First Time with a Arcade Stick

[PimpMethod]

I'm just now leaning to play with a arcade fightstick. It's a Mad Catz Femme Fatale Street Fighter IV Tournament Editon:
Im pulling off some moves sofar. My right hand hurts from reaching my fingers for the buttons.
Ya got any tips?

[Bonemane]

Ugh Mad Catz. I can't stand them as a company. They make terrible, cheap products. Everything I've bought from them usually breaks within a week, sometimes on the first day. Good luck with your joy stick.

I haven't used one of those in years so I can't give many tips. Don't tug too hard on the stick, but at the same time don't get too loose or the moves won't register. I'm assuming arcade sticks work the same as the sticks on a console controller so just think of it as that, but bigger and adjust for it.

[Trainer23667]

Note: Try to come up with a better a title, for my immaturity kicked in right at the get go. Excuse me for my lawlz.

Now, to the point, madcatz? Eh, can't say I typically recommend most of their products. I do like the flashy colors and designs but sometimes the finished product in hand just doesnt work out. =\

As for using the arcade stick, your wrist is going to be in for one hell of a change. Make sure you play on a leveled surface, not uneven, otherwise your in for some pain. It will take a little while to adjust but the more you use the stick, the more you'll get use to it. Practice makes perfect. ;0

[XavierThirtyTwo]

Make sure you find a joystick grip that works for you. Some prefer underhand, other's prefer overhand. some prefer monkey grip, others like the claw type grips.

Learn to use all five fingers on your right hand to hit the buttons, and don't forget about your thumb!

Since you have a TE stick, it's safe to assume that you have a square gate. You have to learn the new motions for your special move inputs. You need to learn to make minor adjustments to your movements. SRK motion, for example, will now actually be a Z shape. Right to hit the right wall of the gate, down-left to hit the bottom wall of the gate, and then drag straight to the right to hit the corner of the gate. (Also, your joystick isn't a Pink Floyd theme park, so stop riding the wall.)

TL;DR = grip it comfortably with your left hand, spread out your right hand. stop riding the wall.

[MrJared]

Wow, so much Mad Catz hate. Granted, they have a spotty track record, but their line of TE sticks are easily the best commercial arcade sticks produced to date, besting the likes of HORI in their first attempt. They're also extremely easy to mod, so if you cheap out and go the SE route, you can easily drop in Sanwa or Seimitsu parts to beef it up to full spec.

Anyway, there really aren't any guidelines or tricks from moving from a pad to a stick other than to practice and find out what comes naturally to you.

My advice is to relax your left hand and just let it rest on the base, while controlling the stick itself gently with your fingers and thumb. Unlike a spring-loaded American stick, Japanese sticks require very little effort to trigger and so you need to relax and be precise. Just whatever you do, don't grip it. There's no point since there's no resistance to require such force.

If your hand is sore from reaching all the buttons, however, you're doing it wrong Everyone has their own style, but what I do is rest hand down with three of my fingers resting on the top 3 buttons and then just moving from there. You definitely do not need to try and have your hand across all the buttons at once.. most people tend to play with only two fingers and then just move about the controls. I know when I'm doing tighter links in SF4, I'll start hunting-and-pecking to make sure I have my timing right.

Just practice and stick with it

[DistractXfer]

learn eagle claw

[whiskeyhicks]

The important thing to remember when playing with an arcade joystick is speed and grip. Sure finger placement/dexterity is good too, but it's all about the joystick. Keep your grip steady and work fast. (...Don't laugh!)

If you can't hit the 360 motion for a Spinning Piledriver without jumping in the air that means you're not fast enough for anything.

[DarthShadows]

I'm surprised that title hasn't attracted more lewd comments.