finally got my stick (sf4 TE rd2). from using pad most of my career, im having trouble executing moves, combos, etc. im wondering, if its better to just get on training mode and continue to find the right motion to execute or should i just continue fighting online and let it come naturally?
I got my first stick a couple weeks ago, spent a few days practicing the execution of basic combos and of course DP, FB, tatsu, supers, ultras, etc. constantly. I’d do 20 of whatever move I was practicing on one side, then 20 on the other (THIS IS KEY, can’t stress that enough, you don’t want one side being significantly weaker than the other). Did this for a couple hours every day for 3 or 4 days, and then did 2 or 3 Versus matches against a CPU to see if I could execute well in an actual fight, and found I could, so moved on to online.
After that point it’s just practice. After a few weeks I’m just about as comfortable as I was with a pad, but it definitely takes patience to get to that point. After you’ve got the basic execution of everything down from Training move on to Live/PSN matches and practice, practice, practice.
There’s not a lot of research on motor learning (muscle memory) but one thing that we know for sure is that it is about the AMOUNT of times you do something, not how long you’ve been doing it. So generally speaking, people who cram more of that motion into their routine in one day will learn the action quicker than someone who only does it 1-2 hours a day… so how long do you play for?
The most important part is to take your time and do the moves correctly. You will lose… a lot. But it’s important to not confuse your finger and hand muscles by mashing out your specials and ultras. You will never get the timing down if you mash it out. It’s hard to break the mashing habit, especially online where you “feel” there might be some lag but it will pay off in the long run. The people here can do tight links and combos not because they’ve been playing since '99 but because they’ve done it a BAJILLION times…
Read the sticky
also to add on to the other guys while practicing if you want to get even better with your motions try to get a sparring buddy off of this website so you can practice with the ease of knowing that your not really messing up your rank bp/pp if you happen to care about that type of stuff also theres no pause to practicing like you can keep playing instead of do a match and wait for another opponent so that kinda helps you gain a groove to your motions in tight situations.
Practice. Relax. Practice again.
Be water, my friend.
On Topic: Yeah… I experienced that too when switching from the ol’ Dual Shock to the TE.
The suggestion about practicing on each side is good.
Listen to that guy.
You could, if it suits you, forgo the whole “VS mode against the computer” thing and jump straight into the fray after that.
Mostly because you’ll want to make sure you got it down when it really counts.
Or not. Just my humble suggestion.