Don't think of it as a Feudal rush anymore. It is the way the game is played. It is not a rush. That's the first hurdle in thinking the game properly.

Now people have tried to devise ways to beat the flush without actually flushing. These worked for a while (I was pretty good at defending the flush and enjoyed it when it didn't invariably win), but eventually people practiced the flush so much, and got so good at it, that it is impossible to stop without actually flushing yourself.

Note that when I say "flush" I refer to Feudal warfare, not the original gutter_rat archers/towers rush .

You're going to have to practice getting to Feudal a.s.a.p. with a decent economy. With a 10:47 Feudal, you should actually have 22 villagers non-Chinese or Mayan... practice those starts and watch recorded games for ideas.

* Tower rushes- usually Feudal at 9:15 with 19 vills I think
* Archer rush- usually Feudal at 10:15 with 21 vills
* Skirm/Scout/MAA- 23 or 24 vills 11:00-11:30 methinks

Here are your goals in Feudal warfare:

1. Collect food like a mofo from the get-go. You need to Feudal quickly with constant villager flow. Then collect wood like a mofo while Feudaling to build your military buildings... usually when you get 75% Feudal you switch your villagers to collect what you need to produce units and villies when you reach Feud. This is all along the idea of "gathering what you need, when you need it."
2. Scout your opponent and determine what route he is following... Is he mining stone early? Expect a tower rush. Is he mining gold at 10:00? How many vills are on gold? If there's only 2-3 expect a militia/MAA rush... If there's 4-6 expect an archer flush. If he's got farms and Feudals after 11:00, expect a skirm rush or scout rush or MAA rush... have your scout look around to see if he's built archeries or stables or more than one rax.
3. Try to anticipate what kind of military he's building and build the counter to it... Usually there's an initial conflict among equal players (provided they Feudal around the same time). If you already knew what he was preparing and countered it, you'll gain the initiative.
4. Attack his economy as hard as you can.. even if you force his villagers to garrison towers or his TC you've kept them from working and are gaining an advantage.

Remember the key to RTS is to gather what you need when you need it, and to spend your resources a.s.a.p. I think this is really where intermediates approach expert, is when they realize all these factors. The faster you spend resources you've collected (in hopefully the most efficient manner possible), the faster you'll grow exponentially.

Another difficult hurdle to overcome for economic players is to realize that military is more important than economy. It's not AOC anymore... military is the priority, to protect and allow you to build a superior economy.

You will never beat 1700+ players consistently without actually making a commitment to fight hard in Feudal (except when you're on a wallable map, but even then massing Feudal troops isn't a bad idea as you can upgrade them when you reach Castle Age).

Feudal combat takes a lot of practice... eventually you'll see the game different. With practice you'll understand how to multi-task it...

If you're using an infantry rush, your priority is to shut down his gold. He can't counter infantry without gold. Otherwise, shut down wood or farming... Try to focus on denying him a single resource. This hurts a lot. If he Castles before you, attack his gold so he can't build knights or siege weapons, while you try to Castle a.s.a.p.

All I can say is that your scout is your most important unit the first 15-20 minutes of the game. Use him to give you an edge... Take a good look at your opponent's town and the path between you and him, and react to his moves. Some people say Feudal warfare is a poopie shoot, but even though I hate it, I'll be the first to admit that this is bullsh!t... If you know how to use your scout, you can prepare yourself, and you'll know what your opponent is up to a couple minutes before he executes. Reconnaissance is key! By 8:00, you wanna have your scout looking at the other guy's town to try to figure out what he's doing.

An invaluable asset is the ability to think outside the lines... this is the only reward you'll have other than following optimized build orders. Wall certain entrances to your town, to force your opponent to come through your military, towers or TC... Think about how you want to lay out your town when you look at the map you've uncovered. Use elevation advantages. Think the game as much as you can...