Summary from the Japan Trip

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So I have returned yesterday from the Japan trip and I had a wonderful time overseas. Japan is a very interesting place in multiple ways, so if anyone is thinking about ever going there: Please do. The people are nice, the architecture is diverse and the culture is rich. And the food x__x

I wanted to write a bit more about the fighting game aspect though - especially in regards to Guilty Gear.

First of all: You can learn a lot when you travel to Japan with the goal to level up. I have been there for 3 weeks and I feel I have improved far more in these 3 weeks than I had in 6 months in Europe. There are multiple reasons for this, but this is not to say that Europe is weak - thats far from the truth.
You can learn a lot because first of all - Japan is diverse. They have a lot of players, and with that they also have a lot of different playstyles per character. I only saw 5 other high-level Kum-Players which is a very low number for a GG character (he is the least played character in the arcades), and yet their approach on the character was completely different than I had approached him. 2 out of these 5 were also "top-notch players", while the other three were strong, but not stronger than I felt I was. In europe I struggle to find another Kum Player besides me - and I would even then struggle with someone I felt was "strong".
The key point I suppose is: For some characters we definitely have players that can hang with the japanese players. However, most of the time its 1 player per character that is noteworthy, with the exception of Faust. So while we get a good feel for the toolset of that character, what we essentially learn is the player matchup, and not the character matchup. That's why diversity helps the japanese in the arcades: Because its the arcades they cannot choose who they fight, and because they have a lot of variety, they get to experience different kinds of situations with the same toolsets, that we simply cannot have because we lack that kind of diversity.

Secondly: The ranking system in the arcades.
I know that the Ranking System in the netplay is looked down upon, but I sincerely feel that the ranking system in the arcades is a very good incentive for foreigners to level up. While not necessarily the reason for the strength of the japanese, the ranks do help the japanese to raise their average strength up. People can use the ranks to determine the estimated player level of who they are about to challenge - and also use it for their personal relative strength.
Let me tell you this: Most europeans would struggle to overcome rank 10. That is not because the people in Europe are all weak, but because the gap between the good and the not-good players is simply too big in Europe. After rank 10, I believe the good players from EU would easily get to rank 18 or higher. The best player might top out at rank 25. I am not sure if anyone from us would get gold rank. There are two to three players that I feel might make it. But I am not too sure.
The cool thing about the ranking system is it allows you to store data to your players guild that you can review. How many air throws have you done? How many overheads did you block? Which Matchups do you frequently lose to? In which areas are the strongest registered players? This information is super useful (albeit only available in japanese). So maybe as a small note, we europeans should start utilizing the ranking matches in our netplay?

Third point: Arcades.
This may seem like a no-brainer, but the arcades offer more than just "offline players". There are many things that play into becoming stronger just by playing in an arcade - and its not just "the feel of being in an arcade". That thing is BS by the way.
1. Every cabinet feels different. Just like how every button, stick etc feels different dependent on who plays on it, every cabinet has a different kind of stick that might be the same brand, but is simply more or less loosened because of who likes to play on that cab. That way, you become way more conscious of your inputs, and don't put it off as a "i just have to pmode it away", but rather actively think "I didnt hit the stick angle right, I should hit it further on this cab". You adapt faster, your execution gets better and most important: You get more self conscious.
2. Every coin counts. And no, you dont know how it might feel. You dont just feel regret when you lose, every mistake you make, every bad airdash you do, every dropped hitconfirm weighs on your shoulder not just because you invested money in it, but because you have wasted a finite number of gameplay seconds that you have available for that day. You have to leave the cab when you lose and you might not play for another 15 minutes, and even if you COULD play immediately afterwards: How many 100 yen coins do you still have? For 3 weeks I had 500 matches. I won 225 of these, so I had to pay for 60% of the matches. Thats roughly 275€ that I've spent just to play. Thats a freaking lot of money!
3. You dont get to choose who challenges you. You dont know how often I felt "why another Axl player...", but that exactly made me look at that matchup with serious intent. Every time I saw an Axl ID, I was reviewing the previous matches in my head and what I had to keep in mind. This coupled with the fact that the MU that you had to play might change up frequently in a matter of minutes meant you had to adapt fast - yeah you played very well versus that Gold Rank Johnny, but can you switch up to play versus that Rank 18 May? I know I couldn't.

Point 4: Commitment from the players.
I know this point is something where I butt my head onto other people, but it is absolutely true and when you are in japan it becomes even more obvious: People might see it as a hobby in japan as well, but hobby does not mean you dont take it seriously. Strong players in japan play often, they play regularly and they even travel +1 hour at least 2-3 times a week if thats what they have to do. To be fair, travelling is cheap in japan in comparison to germany, but remember - it cost me roughly 280€ just to play in the arcades for 2 1/2 weeks. So the only way to cut money is to get so good that you never have to pay more than for 5 matches ever. And in the arcade setting that's something that you simply cannot calculate with (I took 3 matches vs Karinchu in 9 matches - thats how unpredictable it can get). I saw 310 Venom more often in the arcade than I'd like to admit, and the same goes for other very strong players like Sharon, Nage or FAB. (By the way: 310 is a god) So swallowing the bitter pill of having to travel, and travelling often is what makes their community way more willed to improve than what I see from a lot of players from us.

Finally, I would like to say that I absolutely recommend a trip to japan to anyone. If you want to improve your game in Guilty Gear, you absolutely have to visit Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. There are also other areas that are very good to level up - speak with the japanese and do it!
Even if you just want to have a nice vacation Japan has a lot to offer.

I would like to thank:
@310_progressive
for all the matches where he bodied me. His Venom is amazing and I learnt so much from him.

@chapp_chipp
for being an amazing guy! So fun to be with. Crazy Chipp! I love it!

@hontosumanhossa
for being another Kum player I look up to. Let's make people realize Kum's potential!

@SvampenBuri
For being super strong and willing to chill with us. Also enlightened us on how strong the Osaka scene is! Give this guy a follow, he's awesome.

My travelling crew Atthegates, mik, Dracula and arit for being awesome partners and making this trip especially awesome. I came to see a lot due to them and we were able to exchange a lot of information and learnings - it couldnt have been as good without them.

KenDeep, out!

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