So, I know everyone has heard someone say, "You grabbed for the win!?" or "Spammer!" Which is only half true. The thing is, if you are open for something then chances are someone will take advantage of that opening, or if you are predictable then you may continue to get grabbed or punished. Everything has two parts that make a whole, so without the other guy, there cannot be a fight, or without the other guy swinging, you cannot block an attack, or without you just standing there, then he couldn't have grabbed you so easy. So, basically, you didn't lose because you were grabbed, or because the dude was spamming, rather, you lost because you were predictable, or you were just so upset the other guy was spamming that you didn't notice any other way, like, blocking and punishing, or whiff punishing. It's not entirely the other guy's fault for hitting you, you completed the other half, by being open to get hit.
Once you get familiar with the Soul Calibur fighting system, then all kinds of doors open up for you. Number one thing anyone even pros should continuously master is blocking. I cannot stress enough how important blocking is, since it leads to punishing which is basically a free attack on your opponent. Then there's movement, when to move and when to block, this depends on who you are fighting, like, a short range character can give you more room than one with longer range, so moving and blocking will differ between the two. Everyone has different mobility and that's what you should get use to as soon as possible, how fast can your character move? Leixia is one of the most mobile characters in the game, since she can dance in and out of attack range with ease, which leads to a lot of whiff punishing, even though she has tons of mix ups, and depending on which character she's fighting against tells her how to go about attacking, like, a longer range character for instance, you would want to make them swing and miss because they are probably gauging your distance and looking to keep you out, but, if it's a shorter range character then you can just approach more easily and mix up right away, and may not want to dance so much because a lot of shorter range characters have very fast attacks, so getting the first hit is more important than letting them swing at you first.
Every character is different, and this is what I love about the game, you can have so many different match ups, and although you may be going against one that's very in the other guy's favor, that does not mean that you cannot make things a little more even, by proper blocking and movement. Learn the strengths and weaknesses, the ranges of characters and their movement, how they get around and their best pokes. Pokes are just to poke someone to see what's up, pokes are very safe on block and some can let you continue your offense. Other attacks that give you more rewarding damage are the more unsafe attacks, meaning you can be punished if that attack is blocked. So, blocking should be priority for beginners and I want to stress on any beginner that you should not think too much about anything other than blocking, and wait until you think the time is right, and then just attack with no real strategy, just as long as you get use to blocking, that's all. As long as you block more, you will see more success. Once you are comfortable with blocking and attacking, switching those up, and keep in mind that you will still lose, just not as much, but as long as you see yourself making progress, that is the most important thing. Matches should be taken lightly, as a learning experience, so that you can play around with attacks more and be able to think more in the match. Just have fun, you will learn more if you do it that way. If you take matches seriously, then you wont be able to analyze what's going on or how to stop it. Serious matches are for when you've learned enough and can fully understand the situation at hand. Even then, you will always learn more from a match you've lost than from a match you've won, post study that is. But, really, where you want to be at is, one with your character, and by that I mean, it's not like you controlling your character, it's more like you are the character, and that only comes from a deep understanding of your own characters strengths and weaknesses, and attacks. The more time you spend in training, then the more you will become your character. If any of this is helpful, please let me know. I will write more if you doods would like. Thanks for reading! And good luck in battle!
Once you get familiar with the Soul Calibur fighting system, then all kinds of doors open up for you. Number one thing anyone even pros should continuously master is blocking. I cannot stress enough how important blocking is, since it leads to punishing which is basically a free attack on your opponent. Then there's movement, when to move and when to block, this depends on who you are fighting, like, a short range character can give you more room than one with longer range, so moving and blocking will differ between the two. Everyone has different mobility and that's what you should get use to as soon as possible, how fast can your character move? Leixia is one of the most mobile characters in the game, since she can dance in and out of attack range with ease, which leads to a lot of whiff punishing, even though she has tons of mix ups, and depending on which character she's fighting against tells her how to go about attacking, like, a longer range character for instance, you would want to make them swing and miss because they are probably gauging your distance and looking to keep you out, but, if it's a shorter range character then you can just approach more easily and mix up right away, and may not want to dance so much because a lot of shorter range characters have very fast attacks, so getting the first hit is more important than letting them swing at you first.
Every character is different, and this is what I love about the game, you can have so many different match ups, and although you may be going against one that's very in the other guy's favor, that does not mean that you cannot make things a little more even, by proper blocking and movement. Learn the strengths and weaknesses, the ranges of characters and their movement, how they get around and their best pokes. Pokes are just to poke someone to see what's up, pokes are very safe on block and some can let you continue your offense. Other attacks that give you more rewarding damage are the more unsafe attacks, meaning you can be punished if that attack is blocked. So, blocking should be priority for beginners and I want to stress on any beginner that you should not think too much about anything other than blocking, and wait until you think the time is right, and then just attack with no real strategy, just as long as you get use to blocking, that's all. As long as you block more, you will see more success. Once you are comfortable with blocking and attacking, switching those up, and keep in mind that you will still lose, just not as much, but as long as you see yourself making progress, that is the most important thing. Matches should be taken lightly, as a learning experience, so that you can play around with attacks more and be able to think more in the match. Just have fun, you will learn more if you do it that way. If you take matches seriously, then you wont be able to analyze what's going on or how to stop it. Serious matches are for when you've learned enough and can fully understand the situation at hand. Even then, you will always learn more from a match you've lost than from a match you've won, post study that is. But, really, where you want to be at is, one with your character, and by that I mean, it's not like you controlling your character, it's more like you are the character, and that only comes from a deep understanding of your own characters strengths and weaknesses, and attacks. The more time you spend in training, then the more you will become your character. If any of this is helpful, please let me know. I will write more if you doods would like. Thanks for reading! And good luck in battle!
