August Process Evaluation

Alternate attendance and preparation weeks, but force attendance so that I don’t get complacent (don’t have to go to many tournaments, just one is enough)
-- Preparation should be centered on 2-3 recent performance issues (gameplay or otherwise) and 1-2 learning objectives that correspond with general interest.

I did a great job of abiding by this plan. I went to both RoMs and felt like each tournament reflected positive progress with respect to my goals (as much as they applied, anyways).

Solo practice, meditation/visualization every day
-- Meditation/visualization after water + when I wake up (lets me get comfortable and use on tourney days)
>> So morning routine goes Water -> WHM -> Yoga -> Meditation, should take about an hour
-- Solo practice when I get home from work.
>> 15 minutes of basics, 30 minutes of punishes on top tiers

I was extremely consistent with mental health stuff -- only meditation was lacking, which actually seems to matter a lot. Solo practice happened somewhat regularly, but my 'flow' got disrupted as a result of having to go home for a week or so. I'll need to try to ramp up the frequency on that, but having UnclePunch has been a lot of fun. I actually ended up playing with people a lot this month instead of solo practicing, and thankfully that was productive.

3-4 days a week of VOD Analysis
-- Associate urge to netplay with urge to analyze instead
>> Getting creative: keep Smash notebook downstairs by the computer before every study session. Forces me to use downstairs computer, be efficient (chair is uncomfortable for longer periods of time), and subtly associates the computer with more than just netplay
-- Make sure to create list of testable/practicable items and/or insights to internalize.
>> Positions, tactics, situations, opposing mentality, etc.
>> This is really really important; even small observations could be useful to test
>> Don’t forget basics — positioning/”situations” (refer to smad if necessary), why someone gets hit, and reaction cues

I didn't get the hang of it until the very end of the month, unfortunately -- this is largely because I kept trying to improve at playing faster + more consciously using netplay. As always, it seems like I'm too content to spam netplay because it "feels good" and it's productive. To the extent that it IS useful, that's not bad, but given what happened in the matches with me and Sami, it's clear that my knowledge of lots of important things (threatening ranges, win conditions, edgeguards) is lacking, and playing more won't fix that.

OVERALL:
+ Mental health strategies were consistent
+ WHM, shower, yoga was consistent
+ Was very productive whenever I spent time playing the game
- Not enough meditation
- Too much netplay
- Still not enough video study

==
SEPTEMBER PROCESS

Alternate attendance and preparation weeks, but force attendance so that I don’t get complacent (don’t have to go to many tournaments, just one is enough)
-- Preparation should be centered on 2-3 recent performance issues (gameplay or otherwise) and 1-2 learning objectives that correspond with general interest.

Solo practice, self-care every day
-- Self-care after water + when I wake up (lets me get comfortable and use on tourney days)
>> So morning routine goes Water -> WHM -> Yoga -> Meditation, then go to work and exercise
-- Solo practice when I get home from work.
>> 15 minutes of focused tech skill practice minimum

3-4 days a week of VOD analysis
-- Don't play on netplay or vs. humans unless I have something I got from a VOD/testing on my own
-- Try to focus on "important things" + specifics
>> win condition, maxing frame advantage, positions/heat map, killing the other guy, efficient defense, etc.
-- Don't forget to take water breaks to try to refresh focus
-- Make sure to write practice items down so that I can internalize via CPU/20XX/netplay