Hello!

[DeeDubb]

How did you learn your 3BLD? What video did you learn from? I am currently trying to do blindfolded but i can't understand what they are talking about.

I used Noah's OP/M2 Tutorial. It's long, but worth the watch for sure. I had to watch it multiple times. BLD solving is so frustrating, but rewarding.

I like Roux a lot too. I average like 1 minute plus with it. I saw that speedsolving method thread also. F2L just came more naturally to me than LSE. I don't think learning algs is difficult. DO one a day and you will know Full OLL/PLL in less than 3 months. I just like CFOP better because I suck at M slices.

Yeah, I didn't pick up Roux necessarily worrying about the algorithm memorization. I like the intuitive nature. I did memorize the 42 algorithms for CMLL, so I'm not averse to memorizing stuff

 

[FailCuber]

How often do suceed on solving the rubik's cube BLD. ALso, how much time did it take to learn and fully solve it?

 

[DeeDubb]

How often do suceed on solving the rubik's cube BLD. ALso, how much time did it take to learn and fully solve it?

The first solve took me about 3 or 4 days of trying. I haven't been working as much as I should, but my success rate is about 50%. One important thing is working on memory techniques, not just how to solve the cube. You have to train your brain, which is something I'm working on now.

 

[DeeDubb]

I got my AoLong yesterday, and I've been working with it pretty intensely. I broke my PB Ao100 by nearly a second, and I'm now sub 25. I also had more sub-20 solves in an ao100 than I've ever had before (7), and only one solve over 32 seconds in the whole 100. It was a nice round especially doing it all in one sitting... I have one more week until I hit 30 months. My goal is to break one more of my PBs before then.

 

[xsolver]

Nice job, keep it up.

 

[DeeDubb]

I finally broke my single PB. This one happened at a weird time. I was at a restaurant waiting for lunch and using my iphone for scrambles and times. I got a CMLL skip on a decent solve. It took over a month to break, because my last one was ridiculously easy. I had like a 3 move first block and 0 move second block, leading to a Sune CMLL. If I got that scramble today, I probably would sub-10 it. Anyway, glad to finally break the single, I knew it was coming soon, as I get sub-20 solves more and more frequently.

 

[GuRoux]

I finally broke my single PB. This one happened at a weird time. I was at a restaurant waiting for lunch and using my iphone for scrambles and times. I got a CMLL skip on a decent solve. It took over a month to break, because my last one was ridiculously easy. I had like a 3 move first block and 0 move second block, leading to a Sune CMLL. If I got that scramble today, I probably would sub-10 it. Anyway, glad to finally break the single, I knew it was coming soon, as I get sub-20 solves more and more frequently.

wow, congratulations! Looks like you broke it by about a second. If you still have that old pb scramble, i would love to try it. maybe my new pb if it really is that.

 

[DeeDubb]

wow, congratulations! Looks like you broke it by about a second. If you still have that old pb scramble, i would love to try it. maybe my new pb if it really is that.

Actually, it was a misscramble. I was so bummed I couldn't reconstruct it. I still counted the PB though

 

[PJKCuber]

When did you start speedcubing? Your progress is pretty nice. I have been speedcubing since around May 10 2014, but I learned to solve in March. I had exams... How much do you average? I average sub 30.(Still learning F2L Look Ahead which should take me to sub 20)

 

[DeeDubb]

When did you start speedcubing? Your progress is pretty nice. I have been speedcubing since around May 10 2014, but I learned to solve in March. I had exams... How much do you average? I average sub 30.(Still learning F2L Look Ahead which should take me to sub 20)

You don't really "learn" look ahead. You just practice, and it comes. Also, don't get upset if your progress starts slowing. I'm just under 3 months of speed solving. Progress has slowed, but it's still moving forward, so I can't complain too much.

Also, how are you defining being "sub-30"? For me, I just hit sub 25, because I had my first sub-25 average of 100. I have an Ao5 almost under 20, but I know I'm not really close to Sub-20.

 

[mark49152]

You don't really "learn" look ahead. You just practice, and it comes.

You can do specific practice to develop it more quickly, though.

 

[DeeDubb]

You can do specific practice to develop it more quickly, though.

Honestly, I like how Feliks put it. The best way to get faster at every step is to practice full solves, both timed and untimed. I think that's what's given me the best results. Look ahead seems to come especially from practice. Look ahead seems to me to be less about looking for the next move, and more about having the previous move automated. I think you naturally look for the next thing once you are automatic on the previous move. You can't look ahead if you still have to think about the steps for your current move, and the best way to automate your moves is just to practice over and over.

 

[PJKCuber]

Yeah, I am practicing lookahead. I just kind got used to saying I'm learning look ahead because all of the the tutorials say that they will help you to "learn look ahead". Yes, I just did an Average of 100 today and it was 28.95. Just barely sub 30. Haha Congratulations on hitting sub 25. True,true, at my stage of CFOP, look ahead is the only thing that will reduce a big chunk off of my times. I am learning full PLL, but that will only shave off at max 2-3 seconds. With full PLL, comes another thing to practice which is PLL recognition. I guess my progress is kinda slowing down, but look ahead will reduce 6-7 seconds as it eliminates the pausing between F2L pairs. But one thing is true- Unless I get the hang of look ahead, my times wont improve substantially. Even if I practice a lot(Without lookahead), learn full OLL/PLL, do x-cross, COLL and other complex stuff, I won't get sub 15. Hey, but it is harder to improve once you get faster. So wei the long face?

 

[mark49152]

Honestly, I like how Feliks put it. The best way to get faster at every step is to practice full solves, both timed and untimed.

For some people (like Feliks, Kennan and you) that's apparently enough. Others (like me) struggle to move ahead without targeted practice. It's a valid approach.

In tennis, if my serve sucks, I practice my serve. If my backhand sucks, I practice my backhand. I don't think you'll find any successful tennis player who just goes out and plays tennis over and over with no specific training.

Unlike tennis, cubing seems to have a few people who don't need, choose or care for targeted practice, but that doesn't mean it's not a worthwhile tool.

 

[GuRoux]

all my lookahead development was without targeted pracice.

 

[mark49152]

all my lookahead development was without targeted pracice.

That proves it can't possibly be helpful then...

 

[DeeDubb]

For some people (like Feliks, Kennan and you) that's apparently enough. Others (like me) struggle to move ahead without targeted practice. It's a valid approach.

In tennis, if my serve sucks, I practice my serve. If my backhand sucks, I practice my backhand. I don't think you'll find any successful tennis player who just goes out and plays tennis over and over with no specific training.

Unlike tennis, cubing seems to have a few people who don't need, choose or care for targeted practice, but that doesn't mean it's not a worthwhile tool.

lol, I'm not in their league. To me, the theory of targeted practice doesn't really make much sense in cubing, especially for an idea as abstract as "look ahead". It makes a bit more sense with algorithms, but maybe you can show me a video about look ahead that gives specific targeted practice techniques, because every video I see on look ahead just kind of explains the idea of it and why it's important, but doesn't really explain how to get better at it.

There might come a point where I feel like one of my steps is no longer worth practicing, so I should focus on another step, but by that time, the whole solve should be fast enough that practicing the entire solve doesn't really slow down my practice anyway.

 

[mark49152]

To me, the theory of targeted practice doesn't really make much sense in cubing, especially for an idea as abstract as "look ahead". It makes a bit more sense with algorithms, but maybe you can show me a video about look ahead that gives specific targeted practice techniques, because every video I see on look ahead just kind of explains the idea of it and why it's important, but doesn't really explain how to get better at it.

I know nothing about Roux, but for CFOP many people recommend blind practice for improving look ahead. The point of look ahead is that you are looking for what you are going to do next rather than looking at the pieces you are currently solving. That's not going to be easy if you can't solve pieces without looking at them! So a good exercise to start with is to find the corner and edge of an F2L pair, close your eyes, and connect-and-insert them without looking.

That one is pretty easy. The next step is to solve them blind while focusing on something else. Try this: find the pieces for two F2L pairs, then close your eyes, and insert one pair while mentally tracking how the other two pieces move. It's surprisingly difficult! Even with eyes shut, the brain wants to mentally watch the pieces being solved. When I first tried doing this, I lost the ability to even insert the pair, let alone follow the other pieces. But after a lot of practice it got easier, and I noticed that in my solves (with eyes open ) it also became a lot easier to take my eyes off the pieces I'm solving and look around the cube more.

I did see the video where Feliks says full solves are the best practice, but I've also read somewhere that he can solve two F2L pairs blind - so the exercise above, plus insert the second pair.

Another method that gets recommended a lot is to solve to a metronome beat, but I don't like that, because it tries to enforce no pauses without really helping develop the skills to avoid them.

Targeted practice isn't essential, but it can be beneficial, and it can be fun.

 

[GuRoux]

Targeted practice works more efficiently for algs since you just keep doing the algs over and over. Lookahead will come over time after many solves smooth turning. Personally, I don't really like targeted practice mostly because you spend more time scrambling and less time solving than if you scrambled and solved the whole cube.

 

[DeeDubb]

I like the idea of blind solving the cross for CFOP/First Block for Roux (which I'm still not great at), because it helps you use your inspection time well. I practice this during my untimed solves, as well as practicing color neutrality things and new block building things. There's two reason why targeted practice doesn't appeal to me. First of all, you break the solve into steps, and I think the fastest solvers blend the steps together. They finish one step setting up for the next, and targeted practice doesn't address this. Second of all, the only reason I would do targeted practice is because I think one or more of my steps is now perfect, and all of my steps are far from perfect, so they all warrant practice.