Canada Cup Results and Personal Experiences

Canada Cup was just this weekend and I was able to perform in 3rd Strike, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition. I played 5th in MvC3 and tied for 16th overall in AE. It'll be up to you guys to decide who you'd like me to post about. Here are your options:

Canada Cup Nov. 3rd - 7th

This will be a very big event. Many strong players, but we will do our best! Javier and I will be there on Thursday til Monday evening. Wish us luck and follow us!

http://www.twitch.tv/canadacup

がんばります！

-Miky

Pre-Canada Cup Training with John Choi

Dromstruction was over and John Choi was no where to be seen at the event. I really wanted to play him to prepare for Canada Cup. Luckily Terry contacted him telling John that we (Javier and I) wanted to practice and train against him.

Last Saturday, Javier and I were off to John's place. Upon arrival, we met with Rom (Yang) who was there also to train with us. I trained against John while Javier trained against Rom.

Usually, in casuals and training sessions, I don't challenge a person's weakness. There is a time and place for that I believe, and that is a tournament setting. As for casuals and training, a person should seek their opponents strengths and challenge it. If this person has very good blocking try to break through his exceptionally good blocking. If your opponent has the ability to tech very well challenge his teching abilities (and so forth). The idea is that you will, in time, absorb your opponent's strength(s). At the very least, you will be able to observe your opponent's strength(s) and apply it to your game-play in whatever possible way you can. I know it doesn't make complete sense but if you notice something that another player does exceptionally well (be it block strings, ect.) try to apply it to your character/game-play. That person could be using C.Viper while you use Ken, but the idea is to be open-minded and use what you see from other characters and attempt to apply it to yours. If it doesn't work out then that is okay as well. At least you attempted to explore different options and different mind-sets with your character.

For example, I did not go into the session against John doing crazy gimmicks or setups. I challenged, what I believe is the best in the game, John Choi's low forward. Air has told me the exact same thing when he played against John Choi. Air explained that John Choi's usage of low forward is one of the best if not the best in the game. I believed him since I had played him many times in the past.

Several months ago, I would challenge John's low forward and struggled very much. I forced myself to throw fireballs to keep up with John. At the time, my fireballs were terrible and I got destroyed. However, recently I challenged his low forward and I was able to make a stand for myself. I challenged every pixel of both health and spacing with low forward. If I failed to make a stand against his I would get back up and try again until I got the spacing correct. Within time I felt my footsies improve physically and mentally. It has also given me much confidence in my character to walk up and stick out low forward appropriately.

I ended up splitting 50:50 with John (who used Sagat, Guile, Ken, Guy, Ryu, and Juri on me). He also mentioned that the last time he played was this year's Evo. For him to challenge me, who had been practicing just about everyday, in fundamentals and footsies tells you that it is so natural for him to have that mental spacing and intuition of shoto characters. Giving the benefit of the doubt, he had several execution errors and hiccups in his game-play. That, however, did not stop me from challenging his strengths. :)

-Miky

Dromstruction Results: AE, MvC3 (Singles/Teams), and 3rd Strike!

AE Singles: Top 8 (tied for 5th)
AE Teams: 2nd (Cynistar, XsK_Samurai, Ghostmaker)
MvC3 Singles: Top 12
MvC3 Teams: 4th (Ty, Elraldo Coil, XsK_Samurai)
3rd Strike Singles: 2nd

Overall, I enjoyed the event. It was a great testing ground. It was great seeing everyone again (especially Team MINE).

However, the achievements in the aforementioned are not even worth mentioning. Not to take away from the players and the tournament itself (as well as this event being a testing ground for Canada Cup), I assumed I would take it upon myself to do my best and didn't. I felt I lacked a lot of elements in my game-play. Be it patience, execution errors, bad decisions, and just overall poor judgement and decision making there wasn't a time I felt complete control over these abilities in my game-play. And that is something I need to refocus on when it comes to Canada Cup. Wish us luck! :)

-Miky

P.S. As for the posts I have been holding back for quite some time. I have felt the need to keep these posts confidential for myself and for my close friend with whom I had the discussion with. It is a post about preference and the goals that differentiates everyone from one another. I feel that it is not some sort of conversation between two friends and their ideas or perspectives, but of a life lesson (mainly about ambition). Maybe someday I will decide to release it. :)

Dromstruction & Canada Cup

Just a heads up on which events we will be attending. I will be there at Dromstruction. But more importantly, we will be at Canada Cup! My buddy Javier and I decided that since we had gone to Season's Beatings last year that it would be more adventurous to go out of the state and attend another tournament. I completely agreed since Canada Cup has not been part of our experience.

With that being said, I personally will be using Dromstruction as a training ground for Canada Cup. I will take it seriously but it is to ensure I am comfortable for Canada Cup. Aside from that, come support the event and support us as well! がんばります。(I will do my best!)

-Miky

P.S. I still have the posts that I promised. I'm still saving them. If anything, I will publish the posts all at the same time. Stay tuned! :)

Q&A: Ryu's jump-in jab

Muttonhead said...

After a untechable knockdown, why do some Ryus jump in with jab sometimes? I see Air doing this sometimes. Is it just for a quicker tick throw or is there some other trick to it?

Usually after an untechable knockdown, Ryu's will do a jumping heavy or medium attack (and option-selecting at the same time when it applies). The opponent will be: 1) looking to block the safe jump and 2) dealing with the mix-up afterward (frame-trap, throw and so forth). However, since the opponent is comfortable with the amount of block stun a heavy or medium attack creates their timing will change. Jumping jab, having little block stun, will change their timing and momentum in their crouch techs. The block stun will let your opponent recover much quicker leading to a faster timed mix-up. The jumping jab is also a visual mix-up. Most players are used to seeing a jumping heavy or medium. Therefore, your opponent is given less time to anticipate your mix-up. I hope this helps! :)

-Miky

Q&A: Ryu 2012

hard_cock said...

What are your thoughts on the balance changes of AE 2012 and where do you see Ryu in the tier list after a patch?

Well, first off I'd like to say that Ryu got his low forward back! That will definitely help. As for now I can't say anything is for sure. It will help with his match-ups and the extra damage buffs will help as well. Although, ever since I've watched Filipino Champ and Mike Ross in Japan I believe that (in my opinion) my Ryu is not completely unlocked. For what they said in their experience in Japan, they expressed how each player had unlocked just about as much as they could from their character. It literally meant that they knew every situation, every max punish, and almost every match-up details for their character. I've known this since day one. I knew that if I went to Japan and played Ryu I would struggle. Players there have unlocked their characters to the maximum potential. After that, it is about how you think about the game.

I recently spoke with Air (Kenny) and he said that going to Japan will help you learn match-ups. Afterward, it is how you think about the game. I'm assuming he meant positioning, game plan, and overall fundamentals and footsies. There is also a mix of reactions and predictions, but you get the idea. As for now I really can't tell you where Ryu stands until I go to Japan. As for now, I'm sure he will do better.

A player makes the character who they are, not the character. :)

-Miky