I saw a tweet the other day that said that the best way to get better at Tekken was to tie your own self-worth to your performance. Now obviously, this was just a bait tweet meant to drive up interactions, but it got me thinking about how many times I engaged in negative self-talk after I played poorly. Too many times I would tell myself that I wasn’t good enough after I went 0-2, even though the players I lost to would go on to being in top 8 or even top 3.

Now in theory, the idea of having your self-worth tied to how you perform in a bracket is supposed to motivate you towards getting better. But the major problem is that some (if not most) people have a feeling of low self-worth already, and tying that to whether or not they are good at pressing buttons would make that person feel miserable, which in turn impacts their play. Soon that person would wind up stuck in a mobius strip of self-hate and frustration before finding themselves on a rage compilation on YouTube after smashing their controller in the floor (by the way, you’d think Nintendo would support the Smash scene with all the money they make from players buying replacement controllers, but I digress).

Look, I know that no one likes losing and going 0-2 in bracket sucks absolute donkey balls, but here’s the thing: it’s going to happen to someone. It’s happened to some of the best players of all time, so you’re not worthless if you go 0-2. Also, it helps to temper your expectations when it comes to your performance. Expecting to get in there with the goal of making top 8 is gonna suck if you wind up getting your ass kicked. But, if you come in with the goal of smaller goals that directly lead to wins (stopping jump-ins, playing patiently, avoiding auto-piloting, to name a few), without worrying about where you place, you’ll feel better if you accomplish those goals, even if you go 0-2. And if you wind up kicking ass and make top 8 in the process? Even better!

But seriously, don’t beat yourself up when you go 0-2. You still showed up! Just dust yourself off and try again!

Stay classy!

I am not Daigo.

I mean, this should be pretty obvious given how Daigo is one of the greatest Street Fighter players of all time and would have a guaranteed spot on anyone’s “FGC Mount Rushmore”, meanwhile I’m struggling not to go 0-2 in either Guilty Gear Strive or Tekken 7 while going through a character crisis at least once a month. But yeah, obviously, I’m not Daigo.

But here’s the thing; neither are you.

More than likely, you’ve probably just started playing fighting games and have been getting the competitive itch and found a community of like-minded individuals. And now you want to get better at whatever game you’re playing.

Unfortunately, this blog will not be your typical “How To Play” series. This is more of a “How Not To Come Off As A Complete Jackass Before Finding Yourself On A Scrubqoutes Tweet” series.

This series is going to try to keep you from getting into the pitfalls of fighting games and the Fighting Game Community. I say “try” because let’s face it, there are going to be pitfalls that you’ll be stuck in, but hopefully not the ones that are going to make you the subject of what the FGC calls; “Blowup Tuesdays”.

These lessons are either going to be from mistakes that I’ve made or watched others make during my time in the FGC, so hopefully you’ll get something from it. You’ll probably not make Top 8 at EVO (or even your locals) but at least you’ll have a better understanding of fighting games and the community that plays them.

And you’ll do it without making yourself look like a dumbass in the process.