You Do Not Have to Be Good - WB Yeats, Mary Oliver, and Hayao at Evo 2024 

Incredible.

"There will always be somebody who is glad you showed up, even if it is just you" Thank you

I am an artist; freelance and professional, and with a decent, albeit somewhat meager following. I do okay for myself. I'm better off than most. I do my best. It never feels like enough. Lately I've grappled with my sense of inadequacy, day after week after month. Questioning whether or not what I put into the things I do - from my personal life, to my close relationships, to my career and passions - is the best I could offer. If it's ever quite enough. This leaves me paralysed, stricken with obsessive, compulsive deliberation that only a perfectionist could match. If it isn't the best, then what would it take? If it isn't the best, Then why even bother. -- This video made me break down crying while I was waiting at the gate of my flight back home; at the end of a vacation I took to try and manage my stress. I'm crying still as I write this comment. I clearly needed to hear this again, same as all my friends have been saying to me, reframed yet again in the context of another one of my passions. Despite all my persistent hangups, difficulties and fears; I always feel most alive when I'm being the truest version of myself, unconcerned about results, outcomes, nor others' judgment. I just wish that knowing how good it feels was enough for me to pursue it unconditionally, too. Thank you so much for making this. You don't know how significant it is, and I hope that everyone who needs to see it, will.

"You do not have to be good. You do not need to walk on your knees for 100 miles through the desert, repenting. You only need to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves." I love how the poem situates love in the body rather than the mind, and overall seems to suggest that the "spiritual" or otherwise internal problems of despair and loneliness have their solution in the physical world, embracing our belonging in "the family of things." I especially needed the reminder in those opening lines today. Thank you.

i saw a comment about hayao recently that said "someone who works hard will never beat someone who enjoys themselves" and that really stuck with me as i try to remember to enjoy myself with hobbies instead of being strictly competitive

As an English grad student and fighting game player, this video is super interesting to me conceptually... never thought I'd see Hayao clips juxtaposed with some of the authors I've studied so much, lol. I think this vid will catch more fighting game players than literature people, but as someone who's both - someone who uses poetry to get through the mental blocks I've found while trying to improve in fighting games, in fact - this was a really cool watch. It overall reminds me of how poetry, regardless of its age, ultimately speaks about and to the living soul. I think playing fighting games touches that "living" part personally. Despite the action primarily occuring on a screen, these games are still another way for us to express our existence. That's actually why I think both poems you pointed out aren't just "be yourself," but also "play the game because you love the game" - winning is living, losing is living, and the feelings evoked from the actions we direct on a screen are living, too. The only requirement to being a "real" fighting game player is "to let the soft animal of your body / love what it loves," as Oliver says, which, in a fighting game player's context, should be the game (and what the game offers to you personally - the development of one's skills and of the self) - not just victory. Anyway, thanks for providing a little space where my two biggest interests can intersect - it's the first time I've really seen anyone consider how they can apply to one another. :)

He does act like that every time he plays. been watching him for years and he really makes everything better.

This video really resonates with me. I've been watching evo since I was kid, and I always dreamed about playing at the highest level even having never gotten particularly close. As I've been getting ready to start my career, I've thought a lot about what fighting games mean to me as an adult with limited time to play. This video ended up in my feed just as I'd gotten home from my first day of teaching and the words at the end were really nice to hear.

Hi from Tokyo, I really appreciate this vid. 8:53 Your guess is right, Hayao (he is my friend) acts with the same attitude which he has showed in EVO even in small local tournaments. He himself said that what he has done in EVO is what he always does. Many of his friend watched Hayao in EVO and said like “Ok, he is the same as usual”. :D

How inthe hell does a man with 3 subscribers and 36 views make the best video I've watched in at least a month? Notifications are set to all! Found this on the videoessays reddit.

If I could, I would put money to get this video promote to be seen by millions of people. You are good and deserve to not be anonymous, inroads

i've played thirdstrike for 18 years and loved poetry for even longer so this video was right on time

10:45 I'm not crying, you are

Yeah, i can definitely say Hayao has a long history of this. Hell, he also played various anime fighters and would do crossdressing cosplay for tournaments!

In the end, whats most important is you're having fun.... To live and breath the art, the lifestyle, the hype moments

i fucking love this commmnity. i love fighting games. i love you people. i love that we are grown and thoughtful and very fucking cool and interesting or whatever now this video rules you guys are good people

My mans Hayao has been this way since the 00's dating back to old SBO tournaments. That's just the way that man is. And if he wasn't the world would be worse off.

this video, about a game i do not play, brought me to tears. thanks for showing up inroads. Gennuinely, I am so greatful you did.

this is excellent. love the fusion of literary analysis, philosophy and the FGC. this needs to have millions of views.

Damn, I've never had a fighting game video bring tears to my eyes before. As another poetry-loving FGC member, I'm glad you brought yourself and showed up. Beautiful.

This was such a fantastic video. My love of fighting games has recently been totally reignited after having lived most of my adult life deliberately avoiding them because of the effect online play can have on the ego. Growing up, my "FGC" was just my brother and I playing Tekken, GGXX, Marvel Super Heroes, and Virtua Fighter 4 over and over. I fancied myself pretty damn good. After spontaneously buying Capcom Fighting Collection and dipping my toe into VSav ranked matches I realized I'd only gotten pretty damn good at playing one specific individual I spent years getting to know lol. It's possible this recent obsession could end up just being another phase, but seeing videos likes this makes me feel like I do, in fact, have a place in this community, even if all I ever do is bounce between Bronze and Super Bronze rank. It's about fun, learning, and growing, not just as a fighter, but as a person. As corny as it sounds, there's a lot of life lessons to be learned from getting bodied over and over and over again. Stay strong, friends. And when you can't, go out and touch some grass. The FGC isn't going anywhere!

I'll never expect a video so deep about 3rd Strike or videogames in general. As an example, the 2004's Evo is remembered for the Evo Moment #37, it wasn't in a Grand Finals, and Daigo doesn't won the tournament neither, and almost nobody cares or remember who won. This year, again, no one is talking about the grand final. That's the beauty of transcending or moving without being the winner.

I think you have just answered the time old question of ‘what is the meaning of life’ with your wonderful video via poetry masters and fighting games masters…what a match up ! ❤❤❤

This wonderful video just showed up through RU-vid’s mysterious algorithm. Hope to see more :)

Thank you for this message~ 💙 Was nice to see how you tied everything together as well!

I was just looking for a video to watch while I have lunch... now my food is seasoned with my tears. That's a beautiful work.

Incredible video man. The section towards the end of “There will always be someone who was glad you did, even if that someone was just you”, brought me to tears. Thank you for making this

I was just thinking about dropping potemkin in +r after getting the same placements over and over. Your video appeared at the right time. Greetings from Brazil 🇧🇷

7:05 As a Q main I have thought about this many times. When I first started playing 3S 2 years ago several people recommended me not picking up Q and said I should pick a top tier. I disregarded their advice and have no regrets. I’ll take Q as far as I can and continue to work on complaining about character balance less :p

Hats off, sir. This was quite good. Introspective works about sports or art always fascinate me.

Thanks so much for making this. Ive had this kinda of realization about 6 or 7 years ago. I try to remind ither players that are new and old to not focus on win rates. And generally need to be reminded of this. Your lecture about being yourself had me emotional, but i cried when Oliver said "You do not bave to be good" its so rejuvenating to have this reinforced.

I don't play fighting games, but for some reason these videos keep popping up on my feed. And now I see why. That's a wonderful poem by Yates. Make more videos please.

Hell yeah, this vid was awesome. As someone who actually is on the thin bridge that is both poems and fighting games (i even write them lol) i loved this video. The presentation of the message itself allows it to truely feel impactful and your choice of both words and music only added to that feeling. I hope that you find sucess with this, truely.

I just wanted to say that 10:55 brought me to the brink of tears. I didn't think a video about fighting games could end up resonating so much - thank you for making it.

A message that truly needs to spread for the massive wave of newcomers to the genre, as well as the veterans that have remained all these years.

It's so weird how just this year I got into Fighting Games and Poetry, and I've been grappling with this idea of being myself 😂 Sometimes, the algorithm does send a gem your way. Genuinely lovely video, dude. 😊

I cannot BELIEVE that one of my favorite poems got tied into one of my fav fighting games. Bless the algorithm

This is was truly an incredible video. Dear Inroads, I want you to know that this video touched me so incredibly deeply. I was at Evo 2024 this year. Since that short time, I have ended up at the lowest point in my life from choices that stemmed from me not being authentic to myself. This video had me crying at my desk today. From one stranger on the internet to another. Thank you for making this.

As both a poetry reader and fighting game player I must say I have never felt so seen in my whole life ❤

Incredible video. Adding to.my favorites to watch again and again

Abel: From myself and many of my headmates, thank you for this video, for this message, for being yourself in the way that poem suggests. We used to be naturally very joyful and expressive and talkative. Through middle school and college our self-esteem took some big hits and we've been trying to find our ground both in this world and in terms of self-confidence ever since. This video spoke to our struggles and helped us feel pride and confidence for being ourselves, on a day that we particularly needed it. Don't ever stop being yourself and we will do the same. Take Care.

This video is absolutely incredible I can’t believe what a gem of “simple truths” this is

What an amazing message. Video game communities always battle the mentality to do “better” and struggle to take a step back. Seriously amazing. Thank you!

Beautifull and Very sensible... Thank you sir, i was in need of this kind words... Thank you, deeply...

That was very cool. Drawing the dots between disparate seeming domains can help find deeper truths.

This made me cry. Amazing job on this video. This hits home.

I saw your video on my timeline, put the cursor on video for undestand whats you meant with this title and in my head i was like '' i'm not going to watch whole video'' but when i realized i had already watched everything and now I'm liking the video and subscribing to your channel. Amazing work thats you made! I'm also learning english and i can understand perfectly what your're talking about

Life can be cruel , and the lack of ability to win can hurt. I got to the second round at Evo. It's frustrating to be mediocre. Truth can hurt.

I love this video. The build-up culminating in Mary Oliver reading this beautiful poem on top of the beautiful joy of Hayao actually made me cry, amazing job!

Beautiful video. It’s important to realize games are for fun and sometimes you have to take it as it comes.

As a videogame player, therapist and writer, this was exquisite.

Finally, my love for fighting games and appreciation for the classical arts intersect. Amazing.

Yoooo this os top notch. Being a huge poetry fan and fighting game fan for 30 years this is so well done I am so thankful the algorithm brought me here. I'll do tmy best to share it across the community. Great work!

Big poetry and 3rd strike fan here and there was absolutely no way I couldn’t watch this video with Yeats and Hayao

Thanks for this. Despite REALLY enjoying the last Evo (and rooting for several friends/acquaintances that attended it), I recently decided that I won't be practicing 3s anymore, or at least, not for a loooooooong time. I was really trying my best to improve at the game, as it's my favorite fighting game and I wanted to be good at these games, at least at ONE of them. Turns out I'm not great, despite having actually improved my game knowledge and performance, I'm still not "good" at it, after 15+ years playing I'm still just one of the bajillion mid level, not-too-bad players out there. And the price I had to pay to get to my hard-earned "okay" level was just too high. As an adult man, I simply can't afford to keep playing this one game for 15-20 hours a week, only to keep my level (even more hours are needed if I want to IMPROVE). My job (artist) already requires me to put in insane hours and brainpower in order to get better, so it's just not sustainable to keep on grinding 3s at the expense of my quality time (family, wife, friends, exercise, chores, sleep) so MAYBE I can be a better player in a couple years. What I get from your video is that I can maybe simply accept the fact that I won't be really good at the game, when I get to play it every once in a while -at a friends gathering, party or whatever-. I felt like I've FAILED at this game as I'm not able to beat other people as consistently I used to, because I am not practicing anymore. And that's fine, I don't owe it to anybody, and if they were expecting me to be better from my alleged experience, too bad I guess. It's incredibly hard to accept that we are just not good at something, but videos such as yours are a very good reminder to just chill and stay humble.

wow almost cried at the end, amazing video, keep up the good work man!

That's just perfect dude. Thanks for the video

As someone who writes poetry and has an interest in fighting games (though is much better with the former than the latter), I tip my hat to you. This was a wonderful video. I agree; the best things in anything are to be yourself and have a good time, regardless of the result.

Such a strong and wonderful take on a culture that's often focused on top performance! I'm sharing this with the locals.

I cried. Thank you.

By total coincidence, the past few weeks, I have been searching RU-vid---independently---for Yeats videos and FGC content. So when this showed up in my feed, I thought for sure it was a glitch, or I was having a stroke. Fucking unbelievably weird moment. But glad I found it, really cool idea for a video!

It all goes away in the end, I get to love 3rd strike for my short time here. Thx bro, from a low tier Alex player.

Very insightful! Makes me feel better about my lack of talent in games I enjoy. The best thing is having fun with those around you.

This kind of reminds me of HawaiianShirtMan and the impact he had on making SFV fun to watch. Lots of folks had something to say about SFV when it came to criticisms, but whenever that guy popped up in a tournament, everyone just had a fun time, including him. As a competitive fighting game player myself, this is a reminder to me that everyone has the potential to have something to offer to the community, regardless whatever your skill level is. Content creator, funny player, hell even a raging guy like LowTierGod. Excellent video man!

MANNN THIS MADE ME CRYYYY

As an artist, I needed to hear this. Just show up, be authentic.

this was an absolutely beautiful video, and i'm really glad it found its way to me.

Poetry and fighting games go together like peanut butter and jelly, baby!

Damn dude, thanks for making this. I'm a big fan of both poetry and fighting games, and was just today thinking about whether or not some of my skills or interests are useless if not put to use for fortune or fame. Cheers and I hope you continue having interesting thoughts

beautiful. I mean, jesus christmas it's like you made this video just for me. I love fighting games (and rhythm games) and I love poetry, I named my son after Mary Oliver. I don't know exactly what prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

This deserves SO MANY more views and you SO MANY more subscribers.

Amazing content! The end was so inspiring. Thank you so much!

Thank you man 😢

What a beautiful video. I feel lucky to have seen it

Neat video 😁👍🏾, a lot of time I feel we get tied up in comparison we miss the forest for the trees.

Awesome video. Great watch. Informative and I love the way you put a unique spin on this moment

Amazing video, poetry speaks to us on so many levels, and is applicable everywhere. As much as this was a street fighter video, it was also a life lesson. One brought apon a man who is himself, and brings nothing more; because that itself, is enough. He just happens to play street fighter. Can't wait to see more videos

Thank you so much making me cry.

This is beautiful, thank you.

9:30 dang I just got Mr. Rogers'd

Great video! I loved the connection to literature and will definitely stay for this type of content 🎉🎉

i cried seeing someone be so happy, because why cant i be. idk why i cant be happy like that, even though i so deeply want to be

wtf dude i was not expecting such a well thought video, keep on the good work

Thank you.

We are always lucky when someone so talented chooses 3rd Strike for life. There’s many of them.

This was so lovely

Damn! I laughed at the title and eventually clicked. What a video man! So many new FGC channels have a ton of cinks zo work out, but you came out the game swinging.

This is art like literally man, this touches your soul and makes you reflect on how to enjoy life by being true to yourself in your persuit of self-actualization. This channel is gonna blow up and it's well deserved

Hayao winning 4th place is still very impressive, especially when maining a low tier like Hugo.

This video was recommended to me out of nowhere!

Beautiful video and very beneficial to someone who raged multiple times today playing sf6 ranked.

It was like I was listening someone’s college final presentation. You deserved to pass the whole semester. Sincerely, I really like the message to the video and how it tied to that EVO. It was sweet and straight to the point.

Thank you for writing this.

This is an amazing video. Thank you for making this

I'm gonna be thinking about this video for a long time

I really really really appreciate this video

Best fgc content I’ve come across possibly ever. Can’t believe how little known your channel is. Godspeed, I’m sure you will get far.

Dude, incredible video. Keep doing These on whatever you're interested, please

I needed this rn thank you.

It's nice that you chose to make such a pleasant video about this, tying things together to give a perspective. Thanks =)