Hate Speech: We Talkin' Bout Practice?

Every SC game has different aspects to work on it. In SC we practice too much mind games and extra damage combos; in SC2 we practice 8WR combos, and safe poke strategy; in SC3 we practice wall combos, punishment, anti string GI, hard Just inputs commands, and a lot more... in SC3 I have to take the time to learn every character in the game just to understand better the mechanics build in each one...

In SC4 I have to practice only against annoying moves... just ukemi Mitsurugi 2kB; duck against the string Ralph B+K AA; keep attacking Yun with A moves; and keep moving in the right way to have a chance to beat Amy... more or less SC4 kill the excitement to practice.

JG and all the new mechanics are solid evidence of the incoming fun times practicing SCV; finding moves to combo CE; JG strings; linking BE moves, and much more. I guess I'l love this SC as much as I love the JPN SC3.
 
In addition to the stuff to practice mentionend above i've found it quite useful to practice hit- and counterhit-checking on the dummy:

Set it to random blocking and set counter to random too.
Then attack it, see if and how you hit it.
Then continue accordingly.

Easy example: Taki's 11K:
On block it's safe, but you are at big disadvantage, so you better block.
On hit you are at a slight disadvantage so you block or attack fast or with evasion.
On counter hit you combo off of the bounce stun it gives.

Practising this makes it that you are not a "prisoner of your own combo".

While at the same time not missing a chance to do damage/make use of advantage.

Not all moves are hitcheckable though
 
AI Practice isn't necessarily the worst thing ever with the right mindset. But again I do the same things in training mode that I am about to begin advocating, so take it for what it is. I also talk a bit about "free practice" which IMO is just putting a dummy on random guard and tech options to practice your offense. This can extend to practice against the AI or any number of setting in freestyle.

The important thing with free practice is the frame of mind. This begins with suspending a winning mentality, considering your options and considering your play so far. A simple 3 step process to self improvement (and a hell of an upgrade from that 12 step bullshit)

First you have to stop playing to win, because in any form of practice you will just start a predictable series of attacks that you will reinforce into a habit that will hurt you once someone picks up on it. Your goal should simply be to hit as many different setups and make sure that your options cover every defensive base that exists.

Ideally when I use a setup in practice as it happens I reflect on the defensive options that are possible, what the move is intended to stop and the options of the opponent that will win in the given scenario. This is a progressive approach where you will start with the first question and move on as you answer each point for each setup you use, developing first general knowledge, setup knowledge and then matchup knowledge.

Finally you want to consider your image to an opponent. What moves have you been favoring? How can they exploit that and what must you do to counter them for trying? The real important point to this step is DO NOT BECOME PREDICTABLE. When practicing it's very easy to fall into patterns, you have to identify them in yourself and change them so you don't predictably lead with anything after scoring a hit.

There are some other considerations as well. During all this you should take note whenever you drop a combo and practice it later. Dwelling on that and going to practice it right there will not only derail your free practice, but give you one of the most predictable faults to a seasoned player. You will drop a combo and go right back to the starter to try and prove to yourself that you can hit the combo. So not only can someone smart predict your next combo starter, you also put your mental focus away from the match at hand.

If you apply those principles to practice it's hard to find an opponent that is that bad where you can't improve. Even the AI can help, because there is going to be a time where your option doesn't work in a matchup or at a specific spacing and building up experience like that will help you fine tune your game to where it should be.
 
It's no fun to play edge master in practice in IV. After I try a few combos, it would GI or parry. It's just frustrating. But then I made more combos it couldn't predict and I was killing online. Well now my games messed up, so not a lot of options are available in the game anymore.
 
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