Improving Execution

[Monarch]

So how do I go about this? I thought that as I played more I wouldn't drop certain things; but that isn't appearing to be the case because I've been at this since January. Am I going to have to grind out what I'm doing wrong in training mode perhaps? The main thing I'm having trouble with is 623 motions, I can do them fine, but I never quite get them when I need it the most. (ex. During one of my opponents unsafe blockstrings)

[Antaiseito]

Yeah, go to training mode and grind it out.

Had to do the same thing for 623 motions for Baiken some months ago. Really went into training for a while on some consecutive evenings to try to get it down (stop when you get sloppy and do something else).

When that worked quite well, I then repeated the motion by itself and my combos a few times before every play-session. .. Otherwise the first few matches it would fail again when i really needed it...

Good Luck

[Airk]

Short answer: Yes, training mode.

 

Longer answer: one of the things about DPing out of blockstrings is that it's not JUST doing the motion correctly.  It's doing the motion correctly at exactly the right time.  You can't just DP whenever and expect results, because if you're still in blockstun when you mash it out, you'll get nothing and then you'll probably get hit because you probably won't get the stick back to 'block' before the next attack lands.  So it's best to train not only doing DPs, but WHEN to do DPs against specific strings.

 

All that said, I have the same issue with my DPs.  Sometimes I can get them reliably under pressure, other times it's like "LOLz, I just did wakeup 6C!"

[StylisH]

What really helps is Instant Blocking.  Higher level opponents will be wary of this, however, but it serves as sort of a defensive mind game. 

[MrKevinJ]

So how do I go about this? I thought that as I played more I wouldn't drop certain things; but that isn't appearing to be the case because I've been at this since January. Am I going to have to grind out what I'm doing wrong in training mode perhaps? The main thing I'm having trouble with is 623 motions, I can do them fine, but I never quite get them when I need it the most. (ex. During one of my opponents unsafe blockstrings)

Like Airk said, punishing an unsafe blockstring is about timing. Go into training mode and record the dummy to do X set up and just practice DPing the set up.

 

My tip for practicing execution, whether its a combo, a motion, or a certain punish timing is, go into training mode and do it 10x in a row. If you screw up while trying to do it 10x in a row, start all over from 1 till you're able to do it 10x in a row. After that switch sides and repeat.

 

One thing I noticed when people practice their execution is that they only practice from the 1 player side and never 2nd player side. Then when they actually start playing matches and they end up on the 2nd player side they're screwed.

[FreshSelect]

Lots of good suggestions in this thread so far. As most have said prior, execution is about drilling muscle memory.

 

When I first start learning a new game, I hit training mode pretty hard for at least 2 or 3 weeks so that I become comfy with how the game reads input. Muscle memory takes ~45 repetitions to set in, followed by sleep to solidify. As a result I adopted a training regime not unlike working out, in order to get the motions down as quickly and effectively as possible. 

 

Like MrKevinJ has mentioned above, practice needs to be accomplished from both sides, and you cannot reward misinput. Instead of doing a set of 10 inputs in a row from both sides and restarting, I've always used a +/- System. I aim for 25 net successful reps from each side of every special input I need to learn (not combos). For example;

 

25x 623 

25x 214

25x 236

25x 632146

 

from each side. Every time you execute one correctly, its +1 to your count. If you mess up and get something besides the move you were trying to do, it's -1. Then you just keep a running tally until you end up at your goal (25 in this case). I chose 25 because it isnt a super large amount, but especially when youre first learning the game you are likely to pass 45 reps (the required amount for the all important muscle memory). As soon as its finished, I stop playing for the day until I've had a chance to sleep.

 

This has always worked well for me, and ensured I got the most out of the time I spent in training mode. Once your raw execution is at a point where you no longer need to think about what youre inputting, you can start to efficiently focus on the timing of such things using the dummy as others have mentioned. You'll be at a point where getting the move to come out is no problem, so you can dedicate your time and energy to learning when you should input it, instead of having to both learn when AND how.

[iBeK3n]

FreshSelect's advice is the right way to go about training. But remember what Antaiseito said too! Once you start getting sloppy, it's time for a break because you're getting past the point of learning, you'll simply be repeating things and keep messing them up. The human brain can only learn so much in a short timespan.

 

Taking breaks allow your mind to consolidate everything you've learned (before hitting that semi-plateau) and when you get back in a bit later / the following day, you will find yourself surprised by how easily you can pull off whatever it is that required effort before.

 

Like eating healthy, keep your training sessions short and sweet but more frequent. 

[Airk]

Yeah; And something I'm discovering is that breaks don't necessarily need to be super long; 30 minutes seems to be enough to break up my mental deadlocks and let me get going again.

[Monarch]

Thank you guys! I've been grinding in training mode since yesterday, and with the drills, I feel a lot more comfortable. I'll be sure to keep it up the rest if the week too.

[Rhiya]

Also, work smarter, not harder, when you're in training mode. When something fails to execute, try to learn why it didn't. Maybe your timing was wrong, maybe the input was sloppy, etc. Regardless, if you know what you need to fix, you can fix it much more quickly than if you don't.

 

E.G.: Sometimes, on Litchi, I'd drop 236B>63214A for no apparent reason. After looking at the input reader, though, it became painfully obvious that I was somehow doing 6214 10 to 20% of the time, which BB -does not accept as a half circle-. After that, I just did reps, and made sure the input was clean.

 

Also, learn some input tricks that work for you. Some tricky timings can be alleviated by thinking of them differently. For example, take CP Litchi's 5B[m] 2C 6D(2) 5D 66 4B(e) combo beginning. This wrecked me for a pretty good while, and the timing gave me fits, but I found that if I instead input 6D(2) 6D6 4b, my life became a lot more manageable, since I was condensing my inputs and inputting the dash while I did 5D.

Learning execution isn't just about grinding -- it's also about learning how to make your grind easier and more profitable.