i pretty much skimmed thru first post and most of the thread.
heres what im getting at
you have think-too-much-itis
stop trying to think so hard about what you should be doing (but do keep it in your head) and focus most of your mental ability on trying to react to things
lol d00d ur so poetic
almost emo-like (no offense) lol
but from the gist of it, it sounds like u can pull moves and combos no prob in trainin mode
but cant apply them when it comes to fight time?
i think u need to work on formulating a game plan
instead of having 1000 moves at ur disposal and tryin to pull em off by reflexes
narrow down ur movelist, focus on a specific style (strategy) of how u want to play
down to at least 10 moves or so
if u really wanna learn how to read ur opponent
forget bout mix-up and an offense-heavy game
stick to good defence, and good pokes
thats it
punish wit a simple combo only when the opening is very obvious
dun deal wit ‘maybes’ or ‘risks’ at this point
u mention not bein able to counter-attack?
a lot of high-level players kno how to create a “safe” offense
u have to learn wut is punishable and wut is not
dun expect to be able to pull off that 17-hit combo u seen in a combo vid because u blocked a standing hp
later on, u can add to ur vocabulary
but good basic fundamentals is where it starts
i think u’ve seen too much high-level play
and r tryin to jump straight into that mind-set
forget the combo vids u’ve seen…
start from the basics
Inverse: I also share your sentiments.
I played SFIV during loketests and well after its release in Japan. Currently, I have played over 2400 matches and only have a 41.5 win ratio with a very low Battle Point total of 12,500. To be considered a good player in this game, you’d have to be in the 30,000 range and at least a 60% win ratio. I am nowhere near that and I have lost to many players… some who are extremely good and some who beat me by doing the same stuff over and over, but I fail to figure out how to beat their tactics.
I have debated over quitting the game permanently about 4 times during the time I played SFIV. My execution is not great compared to other players, either. I will have days where everything I do comes out awkwardly.
But through all that, I still play. I just love the game too much.
Like Azrael said, and like a local American friend advised me (FBT from SRK), work on the execution. I plan to practice as much as possible at home.
In terms of strategy, a person by the nickname of Young Hav (used to play CvS2 online) told me that you need to treat your character like you’re writing a thesis. You need to figure out what you want to do with this character, and how to accomplish that goal. Back then, I was using a lot of random moves to attack the opponent. The success was very limited, needless to say.
You need to have a purpose in playing a character. You need to set up a gameplan to have the opponent play to your style of game and to your tempo. It’s okay to be a little patternistic if what you are able to do is safe, but be able to branch out and flow to different options to mix up your game and confuse the opponent.
I cannot emphasize how important it is to play with purpose and to set up correctly. It’s so much easier when you are making the opponent make a split decision and force them into errors. You end up being more prepared to punish than you would have if you played a random style.
NEVER PLAY THE GAME ON REACTION ALONE. I do that from time to time and it kills me.
If you are getting beat down, take a step back… grab a soda or something, come back with a fresh mind.
You can hit me up for games online when SFIV comes out, most definitely. If you have X360, I’d be glad to spar with you and talk with you on the mic to help you out. I’m not a great player, but I know where you are coming from and I might be able to help.
As stated, the first step is realizing you suck…but the second step is realizing why.
When someone beats you, figure out what beat you and focus on that. If someone is beating you with spammy play then you are putting way to much thought into what you are doing. Or what looks spammy to you actually is not spammy at all.
You also need to realize that countering and reacting is only a small portion of the gameplay, and more matches are won because of leading plays. Lead your opponent where they are at the greatest disadvantage and you are at the greatest.
Doesn’t matter if you can do super moves, big comboes, perfectly time counters, roman cancels, whatever. Stop focussing on the elements specific to any given character or game…there are certain skills buried beneath all of that shit.
You need to learn them first. A good player can apply these basic elements to any game even if they have never played it.
You don’y need to reactively use that roundhouse kick against a Jump in so often if they are only jumping in because you expect it and even planned on it.
Also, read the Domination 101 articles on this site. They are really good and some are key to breaking the bad habits that separate ass players from decent ones, and decent players from champions.
My biggest suggestion though, whenever you find someone who completely creams you…play them for as long as they will let you and thank them for the oprotunity. It is not enough that you know what moves are good but why they are good and when they are good. Losing to someone then moving on gets you nowhere, losing to someone and paying attention more to the how and why than the what will get you more in 30 minutes than you could learn in years otherwise.
The best way to get better, is more training with people than combo videos
Check your pm’s.
Learn to Block (and realize that it’s OK and often better to do so).
-9
I’m trying my best to get post count to reply to all the great PM’s you guys sent me without being too annoying. 
Thank you guys so much, will reply to you soon.
I think the hardest thing about blocking to me was not relying on it too much. I became so dependent on blocks that I would get thrown easily. It became the right thing to do with me, every time. Even in my prime when I was younger.
Eventually I learned to throw back. People would try so many times you would constantly see me break throws throughout a fight. I eventually learned to be more aggressive and people didn’t know how to deal with an aggroriffic Inverse.
Now the trick is to learn how to stop being so aggressive and realizing there are too many people who are used to punishing errors in judgment. While also learning how to time my blocks instead of staying overly defensive.
It seems most of Street Fighter has less to do with fighting your opponents sometimes, and just fighting your own bad habits. It’s like a shadow version of yourself… holdin’ ya back.
I’m a big noob, but each day I load ST:Remix I feel I get slightly better. I at least stop being hit by the same things over and over. I haven’t really learned any combos which I can pull off perfectly. I have no idea how to link attacks correctly and stuff, but I think I’m getting there. Hopefully my game improves when I get a stick. 
I think you just need to analyze your losses. Since they probably happen often just think about what exactly was hurting your chances at winning. Also, try to predict what your opponents will do more. Paying more attention to the enemy instead of my own character helped me a lot. Also, absorb all the knowledge you can get from many resources and then apply that to your game!
if you REALLY realize what you just said and practice your ass off i can see no way that your doomed to fail, as this is something that alot of people have yet to understand.
rarely do you actually fight your op. your really fighting against yourself and your patterns and limitations as a player.
-dime
^i would have to disagree
would u say that u can win a tourney without playing a single versus game prior?
daddy can we keep this one?
of course not… you’d have VERY little knowledge… which would become very obvious 5 secs into the match when you dont even know how to move your character. plus you’d have no knowledge of advanced atctics so you’d be using one or two things that you used against the computer that also work ok versus people. you’d get figured out in less than ten seconds and your lack of knowledge (PATTERNS) to fall back on would get you killed.
patterns like what is good in this situation, and how many times will a person of such and such level let themselves be thrown before countering you for the first time, patterns such as what to do when your opponent has your level one offense figured out etc. it’s STILL all about you, not them. only time it’s not about you is when you lose to one tactic again and again, but even when that happens, one could say it was because YOU were weak to said tactic/ strategy.
you have to play to figure out whats good, once you figure out whats good you usually ride that shit till the wheels fall off… then comes in a player that can stop your cheese… he’s figured out your pattern. at THAT POINT it’s not about him being good its about you being predictable and now needing to fight against YOUR OWN predictability. stop being obvious about what your doing and your opponent becomes as pliant as a pice of wire, easily wrapped around your fingers.
this is why i said many people have yet to figure this out.
-dime
In addition to what Dime said, you can know some of the best, most damaging combos the game has to offer, and have perfect execution…but none of that matters if you can’t land it. Defense is just as important, if not more so, than offense. Good players will not just give you opportunities to hit them. You have to make them. While at the same time, defending yourself from the opportunities your opponent is trying to force out of you. That’s nothing you can learn from playing the CPU alone.
You are probably not as bad as you think you are.
1st: Get the BEST stick that you can possibly get. Making the trasition from pad to stick was hard for me after all those SNES/PS days but it was worth it. I cannot tell you just how much my game improved after I became accustomed to playing on a high quality stick. You can simply do things on a stick that are impossible with a pad. Try playing Balrog on a pad LOL.
Also, after playing on a VSHG since its been out, I can never play on a lesser quality stick. Those Hori EX2’s are HORRIBLE! Believe me when I say that quality stick and buttons CHANGE THE WAY YOU PLAY AND YOU WILL GET BETTER.
Also there is a psychological difference. You just FEEL better when you are playing on something you know is of high quality.
Think of it like this–If you wanted to learn to play trumpet at a HIGH LEVEL, would you want a Bach Stradivarious Trumpet or trumpet you got from a pawn shop? Which would yield better results?
2nd: Stick to one MAYBE two characters and LEARN them like your life depended on it. Practice/training mode is your friend. Go to the character wiki and get their combos down so you can execute them EVERY TIME FROM BOTH THE 1ST AND 2ND PLAYER SIDES. After you get their combos down, practice some set ups for different situations.
3rd: Know your Match ups. Find other people in your area (or even online!) who have a specialty character that they are very, VERY good with. Figure out how you lost and then find the counter. For example, if you lose a big portion of your health bar every time he does ________, you need to find the answer for it. There is ALWAYS an answer! In this way, you will figure out what they do to get into that particular set up and may be able to counter it from there.
4th: Never, ever, ever, EVER give up. Do not get angry at losses. Learn and don’t fall for their tactics on the rematch. When I lost in the past I used to get angry and go on “tilt.” Now I become more determined as I replay what I did wrong in my head and make sure it doesn’t happen again. Sometimes, I still lose and that just shows me again what I didn’t do right and maybe reveals a hole in my gameplay that I need to plug. Just don’t give up. If you don’t believe in yourself, who the heck else will?
Don’t give up hope. I’m in a very similar situation to yourself. Getting frustrated by my own mistakes so much so the other day I considered for a split second throwing my HRAP3 out of the window 
Practice is key and so is knowledge. Watch matches so as to familiarise yourself. Practice in training mode those fundamentals, but don’t forget to practice them in match settings too. One of failings is my execution in proper matches. Where in practice I’ll churn out everything I want to, but in matches failing and throwing out jabs instead of Shoryukens. This doesn’t stop me coming back for more and considering I’ve not even been playing fighting games seriously for well under a year (and only months on a stick) I know that I’ve personally improved by leaps and bounds.
one last thing: When I practice combos, sometimes I turn the sound off and just listen to the clicking of the buttons. This really helped my timing.
@dime
i meant never playing a single versus match versus against real person
if someone spent hours and hours in training mode and against the ai
and used ur "fight urself methodology"
but never actually fought a real person
could they win a high-level tournament?
and i wouldnt call that fighting urself…
i’d call that fighting a simulated opponent
but there really is no substitute for the real thing
Practice, play, think, learn!
Practice: Everyday go into practice mode and practice doing 100 SRKs in a row standing, in a combo, and wake up. Do this with every special move and do this with every combo… try to do it everyday.
Play: Hop on HDremix internet and just start playing people!! Play loads of games with all kinds of players. Try your best and don’t get mad/sad when you lose.
Think: Why did I get hit by that fireball? Why didn’t I land that SRK at the end of my combo? How did Zangief get close enough to piledrive me? Think of every mistake you have done or your opponent has done and theorize how you can not make the same mistake/capitalize on it. Throw strategies around in your head and use them in the game… figure out what works and what doesn’t. Never be predictable.
Learn: Holy crap! That combo I did hurt my opponent bad! Time for ABUSE! Learn what hurts your opponent and abuse the hell out of it, and when a strategy isn’t working anymore switch to a new one! If your opponent can’t block a meaty attack, start meaty attacking them constantly! Vice versa when your opponent is on the offense… learn how you can get out of situations and try to read your opponent. Learn your opponent’s train of thought and you’ll have him cornered throughout the whole match.
Always remember to have fun, and realize that this is just a game. Take a break if you get heated up and let things chill… don’t throw the arcade stick across the room like me lol.