Discipline and P

Hey guys,

Having gotten back in to VF, I've started to notice a few things. While the long break away has been good as a way to set aside everything and pick back up the old technique with less of the bad habits, I'm still overly relying on yomi, abare, and 2P.

One thing I notice a lot of upper level players doing is using P with great discipline. P. P. P, then 6P. Did it counterhit? combo.

I seem to be having difficulty getting into this space. One practice I'm taking on is playing matches and not using any combos - just as a way of developing the discipline of acting only once I see the opening, and not going into something with the whole string already planned out.

Where I'm getting stuck is trying to use P with this kind of discipline. I guess what I'm looking for is some suggestions about how the rest of you start your offense from P. Brad's elbow is a great way to fish for a counterattack... but on block do you just block in return, or lead in with a P? Etc.

Not the clearest request, but any suggestions would be great.

Thanks!

 

well imo, its all about conditioning, and seeing what your opponent knows/how he reacts. For instance, if I p and the opponent blocks, does the opponent know im +2 on block? What does he do after I 2p. Once you see how the opponent reacts to your move/how much he respects or knows frame data, then you can react accordingly. I don't know if I answered your question at all, but if I didnt lemme know, and if you have any other questions dont be afraid to ask.

 

Well that's a great start - thank you.

I've been getting a lot of grief online because I've only ever played online - people get upset because I win with "scrub tactics" (I beat Stl Tm, a highly ranked Lion, three times in a row, and he freaked out at me), but hey, I've only learned based on what has worked in the only medium I can play in.

Rant notwithstanding, I know that there's a stronger game, and that it requires slowing down a lot and rebuilding the foundation.

So, three basic situations, without anyone prior knowledge (meaning I don't know what the opponent is likely to do), and without going to frame data (because I want the basic launch pad):

No one has advantage: What should I be starting with here? My intuition is P or 6P.

My opponent has just blocked my P: Online, I usually eat a 2P in this situation if I start up a string, so my default has been to go to 2P - I will win because I have +2 advantage. What are my best choices?

I have just blocked my opponent's P: Online, again, most people try to start up strings. My default has been to either block, 2P (because, frankly, it seems to work a lot of the time), or to sidestep and then attack with 6P, K.

These are my defaults. I'm being vulnerable. Help me overcome them and get to the next level.

Appreciate it guys.

 

Myke, I have to say - I really didn't know this answer prior to you answering it. I might have known it intuitively, but I didn't have the didactic understanding in my head.

AND, THANK YOU for posting this! This has been invaluable as far as trying to erase some of bad habits focused around playing online. Just learning the fundamentals of using P by itself is really the building block for how the rest of this game must be played.

Thank you for typing this out simply. I hold true that this bit you've put up here is a fundamental piece of strategy that anyone learning VF for the first time would benefit from reading.