Wow. I just realized about 2 years have passed since I’ve began playing SFV and taking it more seriously. What a wild ride! Reading through these posts below still got me laughing I’m not gonna lie. The progression, or lack there of, truly amazes me.
My very first post here (all the way at the bottom) was when I was playing as a wifi Ryu on playstation. lmaooooooooooo I’m definitely cringing. But for me to cringe at something I did in the past means I’m able to look back at it and know I grew from it! Now I’m playing zeku (ultra diamond) on a PC over a fiber connection. Oh and I transitioned input devices from using DS4 pad to a hitbox. I even began streaming a little bit on twitch!
Reading through all the content in this blog I did achieve everything I said I was going to do. I went to EVO 2019, wrote a small guide about a topic I didn’t understand, got Karin to diamond rank, and learned more about how to practice. I should probably finish this entry off with a couple more goals so I can speak them into existence. Buuut anywho.
In terms of Capcom’s SFV season 5 pro tour, it’s screwed. COVID-19 has taken every event this year and Debo’d it ( “What CPT season?” ). Essentially we’re all in an extended off season training. Here’s a list of books that allowed me further my journey in SFV while not traveling:
The Book of 5 Rings
Concise book that made me aware of different aspects of strategy.
Creative Quest
Taught me the importance of meditation. Quest Love meditates ~30min a day. Bruce Lee did too. Almost all the greats do it. I even began using a guided meditation app called Headspace which has been one the most valuable gifts I could have given myself (click here to try it!)
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
Allowed me how to begin a sentence with, “I am currently struggling with whatever the thing” instead of “I can’t whatever the thing”. For example, I used to say something like, “I can’t deal with Guile’s who spam sonic booms.” Saying it like that guided the conversation to a dead-end. Instead, I rephrased the sentence like, “I am currently struggling with Guile’s who spam sonic booms”. That small rephrasing subliminally set my mind to interpret the situation as something I could grow from. Mainly because of the word “currently”. Current = now. Annnd just because it’s happening now, doesn’t mean it always will be. You can grow.
This book also gave me the chance to finally put a thought I’ve had for a very long time into words: In order to be successful you need to have the idea that skills can be cultivated. Outright saying, “I’m bad at this,” without putting any time into cultivating the skill is just a sad thing to let fly. There is this whole discussion on “what about the naturally talented though?” and that’s a convo for another day. (I believe hard work always beats natural talent btw)
Relentless
Samurai’s book recommendation. The author was Kobe Bryant’s (rest in peace {I still can’t believe I’m saying that yet}) trainer, along with Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Dwayne wade and many other professional athletes. He gives his account about what he believes it takes to be a “cleaner”, which is different than a “cooler” or a “closer”. This translated to my practice routine and how I go about creating myself a regimen.
Everything is f*#@ed
This book is one of my favorites and it explores the concept of hope. I found that it translates to fighting games well. I’d simply say go and read it.
Goals for Now
- Achieve twitch affiliate (I might as well try it)
- Earn master rank with Zeku
- Do a twitter give away
- Get top 8 in the Reddit Online Tournament
- Beat Shade in a FT5 (both Chun and Juri)