I think my turning speed is holding me back.

[eastamazonantidote]

I noticed a lot of y2 and y moves during F2L. Also, a ton of F and F' moves. Learn to avoid those unless it is REALLY convenient. Actually, I couldn't stand them when I was your speed but now have started using them. Learn some better PLLs and start working on OLL. Your turn speed is not really holding you back too much but rather your inefficiency. Of course turning faster helps.

Otherwise, I agree with what everyone else has pointed out.

 

[Cride5]

...try holding them at the back. It make U much easier as well as executing RU triggers.

Yup this is what stood out when I watched it, and I'm guessing is a key factor behind the slow turning.

For U turns it looked like you were maybe using your ring finger or pinky. By default try to use your right index finger for U turns (left index for U'). Its stronger and more dexterous than the others, and should allow for faster, more precise turns.

EDIT: There's a nice site detailing some of the fundamental fingertricks here
Try doing R U R' really fast (almost as a single motion). It's the key to the R U R' U' trigger which often pops up in algs.

 

[Zarxrax]

Hmm... I was thinking about this for a while.

In order to do R, i have to hold the cube with my thumb on bottom and my other fingers on top. To do R', I hold it with thumb in front and the other fingers in back. Since R is probably my most common move, I end up with my fingers on top most of the time. If I do R', and then I need to do a U, then my pinky finger is in the perfect position to do this, so I pull U with my pinky, otherwise I would need to regrip.
Is this wrong?

Cride5: I tried looking at that site, but it complains I need to upgrade to flash player 6 (I have 10).

 

[Cride5]

In order to do R, i have to hold the cube with my thumb on bottom and my other fingers on top. To do R', I hold it with thumb in front and the other fingers in back. Since R is probably my most common move, I end up with my fingers on top most of the time. If I do R', and then I need to do a U, then my pinky finger is in the perfect position to do this, so I pull U with my pinky, otherwise I would need to regrip.
Is this wrong?

Your R' turns are fine, but with R turns I would try doing them with your thumb on front as well, then returning your grip back to that position. However, the best grip really depends on what follows the R or R'. For example, if you need to do an R' followed by a U, try going for thumb on top to start.

During algorithm execution, doing stuff like U turns with your pinky is fine, if needs be. With this sune alg: R U R' U R U2 R' the second U is done with my right ring finger. I find this much faster than taking a regrip after the R'.

In general though, thumb on front is a good neutral position, because it allows immediate execution of R, R', U and D' (for R2 U' or D I usually use re-grips or alternative fingers).

Overall, have a close look at your F2L move sequences. Even if you didn't learn the algorithms, there will be repeating patterns/insertions. Try them with different grips, using different fingers etc and find what works well for you. I did this alot with ZZ F2L because my left has to do the same amount of work as my right. I used techniques from my right hand to 'teach' my left how to do good algs/insertions.

Cride5: I tried looking at that site, but it complains I need to upgrade to flash player 6 (I have 10).

Hmm, strange. According to this I'm on version 9, but I thought all newer versions were backwards compatible.

Maybe try an older version of flash on a different browser profile. The videos are deffo worth looking at.

 

[Zarxrax]

Hmm, I'm always doing R U R' U' on my cube, and I think that's probably how I learned to grip it the way I do.
If only I had done R' U' R U instead...

 

[FatBoyXPC]

I'm no expert by any means, in fact I'm still not quite sub30 yet (I am quite incosistent but usually sub35, and here lately 3-4 out of 5 solves is sub30), but it also seems that during your F2L you are concentrating quite hard on what you are pairing up, almost as if it is not quite muscle memory. If you've been doing Fridrich F2L for a year now, all of the cases should almost be algorithmic (for yourself, not necessarily ones you've learned online).

For example, doing the RUR'U' x3 will get you that edge is correct but corner placed aboved it and flipped wrong. Almost all of the cases I do right now I can do just about as thoughtless as that. Sometimes when I pull edge pieces out I can't quite do that yet but it's still pretty quick. My main problem is getting the pair in the right slot while tracking my next pair to solve. But at the point you are, you should be able to execute almost all of your cases without much thought to the pair you are solving.

Just my two pennies.

 

[miniGOINGS]

Your turning speed is quite a lot slower than mine. My problem is my efficiency and recognition, yours seems to be turning speed. How fast can you T Perm?

 

[Zarxrax]

T-perm is probably my fastest PLL.
I just did an average of 12, and got 2.82. That includes the time to start/stop the timer.

 

[miniGOINGS]

I got 1.86. My best was 1.79, which I got 3 times. Why do you think you're faster at this alg than others?

 

[Zarxrax]

I dunno, it just flows really well. I can do it without having any pauses anywhere, while a lot of my other algs often have a pause somewhere, I guess (to regrip the cube).

 

[miniGOINGS]

If you look closely, the T Perm has 2 regrips in it. That should be 2 pauses, why don't you pause there?

 

[Zarxrax]

Because I'm able to still make the necessary turns WHILE I regrip

 

[miniGOINGS]

Exactly! Try doing moves, rotations, and regrips all at the same time, that way you almost never have to pause, at all.

 

[puzzlemaster]

Exactly! Try doing moves, rotations, and regrips all at the same time, that way you almost never have to pause, at all.

Very well put

 

[Zarxrax]

What are generally considered to be the best U perms? Bedmephistos? [R U'] [R U] [R U] [R U'] R' U' R2
Because I can't figure out any way to do these fast. So many R moves, and I would have to regrip after almost every one.

 

[iSpinz]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIvObcHs8-s&feature=related

 

[Jake Gouldon]

What are generally considered to be the best U perms? Bedmephistos? [R U'] [R U] [R U] [R U'] R' U' R2
Because I can't figure out any way to do these fast. So many R moves, and I would have to regrip after almost every one.

Yes, but they are VERY fast regrips. Work on flow and not using cube rotations for F2L, and work on TPS for your LL. Learn to do the sune a y2 away from in that first solve, it made me gag to see someone do it that way.

 

[Zarxrax]

Yes, but they are VERY fast regrips. Work on flow and not using cube rotations for F2L, and work on TPS for your LL. Learn to do the sune a y2 away from in that first solve, it made me gag to see someone do it that way.

Haha, yea, there is a certain sticker I look at to determine which sune case I have, and then I rotate around to a certain position to do the alg. I'll work on recognizing that one from all sides.

 

[miniGOINGS]

What are generally considered to be the best U perms? Bedmephistos? [R U'] [R U] [R U] [R U'] R' U' R2
Because I can't figure out any way to do these fast. So many R moves, and I would have to regrip after almost every one.

I only regrip once during that alg (and only twice during it's inverse).

Exactly! Try doing moves, rotations, and regrips all at the same time, that way you almost never have to pause, at all.

Very well put

Thanks!

 

[Dene]

- don't do U2 as two flicks of the same finger or as a wrist turn, always use an index-middle trigger (or thumb-index, but that can come later)

I'm just going to say "meh".

I very rarely use index-middle triggers. I force myself to on bigcubes, but on 3x3 I don't. I know that I should, but the main point I'm trying to make is that you can average sub15 with index-index. It is something I have been trying to work on for myself though, and is a bad habit of mine :rolleyes: