How to Get Better-Speedcubing

No matter the sport, no matter who is playing, getting better and being the best is a huge part of being a part of the whole experience. But especially in the amazing competition of speedcubing, getting better is very hard. So for any those who might find it applicable, I’m going to give my short list on how to get better at speedcubing. Now first you should know that I average around 20 seconds, so most of this will only be useful if you average higher than that.

So for a big idea, learn your method. For me, the method of choice is CFOP. Therefore, this is the method I will be talking about, and if you know Petrus or ZZ, you are going to have to look elsewhere. Now when I say learn your method, I don’t refer to the algorithms directly. Yes, in the long run, algs are going to be necessary for any speedcuber, but for now, I don’t even know every PLL, and still do pretty well, so I can guarantee it isn’t required at first. The main idea behind learning your method is to know where you are going next. It should be second nature to transition from F2L to OLL or from OLL to PLL. The thing to make sure is that if someone asked you to solve a cube, you would be able to, using your chosen method, without too much thought. This is very difficult for some, I understand, so let me give some simple ideas.

First, learn F2L intuitively. This may be very hard to grasp, but believe me; it will save you loads of time later, and helps you understand how the cube moves much better. Add to this a more planned out cross. These two items, while they don’t include algorithms, are very beneficial, because if you can move the cube to solve these in your own way, it helps develop your style and shows you that you are in control of the cube, it’s not just a bunch of algorithms running the show.

Second, one common misconception is that you have to learn everything at once. I did step one a long time before I learned two look OLL and PLL. I still used the beginner method for the entire last layer. However, I laid the support for it early by allowing myself to learn a more advanced cross strategy and F2L, which made the transition to two look a whole lot easier.

Lastly, get inspired. I went on a vacation, and met Anthony Brooks at the Liberty Science center over the summer. I was so inspired watching him solve a cube in 8 seconds flat that I spent the rest of my vacation learning algorithms and practicing. In total, I learned about 15 algs and dropped 10 seconds in two weeks. Yes, this seems like a lot of work and probably sounds miserable, but I was having the greatest time and I just kept going from there. Some people won’t tell you this when they explain how to get better, but one of the biggest things you can do, is just to have fun with it. Enjoy the practice; enjoy having fun solving your cube. Feliks Zemdegs gave a seminar on speedcubing, and he said practice is what you have to do to get better. But he also said that if you aren’t having fun at it, or you are just forcing yourself to practice, then there is no reason to do it at all.

In the end, you can follow every piece of advice I give, or another blogger or Youtuber gives, but all that really matters is you  discovering and being confident in your own cubing style, and learning how to master one of the world’s greatest puzzles.