understanding high level play (why we can't catch up to japan)

I'm speaking for the Guilty Gear crowd specifically; I honestly have no idea how cocky the Capcom crowd is. However, I know that John Choi beat out Bas in EVO finals last year, so they can actually back their shit up.

We, in fighting game America, have a lot of big egos. We steal from online videos, forums, and blogs, then hone our homebrew styles to reasonable success. Once we can beat the U.S. we say: let's fucking take on the big dogs. We're amazing in America, so why can't we be amazing in Japan? The answer is simpler than you think.

Problem #1: Distance

This is the primary reason why America is so far behind Japan in terms of high level play. Where they can just hop on a train and arrive at a four-floor arcade and play some of the best people in the country, America gets the chance to play each other maybe twice a year at major tournaments AT BEST. This factor leads us directly into the second problem.

Problem #2: Lack of Constant Competition

We don't know our matchups. Each area only has a handful of truly great players that show potential and a solid grasp of the game, and usually, they've only mastered one character. Japan's highly dense population allows them to play all different kinds of matchups all the time. Over here, we just play the same dudes over and over again and learn habits that won't necessarily carry over to the next player. It's tough because we can't afford to be flying all the time all over the country just to play against the best players of their respective characters.

Problem #3: Lack of Discipline

We, in America, play little and understand even less. When Hellmonkey was showing me some technicalities of the game, I was literally blown away. It went this deep? It became science and math as you analyze frame data, hitboxes, the uses of instant blocking, FDing, disadvantage, frame advantage, and fitting all of that into the multiple layers of yomi. Over here, we just hit buttons and things die. We mash throw on wake up and we spam reversals. In Japan, you might win a few games doing that, and once they know what kind of stuff you're made of, they'll kill you for playing unsafely. 

Problem #4: Netplay Technology Fails

The last hope for America lies in netplay. Unfortunately, current technology does not support lagless play, meaning the timing of combos and reactions will be off. This is an unavoidable circumstance and predicament that American players are faced with.

So when I hear people running their mouths about how they think they can take on Japan, I'd really want to ship them there and see how they'd do on the first day. It looks easy in the videos because you don't see everything. As you develop more mature eyes for fighting games, you will then understand how truly difficult it is to play there. 

Final projects. I'm dying...slowly. Fuuuuuucckkkk lol. Soul Eater 49 hype, Toradora! 24 good but loose, finished the entire FMP! series finally, and reviews for a bunch of animes coming up. Also, talking a bit about my artwork (which I've been meaning to do forever).