Recently got a stick

[Mordarius]

I went to animenext this weekend saw a dealer who was selling arcade sticks for really good prices bought one and have been practicing with it. Though I've been having trouble getting certain things out is there anyone who has tips on how I can learn to easily adjust my play to using the arcade stick?

[desmond_kof]

Learning stick is tough at first, you honestly you will need to just tough it out and grind in practice mode and playing people in person. Get comfortable with different hand positions and explore your range of motion when it comes to doing special moves. Everyone has different speeds of learning so just be patient with yourself.

[Mordarius]

Okay cool cause at the con there was a small group of people playing and i was getting reamed pretty hard cause most of the people there used sticks. I wanted to learn with one for awhile now and i had to buy one. But so far the biggest problem I'm having are the dragon punch motions. They just don't make sense to me and always come out as QCFs. But like you said i have to grind it out.

[Strudelicious]

"Got reamed because they used sticks" - trust me I doubt that was the reason. The hard reality is perhaps that your not able to do certain inputs but certainly not because they use a stick. There quite a couple players out there who use pads and do alright. Input needs to be razor sharp on point on this game more so than SF. Think about how fast paced this game is... imagine a hyper hop taco with iori right into maiden masher in the middle of a match. And that's just the low end of input. Hwa Jai's  , , turns the reversal kick to turn into a super if your first  accidentally was sloppily input as  . That's a bread and butter for him.

This game is gonna be demanding as fuck on your dedication and patience if you're not godhands tokido tier. I've been on and off on this game for forever and am still practicing my hit confirms, I'll though I'm dumb and can't link for shit cuz of sloppiness so I stick to strong normal, command move, special, possible DC sequences. Like a TON of existing threads have already stated: getcho hops on point son. Getcho backdashes on point son. Internalize shortcut/secondary motions. Getcho inputs super clean with minimal additional inputs son.

Enjoy your masochistic road to success!

PS. DP motions are just as written . If you watch david chen's beginners guide to street fighter he talks about it. The joystick will reset to neutral after the forward if you just let go. Then just roll the stick down and into the corner of your square gate for down forward. KOF has some leniency like SF4 so will also work as will HCB, F.

[Mordarius]

Thanks for the tips. I decided to mess around with Hwa to get used to DP motions and it helped out a lot.

[Strudelicious]

One more thing I recently realized after reading a tweet from Juicebox:
Don't forget: hop C-low B and hop C-hop C is kind of a mixup. Many online players stay grounded after they hop in... Stop playing SF. #KOF13

KOF has almost an airdasher element to it with the hop system. Practicing timings for rehops and redashes is important... That double tap after an input can be a difficult mental wall to execute at match speed. Another thing about practicing these motions: backdash after blockstring. The backdash on KoF comes out SO FAST that it can really mess with an opponent's offense. Think about it, he's used to your blockstring and decides to hop in since you're probably within hop or hyper hop distance. j.CD blocked gives him enough time to play some mixups with you and SUDDENLY the flow is reversed. If the opponent lands after you backdash outta where you just were and commits to something unsafe you can start cookin with heat!

I know as a dull wit I forgot to put SO many concepts into application in a tense match (every one that isn't AI). As a result it's easier to turn it into a muscle memory chunk to access on command. I play my matches almost like a flowchart (despite the negative vibes that word has started to generate). Instead of thinking commands, imagine if options like: Move, low blockstring+planned followup (jump crossup, backdash, roll, rehop), hd string, punish, were all cards in your hand. You access these cards when you decide its most appropriate. Muscle memory helps remove the idea of :  + , , , + , , ( ) into: Fingers please input the commands necessary for andy to perform his safe low string into a backdash and punish any jump ins if they occur.

[Mr Bakaboy]

I can see people ribbing someone for not playing on a stick. Especially the old farts. If you are playing on a 360 pad with the god awlful little nub that is horrific on split second decisions then yes, I have seen many a rib on that.

Using a pad is not that big of a deal. Though IMHO stick gives a little more room for error once you get good at playing it. Though it doesn't mean you can't excel with a pad. Heck I've seen people using a keyboard whip my butt.

Best advice I'd give to learning a stick it try to be aware with what you are doing. One mistake I had was my down/forward was sloppy. If your DP's are not coming off and you're getting fireballs I see 2 problems (without actually seeing you playing). You're either not hitting the forward long enough, or the time in between the forward and the fireball motion is too long and you are canceling out the forward motion.  My bet in on option 2.

Give the stick some time, but remember it's all about having fun in the end. If playing stick is sucking the fun out of it don't hesistate to use pad.