Introduction and a fight stick question

Hello, first time poster and fairly uninitiated when it comes to fighting games. I have a few friends that enjoy going to Street Fighter tournaments and have their own fancy custom arcade sticks, but I never really got into it like they did. I’ve been playing video games of all sorts for as long as I can remember, including fighting games, but only now am I looking to get better at them and maybe make them more of a staple for when my friends get together.

I picked up a bit of skill when the XBLA remix of Street Fighter II came out, but haven’t really done too much more until just now. I bought one of those Tekken 6 bundles with the Hori wireless stick (which I know isn’t very good, but I’m content with anything right now) and ordered a copy of Super Street Fighter IV, which is a lot of fun. I do have a question about the stick, however, if anyone can answer it for me.

I might be wrong about it and maybe it’s just normal, but I have an issue with the actual “stick” part of the fight stick. The best way I can explain the problem is that the whole structure (from the flathead screw at the bottom to the ball on top) can rotate freely. If I twist the ball, the screw twists in unison. I feel like this shouldn’t be, but I have no idea how to keep the screw from rotating without restricting the directional movement entirely.

I could just be crazy and this is how it should be (and how every other arcade stick is, for all I know), but it just seems so counter-intuitive to have the part you grip allowing any other movement than the eight directions. Could this maybe just be a shortcoming of this particular stick? I wouldn’t think so after searching for similar complaints, which leads me to believe it’s either supposed to be that way or I have a defective stick.

Am I crazy or is this a legitimate problem?

its how its suppose to be with most stick including the sanwa jlf ones

Alright then. Knowing that it’s supposed to be that way, I think I can probably learn to get used to it.

Another question: I’ve read about the stick having an issue with dead space (and I feel it myself when I play) and I’m wondering what I can do to fix that. Preferably a cheaper method than buying a new stick or new parts for this stick.

Putting a whole lot of work into modding a tekken 6 stick really isn’t worth it IMO. I would just accept it for what it is and get used to it the best you can.