This is why you’re not better with it, because you keep quitting and going back to it. I used to have guitar students that would do that. They’d play for a bit, quit, then come back and find they were worse. If you’re serious about playing stick, you should “stick” (haha) with it. Everything @hibachifinal said is good advice, especially the part about playing other games with it. I played a lot of Castlevania, Puzzle Fighter, Tetris, and shmups with mine. The more familiar you get with it, the better you’re going to be. And it truly IS the best way to play arcade style fighters. I’ve gotten to a point where I can’t play on pads or keyboards without feeling limited in some way.
I’ve never played on stick before (or even on an arcade cabinet).
I bought a TE a month ago, and now I am used to it to the point where I can’t play properly on my keyboard anymore. My links won’t come out, plinking feels terribly strange, (though DP motion is way easier on keyboard) execution isn’t as consistent.
I just practiced everyday on training mode for a few hours a day. It starts to sink in after a while. I haven’t bothered playing online yet… still working on getting simple execution to 100% before trying to apply it in a real match
anzhar
9
i would go straight in to competetive matches, online or offline, whatevers easier
practicing execution and control in a competetive pressure environment is how you will properley adjust
This right here. Fighting games are by nature high pressure and execution heavy. Going into a fighter with any controller you aren’t comfortable with is guaranteed frustration regardless of how good the controller is supposed to be. If you’re really committed you can get good with your stick just by playing and practicing your fighter of choice, but it will be a lot easier (and more fun!) to play other games with it first. Once your brain is used to playing video games in general on your stick, learning to play fighters on it will be a lot easier. You’ll still have to practice, but you’ll get farther faster than you would otherwise.
All of the games/genre’s mentioned in the posts above are great for learning to use stick. My personal top recommendation is Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, available on XBL and PSN if you don’t have it already (which you really should). The game is great to begin with, and the side-scrolling platforming lends itself perfectly to arcade sticks. It’s easy enough that you won’t be too frustrated to continue, and you can even practice some standard fighting game motions by doing Alucard’s spells. When you can do Soul Steal on stick without thinking about it you are well on your way.
In general, if it’s possible to play a game with your stick then do it. Remember, every single PS1 game is fully playable on an arcade stick with 8 buttons plus Start and Select so there’s a lot for you to choose from.
it took me a couple weeks before it became comfortable… keep with it!!
LLeg3nd
12
It also took me a couple of weeks to get comfortable with it but being good at it is another story…
Keep at it man I’ve been on stick for years and still have some trouble with higher execution games. Don’t get mad about it too much just enjoy the game and surround yourself with good players that are good people. It builds confidence
DEZALB
14
As other ppl said, dont worry about different joysticks like sanwa and seimitsu. That comes once your familar with using stick in general. Then you can upgrade to something more of your liking.
Practice is the key. while charge characters are good to practice i find half circle practice is what helped me learn quicker. Honestly, if you have a game like cvs2 or a kof game, practice using a character that has the qcf,hcb super move. It will be a headache at first but practicing that move over and over and not getting result will make you adjust your hold, angle and depth of how much your inputting your moves. If you dont have one of those game, get a emulator and kof 98-02 and practice using iori. Do his hcb, f+C throw into his super move. Once you get that consistently, you will be able to do pretty much anything besides maybe 360/720 since that is a different kind of practice.
I dont have a link but there are many type of holds people use on joysticks. You may of read it, but just remember, one hold might suite you, but you may have to switch holds during different executions. Also, pay attention to your left arm and make sure its vertically center to the joystick. May feel awkward but you will notice a difference. once you get used to movement you may be able to put your arm at a more comfortable position, but you wrist will have to make up for the difference.
d3v
15
This belongs in the Newbie Saikyo Dojo, not Tech Talk.
since you used a gamepad, it means the left thumb and index finger will probably be better trained than the rest. Personally I hold the stick with thumb and index finger. tried the glass wine method, but the rest of the finger are too weak for any decent speed. Need training and finger exercise…
I too had troubles with left hand. But what helped was that I have to drive a lot this year (40 minutes to 2.5 hours daily), so holding the car wheel for so long, strengthened my left arm…
Transitioning to stick is tough and rough, but after a few months of practicing everyday for hours youll get stuff down. Its all about practice.
I use a Hori V3 too. It’s a cheap stick but due to feeling free to marker dumb shit on a result I fell in love with it.
Just practice, practice, practice. Stick is hard but rewarding.
LockM
19
If you are single it shouldn’t be a problem…right >.>
There is some old SF2 video with Daigo and (I think) Gian or Otochun laughing at Yaya being mostly unable to DP on P1 side, at that moment. Square gates are not really for everyone, and it might be even harder if you were any used to western sticks. I know of very good players who go through the hassle of spending hours in training mode just so they can get some consistency before tournaments.
In fact, iL sticks are quite good, but they demand big and heavy cases which mean you will have trouble if you plan on going to tournaments.
Spoiler
PS: “hitbox” sellers/advertisers popping in 3, 2, 1…
density
21
Took me quite a while to get used to sticks. In fact when I first started playing, I only played charge characters because I couldn’t do the ultras for motion characters. Took me quite a while to get to the point where I could FADC and do some of the more advanced stuff, and feel more comfortable on stick than I do on keyboard or pad.
I had trouble with square gates until someone pointed out to not ride the gate when doing circle type motions. with noting on mess with the stick and push it till you hear the joystick click. it makes the noise way before you get to the edge if the gate. when it clicks is as far as you have to go, so when doing the quarter circle motions do it without going all the way to the gate. The best way to do this is do it while watching a movie. becomes second nature very quickly.
The Gradiuses and bullet hell shmups in particular are good for learning how to maneuver in very tight spaces while enemies will be coming at you from all directions. I might be a bit biased towards the former, though…
a) I had a Hori FS3 too. Cheap stick, the stick itself is OK, the buttons are crap. But overall an OK budget stick.
b) There is no “correct” way of holding a stick. There are several ways. Just use the one that feels the most comfortable for you. Can’t watch youtube here at work, but search for “ways to hold a japanese arcade stick”, should give you plenty of examples. (edit: btw i use the same technique as Daigo apparently 
http://kotaku.com/5626160/let-the-beast-show-you-how-to-hold-your-stick).
c) and here’s the reason why I’m answering: you state that you try it out, then give up and let the stick collect dust for a month, then try again … rince and repeat. How long does that period last before you decide: nah f*** it and put the stick back to the dust collection routine? For most people it takes about a good month to transition from pad to stick. By a month, I mean playing every day ! Stick only ! Going back to pad while learning stick basically ruins all the progress you made. You are trying to replace certain muscle memory with different muscle memory. It doesn’t work if you keep doing both (on top of that, your brain will unconciously think: “hey, I do better on the pad, so let’s focus on that”). So yeah if you are trying for a week, then giving up for a month … try for a longer period of time. Don’t switch back to pad (unless ofcourse you really do decide it’s nothing for you). Start by training mode, doing simple bnbs over and over. Then a little bit of vs against a CPU. Only later try against actual human beings. And yes, in the beginning of transitioning to stick, you will lose a lot and you’ll slap yourself on the head a lot.
d) there’s nothing wrong with not using a stick. I know plenty of top players that use pad. if you decide after all this time that stick just isn’t “you”, don’t get yourself bothered over it too much.
Buy Dance Dance Revolution (any game will do) and play that shit on stick. You’ll get good in no time…
PS: everyone has their own way of holding/using the stick. Once you get to a certain point, you’ll evaluate your skills and adjust your hands properly, but until you get there, do what you do now…
Sanwas are overrated. Get a SparkCE to surpass the long throw deadzone issue and you will find yourself controlling it easily.
