So you got a new arcade stick – now what? Making the switch to an arcade stick (or any new controller) can be challenging for beginners. Initially, your inputs might feel sloppy, your movements slow, and you might even miss motions you could do on pad. Don’t worry: this is totally normal! The key to building proficiency is consistent practice with specific drills that build your muscle memory and execution.
Here, we’ve prepared a 7-day training regimen with 7 essential drills to help you master your new arcade stick. These drills cover everything from basic movement to special move execution and combos, using examples from Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, and Guilty Gear Strive. Stick with these exercises, and within a couple of weeks you’ll notice significant improvement – many players report feeling comfortable after just a week or two of practice. Let’s get started!
Drill 1: Basic Movement and Blocking (Day 1)
Goal: Get used to the joystick for directional inputs. In any fighting game (Street Fighter, Tekken, Guilty Gear, etc.), practice moving left and right, jumping, crouching, and blocking smoothly.
How to practice
Go into Training Mode with any character. First, simply walk forward and backward across the screen. Focus on making your movements deliberate – push the stick gently forward to walk, and pull it back to walk backwards.
Then practice dashing: quickly tap forward, forward to do a forward dash (in games like SF6 or Strive), and tap back, back for a backdash. It might feel awkward timing the double-tap at first; keep at it until you can dash without the game misreading it as a single tap.
Jump by pressing up. Try jumping straight up, then up-forward, up-back. Get a feel for the engagement of the joystick gate as you hit the corners (it helps to know what hitting the exact up-forward diagonal feels like on your stick). Finally, practice holding crouch block in both directions (down-back). This is a critical position in most games for defense.
Spend a good 10-15 minutes just moving around: forward, back, crouch, jump, dash, block. It sounds basic, but this establishes fundamental comfort. You’re essentially telling your brain “this is how far and fast I need to move the stick to get these results.” For blocking, have the training dummy perform some attacks and practice shifting between high block (hold back) and low block (hold down-back) as needed. If you’re brand new, even blocking low vs. high on reaction can be a mini-drill.
Pro tip: Avoid riding the gate too hard. Most arcade sticks have a square or octagonal gate – you’ll feel the stick hit the edges. It’s good for finding diagonals (down-back, etc.), but try not to slam the stick into the edge for every movement. Aim for smooth quarter-circle motions (we’ll do those next) and small taps for dashes. This will pay off later with cleaner inputs.
Drill 2: Quarter-Circle Moves (Hadoken Motion)
Goal: Master the quarter-circle forward (QCF) and quarter-circle back (QCB) motions – the “Hadoken” motion – on both player 1 and player 2 sides.
How to practice
Pick Ryu in Street Fighter 6 (or Ky Kiske in Guilty Gear Strive, or any character with a fireball motion). In training mode, turn on the input display (so you can see your joystick inputs on screen). Now, do Ryu’s Hadoken (QCF + Punch). That means from neutral, move the stick ↓ (down), then ➙ (down-forward), then → (forward), in one smooth rolling motion, and press punch at the end. Do this 10 times in a row.
Don’t worry about speed at first – do it slowly and cleanly. Watch the input display: you want to see exactly ↓, ↘, →, then the punch input. If you see extra directions (like an unnecessary ⬇️ down-back or you see ↘ appear twice), it means your motion might be too wobbly. Focus on the idea that you can actually input it quite slowly and it will still register. Find the slowest speed at which a Hadoken still comes out, then gradually speed up as you get consistent.
Repeat this for the quarter-circle back (QCB) motion as well (for example, Ryu’s tatsu/spin kick is ↓, ↙, ← + Kick). Do 10 in a row of those. Again, strive for the clean input trace.
Next, switch sides: put Ryu on the right side of the screen (player 2 side) and now do QCF which from that side is ←, ↙, ↓ + Punch (since facing right, a fireball is toward the opponent which is left). Do 10 Hadokens from the right side. Then do 10 quarter-circle backs from right side (which would be →, ↘, ↓ + Kick on that side). Right side can feel very different for beginners! It’s normal if one side is harder (for many, the P2 side quarter-circles feel awkward at first). The only remedy is repetition – your hands will normalize it.
A great beginner goal is “10 fireballs in a row on each side without mistakes.” One new stick user described their routine: “Picked Ryu, did Hadoken drills… until I got them [10 in a row] for three days in a row.”. This kind of structured repetition works wonders. It might be tough Day 1 – you might get 3, then a bad input – but by Day 3 or 4, you’ll hit 10/10 consistently if you keep at it.
If you’re playing Tekken or a game without quarter-circle motions, you can adapt this drill: for Tekken, practice Kazuya’s “wave dash” motion (which is forward, down, down-forward repeatedly – a series of QCFs). Or practice King’s Giant Swing (which is a half-circle, see Drill 3). But even for Tekken players, doing some QCF hadokens in SF can improve your execution fluidity.
Drill 3: Shoryuken/DP Motion (The “Z-motion”)
Goal: Master the Dragon Punch motion (forward, down, down-forward) on both sides. This is crucial for anti-airs (Shoryukens) in Street Fighter and many other games.
How to practice
With Ryu (SF6) in training, practice the Shoryuken: → ↓ ↘ + Punch. This is sometimes called a “Z motion” or DP motion. It can be tricky because it requires a quick change of directions (forward to down to down-forward) in a smooth but rapid sequence. Start slow: from neutral, tap forward, then move to down, then to down-forward, then hit punch. If done correctly, Ryu will do his DP uppercut. Many beginners struggle with doing it too slow (nothing comes out) or too sloppy (they might get a fireball or a crouch normal).
A tip: the forward at the start can be very brief. In fact, one method is to start from crouch – e.g., hold down-forward for a second, then go to down, then quickly flick to down-forward + punch. Street Fighter has input leniency that often grants the DP if you do ↘ (down-forward), ↓, ↘. Figure out what method feels easiest for you.
Do 10 DPs in a row from the left side (player1). Then do the same from the right side (which will be ←, ↓, ↙ + Punch on that side). Take your time initially; then try to do them faster and as reversals (from a blocking position or neutral, do it as fast as possible). You want the muscle memory such that if someone jumps at you, you can quickly jerk the stick and press punch for an anti-air DP without thinking.
For variety, practice the motion as a standalone exercise too: do → ↓ ↘ without pressing punch, and see if the game’s input history shows the clean sequence. This builds the habit. As one coach advised, “hit up training mode and just train nothing but motions… start off performing a very slow QCF/QCB and gradually increase your speed before adding the button press” – the same applies to DPs. Get the motion right, then add the punch timing.
In Tekken, a similar motion is the “mist step” or crouch dash (↘, ↓, ↘ for Mishima wave dashes). Practicing Kazuya’s EWGF (forward neutral down down-forward+Punch) is essentially a DP-motion drill on stick. Even if you’re not a Mishima main, trying it a few times can sharpen your execution. In Guilty Gear Strive, the DP motion shows up for characters like Sol (Volcanic Viper). The drill philosophy is the same across games.
Drill 4: Half-Circles and Charge Motions
Goal: Learn other common motions – half-circle motions (for moves like command grabs) and charge motions (for characters like Guile or charge moves in Tekken).
Half-Circle Drill
A half-circle is just what it sounds like: e.g. ← ↙ ↓ ↘ → + button (a half circle forward), or the reverse for half-circle back. These appear in games for command grab characters (e.g., Zangief’s running bear grab in SF is a half-circle toward). Practice this by doing, say, Zangief’s half-circle moves or any character in Guilty Gear with a half-circle input. The key is to not rush and skip a direction – you must hit all 5 points in sequence.
It’s okay to ride the gate along the edge for this to ensure you hit them all. Do 5 half-circles to the right and 5 to the left. Use input display to verify you got all inputs. Once comfortable, speed it up. The motion should feel like a continuous sweep of the stick from one side to the other.
For an advanced challenge, you could try a full 360 motion (Zangief’s SPD). This actually only requires ~270 degrees on modern inputs (you can start and end anywhere as long as you cover 7 of the 8 directions). Practice doing a smooth quick circle – but be careful not to jump (the common pitfall is hitting up-forward and your character jumps). The trick is to do it fast or start from a crouch/back position so by the time you hit up, the move comes out and skips the jump.
Charge Motion Drill
“Charge” characters require holding a direction for ~1-2 seconds then releasing to another direction + button (e.g., Guile’s Sonic Boom is [hold ←], then → + Punch). These drills build patience and timing. Pick Guile (SF6) or another charge character. Do Sonic Booms: hold back for 2 seconds, then quickly push to forward and press punch. Do this 5 times. Get a rhythm: “one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand, boom!”.
Then do Flash Kicks: hold down for 2 seconds, then up+Kick. Again, repeat 5-10 times. The key is understanding the timing (too short a charge = nothing comes out). Over time you’ll internalize how long a charge “feels”. This also helps with games like Tekken, where some moves require brief charge (e.g., some characters have chargeable stances).
In Tekken, a common execution test is Lee’s Mist Step or Bryan’s taunt which involve quick taps and holds – not exactly charge, but training your ability to hold a direction exactly for a short time and then release for a move. If you play characters with KBD (Korean Backdash) technique, that itself is like a repeated back, back, down (hold) motion – you could consider that a “drill” too (it’s an advanced movement technique where you cancel backdashes into down to backdash again quickly). For now, just be aware that mastering various hold and release mechanics is part of stick mastery.
Drill 5: Button Dexterity and Press Timing
Goal: Ensure you can press the right buttons quickly and accurately, and even multiple at once when needed.
Now that we’ve hammered on joystick motions, let’s not neglect the buttons. On a stick, you use typically 3 or 4 fingers (index, middle, ring, and sometimes pinky) to hit the buttons. Beginners might find they fumble which finger goes to which button, especially under pressure. Here are sub-drills:
Piano Drill
Pick a Street Fighter character and practice pressing LP, MP, HP, MP, LP in quick succession (a piano roll). Then LK, MK, HK, MK, LK. Do this while watching the input display to ensure you’re not accidentally pressing two at once or skipping one. This builds finger speed and accuracy. It’s helpful for games where “pianoing” inputs can increase success of special move (older SF games) or for just learning button placement.
Simultaneous Presses
Practice hitting two buttons at the same time cleanly. For example in SF6: set the dummy to do a throw at you, and you practice teching by pressing LP+LK together. Or in Tekken, pick King and do his multi-throw that requires 1+3 or 2+4 – try to press them exactly together. Your goal is to see the game register them on the same frame. If you often get only one of the two (e.g., you press 1 slightly before 3), practice slowing down and then increasing speed. This skill is needed even if you use macros, because sometimes you will still press two buttons (e.g., to activate Roman Cancel in Guilty Gear, or to tag in a tag fighter).
Plinking (optional/advanced)
Plinking is a technique of pressing one button immediately after another to input them 1 frame apart (used in Street Fighter IV era for combos). It’s not as needed in newer games, but practicing it can actually hone your timing. If you’re curious, try pressing e.g. MP~LP (almost simultaneously, but MP a hair earlier) and see both inputs register with MP on one frame, MP+LP on next. This is purely optional but a fun way to test your finger control.
Finally, practice some basic cancels that involve timing between stick and button. For instance, in SF try Ryu’s crouching medium kick into Hadoken: you must do the QCF motion and hit kick, then punch in quick succession. This trains coordinating both hands – an underrated aspect. Do it 10 times until it feels fluid (c.MK xx Hadoken).
In Tekken, a similar two-hand coordination drill is buffering a move during a dash: e.g., dash forward and immediately do a button command. These kinds of things ensure you’re not treating stick-hand and button-hand separately, but as a team.
Drill 6: Anti-air and Reaction Drill
Goal: Improve your reaction execution – see an opponent action and quickly perform the correct stick motion + button.
One common example: anti-airing a jumping opponent. In SF, if the opponent jumps at you, you should do a Shoryuken or another anti-air. In Tekken, if the opponent high-jumps or approaches, maybe an electric or an orbital. The challenge for a new stick user is doing the move fast on reaction without mis-input.
How to practice
In Street Fighter VI training mode, record the dummy to perform a jumping attack at you periodically. (Or use the dummy settings to jump towards you every 3 seconds, for instance.) Your task is to anti-air with a DP (or a normal like a crouching heavy punch) every time the dummy jumps.
This drill will be frustrating initially – you might do the motion too hastily and get a crouch or a fireball by mistake. That’s okay. It forces you to quickly input → ↓ ↘ + P when you see the jump. Start slow: even if you input late and trade, focus on the correctness of the motion under speed. Over time, shorten the reaction window. The goal is to train “see jump = DP now” as a reflex with clean input.
In Tekken, you could do a similar thing: set the dummy to do a hopkick and try to input a forward move (like a jab or an electric) to counter it on reaction. In anime fighters, maybe have the dummy air-dash at you and you input an anti-air move or DP.
Another reaction drill: whiff punish. In training, record the dummy throwing out a long move with recovery. When you see it whiff, quickly move in and do your punish combo. For example, dummy does a sweep that misses; you dash in and do a cr.MP xx Hadoken. The emphasis is on moving the stick and pressing the buttons correctly in a short time window.
These drills simulate real match scenarios and force your muscle memory to perform under pressure. As you improve, your hands will default to the correct inputs even when your brain just says “do the thing now!”. Many pros practice in this way – for instance, Daigo famously spends time in training mode just reacting to recordings to sharpen his execution when needed.
Drill 7: Combo String Repetition (Bread-and-Butter Combos)
Goal: Solidify a basic combo on your new stick through repetition, to the point you can do it in your sleep.
This final drill takes everything you’ve practiced (motions, timing, reactions) and puts it together into actual bread-and-butter combos for your character. Choose a simple 2-4 hit combo that you use often. For example:
- Street Fighter 6: Pick Luke – do “MP, MP, HP, Dragon Punch” (a simple target combo into special). Or Ryu’s “c.MK xx Hadoken” as mentioned.
- Tekken 8: Pick Jin – do “Electric Wind Godfist, into 1,2,4 combo” or any basic launcher into a follow-up.
- Guilty Gear: Pick Sol – do “5K, 5S, Volcanic Viper (DP)” or another simple Gatling sequence.
Now, perform that combo 10 times in a row without dropping it. This will likely take many tries! The aim is not necessarily to get 10 first try, but to practice in sets. A helpful method is the “3 sets of 10” approach: do 10 in a row (if you drop it, that set doesn’t count, start over that set). Once you hit 10 straight, give yourself a point. Do it three times. This kind of training instills consistency.
One player on Steam forums described their routine: “did Hadoken drills, Shoryuken drills, then combos drills, until I got them on the first set of ten three days in a row”. It might sound extreme, but that kind of dedication can accelerate your mastery. By doing combos in repetition, you not only train the execution, but also the mental focus to carry a combo from start to finish under pressure.
While practicing, use the input display and analyze any mistakes: did the special move not come out? Check if your motion was off (perhaps you see ⬇️ ↓ instead of ⬇️ ↘ →). Did the normal whiff? Maybe you weren’t close enough – practice proper spacing or dashing in first (tie that into Drill 6’s whiff punish practice!). Always try to correct the error on the next rep – this mindful approach yields faster improvement than blind repetition.
As one training mode tip from the Shoryuken forums says: “Observe your progress and take note of what you are doing right and wrong. Take note of your hands… see what you need to do to improve.” For example, you might note “my ring finger isn’t hitting HK properly in the combo” – then you know to practice that specific finger movement.
After a week or more of these combo drills, you’ll find that executing them is second nature. When you then play actual matches, you’ll be landing your punishes and BnBs much more confidently, because you drilled the muscle memory already.
Putting It All Together & Staying Motivated
By the time you work through these 7 drills, you’ll have touched on all the core skills needed to use an arcade stick proficiently: clean motions, precise button presses, quick reactions, and combo execution. It may feel like a lot of work, but remember, even just 15-30 minutes of focused practice each day can yield big improvements.
One player noted that after a week or two, I was already good to go [with stick], but I kept doing drills to be more consistent. That consistency is what separates frustration from fluency.
Here are some final tips to keep in mind:
- Consistency over duration: It’s better to practice 20 minutes every day than 4 hours once a week. Regular, spaced repetition cements skills (and there’s even research suggesting practicing before sleep helps the brain retain muscle memory better).
- Gradual difficulty: Start slow and simple, then increase speed/complexity. We saw this in the drills – slow QCFs then faster, easy combos then longer ones. This progressive overload ensures you don’t engrain bad habits by rushing too soon.
- Use both real matches and practice: Don’t stay in the training room forever – sprinkle in actual gameplay to test your skills in live situations. But if you lose because of input errors, note it and recreate that scenario as a drill. For example, if you dropped an anti-air DP in a match, spend extra time on Drill 6.
- Stay positive: It’s normal to mess up – even pros do. Rather than thinking “I’ll never get this,” notice small wins: maybe today you did 5 DPs in a row when yesterday you couldn’t do 2. Those are victories on your path. Treat practice like a game in itself (set challenges, celebrate hitting a goal).
- Ergonomics and fatigue: Make sure your hands and arms are comfortable. If your arm gets tired (it will in the beginning), take a short break. A forum user once mentioned, “my left forearm would get fatigued after a short time when I started on stick” – this improves as you build those muscles. But also ensure your stick is positioned well (e.g., on your lap or a desk at a good height) so you’re not straining.
By following this regimen, in no time you’ll go from “I can’t do a fireball to save my life” to pulling off combos on instinct. Many players have walked this road – feeling clumsy on stick initially, then suddenly one day everything “clicks.” Stick with the drills – make them a routine – and you’ll get there. As one guide reassures newcomers: “learning stick isn’t hard at all, and anyone can do it… you just have to keep at it”.
Now grab that fight stick and hit the lab – your next goal: 10 hadokens, go! 💪
For more on the top joysticks for serious gaming, check our post on the best arcade fight sticks.
Sources
This training plan was compiled from community tips and pro player advice. Notable references include:
- Red Bull’s beginner guides emphasizing special move drills, redbull.com
- Forum posts from Shoryuken’s training dojo stressing mindful practice archive.supercombo.gg
- Personal anecdotes from players who recently transitioned to stick steamcommunity.com.
These drills are tried-and-true – many top players have used similar routines early in their journey. Good luck, and enjoy the process of leveling up!
