Mental Thoughts as a Beginner Cuber

[Nathanael]

I learnt to solve a Rubiks Cube over 4 years ago now but only got back into speedcubing recently. I current;y average a 30 sec solve but by looking at other people's times, I always feel like I'm one of the worst cubers. Am I really quite bad compared to other cubers and is there any good ways to overcome this psychological barrier?

Also, I'm going to my first comp in 9 days; what should I expect?

 

[Mischiiii]

I started cubing this year in mid July. I’m currently averaging around 45 seconds although I know 4LLL (soon 3LLL just GPerms left). So i guess i can relate to you. I also think I’m far behind of what i could’ve achieved in this time. But you just have to accept everyone learns at his/her own pace. Also not everyone has the same time on his hands than other cubers. Me for example. I’m 28 and although i don’t have kids yet i don’t have much free time for cubing. I would say don’t focus on other peoples improvements and just look at yourself. And i guess that should be the focus of your first competition as well.

 

[PetrusQuber]

For competition experience, watch the competitor tutorial by Kit Clement, make sure you know the basics of the WCA regulations, and maybe watch a video of a competition. Oh yes, and you should be prepared to judge. Search up how to judge WCA competitions.
There’s generally a intro for new competitors, so don’t miss that out
Edit: And enjoy yourself meeting new cubers!


Oh yes, and the best way to overcome that barrier is to improve . Or just think you can solve a cube faster than 99% of the world’s population.

 

[Zeede]

Heck my PB is 45.50, so don't worry, there's at least one guy (me) who is a lot slower than you.

My personal best average is 1:03, btw

 

[CodingCuber]

If you’re looking at videos of solves and stuff, remember that those youtubers mostly have years of experience. Trust me, 4 months ago I would have thought I would never get a sub 20 solve, but now I have 5 sub 20s. The key is always practice.

 

[White KB]

I learnt to solve a Rubiks Cube over 4 years ago now but only got back into speedcubing recently. I current;y average a 30 sec solve but by looking at other people's times, I always feel like I'm one of the worst cubers. Am I really quite bad compared to other cubers and is there any good ways to overcome this psychological barrier?

Also, I'm going to my first comp in 9 days; what should I expect?

Don't worry: I have been cubing for 2 3/4 years by the 16th and although I used to average 27, I average 35.
30 IS GREAT FOR ANY CUBER IN MY OPINION.
And I didn't get a sub-30 PB until I had been cubing for 1 1/2 years, so you're fine!

 

[White KB]

If you are averaging 30 then you are better than 95% of cubers who have ever competed.

True.

 

[G0ingInsqne]

I used to average 60-75 seconds about 3-4 years ago, but I recently (mid-October) picked up speedcubing again. Bought myself a good speedcube and set to work. Now I average around 23 with CFOP and 3.5LLL. It really just comes with practice, dedication, and a will to improve. Set to work learning those algs and get better F2L. I have a comp soon too, hopefully can average sub 20 by then!

 

[GenTheSnail]

If you are averaging 30 then you are better than 95% of cubers who have ever competed.

um no

My brother has an official 33 average and 30 single and he's ranked 70k and 80k respectively. As there are *roughly* 130k 3x3 competitors, if you average 30 then you are the better than 40% of cubers who have ever competed. To be in the top 5%, you would need to average low 12.

Not to say that a 30 average is bad, it's quite good, but saying that it's <insert rank>, when that fact is easily verifiable is lazy and wrong.
/rant

To OP:

What can you expect at your first competition?

As everyone else in the thread has said, watching the WCA tutorial should help you get an idea about what solving is like. Cyo made another video interviewing cubing stars about their experiences at their first competition; I think it gives a good idea of what competitions are like (although many of them have been competing for a while so their first competition might have been in 2011 and things have changed).
In addition, everyone is friendly and you can go sit down a table and say it's your first competition. You'll have a great time.

Also, depending on the size, with a 30 second average, you could have an okayish chance at making it to the second round. You can look at what percentage of people advance to the next round and then see where a 30 second average is on the psych sheet on the WCA page for your competition.

 

[EngiNerdBrian]

I learnt to solve a Rubiks Cube over 4 years ago now but only got back into speedcubing recently. I current;y average a 30 sec solve but by looking at other people's times, I always feel like I'm one of the worst cubers. Am I really quite bad compared to other cubers and is there any good ways to overcome this psychological barrier?

Also, I'm going to my first comp in 9 days; what should I expect?

Hey there I've cubed off and on for 11 years and your currently faster than me! Don't worry about other people's times though, each of us lives different lives and has and WANTS to put different amounts of time into cubing. We often talk about "how long" we've been cubing for but we all practice for a different amount in a given period of time. On top of that the QUALITY of each of our practices is different.

Just set little goals for your self and keep making small strides, you'll look back a month or two down the road and say, "Yeah, I'm doing that much better now." That's progress! Given you're already at 30s I'd definitely say you're doing well and that's very respectable time!

Philosophical takeaway: Don't compare yourself to others, but if your must always remember that the best way to be better than others is to be better than your current self!

 

[Nathanael]

T

Hey there I've cubed off and on for 11 years and your currently faster than me! Don't worry about other people's times though, each of us lives different lives and has and WANTS to put different amounts of time into cubing. We often talk about "how long" we've been cubing for but we all practice for a different amount in a given period of time. On top of that the QUALITY of each of our practices is different.

Just set little goals for your self and keep making small strides, you'll look back a month or two down the road and say, "Yeah, I'm doing that much better now." That's progress! Given you're already at 30s I'd definitely say you're doing well and that's very respectable time!

Philosophical takeaway: Don't compare yourself to others, but if your must always remember that the best way to be better than others is to be better than your current self!

Thank you! You've been a great help!

 

[Owen Morrison]

um no

My brother has an official 33 average and 30 single and he's ranked 70k and 80k respectively. As there are *roughly* 130k 3x3 competitors, if you average 30 then you are the better than 40% of cubers who have ever competed. To be in the top 5%, you would need to average low 12.

Not to say that a 30 average is bad, it's quite good, but saying that it's <insert rank>, when that fact is easily verifiable is lazy and wrong.
/rant

But, you must realize that the vast majority of people who have solved a cube haven't been to a WCA competition before. The estimate is that 2% of the world's population have solved one. This would be approximately 150.5 MILLION. Which means, that if you can solve a Rubik's cube in 30 seconds, you are better than 100% of people who have solved a Rubik's cube.

 

[SolidJoltBlue]

I learnt to solve a Rubiks Cube over 4 years ago now but only got back into speedcubing recently. I current;y average a 30 sec solve but by looking at other people's times, I always feel like I'm one of the worst cubers. Am I really quite bad compared to other cubers and is there any good ways to overcome this psychological barrier?

Also, I'm going to my first comp in 9 days; what should I expect?

I'm also a beginner, learning how to be faster. You shouldn't feel bad at all. My average is a lot higher than yours (45 secs).

 

[Capcubeing]

Hi and I think these are all very good points. I am no pro but I think I can say some things to help you out. first off when you are averaging around 30 seconds you are defiantly not one of the best cubers but trust me you are better than a lot of people at competitions. I saw a you tube video by I think it was brody the cuber and most people were at like 45 seconds so you are fine there. Its all mental. Also your first competition will get you hooked. My main tip is not to obsess over your times and TALK to people

 

[GenTheSnail]

Spoiler: keeping this hidden because it doesn't directly relate to the thread

But, you must realize that the vast majority of people who have solved a cube haven't been to a WCA competition before. The estimate is that 2% of the world's population have solved one. This would be approximately 150.5 MILLION. Which means, that if you can solve a Rubik's cube in 30 seconds, you are better than 100% of people who have solved a Rubik's cube.

1. The post to which I was replying explicitly said 'cubers who had competed', not anyone who had ever solved a cube.

2. Where did you get 350 million? I found a quora thread where someone asked for a number, but the person who proposed 350m had just guessed and didn't even do their math right.
150m would mean that almost half of everyone who had ever gotten a cube has it solved, which is subjectively false as most people I meet have an unsolved one. Their estimated 2% would apply to the 350m cubes sold and that only gets you to 7 million.
And all of that was guess work so it's not verifiable either. This is why we work with competed, because there is an actual, current number: 136,857

3. This is also assuming that anyone who hasn't been to a competition is slower than 30, which is verifiably false: I averaged 25 before I competed and many people averaged sub 20 before competing.

4. 100% means you're better than everyone. Unless you're Feliks of Yu, you're at best in the 99%

Related to the thread, I see that @Nathanael competed and was able to get sub 30. How did the competition go? You're results look pretty close to results from my first competition, Dixon Winter 2016, although you had better 2x2 results than I did.

 

[Nathanael]

Related to the thread, I see that @Nathanael competed and was able to get sub 30. How did the competition go? You're results look pretty close to results from my first competition, Dixon Winter 2016, although you had better 2x2 results than I did.

Hey Thanks Man! I think my first comp went pretty well and I enjoyed it! I certainly understand now why people perform worse at comps than at a home environment. I performed a lot worse than my regular times but I really enjoyed the competition and got to meet some new people (Including Feliks, he was there!). My favourite part, apart from solving, was probably the waiting area because I got to talk with all sorts of different people and I could feel free to discuss cubing stuff, most of which my school friends could never understand!
Thanks for asking @GenTheThief