I started playing USF4 around February, and so far I’ve seen some gradual improvement in terms of my skill, but after going to the tournament today and seeing the local scene down here in NYC… I now realize how tremendous that gap is between me and these veterans who have been playing since Vanilla and before SF4. So my question is… How the hell do I even the gap? How do I catch up and get good enough to play on their level? It seems impossible…
Grind it out. Have specific goals for improvement when you play. When you reach those, set some more. Talk to the experts you trust and learn all you can
Yuuuuuuup. All you can do is grind, study and work hard (and even then it can be tough to close a gap between an 09’er and someone who started playing in AE 2012 or Ultra)
if it makes you feel any better, I’ve went 0-2 in the 2 tournaments I’ve participated in so far. I always got seeded with someone who’s been in the local scene for a long time.
TBH if your local scene is that strong you are in luck. All the studying and training mode in the world doesn’t amount nearly as much as sitting down with someone in training mode and learning step by step. See if one of those players wants to help you out 
Yeah, I just began playing locals. I spent 8 hours playing SF4 today at a local spot, and I lost 120+ matches in a row. God… I am beyond help.
No ones beyond help! And if someones idea of “helping” is beating you down repeatedly until you don’t want to play anymore that isn’t helping ^^; find someone who will take the time to run you through what you are doing wrong slowly. Maybe even someone on these forums will go to online training mode with you?
My advice to any new player is take whatever people will give. If someone offers advice, consider it. If someone is willing to sit and destroy you for 20 games, take the opportunity. My own experience suggests that if you stick around, improve, put in leg work yourself, ask intelligent questions, and keep a good attitude grounded in humility, players who at one point would’ve ignored you will be far more willing to chat and help. And because you’ve put in that legwork yourself, you’re already further down the path to where their advice can actually help you.
I wouldn’t underestimate the value of having someone good kick you teeth in for a couple hours. If you’re bright and honest and self-reflective you can gain a lot from just that experience, even if they don’t offer you much feedback.
That’s how fighting games are. Out of all genres, it’s the one that loud and clears tells you/reminds you how much you suck. How you respond to that is up to you :3 (ie: the drive to keep losing and learning… and eventually practicing and getting better)
Well, it wasn’t that I didn’t want to play. We basically played till 1 AM and the arcade was going to close so I called it a night. But yeah, the people I played with offered me a lot of advice, but ultimately it will be up to me to utilize that information and apply it in a real match. I just gotta keep playing and hopefully I will improve. I guess I’m the type of person who expects results instantly but I know that is not how it works… And I have friends that I practice online with. I have plenty of people to play with and that’s great but I am still at that period where I am learning what works and what doesn’t so it’s just a matter of time before I get the hang of things
That is true.
Good advice, thanks. You’re right. I definitely don’t get the same experience playing online. Playing locals allows me to directly interact with the person and receive instant feedback on things I am doing wrong and it’s just easier to communicate and learn that way. I am just glad I found some people locally to play with.