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Older cubers discussions

bubbagrub said:
I went to my first non-European competition today (Qualifornia) -- it was a really fun competition. Here's my quick highlights:
  • Finally got a 3BLD mean and a 5/5 MBLD result.
  • Got to judge Max Park's 6x6 WR.
  • My first ever podium (2nd in feet).
  • A bunch of other PBs.
  • Watching Graham get 37/42 in MBLD.
It was a tiny competition -- fewer than 20 competitors, but everyone was super friendly and very welcoming of a non-regular.
Click to expand...

@bubbagrub /Sounds like fun & congrats on PBs & your podium. Yes, they are really nice and friendly, great to hang out with.
 
For those doing 4BLD, is r2 / U2 still the preferred beginners method? I know M2 already so... r2 seems logical. U2?

Starting to look at making the jump from 3BLD to 4BLD... Part of that is just working on mechanics, so there's a bit less pressure on my memory.

Memory systems: I assume everyone here is visual + loci at that level?
 
phreaker said:
For those doing 4BLD, is r2 / U2 still the preferred beginners method? I know M2 already so... r2 seems logical. U2?

Starting to look at making the jump from 3BLD to 4BLD... Part of that is just working on mechanics, so there's a bit less pressure on my memory.

Memory systems: I assume everyone here is visual + loci at that level?
Click to expand...

Yes. r2 & U2 are easy methods to begin with if you're a M2 user.
r2 is almost identical to M2 while U2 requires a new set up moves since it will be your first ever "center piece" solves. Other than that, the concept of U2 is identical to M2 + more flexible then M2. For example, if you have a parity in M2, you have to solve with corner parity, but for U2, you just need to do "U2" one more time. The only new algorithm you need to learn will be D face swap.

For r2, just keep in mind that r2 parity is completely independent of corners. There are two parities: one is for r2 which means your r2 trace gives you "odd" number of r2 targets. The second one is when you have the odd corner targets.

Good luck!
 
openseas said:
Yes. r2 & U2 are easy methods to begin with if you're a M2 user.
r2 is almost identical to M2 while U2 requires a new set up moves since it will be your first ever "center piece" solves. Other than that, the concept of U2 is identical to M2 + more flexible then M2. For example, if you have a parity in M2, you have to solve with corner parity, but for U2, you just need to do "U2" one more time. The only new algorithm you need to learn will be D face swap.

For r2, just keep in mind that r2 parity is completely independent of corners. There are two parities: one is for r2 which means your r2 trace gives you "odd" number of r2 targets. The second one is when you have the odd corner targets.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

U2 seemed almost identical to M2 just different parity solution, including the funky top targets, etc.

r2. I believe I have to learn a K target and parity.

Parity for corners using OP: U (Sexy) (PLL Parity) (r-sexy) U'. (No problems there.... and I can do PLL Parity eyes closed at this point :)

I don't know how my memory will do.. we'll see as I work on the cube manipulation.
 
phreaker said:
Parity for corners using OP: U (Sexy) (PLL Parity) (r-sexy) U'. (No problems there.... and I can do PLL Parity eyes closed at this point :)
Click to expand...

I guess you meant "U2" not "U".

And not sure what is your K target but assuming one of the middle layer,

FU and BD are exactly the same & even advanced M2 can be used as well.

The left middle layer (l) is based on the basic BU solution - (B' R B) (U R2 U') M2 (U R2 U') (B' R' B). For DB, just setup l which moves DB to BU position. For UF, setup l' in front, For FD, setup l2.
 
openseas said:
I guess you meant "U2" not "U".

And not sure what is your K target but assuming one of the middle layer,

FU and BD are exactly the same & even advanced M2 can be used as well.

The left middle layer (l) is based on the basic BU solution - (B' R B) (U R2 U') M2 (U R2 U') (B' R' B). For DB, just setup l which moves DB to BU position. For UF, setup l' in front, For FD, setup l2.
Click to expand...

Ok... The l layer solutions make sense. And U2 is correct, despite my meaning what I said ;).

As I said.. I'm learning. :)
 
Go away for a couple days and I have dozens of posts to catch up with!

I have been pushing myself a little more thru memo the last couple days. Had some much improved times, but all dnfs. Until just now... 4:42.33. Which is a PB and something I am quite pleased with at this time.

Sure it isn’t a new standard, but I am thrilled to get a new PB. This is only my second sub-5 success.

Edit: Okay... now I’m super stoked! My very next was 4:23:)
 
Last edited:
newtonbase said:
I've missed registration for Peterborough. This comp was why I've been working on MBLD and was my only chance to qualify for the UKs. . Disappointed.
Click to expand...

Yeah that’s a shame mate. Maybe there will be some cancellations. I had to time a fuel refill on the motorway to register and I think I was 68th to register, about 15 minutes after registration opened.

mark49152 said:
That sucks. Seems it filled up in only an hour. 100 is too low a limit for today's level of interest.
Click to expand...

Cubing is so popular these days, and the location is fairly central too.

bubbagrub said:
I went to my first non-European competition today (Qualifornia) -- it was a really fun competition. Here's my quick highlights:
  • Finally got a 3BLD mean and a 5/5 MBLD result.
  • Got to judge Max Park's 6x6 WR.
  • My first ever podium (2nd in feet).
  • A bunch of other PBs.
  • Watching Graham get 37/42 in MBLD.
It was a tiny competition -- fewer than 20 competitors, but everyone was super friendly and very welcoming of a non-regular.
Click to expand...

That’s awesome. Well done Ben. I’m competing in Zurich this coming weekend, so that’s my bonus comp. :)
 
newtonbase said:
What 4BLD tutorials have you watched @phreaker? Corey Sakowski has an excellent series. Also, J-Perm released a full tutorial yesterday I haven't watched it but his 3BLD videos have been very good.
Click to expand...
I watched JPerm’s 4x4 tutorial last night. It made sense to me. I have a few things to learn prior to diving into 4BLD, although I do like having a solid understanding of what it takes.

He also references another 4x4 tutorial which I may check out.
 
newtonbase said:
I've missed registration for Peterborough. This comp was why I've been working on MBLD and was my only chance to qualify for the UKs. . Disappointed.
Click to expand...

Damn. I know how that feels having done it myself earlier this year. I'm sorry to hear it got you when you've been working so hard on MBLD.

It appears that I've let my times slip after a month of relatively low cubing activity. Global times for 2H have slipped from low 15's to sup-16, OH from sub-25 to sup-26 and Pyra from sub-7 to high-7. I'd better make time to practice before Hastings. I think over 50% of my practice time is getting back to where I used to be before a pause!
 
0 for 6 with 3 BLD practice this morning. That’s a lot of DNFs to start the day.

The good news... 5 were in the 4 min range and only 1 was over 5 mins at 5:17. The fastest was 4:02 where I forgot a corner twist. I’ve been pushing myself to do memo faster. Less review. Some of the DNFs were a mess and I’m not sure if it was a setup-return error or what... but these times are considerably faster than my more conservative approach.

Despite the DNFs, I’m still encouraged. I suspect with more practice the “rushed” or “hurried” feeling will settle and I’ll begin seeing success more often at this time range (4-5 mins). Who knows... by the end of the year I could even maybe have a sub-4 official time if things go well and there are sufficient number of comps to provide an opportunity.
 
Logiqx said:
Damn. I know how that feels having done it myself earlier this year. I'm sorry to hear it got you when you've been working so hard on MBLD.

It appears that I've let my times slip after a month of relatively low cubing activity. Global times for 2H have slipped from low 15's to sup-16, OH from sub-25 to sup-26 and Pyra from sub-7 to high-7. I'd better make time to practice before Hastings. I think over 50% of my practice time is getting back to where I used to be before a pause!
Click to expand...
I was thinking the same thing about my times and lack of recent steady practice. I was feeling good and getting lots of low 20s and even sub-20s much more often. But after a few weeks of limited practice I’ve noticed that my times are much slower. (23s up to 25s or 26s again).

I worked so hard to break under 25, it’s a little Sad to see that be my hurdle again.
 
SpartanSailor said:
Despite the DNFs, I’m still encouraged. I suspect with more practice the “rushed” or “hurried” feeling will settle and I’ll begin seeing success more often at this time range (4-5 mins). Who knows... by the end of the year I could even maybe have a sub-4 official time if things go well and there are sufficient number of comps to provide an opportunity.
Click to expand...
Yeah you're on the right track. The only way to get faster at BLD is to rush it. DNFs don't matter. Push yourself to a pace where you're getting <30% success rate and persist at that pace until accuracy comes back to >60%. Rinse and repeat.

It also helps to break down what you're doing during memo and think systematically about how to speed it up.

What are your splits?
 
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