Height and DDR

How do you think height affects DDR playing(if it all)? There's a DDR club at my school, and there are 2 members of the club who joined last year. They were both standard players at the time. Now, the one member who's 5'6" can pass some 11's and the member who's 6'6" can only pass some 9's. A thread was posted on DDR Freak a few years ago saying that it's a disadvantage to be 6'0" or more.

I've read that shorter people can accelerate their body faster and step faster, but being tall might be an advantage on doubles. It also might be more difficult to keep your balance or use the bar if you're too tall.

I'm 5'11" 1/2 and I haven't noticed my height affecting my DDR play, except when the screen is too low.

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I don't think height affects that much.
Unless if you're too short, maybe around 140 cm or bellow,
that's a problem.

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I would imagine that being tall would make it easier since you wouldn't have to move around quite as much between the panels and if you're a bar user you would have a better grip on it.

Even so, I don't think height has a whole lot to do with it. It may give you a slight (dis)advantage, but it still has to do mostly with skill.

In my case (I'm 5' 10" or 1m78), the only thing that affects my gameplay are the marquee lights, as they are at eye level. It does make sense, however, that taller folk may have an easier time with doubles, with stretch jumps and all. And shorter people do have it somewhat easier with movement, due to their shorter legs. However, this all depends on weight as well. I'm 240lbs (109kg or 17+ stone), and I move at a decent speed, enough to clear Dragon Blade or Calico Cat Rock , but not enough for more complex stuff like DoLL .

also what affects your ability to play DDR is your technique. when stepping on a series arrows you need to use certain feet to make it less tiring to move around. When stepping on 8th notes, in a right down left pastern for example, you must use your right foot to step on right, your left foot to step on down and your right foot to step on left. if you use the right foot on right, left foot to hit down and left, it tires out your leg more and also decreases timing.
unfortunately i developed a bad habit of using a improper technique. i'm now trying to learn how to use it more by playing Sunkiss Drop which requires a lot of this technique.
anyway to get back on topic i do think height does affect DDR ability. weight also affects ability too because when there are jump arrows you are applying stress on your legs. thus, you can get tired out more easily

wow that's a lot of words

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Okay, first I'll address the original case, of two guys, same experience, different height, one coming out more skilled. My bet is that the one that came out more skilled pressed harder on building stamina and on playing technique. That alone will make far more of a difference than height or weight.

Shorter, less massive people do have some advantages, but only for certain motions/techniques. For crossing over in stuff like R&P and CSFILSM, a shorter person will be able to do crossovers faster due to having less mass to turn, and a lower center of gravity. However, they have the disadvantage for bar use: if they use both hands, they have trouble reaching the up arrow with the right foot while putting the left on the right arrow. So you'll sometimes see shorter bar players switch to one hand for crossovers like that.
People who have more trouble turning for crossovers can simply double step them, and still do quite well. I've seen it myself in the arcades. Once you have double stepping down, it's not really a problem.
Both of these techniques can be ignored by bracketing, or near bracketing, for players of any height. Once again, use of better technique can overcome any height or weight problems.
I think singles is even for people of any height. You simply have to play differently depending on your dexterity and reach.

For doubles, taller people definitely have an advantage. There are some charts that I simply wouldn't expect a short person to be able to do. Disconnected Disco expert is one, BYM is another, and .59 would have a couple troublesome spots for short people. Being taller makes it easier to hit up and down on different pads at the same time, which is the farthest I've had to stretch. Being taller also helps for hitting the edge panels if you play with the bar. Generally, taller people have longer arms.
Bracketing as it's done in singles isn't really feasible on doubles, though you can still find opportunities to bracket a few steps here and there, thus reducing the penalty of having a harder time turning. Near bracketing is also semi feasible, you just have to know when to actually hit the center of the middle panels. This can be used to compensate for less height, though the double down freezes and jumps will still be hard, depending on leg length.

So, if you see one person advancing faster than another, the one that's advancing faster is probably pushing themselves harder, playing more often, and concentrating on technique more. Height and weight don't make anywhere near as much of a difference as motivation does.

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I haven't measured or weighed myself recently, but I'm about 5' 6" and 110 lbs. When I play Doubles and there's a stretch step, I don't have to jump, but I can't "walk" from one arrow to another. As for Singles, I don't use the bar and I only have trouble with certain crossover patterns. If you're TOO short, however, you shouldn't use the bar and you could be too light to hold the freeze arrow. Speaking of which, I sort of have that problem. One of the arrows on the arcade pad here is less sensitive, thus more likely to let go of freeze arrows, but since I'm so thin, it's possible that anyone else either doesn't have that problem or doesn't care.

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I'm roughly 5'7" and 120lbs (170cm, 55kg). I don't think I have any trouble with my height and weight when playing at all. Even playing Doubles, I've not really had that much of a problem. I think my legs are slightly longer than a normal person at this height, though.

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I'm 5'10". Being a few inches taller would actually be helpful, because it would let me get a more natural grip in the bar.

When both players are relatively unskilled, the taller person is probably going to get tired faster because they likely will be moving more. Using the bar mitigates a lot of that. If you ever get to where you can play the brackets like DukAmok or flatfoot like Calimist, you're going to be moving so little that your height is pretty much irrelevant.

If you're playing more like this guy,

I suspect height would matter more.

You haven't actually watched that guys videos. If you had, you would have noticed the he uses the exact same techniques bar players us. He uses only his heel for down, only his toes for up, only uses his toe or heel when crossing over, and brackets when he needs to. The only difference is that he doesn't need/use the bar for balance. So I'd say that height isn't a help or a hindrance for him either.

As for your height preventing a natural grip on the bar, search youtube for kboywhatevur. He's barely taller than the bar and uses it just fine, just grips it lower with a more straight back arm position. It's supposed to be more for balance and not support anyway.

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I'm about 5'6, 170-180 pounds give or take. I don't have much trouble playing DDR than my friends. I just need to work on stamina (obviously) and refine my crossover skills.

When I play in the arcade and decide to use the bar, I use one hand on the bar for certain patterns or grip the two supports instead of the bar itself when I feel myself beginning to get tired/failing.

I've always thought that height sort of mattered in terms of DDR but apparently it doesn't since skill and stamina get rid of that factor.

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I'm 5' 6" and can play level 10s pretty well. The only hindrance for me is that I'm 96 lbs and that prevents me from holding down freeze arrows.

When he isn't bracketing, he moves around


a lot more than Rynker


or Calimist


Whether that makes things harder on him, I can't say for sure. That's why it said it might.


I didn't say it was a problem, but that I would like it better. I sweat a lot, and if I held onto the bar like that kid my hand would probably slip off. I prefer to have my hand on top of the bar. I'm not tall enough to comfortably put both hands on top of it, so I just use one most of the time.

Him moving around more just means his use of the technique isn't as refined and controlled. It doesn't mean he isn't using the same technique.
Moving around more does make things harder, because it makes the song more of a stamina drain.

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And if you're taller, you're probably going to be moving around more. . .

As far as doubles go, I'm 5'7'', and I don't have a problem hitting the arrows usually. But if I have to use the bar(s) for support, I can't really hit the up arrows. I think if I were a few inches taller, my legs would be longer and it might be easier. Other than that it's all good.

Oh, if anyone was wondering, I'm 5'11" 150lbs. I don't have a problem with stretch steps on doubles, and I play no bar. Only reason I can't do 11s is because I don't feel like adopting the techniques everybody else uses.

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