How do I learn Fundamentals?

I dont really know if anyone can answer this question. i read all of the footsies chapters but just cant put it to good use. Any tips I use Cammy. Ive heard Ryu teaches you most of the fundamentals so should I use him then switch to Cammy when my footsies game develops.

straight up experience. against good players, not online noobs. online stuff will work that won’t work offline.

if you can only play online, at least find good players.

I’ve read the footsies handbook as well, but when I was starting out, I didnt know what the hell I was reading or what the hell people were talking about or doing. Footsies: I thought people were randomly throwing out normals and mashing buttons. Projectiles: I used to figure any time you have a chance, toss one out. Throws: I used to believe the only good time to throw is to walk up and throw, you know, the obvious way. I also had No idea the importance of a knock down, how to block cross-ups, what the hell was a mind game, and why jumping 95% of the match was a bad thing.

What really helped me learn Street Fighter was watching videos, specifically streams of Tournaments with really good commentators. Someone who can explain exactly what is happening in a match and put into perspective what a person is doing. It was only Until I watched Evo, and then attended Summer Jam3 and then watched NEC10 that I seriously started learning the game.

My advice to you along with the obvious (practice and read up on stuff) is to watch videos, and ask questions, especially at tournaments. You will find people who have no problem teaching you something that you probably never considered. I still remember a Dhalsim trashing my Cammy at a tournament because he was doing fireball teleport, and I didnt know how to block it. He tapped me on the shoulder and said “block main and you can beat it”. I learned a valuable lesson that day: Learn from people better than you.

Watch some matches and think to yourself every time a player throws out a fireball or normal “Why is he doing that at that exact moment in time?”.

Usually the answer will be “He was trying to bait a jump with that fireball so he could move in and punish.” or “He was expecting them to throw out a different normal and catch it with his own.” or “He threw that normal out to try and get them to punish, only to realize they were just out of range and he could then punish accordingly.”. Stuff like that is a massive part of footsies, and knowing the range of ALL your moves and ALL your opponents moves is a huge part of being able to play footsies succesfully. Due to this, practice is the one and only way to improve it. Use training mode a little to learn the range of your own normals, and over time you’ll gradually learn the range of different characters’ moves when you play against them.

Use Ryu more. I’m not being an ass, he really does teach you the fundamentals of the game very well. You don’t have main him by any means, but learn him.

Hace hates me but he’s mirroring my sentiments on this issue

The only time I would agree that you should use Ryu to learn the fundamentals first is if you’re using a very technical character, like Seth, Ibuki, C.Viper, Gouken, and a few others. For those types of execution and technique-heavy characters I definitely agree it’s smarter to walk before you can run.

For other characters though, I don’t know if it’s necessary. If you really want to learn, read up on footsies and other gameplay elements and try to incorporate them into your game. A good place to start is the Domination 101 forum on SRK, and from there start looking at other places like Sonic Hurricane and things like that.

Also apply what you read when you watch match videos, especially if you’re watching high-level, tournament play match videos. Every element of gameplay you will read about is at work there.

I had the same problem,

cammy is not a footsies type character

pick up Ryu, Balrog, Chung or Guile

just to get an understanding of flow, and onced you learn how and when to rushdown with them, pick a rush-oriented character like Cammy

I would say try winning matches using only certain moves or limiting yourself.

You’ll learn to appreciate your character’s normals/walk speed/specials a little more.

Though it’ll look damn scrubby online…

this a 10000000000X over.
Also don’t play jump fighter 4 when you play ryu. stick to ground game unless it’s a good opportunity to jump in. I face palm when ever I see ryu just nonstop jumping all round.

Try to win a match without jumping at all. For reals!!!

makes you focus hard on footsies and fundy’s its not going to win you matches but who cares about BP/PP this is a good training tool.

I TOTALLY agree.

This. Anyone who plays any SF game should learn Ryu in that game. He’s the most balanced character and his playstyle teaches you zoning and footsies better than everyone else.

Thanks everyone for the advice I definately will try out other characters possibly Ryu just to learn more about footsies and stuff. Since Cammy isnt a footsies character I guess thats why it was so hard to try to out footsie someone. So far watching videos and my past replays helped a lot atleast enough to get me out of my slump. Now I seem to actually pay more attention to why my opponent throws out a certain normal when im close.

Dhalsim is pure defensive footsies and zoning, but drastically different playstyle. Polar opposite of Cammy.