"Stop spamming that"
"All you do is block"
"Why can't I hit you!"



These are three examples of phrases that directly contradict one another, but I wouldn't put it past a new player or someone that's upset that they're not good enough and don't know the options they have to deal with any given situation in the game..that they would utter these both over the course of a single game, hell, even a single round.


This is okay, this is part of learning, obviously you can't act like a total rager and smash your shit..oh wait, yes you kinda can, if you're Sanford Kelly. See video. Credit to NerdJosh and TeamSp00ky, they both have tons of great footage. Not my point, my point is that at every level of playing you're going to run into frustrations along the way. At first they start out easy in reality, and because you inherently understand that they're a basic function of the game, and you're getting your ass beat for it. This is why you get so upset at the little things like blocking lows or fireballs. Crossups and anti-air issues.

These things are in all actuality not a fear for top level or high level players. These are merely part of their reflexes.

They've seen that low you keep getting hit by, at least 100 times, they've punished it at least 100 times over the course of playing their chosen game. They understand that the game is just hit/hurt-boxes and frame data, and reactionary peace of mind needed to keep your concentration on the character's movement every second of the clock. This is why fighting games are so hard, these players like myself to a degree, like to study and analyze these titles down to their core elements, and they like to try and exploit the most favorable ones while predicting and punishing your mistakes.


This is current Street Fighter V top player PG Punk, he went from never making a wave in the top three of major events in Street Fighter 4 or Marvel vs Capcom 3, to winning three recent major events in a row, winning prize money from invitational events, and living off of Street Fighter, that's pure dedication and passion turning a head into success. He'll be able to buy a home just because he's really fucking good at something that's really fucking hard to be good at.

Picture credit ELeague


It's nearly impossible to know a 100th of what these players know going into a match, they have notes on their cell phones, they have coaches and training regimens, they are prepared to battle. You are prepared to eat that slice of pizza and mash the same few buttons again and again and not do your own research to understand what you're actually doing in the game and learn to understand it as a student over time. Top players in their titles didn't get to the top echelon of performance with their characters with 3 hours of training mode and 200 online matches.


You must work at fighting games like almost no other title I can think of, you legit need to give it patience, time, dedication and passion if you want to watch yourself succeed. It feels incredible when it happens too. When you go from 0-2 your first event like most people do, to growing up and maybe getting top three at your local events, to maybe top eight at a major event. I'm still striving for the last one. The dedication pays off, and it might not be a monetary reward, but the passion and love for the competition is what drives us towards progress, in all things.


Your local crypto slut - <3