actually mac i'll have to disagree, l think learning how to beat the ai is the first step to success. besides learning to block and do combos against a moving foe, a new player learns how to adapt. its great because its alot slower-paced than a real match and there's no severe 'penalty' for guessing wrong as the ai arent combo oriented - no 4k into oki, no super hard to block resets etc. another great thing to playing the ai is, after figuring out what the ai does repeatedly in multiple situations, learning how to poke, anti-air, and poke using air to ground/air attacks. its great for beginners looking to get familiar with the game just as any other fg. maybe not lv 100 though, i'd say lv 60 is a good challenge to start with.