As promised in Part I, here are some links I’m finding helpful in my quest to descrub myself.

SHORYUKEN!  Both the site and the forum are  a daily resource.  Strategy discussion, combos, everything an aspiring high-level player needs.  Word of warning: this isn’t a site for newbs.  Don’t barge in there and ask people how to fireball.  Best thing to do is keep quiet and read and search the forums for information until you get level ground under your feet.  The Tech Talk sub-forum is my favorite because it has, among other topics, lots of information for building arcade joysticks.  Not really related to descrubbing, but building them is a fun hobby.

Playing to Win by David Sirlin is an e-book, or whatever you kids are calling them these days, that takes a look at the mindset of competitive players and what assumptions and baggage players need to shed to become them.  Whether you understand competitive gaming or just think you do, this is required reading.

There are two posts over at Teahawk’s blog with some drills for improving your game.  The first article details a blocking drill you can run to improve your defensive capabilities.  So many people new to these games only realize blocking exists when they lose to someone who can do it effectively.  The second article is concerned with a drill for improving your execution of special moves.  The fundamental idea is that just like the jab or roundhouse, the special moves are part of the building blocks of a successful player.  If you can’t fireball or dragon punch as easily as you can throw out a normal move, you should hit up these drills.

If any of you run across or have a favorite resource for competitive game training like these, feel free to drop a link in the comments.