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What makes you a master is the ability to predict everything before it happens fast and automatically. A master swordman does not fear novices precisely becaus

What makes you a master is the ability to predict everything before it happens fast and automatically. A master swordman does not fear novices precisely because they know their movements before they do. They look at (imperceptible for amateurs) body language hints and know exactly what you are going to do before you do it. In reality there are physics constraints. Before you do a movement, you need to put weight in some part of the body, tense a muscle....e.g it is impossible to jump without a specific movement of going down and preloading. Not only that , they know exactly what is the best response to it to neutralize whatever comes to them.

Nadya 7y ago
It's a take from Mark Twain. >"But don't you know, there are some things that can beat smartness and foresight? Awkwardness and stupidity can. The best swordsman in the world doesn't need to fear the second best swordsman in the world; no, the person for him to be afraid of is some ignorant antagonist who has never had a sword in his hand before; he doesn't do the thing he ought to do, and so the expert isn't prepared for him; he does the thing he ought not to do: and often it catches the expert out and ends him on the spot." I played SSBB (Super Smash Bros. Brawl) competitively. I'd occasionally drop games to the worst players because they would choose one of several of the worst possible options available to them at any given time. I keep expecting them to react the "proper" way and so it would throw off my reads. Thankfully sets are best of 3. SSBB is a game entirely based on reads due to the characteristic lack of combos and "neutral position" being popular since there aren't many scenarios where you can build momentum in a favored position (unlike the more popular SSBM (Super Smash Bros. Melee) which has combos that allow you to create favored positions to keep momentum.
- asark 7y ago
  Similarly, I've observed that opponents who are too bad can really annoy players of both gambling and parlour-style card games. Their ideal opponent plays "correctly", but poorly.
- TheAceOfHearts 7y ago
  Tangentially related: "How Rangchu Did The Impossible With One of Tekken's Worst Characters" [0]. This guy beat the greatest Tekken players in the world with panda, which had previously been considered one of the weakest characters in the game. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHz2vDQ2m8E& https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHz2vDQ2m8E&

Nadya 7y ago

It's a take from Mark Twain. >"But don't you know, there are some things that can beat smartness and foresight? Awkwardness and stupidity can. The best swordsman in the world doesn't need to fear the second best swordsman in the world; no, the person for him to be afraid of is some ignorant antagonist who has never had a sword in his hand before; he doesn't do the thing he ought to do, and so the expert isn't prepared for him; he does the thing he ought not to do: and often it catches the expert out and ends him on the spot." I played SSBB (Super Smash Bros. Brawl) competitively. I'd occasionally drop games to the worst players because they would choose one of several of the worst possible options available to them at any given time. I keep expecting them to react the "proper" way and so it would throw off my reads. Thankfully sets are best of 3. SSBB is a game entirely based on reads due to the characteristic lack of combos and "neutral position" being popular since there aren't many scenarios where you can build momentum in a favored position (unlike the more popular SSBM (Super Smash Bros. Melee) which has combos that allow you to create favored positions to keep momentum.

asark 7y ago
Similarly, I've observed that opponents who are too bad can really annoy players of both gambling and parlour-style card games. Their ideal opponent plays "correctly", but poorly.
TheAceOfHearts 7y ago
Tangentially related: "How Rangchu Did The Impossible With One of Tekken's Worst Characters" [0]. This guy beat the greatest Tekken players in the world with panda, which had previously been considered one of the weakest characters in the game. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHz2vDQ2m8E& https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHz2vDQ2m8E&