Old 04-9-2016, 10:29 PM   #1
Pizza69
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Default Trouble maintaining skill

So I've been around for a bit and pretty much hit my peak at around D6.6 or 6.7 or so probably around November 2015, and since then I've mostly just been treading water. Which isn't to say I haven't been getting some decent scores - there have definitely been some more recent scores that I'm proud of, but since then my overall level of skill has been very slowly but steadily going down, and I'm not entirely sure why. I haven't changed my playstyle or setup, and I've always been trying to push myself (within reason) where possible, but I can feel myself losing skill and it's discouraging. About a month ago I decided I'd take a short break and see if clearing my mind would help. Unfortunately it only exacerbated the problem, and now I'm noticing on top of mental walls that I just can't seem to get my hands in a comfortable position, and despite everything I've tried the best position is still the one that I've used for over a year now. This is making it basically impossible to enjoy playing for the fun of improvement, does anyone have any advice/things to try out?
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Old 04-9-2016, 11:55 PM   #2
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Default Re: Trouble maintaining skill

If you want to continue to push yourself to improve, while getting exposed to a huge pool of unplayed files, I have an interesting idea that helped me that you are welcome to try.

When I found I was digging myself into a rut, I decided to shift my training paradigm dramatically. I recognized that I was having trouble improving, because I spent too much time choosing which songs to play, and that I kept falling back on the same familiar set of 3-10 songs every day.

I noticed a huge improvement in the effectiveness of my sessions after compiling a cheat sheet to help me break my habit. I would suggest following my FFRMania Difficulties spreadsheet, starting from difficulty 21.00 (or wherever you feel comfortable), and play each song, fully, in sequential order. Do not skip songs, and do not quit out early. Do write down notes about stepfiles you think can help you improve faster, and revisit those files when you want to warm up next session.

Let me know what you think about my strategy. I think this would also be a fun and effective training strategy for anyone reading this thread that has been putting off derusting, and wants to start playing seriously again.
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Old 04-10-2016, 06:23 AM   #3
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Default Re: Trouble maintaining skill

I feel that I hit my peak sometime in the middle of last year (probably low D6), and I was in the same situation as you, with the slow decline of my skill (I think I've even talked to you about this a few times too, haha). It felt like I just sorta hit a brick wall in terms of skill improvement, as I wasn't really getting any notable scores at the time, and I was also having a lot of trouble getting my hands into a comfortable position like you. Since I've hit that peak, I've been on an indefinite hiatus (mainly due to issues with FFR that wouldn't allow me to play it properly) and I've kinda accidentally disappeared from this site and game. I've been really wanting to get back into the game, and Prawn's idea seems to be a good one, as it would expose us to lots of files that we haven't played, and this is good if you're like me and would only play the same set of 10-15 files or so in a session. I've been putting off derusting for way too long now, and this seems like it would be able to help out a ton.

If only I could get FFR to work again... Guess I have to stick to Stepmania for now, once I become active again.

Also, discouragement is a big issue when it comes to situations like this. Aside from Prawn's suggestion, have you ever thought of making a progress thread for SM or FFR? I know it helped me back when I was trying to break through the D5 barrier. Try making a list of goals to put in that thread and slowly keep pushing yourself to achieve them. Doesn't matter if they are small things, because as long as you're achieving them, then you're improving, y'know? You can look back on your progress and it might give you some encouragement and reassurance that will allow you to see that you're actually improving. Plus, people can give you suggestions and all that cool stuff.
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Old 04-10-2016, 07:34 AM   #4
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Default Re: Trouble maintaining skill

and then you realize retaining skill is like 95% of the game after d7
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Old 04-10-2016, 10:06 AM   #5
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Default Re: Trouble maintaining skill

FFRMania really does wonders for skill improvement.
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Old 04-10-2016, 04:32 PM   #6
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Default Re: Trouble maintaining skill

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and then you realize retaining skill is like 95% of the game after d7
this lmao
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Old 04-10-2016, 04:51 PM   #7
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Default Re: Trouble maintaining skill

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Originally Posted by MinaciousGrace View Post
and then you realize retaining skill is like 95% of the game after d7
lmao this so much
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Old 04-11-2016, 09:18 AM   #8
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Default Re: Trouble maintaining skill

yehh i dont have any of those packs seņior skunkerton. i guess i should work on that lol...
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