Hey guys!
i’m pretty new to sf4. I’ve been playing it for about a month now and after playing a lot with friends and in training mode i tried to play some online matches but i’m getting absolutely destroyed.
I can deal with the fact that i am a scrub but what gets on my nerves is that i dont even get a chance to do anything i’ve practised. i just cant handle the pressure people put out. I’ve tried just blocking to get time to think but eventually an overhand or something along the lines will catch me offguard and then i get comboed to death. How did you guys handel this when you started out?
Also the matchmaking doesnt seem to be very beginner friendly either. Am i the only newbie out there or what? 
Anyway any advice is appreciated 
First off you aren’t a scrub, because you aren’t blaming others for your losses.
That said, you are going to lose. A lot. I still get destroyed and I’ve been playing for just under a year. It’s going to happen. Learning to block and crouch-tech is probably the most important skill to learn, and then anti-airing.
Most characters cannot combo off of their overhead (Ibuki and Poison are the only two that come to mind, correct me if I’m wrong) so keep your cool and keep blocking after getting hit by one.
Matchmaking sucks for new players, my advice is to friend anyone who seems to be at your level, so you can improve together. Getting bodied isn’t a great learning experience, but it’s going to happen at first.
I’ve heard it said a lot in the dojo that your first couple hundred matches aren’t played to win, they are played to learn, and so if you are still having fun, then it’ll be great as long as you actively work to improve.
You just have to get used to it. You will get your ass handed to you in the beginning. Take your beatings and learn from them and it will get better as you spend more time. Eventually you’ll be more coolheaded because you’ll know how to handle the situations/become well adjusted (for the most part). Watch videos. Have fun when playing.
Allright thanks for your advice I’ll try to find some training partners!
I wrote some stuff about pressure in this thread: How do I apply pressure and escape from it?
If you get pressured online, your match gets recorded. Watch the match over. If you see pressure you had a hard time dealing with, record a dummy to perform that pressure and practice ways to get out of it. Many players don’t get off of their plateau because they don’t want to put in time training correctly or they don’t know how. Now you know, so if you don’t put in the time you’re a scrub at that point.
jab to reset the pressure
Ya it’s too bad the match making isn’t a bit more beginner friendly. Just keep practicing and try to remember that playing against better competition will eventually make you better as well.
