Hitting the Plateau

When you feel you can't advance your game further even though you know adv/disadv, nitaku, etc...and still feel like you lose very often, how do you get past that point? How do you keep levelling up?!

I feel like I can't get better no matter how much I play. What are some things I can do to improve? Please don't use my shitty play at SC to give guidance. Have that shit was me trying to do simple things like ECDCTE and shit. I can do it on my stick at home, but I feel like...idk, like I'm one of the shittiest players around no matter how much I play but I'm well aware of how to take advantage of hits, counter hits, etc.

I know one thing I suck at is reaction. Like, most people telegraph their throws when there's not a guaranteed throw opportunity yet, I don't throw out any attacks to stop it, much less a launcher. It's driving me nuts. I have such shitty habits I don't know how to break and feel like dojo won't help, I need to do something else, but can't figure out what I need to do!

HALP!

 

When i finished to "study" wolf combos i started to look for some okizeme setup. After that my win ration was slighty better but not the best. So after Cannes i started to work on my reaction to punish wiffs.
Working on every little aspect of the game gives you more knowledge of your character and helps you to be confident while attacking.

What's really important is never lose hope. Sometimes when you respect your opponent you'll start defend and he will change approach. You should always consider a plan B or even C while defending and attacking. the more mixed up you keep your style the better your win ratio will be. Also while playing whit your sparring partners it's really important to not aim to the victory but aim to understand what's going on and try new stuff.

 

I hit my execution barrier a long, long time ago, and my reaction times are getting worse. Assuming you have your combos down, working on okizeme as mister suggests is a good idea. Personally, I am currently working on getting some extra situational damage from walls. Then i'll probably look into round openers - getting the first hit in is always a big deal.

But, really, reaction is a big part of the game Not only to beat telegraphed attacks as the OP mentions, but also to block correctly, to punish, to hitcheck etc.

 

usually to speed up my punishing process i record 3 different punishable moves with the dummy and play them all randomly. this way i'll try to punish correctly every move by just looking at them. Having muscolar memory for each move helps a lot in getting more damage from punishment.

You can do that to punish whiffs too.
It's really important that you do that with every character.

 

Slow it down. Make a mental note of your bad habits, the situations you find yourself in, what the opponent does, and adjust. Also look at what habits your opponent might have, are they "random," do they always abare, what attacks they do at advantage, what direction they like to evade, what throw direction they like to use or escape most, etc. Granted the better the opponent, the harder they are to read, but just talking to them about the game can give insight. There are a lot of cool/helpful people in the community (though some info on the forum is a little... eh), and sometimes getting different views and insights can make all the difference. You can ask them, "what can I do better?" etc. I always tell newer players, who ask, to throw/mix up their throws or punish with at least .

Also taking a little break and just think about the above (spend that time in dojo learning everyone). Having a clear head, and understanding what all characters are capable of really helps.

I only learned how to play the game after I quit (for the billionth time) for a year, and picked it up from scratch in the arcades in Japan, though losing 50~100 yen every loss is also a good motivator to play smarter.

 

I try using a different character I know there are several things about Eileen that frustrates me sometimes so I'll leave her alone for a while and play someone else. At first I wont go through command training with them or anything like that I just go with the flow until I feel very comfortable with that character then after like a week or two Ill go back to Eileen. One of the methods I use to try and break habits.
Another thing is to try and find a group of players to play/practice with on a regular basis. People that you'd go back and forth with in a fight, then after a while when/if you notice you start beating them way more often than the beat yoh gather another group of players to regularly fight with that are a little more high up in skill. I make the mistake of wanting to always fight the best right off the bat when I cant even give them a decent challenge. Thats a waste of time. Gotta climb the ladder just cant teleport to the top.