In every competitive game, a meta game is developed that dictates the "default" decisions that "good" players perform inside the game. There are smart options, there are stupid options, and it's a very fine line in between. This is where the fun of fighting games really shines.

There is a great deal of non-verbal communication that happens in a fighting game match. Accurately reading your opponent's intentions and acting accordingly is what high level fighting games are all about. The player's personality really reflects in their strategies inside the game.

In theory, the person with the most skill that day is the winner of any given tournament, but those wins usually come by via chance decisions. The really good players will try to be in control of those chance decisions and are always calculating the risks and payoffs of any given action.

You need a spend a huge amount of mental energy when playing fighting games at a competitive level. If you are feeling calm and confident, maybe you have an easier time executing your gameplan, but if you’re distracted and insecure, your thoughts will be elsewhere and not in the match. It takes a lot of discipline to stay consistently improving at fighting games (or anything, really). I am someone that sadly has struggled with stress and anxiety in the past, and external factors can really affect my tournament performance. I have had my brilliant moments, but I have also gone through some bad losses. It's never good to operate from a place of ego, you might get good fast, but it's not sustainable.

I would like to think that I have the potential to be a consistently good player, and perhaps get better tournament results. For me to get there, it seems like I will have to work out any potential attention span issues and learn how to fully be in the moment when I am playing the important matches. If I can learn to stop worrying about the outcome and focus completely on executing my gameplan and reading my opponent, it shouldn't matter if I win or lose as I would simply be doing my best. I feel like that is the ideal mindset for competition?

I have been playing in fighting games tournaments for a few years now. In the process of getting better and feed that competitive drive in me, I found out a lot about myself and the way I learn things, the way I handle adversity, and how dedicated I can be when I want to achieve something. I am eternally grateful for everything I've learned thanks to the FGC.