STB Shujinkydink
Burning down in flames for kicks
To some im known as an offline player, to some an online player, to some, not at all. I started playing online and am still a huge advocate for the benefits of online play, regardless of some other opinions. To be fair, yes there is quite a difference between online and offline. To also be fair, general strategy does not change between the two too drastically as long as you develop your play around frame data and not just "what works". But im not really here to talk about that. Im here to talk about Tournament Nerves. The battle with nerves is one that any aspiring offline player should prepare for just as much as matchups, opponents, or controllers/converters. I've been to quite a few tournaments, and played on quite a few big stages and I can tell you from experience that these are absolutely real and they WILL affect your gameplay. Don't take this as an excuse for losing, because it 100% is not. You need to make sure before you enter a tournament that you can play under pressure, and the last few moments, when your both one hit away from winning, is usually the time where control of this takes center stage and decides the match. Alot of people will tell you, they don't get nerves anymore, or they dont exist or whatever. But anyone that sincerely and honestly wants to win, has nerves. Its how you control them that makes the difference between top players, and the rest. I've never been much of a "tough guy" type so I dont mind telling you that i do get nerves pretty badly, at most stages of the game. At Final Round this year i was sent to losers first round by Semi Evil Ryu, something i had actually never experienced, and the nerves for every match after that was by far the worst I've ever had. Confidence destroyed right off the bat, fear of going 0-2, travelling to play only a few games in tournament...definitely stressful. However having said that I learned a valuable lesson that day about nerves and the realization that i havnt been in a scenario like that before.
You can kind of train for nerves, but it takes a lot of work, and you can only train yourself. You cant force someone to make you nervous. I train this with my clan STB. We do innerclan tournaments from time to time, and i put a tremendous amount of pressure on myself to win it all. This ensures that I feel similar to the way i do in tournament and helps me get the feeling of how I play under pressure and the mistakes I need to focus on correcting in a somewhat casual atmosphere. Clan wars are even better and create even more nerves because its not just me thats at risk if i lose, its my clan. Im playing for everyone. I know not all of you are part of a clan or team, but get some friends together and make a small tournament online or something, and really push yourself to win it. Have some confidence and pretend like its the last game that defines who you are as a player.
Theres so much going on at tournaments its so easy to get overwhelmed by people yelling, screaming, getting hype, and TOs yelling at people. When I play my matches i HAVE to have headphones on. I dont really use it to listen to the music per se, just to neutralize all the sound so I can think. When I train at home, when i do my small tournaments or just a hype FTwhatever with a friend, i listen to the same song on repeat. This helps me drown out everything else and focus on what's happening in the game. Its a mental thing for me when i hear that song on my headphones in a tournament, it gives me that feeling of home, of comfort, of clear thought that really helps me perform at my best. I know some players such as Pig Of The Hut prefer to listen to game sound on headphones to listen for soundcues which is also recommendable. Play around with different things, if your superstitious play into that, i always wear a toque(or beanie as you weirdo americans call it) for good luck, even if im in california or vegas. If im not wearing it, im destined to fail and I honestly believe that and so far i havnt been too far off.
Knowledge of the game can only take you so far in a tournament setting. So much more is a mental battle in your head. I know it is for me, as confident as I am going into every tournament i feel like theres someone else in my head telling me im going to fail, and if I dont prepare properly for that imaginary person I probably will. I know there are a lot of tournament players on this site, but i wanted to share this since I know Injustice has grown the NRS community. I encourage everyone to try an offline tournament once, and I want everyone to come as prepared as possible because not everyone thinks of the mental side of it, I know I didn't. See you in the Bracket.
- Dink
You can kind of train for nerves, but it takes a lot of work, and you can only train yourself. You cant force someone to make you nervous. I train this with my clan STB. We do innerclan tournaments from time to time, and i put a tremendous amount of pressure on myself to win it all. This ensures that I feel similar to the way i do in tournament and helps me get the feeling of how I play under pressure and the mistakes I need to focus on correcting in a somewhat casual atmosphere. Clan wars are even better and create even more nerves because its not just me thats at risk if i lose, its my clan. Im playing for everyone. I know not all of you are part of a clan or team, but get some friends together and make a small tournament online or something, and really push yourself to win it. Have some confidence and pretend like its the last game that defines who you are as a player.
Theres so much going on at tournaments its so easy to get overwhelmed by people yelling, screaming, getting hype, and TOs yelling at people. When I play my matches i HAVE to have headphones on. I dont really use it to listen to the music per se, just to neutralize all the sound so I can think. When I train at home, when i do my small tournaments or just a hype FTwhatever with a friend, i listen to the same song on repeat. This helps me drown out everything else and focus on what's happening in the game. Its a mental thing for me when i hear that song on my headphones in a tournament, it gives me that feeling of home, of comfort, of clear thought that really helps me perform at my best. I know some players such as Pig Of The Hut prefer to listen to game sound on headphones to listen for soundcues which is also recommendable. Play around with different things, if your superstitious play into that, i always wear a toque(or beanie as you weirdo americans call it) for good luck, even if im in california or vegas. If im not wearing it, im destined to fail and I honestly believe that and so far i havnt been too far off.
Knowledge of the game can only take you so far in a tournament setting. So much more is a mental battle in your head. I know it is for me, as confident as I am going into every tournament i feel like theres someone else in my head telling me im going to fail, and if I dont prepare properly for that imaginary person I probably will. I know there are a lot of tournament players on this site, but i wanted to share this since I know Injustice has grown the NRS community. I encourage everyone to try an offline tournament once, and I want everyone to come as prepared as possible because not everyone thinks of the mental side of it, I know I didn't. See you in the Bracket.
- Dink
. It can definitely take a long time to get a hold of your nerves. My only suggestion is to keep competing because I don't know how else you can conquer them. The more exposure, the better. You need to learn to use the nerves as a motivator and an aid; they can keep you sharp and on your toes. If you aren't nervous at all, it's probably because you don't care.
