So, I'm absolutely lucky to love in Southern California and be a Street Fighter fan. Within and hour of me, I have spots I can go to get decent arcade competition in any game I want. I'm even lucky enough to have at least 7 SF4 machines within that radius, while other people around the country are stuck with no option at all.
The problem with me, however, is I'm lazy as shit. And I take things for granted.
That is typically how I spend my free time. Good times for sure, but it's not going to help me on my road to my goal. So I'm trying to change. Trying to put in the hours, learn the tricks, get the experience.
Last night, for the first time in a long time, I went to warm up in some CvS2 at Regency Fun Center. I haven't played much in months, but this is the game I consider myself most fluent in. The result? I felt like a common scrub. I nearly lost to the computer, unable to pull off any of the stuff that was in my muscle memory less than a year ago (in my defense, the difficulty seemed awfully high!). Afterwards, I went over to Third Strike, and decided to dust of my Makoto. Even there I felt really rusty, and the local players had their way with me way more than they should have.
In the past, I had it easy. I managed an Arcade, and would spend hours each weekend (both on shift, and after hours) playing games. I would throw montlhy tournaments that would draw really good players from around the area to me. When I started attending Cal State University Long Beach, I would play more than I should have down in that arcade, probably contributing to a lower than should be GPA.
The point is, I had competition close by, and I found the time to travel to tournaments every so often. Since graduating earlier this year, it's harder to get myself to go. I was trying to head out and play SF4 at least once a week, but I haven't been in weeks now. I'm going this weekend, not for a tournament like I have been, but to get some honest playtime in.
On the plus side, I've been rocking Super Street Fighter II: Turbo HD Remix, and I can do that from my couch. I've been playing tons of online, which definitely is no substitute for offline play, but Sirlin and co have put in some nice work on both the netcode and the balance. I never took ST seriously until earlier this year, so I know I've got a long way to go to catch up with the veterans in this game, but this is one of the games I'm going to be focusing on leading up to Evo.
If you want to play, hit me up on XBox live: GamerTag PimpWillyMNSk8 rocking DeeJay.
Until next time, true believers...
