The runback doesn't exist

In my opinion, this new era of good online netcode, good ranked, and an insanely high amounts of online tournaments (at least for SF6) has fundamentally warped our understanding of what it means to get better at Fighting Games. Did you go 0-2 in your online tournament? Enter the next one tomorrow or play on ranked! Is something clearly not working during ranked? Keep rage queuing! You'll definitely get it next time. You just need to play more!!!! 

This extremely high amount of accessibility has not only led to the "just keep playing a lot" mentality (which in my opinion is already unhealthy), but it has also created a belief that there will always be a "next time". At some level, we all want to take another shot at things. Whether it be a failed test in college, or just another shot at making that dish you messed up. In some ways, this outlook is healthy. We're never perfect at stuff at first, and practice definitely makes perfect.

However, just because you are able to try something again, doesn't negate the fact that you failed the first time. While this may seem a little obvious, there are a lot of people who act as if this is not the case. Lost against someone in bracket? Money match them right after! Lost to someone in ranked? Play them in a custom room immediately! Sometimes, people actually do win in the runback, and then act as if all is right with the world once again. 

This mindset ignores losses for what they are: Losses. Losing is important, it tells you that you have more to improve on, or that something didn't play out quite like you expected it to. In order to learn, we have to make mistakes and find out what doesn't work. Therefore, losing is necessary in order to win. However, the feelings that come from a loss suck, and we often do things to make them go away. In some way, our desire for a runback is our way of trying to escape from the consequences of a loss. 

While winning the runback may feel good at first, running away from these emotions is the same thing as running away from the lessons that they provide. In my opinion, it's best to accept our losses and shortcomings for what they are, so that we can learn from them and become better versions of ourselves.

 

There's more to Fighting Games than ranks or tournament results

(Inspired by Terrence Tao's There's more to mathematics than grades and exams and methods. It's really good, please give it a read.)

As I get better at Fighting Games, I've noticed that there's this self-inflicted pressure to obtain good results in tournament, or to achieve some kind of strong rank (2k MR, anyone?). Apparently, there's something negative to be said about you if you can't obtain these kinds of things. Maybe you are the scum of the earth. Even worse, you might be bad at a video game.

This is not a cushy, fake positivity "your rank / tournament doesn't determine your personal worth! You can do it! Rank / tournament results don't mean anything!!!" Because at some point I would be lying. Unfortunately, you are not a "restrained genius," who is just one breakthrough away from becoming the next GOAT. You are at 1557 MR and you think footsies don't exist.

(No, your rank / tournament results don't determine your personal worth. Yes, you can do it.)

(There are a lot of nuances to this topic, but I don't really want to talk about them here. Maybe in another blog post.)

I would also be lying to you if I said these sorts of things meant EVERYTHING, because they simply don't. Think about getting an A in school: You can either get one with rote memorization (and then forget everything immediately after finals), or you can get one through a deep understanding of the material. Even though one of these students may actually be considered "smarter" than the other, we (unfortunately) evaluate the two equally. 

There are multiple ways to the top of the mountain, but getting to the top of the mountain might not actually mean anything ("when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure"). So, there's really no need to rush. In my opinion, you will only truly enjoy Fighting Games when you take the time to actually learn them, and that the discoveries and "eureka" moments are far more valuable than any MR milestone will ever be.

Maybe you saw something really cool that another player did, and you want to be able to do the same thing.

Maybe you think a new skill will compliment your already existing game plan, and spend a really long time trying to learn it. Maybe that requires playing another character, maybe it requires playing a completely different game altogether. 

Maybe the way your opponent plays is really stupid and annoying, but for some reason you don't know what to do about it (trust me, I've been there).

But until you let go of the shackles of MR milestones and getting through pools, you'll never experience the real joys of discovery. Even more, you're never actually going to achieve those milestones or tournament results that you currently want. So, just have some fun and try to experience Fighting Games in their totality.