It’s not exactly about inputting the move in 1 frame, but rather inputting the move such that it’s active frames occur congruently with wakeup. I don’t know how possible it is to literally input an entire srk motion in .017 seconds, but you can input the move such that the first frame of it that will hit will occur in the first possible frame that your opponent can hit you (in the case of a reversal.)
My reaction time is about 13.5 frames, and that doesn’t count the amount of time it takes me to actually input a command. I figured it out based on something like this:
It’s pretty disheartening when you realize that 13 frames is a LIFETIME in fighting games, almost nothing takes that long to come out, most moves are single digits.
Also, regarding parries, I’ve played enough 3rd strike to think that you have more than 1 frame to parry a move. Possibly you have as many frames as the move has active frames? I believe red parries are “just frame” parries, does anyone know more about this?
This has been the way of thinking for years but it is now outdated. I officially declare it outdated because there is a better way now. The new way is better because it gives you a way to quantify what you are trying to do. True, reaction time is only one thing to improve, but there are others too like consistency. Besides reaction time, fighting games have strategy and fear as you mention, but there are also times where you find your opponent leaving you openings, which are chances to either capitalize, or captilize BIG time. If you’ve practiced a combo beforehand, it can make a big difference.
There is an NFL football coach who won lots of games in recent years by rejecting conventional wisdom and basing his decisions on when to punt/go for it based on math and the boring technical stuff. Now all the coaches do it because his results were undeniable. Whether Execution Aid does the same thing for fighting games remains to be seen, but it’s not like we don’t have any access to spreadsheets (Calc for one is free). Most players don’t sit at the screen and make the honest effort to focus and practice (with or without the tool) because it can be boring at first, especially before forming the habit, but if they did, there is a payoff. A lot of the “better” strategy and fear you face in your opponents can be overcome more often by simply Executing better more often.