopefully I can make a blog afterwards and tell people who it all panned out!

 - Mickey D'