TL;DR:
I realized that I’m a scrub and I want to actively work on not being one.
Well, that’s a pretty good place to start.
The first thing I’d do is really to watch some introductory videos on general strategy and mindset for the games in question. If you’re interested in GGXrd (which I can heartily recommend, the game is pretty darn fun and has a deceptively good learning curve*), watching the material here is highly recommended.
Otherwise… yeah. Play as much as you can, against opponents of different strengths. Take note of what gives you problems. Set up the situation that gives you problems in training mode, and test every option you have against it. If you can’t figure it out on your own, watch match videos and take note of how the situation is solved, or ask someone for advice.
- that’s to say, it’s not as b rutally steep as some make it out to be, though it’s still going to take some adjusting if you’ve never played an airdasher before
Thanks for the links dude, much appreciated!