How to keep focus?

Newbie Saikyo Dojo
1

I’ve just started Tekken 7. I played a little Tekken 6 but am really putting effort into learning 7. What I’m having trouble with is that I have some very good games where I’m wiff punishing consistently, making reads, adjusting to my opponent and playing a tight game overall but; after about an hour of play, I get worse and worse until I’m playing slow and defensively. I know I’ve slipped into this lull usually when I’m using movement a lot less and neglecting to apply pressure. I try to catch myself at times like this and its hard to bring back that energy I had in the beginning. Does anyone else have this issue? How do you manage to keep your head in the game?

2

No tricks man. You just have to do it. The fact that you can recognize you are slipping indicates that you understand the issue. Now you just need to not let it slip. It will all come down to you and nothing else. But here are some ideas that could help.

  1. Take a break every hour and come back to it.

  2. Set an alarm on your phone. Have it snooze for 15 minutes. So every time it goes off you remember you are meant to be focusing on something, then hit snooze and it will remind you in 15 minutes again. After 4 reminders it will be an hour. Take your break and walk around. Or watch some top level matches to get hype an motivated again.

  3. Every time you realize you have slipped up, punch yourself in the nuts. If you are a female. Put two nuts in your lap and punch them. Should work either way.

When it happens you will get a lot of data about yourself. If you feel you start sucking you will be able to pick out what you are doing wrong and you can call yourself on it. Then before you start you next game, say to yourself, “don’t do situation A because you don’t want outcome B”.

And lastly, when you are having this issue, remind yourself you are a piece of shit and if you don’t sort your act out you can kiss victory good bye. Decide on how you want to start the round and start that way, say it out loud and not just in your head. Then before round 2 or 3 starts say it out aloud again how you want to start those rounds. It will help you stay mentally aware that there is a specific way to play for victory and that you have a game plan. And with that game plan you will get what you want.

Also, have a game plan.

3

Thanks I will take these to heart. Tekken has so many more situations than fighters I’m used to so it’s been hard in an unfamiliar matchup (Ling, Chloe, or Eddie have been tough) to figure what I should be doing. I can lab these scenarios in training mode but the nature of these characters suggest you just can’t always predict what a stranger will do so I end up with a lot of salty 1-1’s. I guess what I’m saying is the game is far more active than the 2d fighters I’m used to and I tend do tilt easily against players that don’t care much for spacing.

4

I have the same issue and I have a few ways around it.
I don’t play Tekken, but I think the same principles can apply.

  1. You can train yourself to last a bit longer.
    If you’re used to 3 rounds and taking a break, try doing a first to 5/10 against the same opponent.

  2. You’ll lose focus after a bit, but this means you have to force yourself to only think about the important things.
    When you’ve played your opponent a while, so you should know his/her tendencies and the things you don’t have to worry about.
    This is just to conserve some mental energy, until they adapt and start mixing up their gameplan.

  3. Nobody can keep all options in check at the same time, nor would you want to.
    Eliminate certain scenarios by picking ranges where you only have to think about a few options.
    This depends on your char/your opponent’s char as well.

  4. As far as Tekken goes, movement options are what’ll eat up a lot of the attention.
    At one point these options will become second nature. The game is still new so there’s a lot to think about.
    But if you consistently keep your gameplan and keep track of how to adapt, you should be able to fight longer with more experience.

5

Thanks! #3 looks super helpful. Very insightful reply.

6

Number 3 is good advice. You won’t ever be in control 100%. If the game allowed that it wouldn’t be fun. Not being familiar with match up knowledge is rough. But you can do one thing I do that helps. I know my character. And I know how he plays against other characters. When I get to a character I don’t know, I quickly decide what character they remind me off. Tekken is very well balanced in the sense that each character has their own special moves to use, but a fast long limbed character will play similar to another. And play the way I would against them. What works I learn for next time. What doesn’t I just leave out from future play. Its slower than going into the lab and learning the match up. But I find it more fun. Also learn your movement. If you side step and they don’t get you for it you have a few frames of advantage when they whiff. So just keep them whiffing and you will keep winning.