Thoughts on Bar Hugging

What do you define as "competitively"? There are several players at the arcade that I go to that will play with me in a PA match. Sometimes I beat them, sometimes they beat me, but we're always trying to out do each other. I don't use the bar, ever. Some others do use the bar. Granted, I can't compete with the best of the best, but I do strive to get better and better, right now I have a little over 70 charts on Supernova 2 to AA, including 10 footers. Afterward I plan on bringing many of my scores down (or up, depending on how you look at it). Trust me, I'm competitive, at least within my skill level.

So to say only those who don't play competitively don't use the bar is just plain wrong.

By "competitively" he means playing in tournaments.

I'd play in tournaments if we actually had them around here.

I was actually saying that it's those who don't play competitively who think nobody should use the bar for any reason.

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Ahhh ok, then that statement I do agree with. I may not use the bar myself, but I do agree that many players will use the bar to inch out that extra bit of perfection, even on easier songs.

Not only that, some people (original poster) seem to have problems with bar players because a small group of people they see at their local arcade who happen to play with the bar are dicks. That doesn't make playing the bar wrong, it just makes them dicks.

But yeah, the point still stands. If you want to perform better you use the bar. That you can't really argue as the best nobar player in the world got better when he started using the bar. As such you can summise that anyone who doesn't use the bar isn't playing to get the best scores they can really get, and a such isn't a competetive player.


It's good to be able to play without it if you enjoy playing without it, but if you play with the aim to be as good as you can be, then you won't care about how well you can play nobar. No big tournaments ban bar use, and most of the best players won't even go to ones that do. Apart from in PIU, but that's a different game.

Is snaking really banned in MK? That doesn't help any case against me btw. As a TO myself 'iffy' bans like that are something I find questionable anyway, hehe.

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Eh, I don't believe you HAVE to use the bar to get better. The only thing the bar will allow you that no bar will not is the speed at which you can hit the arrows. You can hit arrows at lot faster holding the bar than without it. Yes, you will probably do better holding the bar, that is, if you ever learn how to use the bar. Back on SN1, I would play FELM with bar at first, but later switched to no bar and performed much better without it. I've never done better on a song with bar vs without bar. If I were to start playing bar more often, but I could be better, but as it stands now, I'm worse holding the bar.

This is like saying you have to use speed mods to be a better player, everyone uses speed mods and players typically who use them do worse without speed mods, but that doesn't mean you have to use speed mods to AAA something like bag.

I just think using the bar uses a different set of skills than no bar. Using the bar takes lowers the importance on things such as the need to balance, lowering your center of gravity, the ability to turn quickly, building stamina etc and pretty much focuses mostly on keeping rhythm.

If you learn to use the bar, you will do better with it that you do no bar. It's not there to put all your weight on, it's just there to stop you having to worry so much about balance.

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Sometimes i play bareless, and i really like this. I think it's easier to make the good moves (crossovers), i discover some crossovers on AA or Keep on movin' (for exemple) while i was playing barless. Even i played it before, but with the bar.
I have some of my best score barless (like "Un Deux Trois", i got 2 greats twice).

But, i assume that i mostly play with bar, even the 5/6 feet. I'm feeling more confortable with the bar.
Yes, 5/6 feet with the bar even i can pass 10's and some easy 11's barless, but i don't care.
I play like i want to play.

The only thing make me sad, is when i saw i beginner (level 0 to 4 feet) playing with the bar... :s
He plays with the bar just because he saw someone "good" playing with the bar.
even i play with the bar, i think the beginners should'nt play with it. It's useless when you start + it's not how you suposed to learn how to play.

Learn the stepchart ? Cause' bag have some steps off-beat before DDRX. :s

Anyway, in my opinion, everyone do like they want to do if they put the token in the machine. Except things like this :
- play more than one game when other people want to play
- being an asshole with other people (players or not)

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