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nerves at tournaments

DanCock

DanCock

Cock Master!!
how do some of you guys over come your nerves during tournament play?

i find myself shaking a lot, especially in the legs.. my heart races and it really effects my play cause im so damn nervous..

i dont think anyone noticed this of me at NEC.

i just played a semi final mk2 online tournament and i wanted to win so bad, but my fucking legs just were shaking a lot, i was getting real frustrated with it..

is there anyone else that suffers form this? and how do you go about over coming this?

i plan on doing some research to find ways to calm myself inside during these tournament matches.. during casual play it NEVER happens :confused::confused:
 
STORMS

STORMS

Co-founder
Founder
Premium Supporter
Actually, for me, I play better at tournaments and since going to tournaments my gameplay has only gotten better. Shock and crew saved me... :)
 
Dark_Rob

Dark_Rob

Noob
DanCock said:
how do some of you guys over come your nerves during tournament play?

i find myself shaking a lot, especially in the legs.. my heart races and it really effects my play cause im so damn nervous..

i dont think anyone noticed this of me at NEC.

i just played a semi final mk2 online tournament and i wanted to win so bad, but my fucking legs just were shaking a lot, i was getting real frustrated with it..

is there anyone else that suffers form this? and how do you go about over coming this?

i plan on doing some research to find ways to calm myself inside during these tournament matches.. during casual play it NEVER happens :confused::confused:
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Its called "fight or flight",a chemical reaction in your body due to heightened anxiety, a percieved threat or extreme stress that causes large amounts of adrenaline to be released. It causes extreme alertness and awareness and can even give you increased strength, like for instance in the scenario where a 110 lb woman is able to lift a 1500lb car because her baby is trapped underneath it.

Its also perfectly normal Dan. Your legs shaking and your heart racing are byproducts of the adrenaline. It is a result of being thrown into a new and highly competitive situation. Dont fret my man, it will stop in time once you become more accustomed to tournaments.
 
Tim Static

Tim Static

Adminerator
Something i encourage everyone to work on, and not just for tourney settings but for anytime life is getting you down or whatever just pisses you off..........

control your breathing!! Take deep breathes. You'd be surprised how much it changes the way you act, perform, do things, etc. TRY IT! :coffee:
 
EGP Wonder_Chef

EGP Wonder_Chef

Official Quan Chi Nerf Demander™
I've been playing in tournaments for games for years and years, so I'm very familiar with this feeling.


Eventually you'll get used to the tournament match atmosphere, but until then my biggest suggestion is not to fight the nervousness, but to accept it.

It's all down to this, everything is on the line. There's nothing more exciting than that, it's what keeps me coming back to tournaments. Use that pressure, excitement, and adrenaline to fuel yourself. Just like Rob said, there will be times when you suddenly enter the zone and find yourself able to do things you never thought you could. I know there have been times in tournaments where I've suddenly been able to read every move that my opponent made and landed every combo without fail.


Music is definitely a great option too, but it tends to mess my timing up hardcore, because I hit my links along with the beat instead of to actual time... =/
 
Mr. Mileena

Mr. Mileena

Noob
When I get nervous, My stomach hurts, and I always need to go to the restroom.

I've played some tournys here in my city, and I notice my hands shaking, but then I just pretend I'm playing at home and block everyone out.
Breathe and relax.
 
Juggs

Juggs

Lose without excuses
Lead Moderator
Premium Supporter
My first match at NECXI was against you Dan, and I was extremely nervous. And this nervousness was really affecting my play in a negative way. I really didn't get over it until our matches were finished.

The second match was against LiJoe. I just told myself to take a deep breath, concentrate on the match, and just act like I was playing at my house. The main thing that got me over a lot of the nerves was focusing. I've competed in front of large crowds before when I played football, so blocking out everything except what I am doing is something I'm experienced in. I still had nerves, but they weren't anywhere near as bad as my first match. The rest of the matches I went into this zen like state, it was awesome, lol.

You just have to find something that calms you down and allows you to focus. So Chef is right, it's all about experience really.
 
Krayzie

Krayzie

Co-founder
Founder
OJuggernautO said:
My first match at NECXI was against you Dan, and I was extremely nervous. And this nervousness was really affecting my play in a negative way. I really didn't get over it until our matches were finished.

The second match was against LiJoe. I just told myself to take a deep breath, concentrate on the match, and picture everyone naked. The main thing that got me over a lot of the nerves was focusing. I've competed in front of large crowds before when I played football, so blocking out everything except what I am doing is something I'm experienced in. I still had nerves, but they weren't anywhere near as bad as my first match. The rest of the matches I went into this zen like state, it was awesome, lol.

You just have to find something that calms you down and allows you to focus. So Chef is right, it's all about experience really.
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Fixed for you, Juggs.

Tell the true story. Don't change shit up and expect us to believe those lies.
 
Lucky Day

Lucky Day

Noob
I don't really get nerves in tourneys.

Part of it is because I'm not very good at anything except ST (and I'm good enough in that not to be nervous), and the other part is I don't take things too seriuosly in general.
 
1

1truking

Noob
Actually had a rep ealry on of being a tournament underachiever. I usually did well enough to finish in the top 8 usually top 5 but most tournaments I've done I was considered top 3. The only time I wasn't really affected was when the tournie was against people I considered mostly jokes. USFG in vegas i destroyed everybody except valle including a guy I know and was nervous to play. He didn't win a round and I beat him with a dominating perfect. I got top 5 in mvc and was beaten by something I hadn't seen before followed by me joking to jason nelson of all people. I was favored to win the tournament after people saw me play and not sandbag.

That backfired at the next mvc major where I went 2 and out saving grace was the two who beat me finished 2nd and third and I put on the most amazing comeback ever with only GWM against two antigwm characters. What I learned there was some simple things that nobody has mentioned. EAT. Eat like you're going to be running a marathon. You want to have sustained energy over a fairly long period if its a major tournament 6-8 hours. Stay hydrated. you're going to be spending a lot of time with adrenaline pumping and you're going to get dehydrated. Both of these will help you stay focused in the tournament just like an athlete eats to sustain energy for a game your body is responding just like an athletes body does. This is seriously overlooked by gamers mainly because most of us are fat slobs and stereotypes who don't eat properly anyway.

Now that you have food out of the way you need to really focus on what wins a tournament. You ONLY do bread and butter combos. Don't try anything fancy unless you land that fancy combo in casuals better than 90% of the time. If you can't land it 90% then don't even go for it. I've seen too many losses because people tried to do things they aren't used to because they feel they need to step it up in tournament play. What usually wins the tournament is stepping it down. You play solid and don't take inappropriate risks. This helps to keep your hand shaking and nervousness from hurting your gameplay. If you're sticking to the basics you're going to have a hard time fucking it up even with shaky hands. don't listen to people who say just play natural especially since none of them have won a major tournament. You want the adrenaline the flight or fight heightened awareness. You want to be nervous and you want to use that extra energy, awareness, and reaction time to your advantage. If you're playing casual you won't get the same response most of the time. thats why I play to win ALL the time. If its causals I'm still treating it like its a tournament. that resulted in a lot of people not liking me because i would stomp the shit out of them in casuals. Why set yourself up for two styles of play anyway. It doesn't benefit you so don't do it. Play hard all the time that way when you will be used to your body reacting as if you were in danger. Seriously if you watch me playing online I'm sweating, nervous and hyper aware because I always want to have that attitude and edge. So basically nut up or shut up dan.
 
D

DrDogg

Noob
It just takes time. I've been going to tournaments for over a decade, so now it's just natural to me. I actually get more nervous in casuals because that's when everyone is sizing up the competition lol.

What I try to do is recreate my home experience at the tournament. To do this, the week of the tournament I practice with the audio off (since you usually can't hear the audio at tournaments), and I use an alternate outfit. I try to have a practice outfit and a serious outfit so that when I pick the seirous outfit I know it's time to raise my game. It just helps get me mentally prepared for the challenge of the tournament.
 
Tom Brady

Tom Brady

Noob
wow, tourney nerves. i have been playing in tourneys since 1992, i dont even feel at tourneys anymore. i feel like captain barbossa in the curse of the black pearl lol, im cursed by aztec gold so i dont feel at tourneys lol.

this is a great subject for a bradycast.
 
DanCock

DanCock

Cock Master!!
nice responses guys :)

King ~ yea i wasnt eating much at all, i lost 6 pounds actually. i plan on eating alot for WB i dont care how fat i look..
 
1

1truking

Noob
DanCock said:
nice responses guys :)

King ~ yea i wasnt eating much at all, i lost 6 pounds actually. i plan on eating alot for WB i dont care how fat i look..
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Take some builders bars or something like that. eat every 2 hours if you can. try to start the day with a casein shake so that you have sustained protein release. Your body will thank you.
 
STORMS

STORMS

Co-founder
Founder
Premium Supporter
1truking said:
Take some builders bars or something like that. eat every 2 hours if you can. try to start the day with a casein shake so that you have sustained protein release. Your body will thank you.
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Funny you say that... I plan to bring an entire luggage bag of food for every one (well, not EVERYONE lol) and water for my crew. ;)

Probably be alot of nutragrain bars, crackers, etc
 
McNasty

McNasty

Moist.
Harness that energy that Rob was talking about and use the heightened awareness to your advantage other than that pretend your at home, eat well, stay hydrated, breath, and turn on the I don't give a fuck attitude and you will do well. Before I played my matches at warzone I looked at some old messages from friends wishing me good-luck that helped a lot.
 
Check

Check

-
Dan, i noticed you were drinking a lot while we played. It seemed to help you calm down. Just saying.

My hands always start to shake whenever i would play Arkham Asylum. That game scared the hell out of me when i played, especially Totally Insane. But i played it enough to the point where, kind of like truking said about playing comfortably and not going for risks, your mind will be accustomed to handling the pressure as you play more, as rob said. Thats the beauty of Arkham Asylum, because Batman is all about facing your fears, and NO GAME has ever done that to me before. My hands would start to shake around 300 hits in a combo EVERYTIME. It was fear. But i overcame it, even through all my Rank 1's. All those were entirely nerve-wrecking. You cant make one mistake, you cant make one wrong move, you cant forget guys with guns, or knives you cant hit, etc. So many variables and everything has to be perfect for those Rank 1's. Even through doing all of those my hands would still shake. It took me over a year and a half to get rid of it.

One thing i used to do while playing Arkham is listen to classical music. I swear to god this works. It'll calm all your nerves down. Its pretty amazing. Tchaikovsky is great, so is Rachmanioff:
^^ It takes your mind off it so much while playing, because if you're like me and overanalyze stuff you start to get nervous etc.

I'd pick up a copy of Arkham Asylum if i were you. That made me look at fighting games completely different and helped me conquer all those nerves. You're surrounded by 25 guys with all those different variables+perfection i mentioned made fighting against one person look simple afterwards.
 
AC1984

AC1984

Kaballin!
I cant overcome it at all...I start playing terrible and I lose and get eliminated...Then i become calm! :-D
 
DanCock

DanCock

Cock Master!!
Check said:
Dan, i noticed you were drinking a lot while we played. It seemed to help you calm down. Just saying.

My hands always start to shake whenever i would play Arkham Asylum. That game scared the hell out of me when i played, especially Totally Insane. But i played it enough to the point where, kind of like truking said about playing comfortably and not going for risks, your mind will be accustomed to handling the pressure as you play more, as rob said. Thats the beauty of Arkham Asylum, because Batman is all about facing your fears, and NO GAME has ever done that to me before. My hands would start to shake around 300 hits in a combo EVERYTIME. It was fear. But i overcame it, even through all my Rank 1's. All those were entirely nerve-wrecking. You cant make one mistake, you cant make one wrong move, you cant forget guys with guns, or knives you cant hit, etc. So many variables and everything has to be perfect for those Rank 1's. Even through doing all of those my hands would still shake. It took me over a year and a half to get rid of it.

One thing i used to do while playing Arkham is listen to classical music. I swear to god this works. It'll calm all your nerves down. Its pretty amazing. Tchaikovsky is great, so is Rachmanioff:
^^ It takes your mind off it so much while playing, because if you're like me and overanalyze stuff you start to get nervous etc.

I'd pick up a copy of Arkham Asylum if i were you. That made me look at fighting games completely different and helped me conquer all those nerves. You're surrounded by 25 guys with all those different variables+perfection i mentioned made fighting against one person look simple afterwards.
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lol yea drinking the mike got me tipsy and i just was relaxed :)

food was a big issue, im not making that mistake again. ill be traveling to taco bells alot.. and sounds like ill be stealing stuff out of storms bag of goodies :p
 
STORMS

STORMS

Co-founder
Founder
Premium Supporter
DanCock said:
lol yea drinking the mike got me tipsy and i just was relaxed :)

food was a big issue, im not making that mistake again. ill be traveling to taco bells alot.. and sounds like ill be stealing stuff out of storms bag of goodies :p
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This time I promise you... there WILL be food without needing to travel. :top:
 
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