It is not helpful to condemn our present behaviors patterns—in this case our imperfect strokes—as "bad"; it is helpful to see what function these habits are serving, so that if we learn a better way to acheive the same end, we can do so
- W. Timothy Gallway, The Inner Game of Tennis
li got me onto this book after my post on imaginary drawing; it's been a funny read so far because it's a broad mix of "ahaha, yea I do this already" and "oh snap, good way of putting this" and "hmmmm,,, much to think about". I'm quite enjoying it! Very much up my alley, exploring how we do things and the mind/body distinction and how to learn and practice. This specific quote tho, made me think of my habit of popping my level 3 with no hit confirm as a modern control scheme lily in sf6. Why do I do it so often?
I think it's definitely fitting a niche of reversal where I'm trying to forcibly take a turn away from the opponent. Since it's a grab and a super it beats out a lot of options, which makes it work in a lot of situations it's not expected to work, and as it's a button combo instead of an input, it can pop out much sooner than expected. I tend to get over eager with it, however, and use it too soon, before I have clocked what my opponent is committed to doing. If they've chosen to jump, I'm out of luck.
Thinking about how I'm trying to use it will inform play as I look for other options that also fit that aggressive reversal role. I like looking at it this way--not as a bad habit (something to be trained away thru rote), but as a specific function with a pointed goal