how to teach DDR

[Allie]

Well a friend of mine asked me the other day to teach him DDR. I thought it would be awesome so I brought him to my house to play DDRMAX. I knew he had played before and knew the concept so I asked how good he thought he was. He said he sucked but I had NO IDEA . We started out with Peace Out on light mode. He was flailing all about, missing the arrows, using the wrong feet etc. After 3 hours he got a B on peace out. (only once, we played it again and he got a D) I dont know what to say to him because I remember when I first started... i wasnt that bad. Are some people incapable of being good at DDR? How can I "teach" him when we play a 1 step song and he cant do it? Should i tell him he is a failure who will never amount to anything and get it over with???
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My Teacher Doing DDR!

[meeper]

Definently not. Anyone can get good at DDR, some just learn faster than others.

My mother started out the same way. She couldn't seem to grasp the concept, and it took her about a week to even get to two-foot songs.

Now she's doing fives, so anybody can do it. Just takes patience and persistance.

Encourage your friend, and don't mark him off as "unskilled" or anything of the sort. Remember, in the end, it's just a game, and it's there to have fun with. It's no fun constantly being reminded how much you suck, especially when you're new.

[hime]

Yeah, me and two friends went to play last night. The male friend seemed to pick up on it and "get it" - he wasn't very good, but he got better all along. The female friend took much longer, and on 1 foot songs (on BEGINNER on Extreme) she was still muffing stuff.

Hopefully she'll get better, cuz we're gonna be playing more. :)

[k-strife]

[.fill]

As always, the best way to get better is just to practice a lot. It took me at least a week or so before it didn't look like I was a drunken elephant flailing around. Just keep on playing songs and your friend will get better eventually.
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The SFR Shop

[LoopyChew]

You must have patience, like the rocks in the stream. The art of Tae Kwon Leep--dammit, wrong sketch.

Really, though, there are two things that will help your friend out in the early stages:

1. Patience.
2. Practice. (For enough practice, see 1.)

Eventually, people will learn to overcome their balancing problems, etc. Have you tried running him through the lesson mode? Show that to him, let him try out all the lessons, and eventually he'll get through. Meanwhile, on the side, you may want to give some small tips here and there--not enough to dominate the lesson on screen, but enough to accompany and enhance it. (Use common sense here.)

One of the many things I've pointed out to people is how they use their feet. DDR stepping is a lot like walking--you should rely on both feet equally, and they shouldn't be right next to each other very long if you want to ensure smooth motion. That's one of the core lessons in DDR, and it does get taught in lesson mode (on Konamix, if not MAX).

If things seem to get a bit rough, clap out the beat for him (slap your thigh). It serves the same purpose as the metronome in training mode. Also a big help.

Don't write your friend off just yet. And remember: different people have different styles. One of the people here who's an excellent tech stepper has a stomparound method I never would have thought would work for DDR, but he consistenly gets higher scores than I do on most songs. So patience, grasshoppah!
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[Cintifizzo]

well, i teach my friends once in a while, despite the fact that they say its gay.. they play it anyway..

1. Tell 'em that he doesn't have to put his feet back in the middle every time.
2. Wrong steps don't deduct points, only missed ones.
3. Try to alternate your feet as much as possible.

if he knows that and listens to you.. it really helps.
after 1 hour, my friend can beat share my love with a B.
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I would probably list some great accomplishments... If i had any.

Updated: Passed So Deep October 2, 2003

[Delphy]

Oh my... You would have given up on me long ago if you were teaching me. I never did fully complete lesson 3 until about a month passed. Of course, I was playing easy songs in the interim, but with mixed degrees of success.

All of us had to start somewhere. I can see people being overwhelmed at the start by the arrows to begin with even if only what more experienced players would see as a slow or steady stream of arrows. Even if the result is one step forward and two steps back, with time and patience they'll gradually progress and it'll actually be pretty fun seeing them improve.

DDR is not the only skill in the world. I'd not be so quick to write them off as hopeless; you may need their help someday - or who knows? Eventually they may pass you in skill level. The lack of coordination for DDR should not translate into the loss of a friendship
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I'm out of creative ideas for a fancy quote

[Trance Of Sorrow]

People learn faster than others, when I first started I wasn't so great myself. The more you DO something the better you get at it. Same with DDR.

[ライス]

Clapping to a certain beat helps a little. Keeps you in rhythm.

rYc3
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Cutriss wrote:

FLCL, God of Gods wrote: Uh... so when do we get the porn forum? If you can't find porn on the Internet, you're not trying.

[DanceDance805]

LMAO Good luck trying to break it down to him dude .BUt im sure he'll be very surprised if you were to tell him that..like reaLi Then mostly likely he'll get mad .

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Broken Hearts can lead you into an everlasting Dance...

[DJ_Dustbuster]

To tell a little story about being taught DDR: My friend RJ had introduced me to this game about 2 years ago at his home. We played all night (most of the time I was watching him and his killer moves). Anyway when he was done for the day I decided to get up on the pad and keep playing until I passed Boom Boom Dollar. I played non stop for about four hours until I finally made an A. (Getting plenty pist off in the mean time because I kept failing). The only thing RJ really did on the teaching me part is he gave me a few pointers like it was ok to stand on the arrows and not return to the middle of the pad. Also to use my right foot for the up and right arrow and my left foot for the down and left arrow. Later he told me about jumping and cross over and a whole bunch of stuff that I still screw up to this day.
So thats all I can say about teaching a friend. It worked for me (well sorta). Just don't let him quit. It's a game and all games are beatable.
See ya all on the dance pad.
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Mixin' some Madness on the digital turn tables.
= DJ Dustbuster =

[onetwolittleb]

The first lesson mode is really useful. Give them pointers one at a time, so they can assimulate them slowly. Watch what they are doing and try to figure out what the best thing to say first is. And don't just watch them fail a song and then do something reallyhad because that jsut makes them want to give up. Doing the easy song for them explaining about weight shifts, leaving your feet ont he arrows and other things you are doing is sometimes helpful. You can also try traning mode, but I would avoid that.

But yah, what everyone else said. People learn at different speeds. It look me a week or so to just pass boom boom ONCE. I was learning by myself, mind you. I'm a competent heavy DDR player now.

I've taught a lot of people, and 3 hours to get the hang of things isn't THAT bad. He's not a fast learner, but that's ok.

[Mattio351]

I've trained 4 people, and the best way is to make them play lesson mode. i know its boring, but it really works.

I used to use the same foot for every button except for the left foot (left button)

I tried lesson mode and my style completely changed. It works wonders!

I highly recommend it!

[Technick]

Well I basically have thought my friend to play. I told him to get a pad and a copy of DDR MAX. I told him to play for about 2 to 3 hours a day. Go through all the songs on light until you can get a A or B on all of them, then once you pass those move on to trick.

I go over there about every weekend to teach him how to pivot since he is on maniac songs now. That took me the longest to grasp, is how to pivot so I am trying to help him. He can know get consistent A's and B's on most of the maniac songs.

Just tell him/her to keep trying he/she will get it sooner or later, it just takes time/patience/practice.
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[MR. Ziggy]

Oh man, I'm a REALY slow learner.

It took melike 2 1/2 Months to be Lvl 5.

It's been a Year and 3 Months, and I can't barely pass 9-Footters on the Pad, and No 10-footers! (Mabey that's because the only 10 footer I can play is MAX 300, and that's at my House, with crappy pad)

Even little kids can learn.

My 5 year old Nephew got the game because of me.

She keeps practicing, and is getting better every day.

I think she can do 4-footers now, which is hard for a 5 year old!

Everybody can get good at DDR.

DDR isn't a normal game, it's a game that you keep want to play.

You can never BEAT it, and it last forever.

You keep wanted to get better at somthing.
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Current FAV:MAX. (Period)
Current goal for songs:Don't know actually...
Current goal in life:Staying with my G/F
Greatest song accplishment(Bad spelling):AAAing Max. (period), on Stepmania though, and I got a pic.

[-Mystik-]

well, this is my idea of a good teacher...

1st get a bamboo stick, now it goes like this.

"Ok you touched bar!" *Whap* "you stepped back to the middle of the pad after each step" *WHAP* "you failed *Whap Whap Whap Whap*
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[Allie]

[Miz]

Alright, this topic is an easy one. There are two things that I have seen with this game and people learning it.

1. It takes time. The more you play it the better you WILL get. You can not get worse at the game, so you are literally always a winner!!!

2. Females learn slower. I am not being sexest or anything, but this is the truth behind what I have seen. We have a million males and like, four females that play the game worth anything. I would like for more females to get better at the game, so ... yeah. When a woman steps up and wants to learn, I go to her first, since they need more help. Again, I am not downgrading the women of DDR, only stating that I have seen that it takes them a LITTLE longer to fall into the correct groove.

Myself, I fall into something odd. After a week I was on five footers, and AAing three footers. By the end of the first month, AAing seven footers. his is when the game takes a gentle learning curve and slaps you in the face with it. I has taken me an extra month to get down the nine footers, and I am still working on them !!!
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"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."

[[ Team Neo Crazy ]] [[ Christian Troy Templeton ]] [[ Team [elite] ]]

[Andy the happy mod-man]

Here's how I got started back in August '02.

1. Do lesson mode.
2. Finish lesson mode.
3. Repeat 1 and 2 until you feel confident on the pad.
4. Start by trying songs using the PSX controller.
5. My logic was if I could do it with the controller, I would soon be able to do it with my feet. Because more than half of playing a song is understanding the steps.
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