i just wanted to know if any of you choke horribly during tourneys. cuz ive been playing video game tourneys half my life and to this day i still choke when i play. i really cant relax and comprehend my own gameplay when i play tourney. during casuals for lets say, SF4, i think and play very strategically. but when i hit tourneys, i make stupid mistakes like mistaking hadoken for a shoryu or getting owned by spam. i also tend to spam buttons out of panic when im cornered.
so now i ask you this,
What can i do to possibly relax myself? how can i finally start winning in tourneys?
If you look at some people, they tend to listen to music.I did at Evo like some people( I didn’t want to listen to the DJ though some of it was alright…). Just relax and think of it as a casual match. You can always play like your at a tourney when your not.
This was a serious problem of mine for ten years+ . My biggest problem is when I’m around a bunch of people I freak out and get real upset it gets to the point were I can’t control it and my mind runs at 100mph and I just can’t concentrate even when people talk to me its like I just cant hear process what there saying.
The first time I was able to control it was when we went out of state. Before the tournie we went skating(bombing some huge hills)and I had so much fun that I didn’t care how I did in the tourny and believe it or not that made a world of difference cause when I played I played 100% for fun and it showed. I was no longer worried about the people watching or even if I won or lost I was just having a good time all around. First time I had ever won a single match in the ten years of tournies and I actually placed 2nd.
I have a good friend of mine who always does well in tournies in sate and out of state and I asked him if he ever gets so nervous that he can’t play. He tell me “yes all the time but I use it to make me faster and more on point.” So it makes me wonder if most people feel this way but some are just better at harnessing there adrenaline instead of being overwhelmed.
On a serious note, try to have fun. Remember your life isn’t at stake so if you mess up it’s cool. Don’t think about past mistakes while your playing or you can get sucked into that revenge state of mind where if you wiff a big combo or something you can move on until you’ve completed it. If you panic then hold out till the next round and calm down by staying focused on whats ahead of you and think only about the match up, not the player. Try and remember the experience you got from casuals about character zoning and placement, frames and the priority. In hopes of have your mind set on Ryu or 'Gief, you know just think about the fighter in front of you.
With me it’s more nervousness, I have to use the bathroom a few times before I can join in. There’d better be an empty toilet stall before I can join in I think we’re naturally a bit afraid of performing.
I always play terrible at ranbats, partly because I have to use an Xbox pad because I don’t own an Xbox stick (I can play pretty good on a dualshock though) but I think mostly because of nerves. I don’t really feel nervous or anything when I play but I always do dumb stuff, even when I’m doing it I know I shouldn’t.
I think you just have to realise how to harness the nervousness and pressure and use it to make you play better.
Tournament Nerves get to me the farther I get in a bracket. Need to just keep playing and getting farther in tournaments to deal with it.
Also, you really should put the thread topic in the title. It will help with getting a better response from the people who can actually help you, and help people who may have the same question and are looking for answers.
Thread titles like “Has this ever happened to you?” or “Have you ever noticed?” tend not to generate great responses because no one can tell what they are about without clicking on them.
I choked ridiculously hard my 1st tournament. Missing blatant ultra opprotunites After about 3 or 4 I was pretty much over it. I’m a pretty indifferent person. So by then I didn’t care whether I won or loss as long as I felt that I played my best. Since experience is working for you I’d suggest music. Lil Wayne and a blunt always has me in the right mood.
When i first started attending tournaments, I was a nervous wreck. I was missing BnB(bread and butter) combos and the like. It’s a bit different for everyone I think. You have to find out what it is for you that is bothering you. The more and more I went to tournaments, the nervousness went away. Of course I still get very nervous but i guess I leraned to harness that energy into being more focused. To be honest, when playing in a tournament, I can’t hear the people around me nor any noise. I am completely concentrated on what i’m doing. Try to focus on the match up and on what your specifically doing. Take the first round as it comes. Win or lose, analyze it to win the second and so on. By that time, your concentrating so hard on what to do or not do that you blocked out all the nerves and shitty feelings and the match is over.
I think we’re naturally a bit afraid of performing.