Guest
home
beatmaps
rankings
community
store
help
forum
  1. Forums
  2. osu!
  3. Gameplay & Rankings

I can't use my forearm to stream

posted
Total Posts
9
Dexus
982 posts
Joined July 2009
Topic Starter
Dexus
How is the forearm used exactly in streaming? I was told by Thatgooey to use it and relax my hand, but I just can't do it for some reason (To be honest the description thatgooey gave me was very vague and didn't help all that much, or maybe I just didn't get it). I try to move my fingers fast and my hand locks up and I feel no usage from my forearm. Am I supposed to tense my forearm up and then use my fingers or am I supposed to literally use my forearm in an up/down motion for the streams? My issue may just be my desk because my elbow rests about even with my chest and the bow in my elbow is a rough 25 degree angle bend.

I have been playing stream maps every day for the past month moving from 145 bpm up slowly every day now doing stuff around the 180-195 range, I can keep up with it for like 15-20 notes but when deathstreams (30 etc notes) come around my hand just locks up from trying to move fast for them. I can do 140 bpm for 1000+ notes, 150 bpm for 1000+ notes but then I get to 160 and my hand just locks up. I have the stamina and I have the speed, but I just can't get the technique for it.

I don't want to hear the "Just practice" because I play this game almost every day for 6+ hours (I can literally play this game for a whole day doing stream maps and not be tired). Yes I take breaks so my hand doesn't die (I work 12 hours for 4 days in a row so that's a lot of time not playing osu!). My issue is my technique. I feel it's very poor.


tl;dr

I'd like an in depth explanation of how the forearm and fingers interact with each other and possibly pictures/video maybe? I'm a visual learner so describing things only goes so far for me.
Thatgooey
165 posts
Joined November 2011
Thatgooey
You don't actually move your forearm silly, you just use the muscles in your forearm. Try and keep your hand level with the keyboard as much as possible. Your wrist/forearm/hand should be pretty flat. Try using the middle row of keys on your keyboard instead of z/x. It will let your hand stretch out a little bit more instead of being cramped up against it. This helped me a lot finding the correct row of keys to use. My middle row sits slightly higher up on the keyboard as well, which is a good height for me. I noticed your hand is arched up pretty high against the keys, which is probably a big reason why you lose stamina after a couple of notes.

I'll try and make a video for you tomorrow or help you out when I have some time. I leave town on Thursday, so I will try and help you before then. Maybe I can explain a little better this time and be able to answer your questions a little better :)
Dexus
982 posts
Joined July 2009
Topic Starter
Dexus
I'll try out using the middle row, thanks for all the help thagooey
power007
88 posts
Joined June 2011
power007
same problem here, 2 years playing osu, stream speed by 2 fingers - 140, streams speed by 1 finger - 130. WTF
RaneFire
1,181 posts
Joined May 2011
RaneFire

Dexus wrote:

My issue may just be my desk because my elbow rests about even with my chest and the bow in my elbow is a rough 25 degree angle bend.
My desk is also a problem, in that it is slightly too high... so I brought my keyboard to the front of my desk about 5-10cm away from the edge and just rest my wrist on the edge. I pushed my chair back slightly so my elbow almost level with my wrist at about 70 degrees (working back from 180).

My forearm tensing up has mostly disappeared except on really long deathstreams... so maybe try adjusting your setup a bit and see what works better.

I have plans to cut the legs shorter on my desk. Seriously.
Dexus
982 posts
Joined July 2009
Topic Starter
Dexus
I tried using a different row of keys (switched to A/S) and I will say it feels different, but I don't know how to control it now. I was getting some feedback from my forearm after intense play (doing a 160 bpm stream for about 2 minutes straight).

I'll have to try bringing my keyboard to the edge like RaneFire did, but I'll need a taller chair because the one I have makes it very uncomfortable to bring it closer. Makes me look like Quasimodo if I do it. I have the day off work today so I'll go to the store and pick up an office chair instead of having this short rocking chair. My furniture was given to me and there's not much I can do about the desk, so I'm going to have to cope with it.
Thatgooey
165 posts
Joined November 2011
Thatgooey
For your arm height, what you want to do is first, sit up straight in your chair. Then completely relax your shoulders and let your arms drop to your sides. Now bring your elbow up 90 degrees. You should be able to sit up straight and have your shoulders completely relaxed with your forearm laying comfortably on the table. If you feel your are having to reach up onto the desk to place your forearms, then you should probably try and either lower your desk (probably not possible for most people), or get a chair that sits a little higher. Hell, even get a pillow to sit on if you have to. You elbows should never rest on anything, only your forearm. This will help stabilize your arm and take some extra stress off of your tendons. This way you aren't using extra energy holding your arm up and you can focus it all on your playing.

Also, yes, playing from the middle row will feel slightly different! I use this row because it is the natural position my hands and fingers go to when I set my hand down on the keyboard, and it is the most comfortable. The bottom row doesn't feel normal to me. You can play around with this if you like, but it is only a suggestion for now. This part can be different for everyone, but for me, it gives a more consistent position for my hand to be in. With the bottom row, my hand can creep closer and closer to the keyboard and cause my hand to curl up, where as the middle row prevents me from doing so.

If you are on this afternoon, I will stream a mini lesson on posture for you to see if you or anyone else would like. I figure it is my turn to pass on the help I received :)
Pacemaker
106 posts
Joined May 2012
Pacemaker
I doubt there's anything about your technique that's wrong, you're simply not training correctly and that's why you're not improving

Dexus wrote:

I don't want to hear the "Just practice" because I play this game almost every day for 6+ hours
And that might be the reason you're not improving, you're playing too much. You know great streamers like Cookiezi or Remilia-Scarlet(I know, old example)? The gaps between their playing sessions range from many days to more than a week, but when they play, they go all out.

Dexus wrote:

(I can literally play this game for a whole day doing stream maps and not be tired)
We're not talking about running marathons here, we're talking about pure muscle performance that doesn't take much physical endurance. You can't feel the longtime fatigue of a muscle, especially not when it's something as little as those few forearm and finger muscles streaming uses (unless you're really hardcore that is).

So to make it short: Take more breaks, and play hard when you do.

Hope I could help.
Dexus
982 posts
Joined July 2009
Topic Starter
Dexus

Pacemaker wrote:

Long post of the person who didn't read what I wrote

Dexus wrote:

Yes I take breaks so my hand doesn't die (I work 12 hours for 4 days in a row so that's a lot of time not playing osu!)
I saw a post like yours coming even thought I clearly wrote this sentence.

It was my technique because I changed everything to roughly how thatgooey described to do it and now my forearm is burning when I play stuff. I just lost all the speed that I had since the movements are all different. I just need to build my speed in the correct way instead of using straining methods I was before. My hand stopped locking up as well, so now it's just down to me correcting what I was doing wrong.
Please sign in to reply.

New reply

0
1 / 9