Clemency

Composer • Improviser • Theorist

Music philosopher, humor theorist, burgeoning Street Fighter player and wannabe Dad. Seeking harmony.

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@clementcomposer
Mastodon: www.zirk.us/@clemency


And I lost, 0-2. But saying that first doesn't give the right context to the experience—this wasn't about winning or losing, but measuring my growth and shining a light on how to improve! Here's the write-up:

Where am I? Then and Now:

  • Last tourney (my very first!) I was in Gold, wondering if that was my limit
  • Now I'm in Platinum wondering if that is my limit (spoilers: it's not!)
  • I gave plat 1 players a hard time last tournament, giving me confidence that I could train and reach it
  • This time I was taking rounds and games from plat 4 and Diamond players, and I got confidence that Diamond is in my reach!!

What I learned:

  • JP needs to play even more patiently than I have been in some situations. Patience and restraint in general won matches—the winner was an amazingly calm Juri player with an incredible sense of spacing and timing. Their focus was on creating the opportunities for their buttons, then trusting the buttons to do their job. Shout out to the winner, Sitoopie!
  • I'm not used to getting corner pressure, and I don't know what to do with it when I have it! I found myself honestly surprised to put my opponents in that situation, and backing off to a more comfortable distance.
  • My poor DI habits lost me matches but I understand what the habit is now. I was trying to use it to extend pressure. I need to sub in different JP tools for that purpose, like Stribog and Torbalan, which also get me distance.

What I'm doing right:

  • My mental game is strong. I didn't get heated or panicked; I lost to my decisions, not my emotions.
  • When I'm relaxed and in the zone, my offense is decent! I've reached a level where I'm not thinking about moves, but desired outcomes, and that feels really good. My first round of the tournament was even a Perfect KO!!
  • I'm good at respecting opponent's safe strings and waiting them out. Patient on defense!
  • I kept it friendly and had fun!!! Everybody was so encouraging, in victory and defeat. I enjoyed sticking around on stream to cheer on the other players!

All in all, another great tournament experience. Time to grind myself into a Diamond and see what comes next!!


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