What am I doing wrong?

[speedcuber115]

just practice and go over your algs. you can find all the algs you want here: http://www.speedsolving.com/wiki/index.php/Special:AlgDB
there is a massive choice here.
once the algs are in your muscle memory you will be able to do your PLL in around 1-2 seconds on average.

 

[speedcuber50]

Slow down and look ahead-it didn't work.

Hi!

In my never-ending efforts to get a sub-20 average, I had received advice about, and decided to try, the idea of slowing down in order to look ahead, espscially during F2L.

So over the past few days I've tried doing just that, without any timed solves. But in order to get absolutely no pauses, I have to turn at a ridiculous 1 tps, so clearly I'm doing something wrong!

It was quite a job just to get my normal average with slow turning, even after watching a pile of YouTube videos of demonstrations of slow turning.

So what do I do now?

Thanks,

speedcuber50

P.S. Don't move this to the OAQT becuase then I'll just get another useless answer like "learn roux" or "have you got all PLLs",

 

[Mollerz]

That's the point of lookahead, you have to lookahead. Just keep practicing, that's it.

 

[Noahaha]

The problem is that you have only done the first step of a two step process:

Step 1: Slow down to the point that you don't pause.
Step 2: Increase your TPS while still not pausing.

Seems like you've done step 1. Now try step 2.

P.S. Don't move this to the OAQT becuase then I'll just get another useless answer like "learn roux" or "have you got all PLLs",

Those don't even answer your question, and they don't sound like things people would say.

 

[qqwref]

But in order to get absolutely no pauses, I have to turn at a ridiculous 1 tps, so clearly I'm doing something wrong!

It was quite a job just to get my normal average with slow turning, even after watching a pile of YouTube videos of demonstrations of slow turning.

I know exactly what you're doing wrong. You think you can simply watch a lot of videos, learn a new technique, and you'll automatically get faster. That's not true. There's no free lunch here. You have to really put effort into it - you can only learn lookahead by doing a lot of specific practice. You think you're done learning it, and it doesn't help you, but actually, you've only begun to learn it.

 

[speedcuber50]

Well, they're the kind of things that I get from the OAQT.

More on topic:

I thought you were supposed to stay turning slowly in order for it to work. If I speed up again I the pauses come back.

And should I really have to slow down all the way to 1 tps in order to get rid of the pauses?

 

[Noahaha]

I thought you were supposed to stay turning slowly in order for it to work. If I speed up again I the pauses come back.

And should I really have to slow down all the way to 1 tps in order to get rid of the pauses?

You're supposed to slowly speed yourself up without losing the pauses. And yes, it's fine that you had to go to 1-TPS. Just start pushing yourself to turn a little faster still without pauses.

 

[Chree]

Since you're averaging 26 seconds, slowing down and learning look ahead is exactly your next step. But like anything else, it's an acquired skill. It will actually make you slower at first, until you get good at this brand new technique, which like qqwerf says, will take time and effort.

You should watch Cyoubx's tutorial on Lookahead: http://youtu.be/0WRhi8XsW-w

He breaks it down and gives a few tips for practice, with his two cents thrown in.

Personally, this is where I'm at. Using Look Ahead is about building a habit of knowing exactly what your fingers should be doing, while your eyes are doing something else. And it's a really tough habit to get into. It's been my personal goal for the last month or two to get into that habit, and it's only recently started to stick. Just keep trying.

 

[MWilson]

If you need 1 TPS to have constant turning, then your brain has not been conditioned to look ahead at all. Needed 1 TPS for look ahead is great reason to practice at 1 TPS.

What does a musician do when they are making mistakes in a piece of music? Speed up and hope for the best? Of course not, they slow down to a speed at which they can really pay attention to what they are doing. They use the advantage of slower movement to practice efficiency and see where the problems are. Playing at a slower speed allows the musician to clearly think about what is coming up next, and practice the movements, transitions, and musical aspects (dynamics, vibrato, etc.) cleanly. If they were to not slow down and continue practicing fast, they would not be able to do these things and would not improve at them.

The learning rule of thumb: Practice is just the method you use to gain experience. If you are not experiencing the thing you want to practice, you're not practicing it. If you want to look ahead, look ahead. Even if that means 1 TPS.

A more blatant example would be learning 1 look OLL from 2 look. It doesn't work like video games. How many times do you have to solve a cube with 2 look OLL before the experience bar in your head fills up and you magically know 47 new algorithms? That's kind of a stupid question. You can cast magic missiles all day in an RPG and until you level and get the next rank of a completely different spell, like fire ball or something. Do one thing, improve at something else. That's video games. If you were to cast magic missiles all day in real life, you would only get better at magic missiles. If you want to learn 47 new algorithms, you need to experience them one by one over a long period of time until that experience accumulates and forms a new ability. If you want to look ahead, you need to experience it at a slow speed until you gain enough experience to do it faster, then faster, and so on. Same goes for finger tricks, new F2L tricks, cross solutions and execution, scramble sight reading, changing color scheme, becoming color neutral, learning block building, and any other aspect of cubing.

Your goal should always be to experience the thing you want to improve at. How do you experience doing something you cannot yet do? Sacrifice something so that you can, like speed. Slow down so that you can experience looking ahead for real, and let your speed come back naturally as you practice.

So over the past few days...

Try a few weeks instead. Going from no look ahead to sub-20 with look ahead does not happen in a few days. Just be patient.

 

[emolover]

You don't need lookahead to become sub 20. The only thing you need is an increase in TPS. Full PLL doesn't hurt either.

 

[samchoochiu]

If you don't know full PLL or OLL, try solving the cube in less than 10 looks.

 

[Chree]

Full OLL is optional as well... there are plenty of 2-look OLL sub 20 solvers out there. But they've been cubing for so long that their hands just know what to do without even thinking about it, which will shave off those precious seconds.

What's the common theme here? Practice, Practice, Practice. Put the time in.

People don't say "Practice More" to seem high and mighty or to dodge a "real" answer. It's because they've been where you are, and they know what it takes: Practice.

 

[speedcuber50]

I know full PLL and I'm just starting to learn full OLL.

@emolover I can't increase my tps without lookahead.

 

[sneaklyfox]

I know full PLL and I'm just starting to learn full OLL.

@emolover I can't increase my tps without lookahead.

You've only practiced a few days at 1tps... and you say you can't turn faster without pausing so practice for more time at the 1tps you can handle. When you're ready to go a little faster, you'll know.

 

[Chree]

Doubling your speed IS a bit of a toughy. Instead of thinking in terms of Turns Per Second, maybe Turns per Minute.

1 TPS = 60 TPM

So increasing from 60 TPM to 70 TPM is an easier leap.

 

[arcio1]

Slow down and look ahead...

...more

 

[aznanimedude]

what do you do now? you learn how it feels to look ahead while solving and not pausing from 1 pair to the next, and gradually increase your speed, while still not really pausing, until bam bam boom wait wut i can do fast but not pause and everything's smooth like butter omg wtf let's have bbq

complaining about something that initially slows you down, that's like saying: boo F2L, it slows me down, useless in a speedsolve, don't know why people do it

 

[mark49152]

Try learning the basic building blocks before putting them together.

Try untimed solves where for each pair, you stop, recognise the case, then close your eyes and execute it blind. Then repeat for the next pair, etc. This gets you used to solving cases without watching the pieces.

When comfortable with that, try untimed solves where you stop for each pair and plan it, as above, then look for another pair or corner, and watch the second pair pieces while solving the first pair. That gets you used to watching some pieces while you solve others.

 

[BoltKey]

If you are willing to accept one little advice from a newbie, here we go. Try practicing with a metronome, it helped me quite a bit. Just set one pbm and once it starts to feel too slow, step up a level until you get to a decent speed.

 

[speedcuber50]

I've tried the metronome once or twice before, but mom and dad complain about the noise...

BTW I am comfortable with solving one corner-edge pair without looking at it (i.e. eyes closed), but the problem is that I spend the time thinking about other things or just staring blankly at the cube rather than actually looking for the next pair.