Analysis: Taunting and Mind Games 

"When a little girl cries because she hears her dad putting ice cubes in a glass. " Holy shit that escalated quickly

do you think pavlov ever thought about feeding his dogs when he heard a bell ringing?

Player: *presses down 5 times* Gandhi, an intellectual: *wiffs light punch 5 times*

Ok, so next time someone Tbags me i am just gonna acuse him/her of warcrimes

So what did we learn today, kids? -Emotion matters a lot in fighting games and competitions overall -Taunting is a powerful tool to get the upper hand on your opponent. -There are a lot of ways to taunt your opponent and they may have different effects, from -putting them off their game to actually motivating them to try harder -Core-A Gaming had a rough childhood.

"a child cries just by hearing the sound of her father putting ice cubes in his glass" thats some dark shit man.

There needs to be a sequel to this discussing the "taunt-to-get-bodied" phenomenon. I'm genuinely serious on this.

Pavlov walks into a bar. He hears a bell ring and says, “Oh, shit! I forgot to feed my dogs.”

Today I learn a new term in fighting game call CREDIT CARD SWIPE! now that`s badass.

"Cancel into Fistbump" had to pull that three times today, I'm bad at this...

“Grapplers cause you to feel fear.” Except Luigi, he makes you feel the equally dangerous boredom.

Ah the Genova convention, that piece of paper that everyone agrees with until real war starts, Then suddenly White Phosphorus falls from the sky

Don't forget that ' Taunt to get bodied ' is a thing.

Holy shit that legendary handshake > fist bump cancel

"You know my moves, don't you? Why'd you just walk into 'em like that?" Ken Masters

„Seems like a cool video“ *watches video which explains why pigeons can play ping-pong*

Sure in real war you can't teabag anyone. They also don't respawn, so they won't have a different mindset going forward.

Might actually be my favorite RU-vid channel ever. I love analytical videos and I love esports and being one of the only analytical esports channels out there makes this my all time favorite.

Always knew this. But never seen it explained before in such a precise way. Thank you for the vid sir

"Beginning Zangief players will tend to always do their most damaging move, the spinning pile driver, whenever they get close to their opponent" Bold of you to assume beginner Zangiefs can even input SPDs

Taunting in guilty gear made it right. Every time you taunted at the end of the match, enemy got 50% of the meter during the next. Pretty cool.

I always hated getting taunted on after a bad match in smash 4 online so much, but even despite this I'm still upset about them removing taunts from smash ultimate online quickplay. I experienced the mindgame effect that taunts caused firsthand, it was something that worked, and now it's no longer an option... aaaand people have just started T-bagging instead anyway.

"Cancel into fist bump" Jeez you really know how to bring out the awkward nature of professional video gaming

Before i knew that t-bagging was a thing in fighting games i believed that it was a way to test the connection between my opponent and I, like, (s)he was tbagging and when my connection get good i do it in response, and then proceed to fight

The dark humor thrown in to spice things up a bit is appreciated.

Taunting for me is situational. I never taunt my opponent, unless it's like casuals with a friend and we're both joking. In a competitive aspect, when I get taunted, I usual laugh because it makes me think of how stupid they'll look if they lose (assuming they taunted mid-set). As for me, my only 'taunt' is I tend to do flashy moves or pose after the round ends (usually with Lars) as a celebration for winning. Not as disrespect to my opponent, but a way to feel good about winning. If anything, by not losing my composure and winning with solid play, that's all I need.

Fun fact - before this video I didn't even know what tbagging is, it always looked silly to me and I thought opponent either prepares for next move this way or has trouble with input Sigh, now I know and it seems I'm gonna lose that tbag immunity I had all these years

Not gonna lie, the Fighting Game genre is my favourite genre, and to have an entire You Tube channel dedicated to it, with also such high quality, is like a Nerd's dream come true.

Amazing! -Risuno

"war has gotten too esports" ROFL

On the slightest chance @Core-A Gaming reads this I wanted to say thank you. I saw this video going into high school and it motivated me to get into psychology. Turns out I love it and A LOT of it can be applied to fighting games. I graduated with AP points towards college and hope to make a career in it someday thanks to this

What I love about your videos is that you're so damn objective, reasonable and informative. You explain why taunting is valuable in the context of competition but also on why it is despised and you let the audience form a consensus through discussion rather than argumentation. U da man.

"The grappler archetype is used to insight fear." *shows Cerabella Umm....uhh yeah! Definitely fear! I definitely feel the blood rush.. somewhere...

Yep, this is pretty much maining Dedede in a nutshell

Part of Sun Tzu's teachings in his book "The Art of War" are to enrage your opponent, they're far more likely to make mistakes and you can properly punish them for it. Tea Bagging is no different to me, it's psychological warfare. My Dad has always told me, "If you don't want them to get your goat, don't show them where you keep it.". Condition yourself first, lest your opponent condition you. Good Video. Well Done.

"Cancel into fistbump" - Gerald from Core-A gaming 2017

1:50 Woah… Core-A getting real freaking meta… rough childhood?

Every time CoreAGaming uploads a fighting game analysis video I deadass drop everything I'm doing and watch it

I always strongly believed 'teabagging' and 'taunting' are like humor: you gotta know when is needed and spot on, and when is unnecesary and gone too far.

Taunting in real life and most video games: mental tactic that plays off your opponent's anger and ego Taunting in Punch Out: what the hell are you doing, you're literally giving Little Mac a free star

I get pretty pissed even when bots taunt me but I know that it's something I have to condition myself to. T-bagging should totally be allowed imo because even if it pisses people off; those people *need* to be able to laugh it off if they ever want to reach #1.

Hey I've been binge watching your videos for a few days now, and I've gotta say you've got me legitimately interested in giving fighting games another try. I think the biggest reason they turned me off was because they just seemed impossible to play, but looking back I think it's because I just didn't understand them. I think I'll try again with the 1st injustice since I already have that game. Thanks for giving me an insight on a part of gaming I initially never thought about. Keep up the good work on the channel!

"Find a counter in training mode." Ryu player: *does merengue beat*

Me: losing but having a good time Them : t-bags Me: *Sweat mode activated*

"Cancel into fistbump." Got me right in the giggles

Love the that Skullgirls track you used :3

I love how I can return to these videos at any moment and be reminded of how beautiful fighting games truly are

doood, love your channel man! magnificent analytics with historical facts and quotes to backup your points, and tons of cool references and easter eggs in the mix to make the whole watching experience just a whole lotta fun. awesome stuff man! respect.

Mark Brown from GMTK recommended this channel and honestly this was a top tier subscription. Love how you dove into the psychology and implementation of taunting as an aspect of gaming/competitive sports

I really like the gaming analysis on this channel, you break things down so good dude. Wish you were my teacher in school I would've learned alot more. When I get Smash online for the switch imma come rewatch your vids. So I can get good

I'm very new to fighting games and I've been watching your videos religiously. Not only did I learn a lot of valuable things about fighting games in general, I learned a lot of other "miscellaneous" knowledge (in the case of this video, how the Geneva Convention came to be) as well. Your videos are so well-researched and well put together, I love them! You earned yourself a subscriber! Keep doing what you do!

My god i love your videos and while i am nowhere near that level of passion for fighting games i still enjoy your videos because the majority of topics you bring up and explain is also relevant in real life fighting or martial arts

4:51 I think Cerebella was designed to incite more than just fear in players.

"The grappler archetype is designed to insight fear" HFTF Old Joseph: *happy music*

Four years ago and the beauty and intrucacy got me tearing up. Core-A you guys are analytical gods.

i like how you show the reference of the youtube channels you use by straight up showing the name of the channel under the video alot of us wouldnt look it up otherwise.. rare trait in youtube these days. keep killin it mang!

9:36 That woman is my hero, i don't know her, but i already admire her XD

Another amazing video. I especially love the topic that was covered particularly. Mental games and e-sports is becoming more realized and well known now more then ever especially in a professional setting. Keep up the good work.

Dude may I just say your explanations in these videos are highly educational and I completely respect what you do

Just found your channel and I'm loving the content so far. I'm surprised you didn't talk more about Smash, but overall I think your analysis on psychology and conditioning was fascinating to say the least.

I love when someone tbags me it gets me all hyped and it's easier to win then, so I appreciate it.

"Two major components of Mind-games are:" minds and games.

Love how much work you put into research in your vids man! You have a new fan!

Excellent content man... I'm rewatching all your vids on a binge and I must say you bring something different to this FGC table.

Picking Guile against one Chun-Li yet picking Mika against another; It speaks wonders about how much of the game is played on a player-to-player level as opposed to character-vs-character. Knowing your match-ups is important, in and out of the actual game. I'm betting many would agree that Ricki is more easily flustered than MOV is; both of Du's characters exploit this mental state well, but Mika friggin' FEEDS off of it. And it all goes straight to her ass.

"or when a child cries at the sound of her dad putting ice in a glass...." ......oh...well.... that got dark.

i truly love these videos. you can tell theres a lot of thought put into them and theyre put together with intention, no bit of dialogue is without a reason behind it. cant wait to see some more content, you do great work. hoping for some soul calibur 6 cameos in your new content core-a !!!

the level of analysis on this channel is so unreal, keep up the amazing work. 화이팅!

Teabaging (I think) actually might have one other effect, aside of taunting. It can also distract your opponent and make your next move less predictable. This way of using teabaging, however, is more appropriate for situation, when your opponent is knocked down, not when stunned. Though I never use it myself. I’m not that good fighting player anyway.

I personally hate when I lose to someone and they teabag me. In my mind i'm like "Why are you teabagging me for? it was a good game". But I guess they're trying to get into my head and motivate me to beat them. Good video

This was absolutely gratifying to watch. Well put together argument and well edited all around.

The quality of the content of this video is outstanding. Really great job. Thank you so much for sharing it🙏😌

Totally worth the wait

3rd Strike has the best taunts. Taunt with Q up to 3 times to damn-near _double_ your health.

Your graphic design and pacing is amazing. The psychological aspect is so refreshing instead of just blowing off reads as a 900 IQ play. Conditioning is in everything and it scares me

It's always so nice to come back to Core-A gaming videos. I hope you're doing well Gerald!

since i main el fuerte in ssf4ae, that lesson helped me a lot

I think in game taunts should exist which affects even the gameplay. Like say give the opponent additional damage for their next attack or like Guilty Gear where in the next round, it gives your opponent half of a full meter. You can even give every character 2 types of taunts; the taunt that doesn't affect the gameplay and the one that does. With very simple things you can make the metagate so much wider and more interesting to watch for the audience. It can also be used to make more personalities for the pro community. Like that one guy who always do risky taunts and still wins consistently. Sure there's that one thing that turned pretty bad but for the most part, taunts are all in good fun.

Great video. I dont really like fighting games but your analisis into the psychology behind them really captured my interest. Great job!

Love the philosophy and psychology in these videos. I'm not even good in fighting games but love these videos!!

You see the number one player? *He is a expert psychiatrist*

What are some examples of pop offs that go too far? The first that comes to my mind is the Call of Duty player (?) who screamed "YOU'RE GOING HOME, F*GGOT" after winning a match. It was clear that everyone in the venue was not okay with that kind of behavior.

This is my fav video of the channel , thanks you for it

Got a boisterous laugh out of me that I wasn't expecting at 1:00. Been marathoning your videos all night and day. Consider me a fan.

In a friend group where my friends repetitively taunt me for being decent, I've just given up as a whole, given that they care more about winning than making the game enjoyable

Imo this is core part of fighting games. Mortal Kombat literally strive on this. The whole fatality section of the game is salty and i love it.

I don't even play of watch fighting games but I keep coming back to watch this video. this is some quality stuff. Good Job

The most interesting part of this topic is how the same action can induce so many different reactions from different players. For me, being taunted or instant-killed gets me fired up and makes me more passionate to fight the next round harder. In net play when you often have little to no communication with your opponent, taunting is sometimes my only way of communicating with the opponent during the match, even if my intended message "recognize your weakness, focus and fight me" can interpreted completely differently.

oh skinner box like most mobile games?

i fucks with the vision

I think the most important bit about taunting is that rule of "Target is not of far lesser skill", which is where alot of contention with taunting online comes from I feel. An act of humiliation to rile an equal opponent is a tactical maneuver that is used to wedge the skill-gap between you, giving you control of the situation. No opponent is going to forego the chance to edge your chance of victory from 50% to 60%. Even as someone of limited nerve, I don't particularly mind getting taunted at in a heated battle and don't even feel the disrespect. On the contrary, actually. When an equal opponent has to resort to abuse my self-control to claim an edge over me, it's an assurance that I was worth using that on to lessen risks. I may not act it in the moment, but I acknowledge it and respect it the moment after. When you target someone clearly below your grade with this shit, this element becomes null and void. It stops being a tactical alternative to attacking in order to soften the opponent's resolve and becomes a hollow power-play made in bad taste to rub it in their face. Just straight up bullying that proves nothing except how much of a shit you are. It's just not on-point to make someone's already irritating situation of getting thrashed worse by beating on their self-esteem while you're at it. Overall, just save your taunts for when it's actually impressive to get away with.

I keep coming back to this video. I just find it so fascinating.

Great analysis. I love your videos.

Geneva Convention: 'No degrading or torture in war' Abu Ghraib: 'I'm about to ruin this mans whole career'

Thanks Core-A Gaming for a great content! I find your content very useful in my Stock Trading journey.

I love these essays. Every 6 months, I swear, I binge all of these. 🤘

the way that punk dude talks in that interview clip reminds me of Danny brown so much lol

Normal players: conditioning and what not Me: oh, down b didn’t hit? It will this time. Oh, he punished me, it’ll hit this time. Damn it! Ok one more try...

Fighting games teaches you so much about human nature it’s craaazy

I like the breakdown of different character types, really interesting.