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Tips and Practice Techniques for Fridrich Method

I have compiled here some tips and practicing techniques that I've found useful over the last 2 years of my speedcubing experience. Many of these were introduced to me through Japan Speed Cubing Club and the International Speedcubing Forum.

Preinspection - Cross

1. Taking as much time as possible for each scramble, form the cross in 7 or less moves. You should be able to do this over 99% of the time.
2. Repeat 1, but forming the cross blindfolded. There should be almost no mess-ups.
3. Repeat 2, gradually decreasing the time inspection until you can always do it in 15 seconds.
4. Slow down during the cross to prepare for the first corner-edge pair of F2L. You may wish to not use any finger tricks for the cross for this reason.
5. Learn your color scheme by heart. Shown two adjacent sides of a solved cube at random, you should be able to tell without hesitation what color the other sides are.
6. Try cubing without inspection. This forces you to slow down, thereby letting you more easily connect from cross to F2L.
7. Try to form the cross in such a way that when it is completed, it ends up on whichever side you perform F2L with. This eliminates the need to turn the cube around to start F2L, and make the transition easier.

F2L

1. If you are just starting to learn, try to make sense of each "algorithm." This will not only help you memorize them, but also help you figure out on your own non-matching pair, empty slot, and other tricks for F2L.
2. Reduce regripping as much as possible. This means, among other things, being able to perform each "algorithm" from every direction.
3. Search for your perfect style. Some like to keep the centers as fixed as possible, while others tend to use many double layer turns and tilts. (I, for one, overuse double layer turns.) Watching videos of different cubers will definitely help.
4. Using a metronome, restrict yourself to doing a fixed number of moves every second. 2 moves per second should keep you busy for a while. For a sub-20 average, you should aim for 3 moves per second.
5. Ok, here's the best advice anyone can give you: GO SLOW, LOOK AHEAD. What this means is to look for the next pair as your are solving one. There should be no stop between each pair.
6. Once in a while, it may help to try going extremely fast while still trying to look ahead. At first this will feel very awkward and frantic, but in the end, you will need that speed.
7. For the final pair, go as fast as possible.

OLL

1. Learn to recognize all patterns from only 2 sides.
2. For very easy patterns, learn to solve from all directions.
3. Do not rush. You still have one more step.
4. You may wish to use algorithms that end with the last layer on top, so that there is no need for whole cube turn in the transition to PLL.
5. If you have done all of the above, maybe it's time for you to learn COLL. Use only the ones you can excute quickly.
6. Last layer is simple recognition and excution of various algorithms...practice, practice, practice!

PLL

1. Again, learn to recognize all patterns from only 2 sides. (This is something I don't use right now, but will eventually have to.)
2. Again, for the easier patterns, learn to solve from all directions.
3. As you're making those last turns, be thinking about putting down the cube and stopping the timer. You may wish to customize your algorithms to make it timer-friendly.

Overall

1. Videotape yourself and compare your solve with that of fast cubers.
2. Live close to a fast cuber. =)
3. Learn other aspects of the cube other than speedcubing - cube math, blindfold cubing, FMC, etc.
4. Take every chance you get to cube under pressure.
5. Participate in online contests. (I've been really lazy with them these days.)
6. Constantly think about what you are doing wrong:
7. Time one step, stop, inspect the next step, and do the next step. Repeat this until the end. Your average minus this time is what you spend on inspection; it's also how much you can improve if you learn to look ahead!
8. Experiment with block methods: Petrus, Gilles Roux's method (start with 1x2x3), Ryan Heise's method. The point is to have a variety of weapons stored for special cases.
9. Have one scrambling algorithm and its full solution using your normal method memorized. You can see how nervous you are (your fingering-speed delay, not looking-ahead delay) by comparing your time with your average.

Theoretical Average

Theoretical average is the sum of average of times for individual steps: cross, 4 F2L pairs, OLL, and PLL for Fridrich. You are given inspection before each of these 7 steps. Your theoretical average more or less represents your potential if you look ahead 100% and never stop. If your theoretical average is much lower than your actual average, you're wasting a lot of time looking for pieces during F2L. For example, my theoretical average is about 1 sec faster than my actual average, which is the difference from recognition time of OLL and PLL.

Maintaining Your Speedcubes

Speedcubing cannot exist without a good speedcube; having a good, lubricated cube will considerably decrease your time. A speedcuber should know how to maintain his cube to his own liking.

The easiest and most effective way to make a good speedcube is to apply it some kind of lubrication. This makes it much easier for you to turn the cube fast and to do FSC's. It also helps to take your cube apart once in a while and clean the cube dust. Never use WD-40 and leave it on as it will destroy your cube. Look for silicone sprays in car shops or hardware stores. I recommend Tempo silicone spray or SNAP silicone spray, a favorite of WC2003 3x3x3 champ, Dan Knights.

Fortunately, there already is "The Definitive guide to lubing, buying and maintaining a speedcube" by Trevor Holland. I will therefore not write a detailed description of the lubing process and various types of lubes. Here, I will briefly write about how often and how much I lubricate my cubes since it seems to be a very popular question.

I lube my cube every three months or so, usually about two weeks before a tournament. From that point, I play with each lubed cube to make sure that the lubricant sinks in; otherwise, your cube will be too slippery. Although slippery cubes definitely let you turn more moves per second, you are more likely to lose control of them and make them lock up than when you have a less-lubricated one. For loss of just a bit of speed, you can gain much accuracy and look ahead much more easily. Being able to look ahead is the most important thing; I save myself about 1.5 sec by using a soft but not-to-slippery cube from when I use a cube that has just been lubed.

Exactly how lubricated is up to the speedcuber himself. More lubed cubes will make your life easier on the last layer, while less lubes cubes usually help to decrease the F2L time, again by helping one to look ahead. It's all about what fits your cubing style the best! (My best cubes are soft but tight enough so that they never POP unless forced. Several cubers have said that they were not smooth enough for them.)

While I'm on the subject of maintaining a speedcube...stickers is always a big deal for speedcubers. Unfortunately, the new stickers on Oddzon cubes have not been improved, and transparent sheets peel off after a while, leaving a white sticker behind. I recommend to simply purchase a new set from rubikshop.com. These replacement stickers do not have transparent sheets, and so they are more durable. I also like Adam Zamora's stickers very much.

Notice how many things there are for F2L. Really, it's all about the F2L! I hope someone will find these useful. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.

Special Thanks

I have to thank everyone in the cubing community for always being there, especially Katsuyuki Konishi, Masayuki Akimoto, and Suehiro Kondo for helpful advices on the JSCC forum. Much thanks also go to Ron van Bruchem, Lars Vandenbergh, Thomas Templier, David Wesley, Chris Hardwick, and Jessica Fridrich for inspiration. Tyson Mao also deserves a massive thanks for organising his tournaments (and doing a splendid job!). I couldn't have come this far in the world of speecubing without you all!

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Created by Shotaro "Macky" Makisumi

Last updated: 2005/05/30

Macky's site for speedcubers, blindfold cubers, and cube-addicts...
Best average: 13.42 seconds. 12.11 seconds AsR solve here