Overview
The approach I used to finally get past training tier 1 level 5, which unlocks the fights mode.
How To
I found tier 1 level 5 in training to be quite challenging, and you can’t move on to other modes without passing it. Maybe you, dear reader, got it immediately, and I’m just an uncoordinated wimp, and/or maybe my WMR hand tracking is just particularly crummy, but either way, I had to work at it. Fortunately that work was fun. Here’s how I practiced to finally beat it. I hope it helps you.
A note about stance: I found myself doing best with a “neutral” square stance, with both feet and shoulders square to the dummy (knees bent, toes pointed inward, slightly low but comfortable), occasionally shifting or turning slightly. This was familiar to me from my very small amount of Wing Chun training, but I found the game also worked fine in other types of stances with a leading leg (boxing style, various Karate stances, fencing, absurd low stances, all worked); try the below practices with different stances and figure out what fits you best. Note that in higher levels, as the dummy moves, you’ll likely have to adjust, regardless of what you choose to make it past level 5.
Training in Focus Mode:
Practice each skill in focus mode, first with one dummy arm and then with both:
-Blades: This is key to practice early, and helps you get a sense of the optimal distance for the others. Generally, the game rewards you on other skills for getting as close to the dummy as you can; the blades force you to keep back just a bit. At the ideal distance, I found that I didn’t have to actually move for the bottom and middle blades, just keep my hands out of the way, and the top can be a subtle head dodge or slight lean back. I found I didn’t have to step forward or backward, and could stay relatively close. Practice cutting it as close as you can, as these will mess up your other skills if you have move too much to avoid getting hit.
-Blocking: I found I kept hitting with my fist, especially on low blocks. I moved my controller up in my hand and this helped. Also, for my tracking, sometimes I had to look at my hands so that the tracker would pick up the position accurately enough; this is less than ideal, but you start getting an intuitive feel for when your headset needs extra help to find your hand; hopefully your tracking is better than mine. Generally, keeping a lower stance helped for me on the blocks. The dummy shows a green light when you’ve done it well.
-Punching: the dummy shows a green light when you’ve hit correctly. The pads on longer arms should be hit closer to when they’re perpendicular to the dummy, the pads that stay close to dummy should be hit when they’re directly in front of you.
-Combinations: once you’re confident with each skill separately, start combining blocks and punches. Only throw blades into the mix once you can consistently each combo the arms throw at you. Keep doing only combinations of 2 until you’re proficient with them (with two dummy arms) before adding all 3 elements.
Then, practice tier 1 level 5 on high speed, just for practice. Go to the extras options and turn on high speed and infinite (no death) option. Practice until you get in a flow state; ignore your mistakes, trust that you’ll get the hang of it. (Note that the quit button is a pad far to your right, though it will eventually stop on its own.) Focus on keeping calm and making the smallest motion necessary to deal with the situation; pay attention to keeping your hands relaxed on the controller (until “contact”); constantly clenched fists are an indicator you need to relax.
Soon after you feel you’re in the zone at high speed, turn off those options and try it for real at normal speed. After that preparation, you should have a good shot at passing.