I come from a Killer Instinct, Mortal Kombat, and Marvel versus Capcom Korean or American joystick background. I have used these joysticks before sparingly in the past but never anything permanently, all of my joysticks have either been Korean or American 360. I’ve started using sanwa joystick more recently in the past few years but I just cannot get used to it. I have played more on Korean and American bat top joysticks then I have Japanese sanwa joysticks, it’s also somewhat more difficult to do inputs on a sanwa joystick from my experience. I participate in 3rd Strike tournaments at my local arcade on the blast City versus arcade machine, which uses sanwa joysticks. I need help adjusting and also finding ways to make sure my inputs go correctly. I am having a very hard time doing my motions for my characters because I’m not used to these Japanese sanwa joysticks. I don’t hate them, I just need help adjusting to them. I’m even having a hard time even shooting Fireballs with japanese sanwa joysticks. Anything helps, thanks in advance
You should ask the organisers if you can take along your own stick and maybe you can use that, with the UD encoder or something along those lines
Otherwise just keep playing on sanwa and sooner or later it will dial in
Like what @anzhar said, just keep practicing.
One of the main differences I’ve realized years ago in using a JLF (or any other Japanese stick) when you’re used to using Happ/Il sticks previously is to keep in mind that you shouldn’t be riding/grinding the gate.
Otherwise, it really just comes down to practice and exposure.
My best tip for Square Japanese gates is conceptualize your movements as “L” shape movements instead of semicircular
Beyond practice, what helped me was using the whole gamut of levers that are available. I can use the JLF better, after having tried non-JLF options, than when I only had my Namco Arcade Stick, Virtua Stick High Grade, and custom RedOctane. In my opinion, even though it’s the de facto lever of choice for a lot of players, it’s easy to train bad habits with the JLF if it’s your first Japanese lever. The combination of experimentation and playing optimally with your game of choice (i.e., constantly pushing yourself to execute more effectively and efficiently) helps. In addition, getting accustomed to the quirks of different levers (e.g., levers having levered or non-levered switches, levers having long or short shafts, levers having smooth or non-smooth pivots) will help you in using your lever of choice more effectively. In addition, you have to consider whether the lever you use suits your style or the games you play.