I’ve been thinkin about what makes an expert in SF. To me, a good knowledge of priority and solid AA skills make a good player. Some would say mind games and adaptability or bring up other factors. But the one thing I found that’s common in these factors is that they require human competition.
A while ago, I was thinkin about this and I decided that I would be dramatics' training partner. I'd played him b4 so I knew he had skills and we were already on good rapport and played regularly, so he was my first choice. I wanted these sessions to be more than just frequent casual matches; I wanted them to focus on his weaknesses so that each match would be as efficient as possible. All weaknesses would be worked on in these sessions: ticks, AAs, reversals of all sorts, combos, or even just being online just to figure why certain moves start trippin' sometimes. I was hoping he'd do the same kind of training for me, but even if he wouldn't, I planned on doing that for him cuz I know how hard it can be trying to use the com for everything.
I caught up with him one day and told him about my idea, and it turned out he was down and he also agreed to train with me the same way. Anyway we've been meeting regularly to practice these things and it has been very helpful. Dramatics' timing has become really good and I know this training is paying off for me cuz a little while ago I matched GuMmY in HF (10-10) and a lil while later, I beat him for the first time (17-12; not that I can own him or anything but this never happened before dram and I started trainin).
Anyway, for those who don't have a TWIN BROTHER or live in an area with a weak SF scene (like me; im in Little Rock), I think gettin an online training partner would be really helpful.
-Mokura