This is an on-going series where I discuss the thinking involved in Street Fighter that I’ve applied to basketball. If you want to see earlier entries in the series, hit the link: Part 1: Spacing, Part 2: Punishing Mistakes, Part 3: Resource Management
Exploitation of Weaknesses
When I play the computer in Street Fighter IV as Akuma, regardless of difficulty, I can almost always land a Raging Demon. I don’t know what the guys at Capcom did about the AI, but 99% of the time when I input that command, the computer just stands there and eats it. Human opponents in general are tougher to fool, but virtually everyone has weaknesses of some sort. When I play an opponent, one of the very first things I check is my opponent’s ability to block a cross-up. It’s a tactic that most casual players don’t understand and won’t figure out how to counteract it within the span of one match. When I notice that my opponent doesn’t have an answer for that, or any other tactic that I throw at them, I will repeatedly use that tactic until I win or until my opponent finds an answer.
Finding weaknesses in your opponent and exploiting them is just as relevant to the game of basketball. One of the first things I look for as a defender is their ability to dribble with their off-hand. If they can’t dribble with their off hand well, I will position myself so that they’ll have to use it more. As an offensive player, I’ll check to see if I can get easily get past my defender for a layup. If so, I’m going to keep scoring layups until my opponent can stop me. Sometimes the weaknesses are very specific, such as figuring out that your defender will always fall for a pump fake. Whatever that weakness is, finding the holes in their game and taking advantage of it is one of the biggest keys to success not just in Street Fighter or basketball, but pretty much anything competitive.
Playing Street Fighter has not improved my jump shot or given me the ability to execute a 360 dunk. What it has done, is allow me to think about the sport from a different perspective. Being able to see the sport differently has made me more aware of what’s happening and allowed me to better react. I think it’s the analogy factor that’s made this whole thing possible. By being able to think in terms that I can quickly and easily process, I’m able to better react. Street Fighter just happens to be a good analogy for me.
In Third Person 