So I've been playing fighting games for, essentially, my whole life, and they've been pretty significant to my interests and my social life for quite a while. I've only really gotten into really playing them on a (semi) competitive level and trying to get good at them within the last... five? or so years. I was held back by even basic execution for a VERY long time, so I've had a lot of hurdles to overcome. Over time though I've managed to sort of find my own identity within fighters, and how I want to play.
I've still had one big thing holding me back though - the anti-air.
So in traditional, 2D fighters a la Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, a forward jump is a risky move - pure aggression. I tend to play defensively, so being able to counter this strategy is crucial.
I have never been very good at it.
Part of that is just a lack of practice, but another is just that I wasn't capable of looking for that moment when my opponent would jump forward. I would get caught by it most times, and so I had to build my play around being far away enough that it was less of a risk. Of course, anytime someone got close enough to me and jumped forward, I was pretty much forced onto the back foot. This has been one of my biggest weaknesses for pretty much my whole life.
As of last night, that might finally be starting to turn around. Something just kinda clicked for the first time while I was playing SF6 with a friend last night, and I actually started waiting and watching for that forward jump for the first time. Turns out, its a lot easier to defend against something if you actually look for it! Go figure! And let me tell you, finally overcoming a hurdle like that, especially one that you've been facing for years? Feels fuckin fantastic.
TLDR; personal improvement rules, so do fighting games.