How should I be practicing?

[thec0re3]

I'm getting beat terribly!! Are the mexican players really that good?!!! I can't seem to get an in on most of them and most times its me huddling in the corner taking a beat down.  Do I just continue to take the ass whooping until I just become like neo or is there another way? Is there something I need to put into practice more? What should I be working at so that I can finally land something. I definitely would love to come out of the corner.

[DarKaoZ]

I would like to give you an advice, but I myself haven't ever played KOF game competitive only in Kaillera several years ago (I am assuming the game you want to get good is at KOF).

But I would recommend you to learn combos and learn different ways to start them, like cross overs, low attacks, far attacks, etc etc. Then ones you know your combos and your character moves learn to defend, the best way to do it when you don't have anybody to play with is by playing KOF AI at max level and beat the first teams, then the last ones will start to fight aggressive and just block and learn when to counter. 

Dunno what else to say, the best way to learn is by losing and then go to training mode to learn more or look at videos to learn new combos, then apply those during a fight. But yeah, practice those combos so you can pull them out at least 80% of the time.

[desmond_kof]

I'm assuming that you're playing on GGPO or supercade, so I would suggest that you try to record yourself playing against people then play it back to see what exactly you are getting hit by, why you are getting hit by it, and finding out what available options you have against a certain situation your opponent is bringing you into.

Also, you need to try to fully understand the characters you are playing with.

[KBlackNoah]

When in doubt block and CD =))

[thec0re3]

When in doubt block and CD =))

Lol man I swear I've tried and it never seems to  work.

[nilcam]

Beyond what Desmond recommended, check out Dark Geese's videos. He frequently goes to Mexico to play. There should be a lot of insight in his videos.

[Rex Dart]

Trying to improve in KOF can be a challenge. In my experience (and others may disagree), unbalanced fights in KOF tend to be more one-sided than in other fighters.

Recently, I was at Carnival in Shinjuku, and played against a guy who just railroaded me. I got to his second character a few times, but it felt like he was just using me to practice his combos. (I can completely understand what you mean about coming out of the corner.) So then I switched to the other cabinet, where someone else was playing. To my complete surprise, I railroaded him. Straight victory.

My point is that, in my opinion, KOF is a fighter where the situation rarely puts both players back to a neutral position. The momentum of the round always keeps going, and the one in control is usually the player who's better at being aggressive. Once you feel you're on the defensive, you're already giving your opponent more of an advantage.

I don't know how many people you have to play with, but having someone who is only a bit higher-level than you can help a lot. When you have more chances to experiment outside of the corner, you can start figuring out (1) how you're getting put in it and (2) how you can stay out of it.

Good luck!

[desmond_kof]

The momentum of the round always keeps going, and the one in control is usually the player who's better at being aggressive. Once you feel you're on the defensive, you're already giving your opponent more of an advantage.

Hmm, I don't really know about that, in KOF you can truly control and slow the game down by being defensive and extremely patient. As long you properly react and anticipate your opponents habits, tendencies and patterns, as well as understanding the character you are facing, you can really turn the game into SF damn near, lol.

[Rex Dart]

That's true, and I did mean to emphasize the "usually." Typically, however, it's a lot harder to counter your opponent on reaction in KOF.

[desmond_kof]

That's true, and I did mean to emphasize the "usually." Typically, however, it's a lot harder to counter your opponent on reaction in KOF.

I agree with that, the game is really space oriented, so many times you have to just really anticipate and wait for things rather than to just blindly react.

[Amedø310]

Just keep playing and to add on what others have said, learn to block cross-ups. In GGPO,  Kim, Angel, Iori, and  Kyo players will do their cross-ups when ever they have a chance.

[the_judge]

I'm just gonna leave my input, though I will say I am no where close to an experienced player, or even know how to play the game well, so take this with a grain of salt.

First, you should consider KOF as a game where pressure and rush can be constant, with your options of escaping being either risky, or cost you meter. With that in mind, you want to obtain some form of training mode, and understand your characters best offense and defensive options. So much as learning the max range of a normal will help at interrupting the opponent's often random attempts of rushing in. So you wanna clarify which characters you wish to pursue, learn their optimal combos, along with the speed and hitboxes of their normals and special attacks.
Now you will need to play a lot and watch some videos (both Dark Geese and Emil's channels being good starting points). Take note of how someone may attack or defend in a situation, and think of a counterattack for either, while not necessarily spamming and hoping something works (like I did). If you and your opponent are at somewhat of a standoff, and no fireballs are being thrown, you should consider that the opponent may just dash at your, or jump in on you. You gotta be ready for this, because at times, if you did not prevent the rush from happening, your chances of getting out are only slimmer. Eventually, you will learn of these ways, and will have counterattacks for predictable rush patterns, and even a rush and pressure game of your own to employ on the opponent. Basically, it takes work, so prepare for the lumps.

Also, keep in mind that if the game in particular is 2002, you must do these things much faster. Being that damage is fairly high in 2002, and the timer is only 45 seconds in real time. So you have a lot less time to spare in terms of defending, where you could have spent that time attacking.

[Kane317]

Especially with elive Pro, upload your matches onto youtube and we can get a better understanding which areas you lack in and we can commentate on your match and give you some constructive coaching tips.

[metaphysics]

Elive pro is thie shizzzz !!lol

[necronomiCRON]

I'm getting beat terribly!! Are the mexican players really that good?!!! I can't seem to get an in on most of them and most times its me huddling in the corner taking a beat down.  Do I just continue to take the ass whooping until I just become like neo or is there another way? Is there something I need to put into practice more? What should I be working at so that I can finally land something. I definitely would love to come out of the corner.

Just learn the flow of the game. KoF is kind of a rock/paper/scissor system. For instance a jab beats a hop, a sweep beats a jab, and a hopping downward angled attack beats a sweep. Pay attention to what the opponent does and react accordingly. Most Mexicans are over aggressive, if you find ways to beat over aggressive opponents they won't know what hit them.