Undoubtedly, many beginner 3rd strike players (myself included!) have gone through the "spamming shoto low-sweep" phase where they initially think it's a great, spammable move because of the range and low knockdown. It isn't until they get punished for the umpteenth time that they realize it's actually very unsafe on block, and very easy to punish on reaction due to the massive frame disadvantage, and start using it more sparingly. Same goes for wake-up uppercut, wake-up super, and any other number of scrubby tactics that any reasonably experienced 3S player will be familiar with. However, although some moves like shoto cr. HKs and uppercuts are very obviously unsafe if blocked, there are quite a few unsafe moves that aren't as easy to identify. Fortunately, in this day and age many years after the release of the game, we have pretty detailed frame data on most moves in the game, and identifying which moves are safe and which ones are punishable has become a much easier task.

When it comes to punishing blocked moves, the most common references in terms of how "safe" a move is are Ken SAIII and Chun-Li SAII. Both have very fast startup (Ken SAIII - 2 frames; Chun-Li SAII - 3 frames) and excellent horizontal range (particularly in Chun-Li's case - the automatic tracking makes pushback virtually a non-factor for her). It's important to note that both of these are important: for example, there are plenty of super arts with 1 frame startup but very limited range (i.e. Makoto SAI). Super arts like these aren't as useful for punishing most blocked normals, since any sort of pushback will push the character out of range.

Below is a table showing some less commonly known, punishable moves. As an example for what can be punished with what, Ken's super has 2 frames of startup, which means the first active/hit frame is the 3rd one after the super flash. Therefore, you want to look for moves that are -3 or worse on block as potential candidates for reversal super punishes with Ken. Of course, there are things that can prevent a reversal super art punish, even with favorable frame disadvantage properties:

- Pushback; getting pushed back to the point that the first hit misses, or some number of initial active frames don't connect
- Cancels; a classic example occurs in Ken mirror matches when one player baits the other into going for a reversal SAIII after a blocked cr. MK, only to cancel it into EX fireball, which hits Ken out of his super art and effectively wastes a full stock of meter. A lot of moves have cancels that make them safer than the frame data may suggest.

Therefore, figuring out what moves you can always punish on reaction and which moves require more caution requires some degree of experience and research beyond just a single frame advantage number. As always, this isn't intended to be a comprehensive list, just a starting point; for a comprehensive list you can use a resource like the bradygames guide. There are many unsafe moves that I left out for a variety of reasons:

- Too obvious to merit pointing out (most super arts, for example).
- Too rarely seen to be all that useful
- Requires using a super art that nobody would use in serious play (for example, Chun SA1 can punish stuff like a blocked Ken MP, HP target combo, but nobody ever uses SA1, so it's moot).

The idea is to point out commonly used moves that can be punished frequently enough to be worth knowing the frame data for. I've only listed moves that I'm 100% sure are punishable by at least one method (usually Ken SAIII or Chun SAII) on block, either because I've done the punish, seen the punish, or have heard from a high level player that the punish actually works.

Wherever possible, I've put links illustrating punishes in real play. The link description says which character is performing the punish. As I find more links I'll update this table over time, I might even just sit down and make videos of all of these punishes just to fill out this table.

As you start looking out for these moves, you may be surprised at how easy some of these moves are to punish when you're actually watching out for them. A common example is Yang slashes; many players have the bad habit of not mixing up the number of slashes, and just stopping one short of the maximum, thinking that they're safe in doing so. If you latch on to a pattern like this and actively anticipate slashes, it's very easy to reversal super after the 2nd or 4th slash with any number of characters, and get free punishes where before you felt like you were just stuck in block strings forever.

Happy reversals!

To the neophyte (brand new) 3rd Strike player, one of the most difficult obstacles to getting better at the game is simply figuring out where the best resource for improving one's gameplay are. After all, the game is more than a decade old, and outside of Japan (where it still remains quite popular thanks to events like the Danisen league, East vs West Wars, etc.) the odds of finding an active local scene are virtually zero. As much as I wish I could simply say "this site" and be done with it, this is still a very small and slowly developing site, and thankfully there are some pretty good resources that are worth checking out periodically if you're serious about improving your game.

1. Street Fighter Anniversary Collection Official Fighter's Guide (Bradygames)

The "official" guide released by Capcom for this game, this guide is an excellent starting point for players with a solid grasp of the basics. It contains overviews of frame data, basic combos, basic and more advanced tactics, and generally a well-rounded guide with a wide breadth of topics. It is fairly old, so it won't containing bleeding edge tactics or mechanics, and high level theory on certain tactics and matchups may be a little bit different, but the general underlying fundamentals of the game haven't changed much since the release of this guide, which makes it well worth perusing at least once.

If you're a complete beginner, then most things like frame data and more advanced tactics won't be of much value, so I'd recommend a different starting point like a more basic guide, or just playing with a more experienced player who can show you the ropes.


2. Shoryuken Forums (http://shoryuken.com/forum/index.php?forums/street-fighter-iii-3rd-strike.193/)

A word of warning: unlike the guide, the forums are not limited to knowledgeable, expert level players, so the quality of the information on them tends to vary a lot more. There are a lot of inexperienced players who may not really know what they are talking about, as well as trolls, so don't expect everything you read to be worth absorbing.

The advantage is that it is populated by some very strong players who can answer your questions about the game as they come up, providing help with more specific topics like your personal weaknesses, more advanced tactical questions, etc. There are also some good existing threads that have been stickied at the top of the forums, which are probably worth checking out (match vids, system mechanics in particular).


3. http://ensabahnur.free.fr/Baston/index.php?page=gameChars&gameNum=20&gameName=Street%20Fighter%20III%20Third%20Strike

Although this site doesn't really have a name, it probably contains the most comprehensive frame data for 3rd strike available on the web, at least as far as I know. It goes far beyond the bradygames guide and provides more detailed information like active/hit frames, recovery frames, and so on, as well as frame data on throws, taunts, etc. The data is all accurate to the best of my knowledge, and this is really the only place I go whenever I have a frame data question.


4. TheShend's Youtube Channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/TheShend)

Contains a VAST library of 3rd strike footage, ranging from it's early days all the way up into the present. Updated very frequently with new footage from Japanese arcades - although the quality of play greatly varies at times, there are tons of videos containing play by 3rd strike legends. Covers regular events like the Danisen leagues, East vs. West Wars, Tougeki qualifiers, etc.

Although reading paper guides is great for developing a solid theoretical understanding of the game, ultimately the best ways to learn are to play, and watch other high level players in action. This channel is great for seeing what high level play looks like and trying to improve your game by analyzing the play of other top players.



Hopefully this list provides you with some good starting points for improving your play!

One of the things that new SF players take for granted is that an input will result in the same thing happening every time. This isn't an unreasonable assumption most of the time - if you input throw, you want to get a throw every time, and most of the time you will. However, occasionally there will be some ambiguity in how the game engine interprets inputs based on your interaction with opponents, and this can result in one input giving different results in different situations. Inputs that can give two different results based on in-game character interaction are known as option selects.

Let's examine some of the most common option selects in 3rd Strike, and what makes them useful:


Crouching throw tech - d. + LP + LK

Earlier, I mentioned ambiguity in how the game interprets certain inputs; one such example includes the throw input while crouching. The 3rd Strike engine doesn't allow you to throw someone else while crouching - try inputting d. + LP + LK to verify this if you like. However, it does allow you to throw tech while crouching, with the exact same input. There, the d. + LP + LK input has two different results based on what your opponent does:

Opponent tries to throw you: you get a throw tech.
Opponent doesn't try to throw you: you get a cr. LP. This is because LP has priority over LK if both buttons are pressed and throw can't come out for reasons like the one listed above, that you can't throw while crouching.

It should immediately because obvious why this is a useful option select - instead of potentially whiffing a throw in the second scenario, which is often what your opponent is trying to bait you into doing for an easy punish, you get a fast low poke that can interrupt your opponent's rushdown. Instead of just covering a throw tech with a standing throw, you also cover other options like tick throws, hesitation moves, etc. This is why crouching when going for a defensive throw tech is often recommended.

Of course, there are still vulnerabilities to this option select - no offensive or defensive option is ever foolproof. If you use this too frequently, your opponent can simply bait it and parry the low jab or space themselves in a manner that allows them to punish it with a move that outranges your low jab. You can always mix things up by throwing in regular standing throws, which will punish parry fishing, or simply jump to escape throws and many other offensive pressure chains. The key, as always, is to avoid falling into easily identifiable or punishable patterns.


SGGK - high/low parry, followed immediately by kara-throw

Another ambiguous situation arises when parries are combined with kara-throws. Typically, kara-throws involve cancelling a normal into a throw so quickly that the initial move doesn't connect. However, after a successful parry, the 3S engine only considers the next valid input to determine what comes out. In the case of a kara-throw, the next valid input is the move with which the throw was kara-canceled, so instead of getting a kara-throw you get the move with which you kara-canceled it.

By far the most well-known example occurs with Chun-Li's kara-throw with close st. HK. Ordinarily, one would use far st. MK to kara-throw, as it gives considerably more range. However, after a successful parry, close st. HK is a far more useful move than st. MK, as it can be comboed into SA II. Therefore, the idea with st. HK xx LP + LK is as follows:

No successful parry: Kara-throw comes out.
Successful parry: close st. HK comes out, which is comboed into SA II if you have meter.

Again, this puts your opponent in a difficult position - going for a throw tech is risky because she can simply step out of range and do a standard SA II combo, but throwing out fast low pokes like cr. LP or cr. MK is also risky because she can parry into st. HK with SGGK. Incidentally, this is an excellent counter to the previous option select, since both possible results are either neutral (throw tech) or in Chun-Li's favor (parry low jab, st HK xx SA II).

Below is an example of the SGGK option select in action (occurs at 0:39, 1:57, and 3:30):

D.E.D - meter based option select

Thus far the option select discussed are possible due to ambiguity in how the game interprets your inputs - a kara-throw not being interpreted as such, for example. However, there are also option selects that don't rely on quirks of the 3S engine, just on basic mechanics such as how meter works, and the fact that you get more meter for a move that connects than one that is blocked. This option select only works if don't have a full meter yet, but are reasonably close (~70-90% depending on the normal used for the option select, and the size of the meter).

To explain the D.E.D option select, I'll use a hypothetical situation and some made-up numbers. Say you're playing Chun-li, and you're currently at 85% meter. A blocked b. + HP gives ~10% meter, whereas a b. + HP that connects gives ~20% meter. (These numbers are probably not accurate, but bear with me). What happens if you do back fierce into super without confirming in this situation?

Back fierce is blocked: You're at 95% meter when you attempt to super, so nothing happens. All you get is a blocked b. + HP.
Back fierce whiffs/gets parried: You're at 85% meter when you attempt to super, same as where you started, so nothing else happens.
Back fierce hits: You're at 105% meter when you attempt to super, so the super comes out, and it combos because b. + HP connected.

The end result in this situation is that super only comes out if back fierce actually connects, so there's no need to confirm it in the first place. You can just bang it out without confirming and be perfectly safe in doing so. This is a particularly nice option select because there's no real down side to it - you might get parried, but then it's not any worse than just having a normal parried in any other situation, at least you don't waste a meter in the process.

Now, although it's nice to just be able to do something like back fierce xx super without confirming, you could always just confirm it too, so that's not where the real value lies. The reason this is so good is because you can use it to do combos that would normally be unverifiable, like cr. LK xx SA III or close st. HP xx SA III, both with Ken. Ordinarily close st. HP is an unverifiable normal, and you'd need two cr. LK's to confirm the combo into super, but if you're paying close attention to your meter, then you can just throw these out safely. You gain range on both of these D.E.D option selects since you'd need to be closer to combo two cr. LKs than just one, and to do the MP, HP target combo instead of just HP.

Here is an example of D.E.D in action. Ken does the normally unverifiable cr. LK xx SA III combo by taking advantage of D.E.D (occurs at 24:56): 

Option selects are crucial to becoming a better, more consistent player, and mastering them will help you out in every aspect of your game.

Another fairly simple post, this one is intended to identify the most commonly used supers, and separate them from the ones that aren't used in competitive play very frequently. Below is a table containing what I think most high level players would consider the "viable" supers with each character. For many characters, there is 1 super that is clearly the best; however, some characters have 2-3 that are used frequently enough to warrant mentioning, and this is reflected in the table. I did arrange in the supers in my personal order of preference - I would generally use "1st Choice S.A." more frequently than "2nd Choice S.A.". However, whenever there are 2 or 3 viable supers, the choice of super is usually determined by matchup-specific considerations, so it's not always a good idea to pick the "1st choice" super. If a super art isn't in the table, it's generally not considered viable in competitive play.

Below the table, there is a short description of why each super in the game is either considered viable or not. Green text means the super is listed in the table below as viable, red text means it's not.

This post will be fairly short, as it doesn't concern mechanics or character specific tactics. For players who have the basics down and are trying to learn more advanced tactics, it often helps to know which players are considered to be elite with each character, as they can go find footage of these players and see what high level play with those characters looks like - mixups, spacing, etc.

In the table below, I've provided 1-3 players who are widely considered to be among the best at their respective characters. Some notes about this table:

1. This is no way intended to be a comprehensive list. Just with Yun alone, there are at least 7-8 famous, world-class players - K.O., Mester, Ochibi, Nitto, Yakkun, Boss, Momochi, Matsuda, etc...and that's just with a few seconds of thought. All of them are worth watching, I just don't want the list to get unwieldy or out of hand.
2. The players aren't arranged in any particular order either - "Player #1" isn't necessarily stronger than "Player #2", they're totally randomly arranged. This isn't a "top 3" list either - there may be other players with that character who others would consider stronger or more worthwhile watching.
3. The list is somewhat biased towards players who are active today, since it will most likely be easier to find footage of such players, both at present and in the future. There are still some older "retired" players on the list though, either because very few people play that character at an exceptional level, or because they were sufficiently well-known during their active period to be worth mentioning now.
   
4. This is list also biased towards characters that players used competitively today - for example K.O. has a very famous Yun and used to use him in competitive play very frequently until 2005/2006, but nowadays he mostly plays Yang, so I put him down for Yang and put down other players for Yun. Same goes for other famous older character/player combos like Boss/Yang, Tokido/Urien, etc. Of course, if you see a video with K.O. Yun or Boss Yang it's a safe bet that it's worth watching anyways.
5. If in doubt, Kuroda is a safe bet for virtually any character. He released DVDs of himself playing every character, so if you can find footage from them or get a hold of them, then they're pretty much guaranteed to be worth it. I didn't list Kuroda aside from Q because I didn't want this list to just be peppered with his name on the majority of the characters.
6. For the characters with only 1 player listed (Remy, Twelve), there is 1 player who outdistances the rest of the competition by such an enormous margin. In addition, they're both low-tier, fairly underplayed characters, and I don't know who else to put (I'm happy to take suggestions). I didn't include Sean because there are no notable Sean players AFAIK. He's pretty much a shittier version of the other shotos in every respect, so you could just go watch a good Ryu or Ken player and have a pretty good handle on how to play Sean as well.
   
   

Also, a tip for beginners watching videos of these players in the hopes of getting better: don't get hung up on the flashy stuff. Yes, it's really cool when MOV breaks out some insane lightning legs setup, or Hayao does a standing Gigas, but these things are only a tiny part of the reason these players win so frequently. Focus on more fundamental things like spacing, rushdown mixups, defense/okizeme, etc. You can spend all week trying to master a true kara/Jiro demon, but you'll just get stomped before you even reach 2 meters if your fundamentals aren't solid, and a demon by itself only does ~40% damage, so it won't win you a round or a match single handedly. Same goes for kara palms, double-fukiage 100% stuns (although these do win games single-handedly), and other flashy, tricky stuff in the same vein.

Happy viewing!

Having considered the factors that should be considered before you commit to a particular tactic on wake-up, let's now look at some of the more commonly overused and underused options in beginner play. 

Commonly overused tactics on wake-up

1. Parrying

As I discussed some time ago in the post on parrying, parrying always has a significant element of risk to it. Not only does it involve guessing - which means potentially guessing wrong, and taking a huge chunk of damage - but the risk attached to it is the highest when you're getting up after a knockdown. Say you get knocked down midscreen - you have very little control over spacing, no scope for a setup which leads to a predictable response; your mindset should be defensive. In the corner, things are even worse since you have no control over spacing, and the chances of getting a bad result by cold guessing on a parry are the absolute highest in this scenario.

Despite this, it's common for beginners to parry more in this situation. The psychology behind it is understandable - nobody enjoys being stuck in a defensive position, at the mercy of their opponent's rushdown, so they take the most drastic option to turn things around - but it's also a quick way to lose again a strong opponent. Parries should be reserved for situations where you have a really good reason for doing so - you've picked up on a pattern in their rushdown, or it's the beginning of a round against a no-meter Chun and the risk is worth it, etc. Otherwise, be content to block, and wait for an opportunity to reset the situation to a more neutral one.


2. Shoryuken
   
   In a lot of ways, the thought process behind this is similar to parrying - it's a quick way to go from defense to offense if it works. However, it's even more high-risk, high-reward than parrying, since an unsuccessful shoryuken will almost always result in a big damage punish.
   
   Part of the reason this is so high risk is because it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking there's only one or two ways of getting around a wake-up shoryuken, which are to block or parry. However, this is very simplistic, and in reality there are plenty of other options:
   
   1. Backdash (some characters) - also good since it counters a wake-up tech throw
   2. Properly spaced jump-ins - if you time it right, you will be right over their head when they attempt to uppercut, so it won't autocorrect and you'll either hit them out of it, or it'll just whiff
   3. Meaties/high priority normals - these can simply stuff or trade with wake-up shoryuken
   
   The point is, although shoryuken seems like a very effective option to force your opponent to play cautiously after a knockdown, they still have options that are offensive in nature and will beat shoryuken. And when it fails, it fails in the biggest way possible, resulting in you taking a ton of damage. The key is the preserve the element of surprise - hold it in reserve until your opponent lets his guard down, then unleash it at the key moment to turn things in your favor.
   
   
3. Super
   
   This is character-specific of course - there's no point in doing wake-up SAIII with Yun, for example. This is especially common with easily pressured characters that don't have many wake-up options - Makoto SAI is the first one that comes to my mind. Again this is similar to shoryuken, except it's an even worse idea since you don't gain much over a wake-up shoryuken, and you're gambling an entire meter (as opposed to none, or just an EX worth if you need to EX shoryuken, with Dudley for example). If you fail, you not only take a huge chunk of damage, but you're also out a meter, which is especially painful with one meter stock supers like Makoto SAI.
   
   There are other things which also make wake-up super generally a bad idea:
   
   - Your opponent is more likely to play conservatively if they see you have meter (and a viable super for wake-up).
   - The super flash gives away what you're planning on doing, so unless they throw something out before the super flash, you automatically lose in that situation. If your opponent tries to throw you a frame or two after wake-up uppercut, they eat the uppercut, because there's nothing to give away what you're doing; if the same thing happens with wake-up super, they obviously won't do anything.
   
   On characters with good uppercuts (shotos, Dudley's EX uppercut), there is almost no reason to ever pick wake-up super over uppercut (and even that should be used somewhat sparingly). On characters like Makoto, you really don't want to wake-up super unless you're 100% convinced they'll do something that can be punished by it, and even then it's usually a better idea to throw in a cr. LK first, so that you don't telegraph the super, and they have to commit to blocking low in order to block the whole thing.
   

Commonly underused tactics on wake-up

1. Blocking
   
   
This is perhaps the most phlegmatic option available, and (perhaps) consequently the most under appreciated wake-up tactic in the game, but blocking is generally the safest, most consistent option after getting knocked down. Let's consider the reasons why you wouldn't:

1a. High/low mixups: Very few characters have fast overheads that lead into any serious damage. Every character does have UOH, but in and of itself the damage on UOH is pitiful. Most can combo into super with the right timing and spacing, but that timing and spacing is very specific, and usually requires hitting with the very tail end of UOH, which means you have the most time to react and block it. Against characters like Dudley and Urien (with Aegis out) overheads become a much more serious problem, and naturally blocking by itself is insufficient, but even so they have to burn meter to do it, which provides some longer-term relief in terms of pressure.

1b. Throws/command grabs: The standard LP+LK throw is generally one of the fastest, safest offensive options in the game for most characters, but even it has its drawbacks. The short range means their spacing options are limited (bar exceptions like kara-throws, which are extremely powerful), so you know when to be on the lookout for it. The knockdown is huge, but the damage isn't off the charts, and there's no immediate follow up for more damage. You also have 6 frames of throw invulnerability on wake-up, which is a long enough window to do something else that prevents getting thrown. Getting thrown a few times in a row is annoying, but you develop the instinct and reaction time with experience to generally avoid it from happening too frequently.

Command grabs like Makoto's and Hugos are scarier propositions since they either do insane damage, or have painful follow-ups, but again, the 6 frames of throw invulnerability on wake-up give you time to do something to prevent that from happening. Not to mention you can always jump away, which takes us to our second point:


2. Jumping 
   
   On the surface, jumping might appear to be a risky proposition. After it, there's no real offensive element to it - you could throw out a jump normal on the way up, but chances are they'll recover around the time or before you land, putting you more or less where you started. All the same, it's surprisingly effective for a number of reasons:
   
   2a. It avoids throws and command grabs entirely. Most characters are off the ground in 3 frames (some in 4, a couple in 5), which means you can even wait a moment before jumping since you have a little more throw invincibility when you get up initially.
   
   2b. If you have wake-up options like uppercut or super, your opponent is more likely to play conservatively and either fish for a parry, or just wait a moment before doing anything. This is all the time you need to jump away, or even out of the corner, trading places with them.
   
   2c. When you're airborne, it's generally harder to land big damage. Standard ground combos into supers won't do anything when you're airbone, and low pokes that are even slightly delayed will whiff. Even if you get hit, much of the time it'll just be a normal that will result in you getting reset, which is much better than that normal getting combo'd into a super.
   
   2d. You can always parry in the air, which is somewhat less risky than on the ground since there's no high/low mixups to worry about, and most characters have less options against you when you're in the air than on the ground, which means parries can be a little more easy to predict.
   
   Like every other wake-up option, it has its drawbacks. There is a small 3-5 window where they can hit you for free while you're jumping, and once you commit to a jump your options are fairly limited until you land. All the same, it's still effective if not overused, and especially good against characters who are throw/command grab dependent.
   
   
3. Moves that are airborne quickly (e.g. Akuma demon flip, Urien headbutt, etc.)
   
   As an alternative to jumping, there are some moves that will have you airborne within the first few startup frames, and thus share a lot of the advantages of jumping, such as avoiding throws and letting you get air reset if hit. Some examples include:
   
   - Akuma: DP + K (demon flip)
   - Akuma: QCB + K (hurricane kick)
   - Chun-Li: far st. HK (hop kick, not the knee)
   - Urien: Charge d., u. + P (headbutt)
   
   And here are a couple of videos showing such moves, and how they can be effective. In the first video below, Urien either does headbutt or knee drop on wakeup (looks like knee drop to me, but I could be wrong), and Makoto's set-up for the ex. chop fails since he gets air reset by the cr. LK, and punishes by throwing and dropping Makoto in the corner (occurs at 2:17):
   
   

In the second example below, Akuma simply gets out of the corner for free using demon flip, baiting a Chun-Li far fierce in an attempt to punish him before he lands. It fails, and he pulls off a big punish to finish off the round (occurs at 13:53):

4.  Quick roll + Backdash (midscreen)

This doesn't work well with characters who have tech roll slowly or have slow, easy to punish backdashes (i.e.       Chun-Li), and obviously doesn't do anything in the corner. However, this is a very effective wake-up tactic midscreen with characters like shotos, Makoto, etc., since the combination of tech rolling and backdashing puts a lot of distance between you and your opponent very quickly. If they knocked you down with a move that recovers slowly - say, shoto low sweep - then the gap may be too large to safely bridge by dashing, which means a lot of the pressure on you is immediately relieved.

In fact, it's fairly common for beginners (and even better players) to fail to consider a backdash, and end up throwing out a long range move that would hit you without a backdash, but just barely whiffs with one (i.e. Chun-Li far st. HP, Ken st. HK, etc.). In these scenarios you can easily punish such moves with big combos, and turn the flow of battle completely. Of course, like anything else it can be punished if your opponent expects it, so don't abuse it. Use it at the right times, and it can get you out of trouble fairly easily, though. 



Hopefully you have a better grasp of your wake-up options, and getting knocked down isn't quite as frightening an ordeal as before!

One of the most fundamental, yet hardest things to master in 3rd Strike is defense, particularly after getting knocked down. When it comes to offense, a lot of development occurs outside of competitive play - practicing combos until your execution is perfect, mastering the timing for various mixups, etc. This isn't as true for learning how to defend properly - learning to defend well primarily comes from experience under actual pressure against other players. In this post I will focus primarily on how to defend, after getting knocked down.

Despite the presence of numerous factors that should all be considered when deciding what to do on wakeup, most beginners fall into the trap of focusing one just one or two of them, and consequently limiting themselves to one or two options after getting knocked down. This in turn makes them very predictable, which makes the attacker's job much easier. It's important to be aware of all of the possibilities when deciding what to do on wake up.


Factors that should be considered on wake-up:

• Spacing - spacing plays a large role in determining what mixups are available to a character after a knockdown. Throws, for example, usually only come into play at fairly close range; kara-throws and tick throw setups can extend this range greatly. However, it's important not to get too hung up on throw-teching just because you got thrown 2 or 3 times in a row, or because the same tick throw setup got you the previous 2 times. Far more damaging options such as short-short-super (shotos) also exist in this range for virtually all characters, and the risk-reward of going for a throw tech has to be considered.
  
  At a longer range, throws come out of the equation, but new factors come in. For example, moves that would be unsafe at closer range - e.g. shoto cr. hk, or shoto UOH - now become safe or more viable. Since throws are out (barring things like kara-throws), blocking low is often very safe, as very few characters have overheads that can't be blocked on reaction, or lead into big damage. Parrying is also more viable at this range, although it's still risky, and shouldn't be done just for the sake or parrying.
  
  Whether or not you're in the corner or midscreen is also a key consideration. It's much easier to get out of pressure midscreen, since tech-rolling and backdashing can put a lot of distance between you and your opponent. Some players will underestimate this distance and dash recklessly in order to try and stay close, which allows you to counter with stuff like throw or uppercut; more experienced players will close the gap as much as possible, but also accept that some amount of offensive pressure will be lost.
  
  Spacing also comes into the equation for jump-in mixups after a knockdown. If attempt an ambiguous crossup (with Yun or Ken, for example), your options are fairly limited, but so are theirs, since they're airborne. If they come in at a decent range from the front, then you have more freedom to choose an anti-air that suits the situation.
  
  
• Meter, Risk/Reward - Some characters become considerably scarier after getting meter; while getting knocked down against a Dudley without meter might not be too bad, a Dudley with meter has one of the most frightening high-low mixups in the game. Chun-Li and Yun are all about getting meter ASAP; control, and the flow of the game turns drastically in their favor once they get it.
  
  Naturally, the risk of doing something like wake-up uppercut or parrying goes up enormously against such characters; it's important to adjust your tactics on wake-up accordingly. Having your health chipped away by Chun-li's kara throws is frustrating, but when you're below 40% health and one super combo means certain death, it may be a necessary evil, up to a point. On the flip side, if you get knocked down at the start of a round and she doesn't have any meter, taking a risk in order to turn the tables and put her on the defensive (which prevents her from getting easy meter and controlling the flow of the game) may be worthwhile, especially if the matchup is a very difficult one.
  
  
• Your respective kits - both players have different options at their disposal, and this plays into the mindgames that occur after knockdowns. Against characters with wake-up uppercut or other strong wakeup options (like Dudley ex backswing blow, Akuma HK hurricane kick, etc.), beginners tend to take one of two one-track approaches:
  
  1. Play as if wake-up uppercut doesn't exist, continuing to rush down recklessly, or
  2. Play very timidly, usually blocking for an interval after you get up just to avoid getting uppercutted
  
  Now, both of these patterns are very predictable, and have very simple counters. If they rush down recklessly, just wake-up uppercut. Of course you don't do it 5 times in a row, but until they pick up on it and play with enough caution to avoid eating it repeatedly, it'll always be in your back pocket as a get out of jail free card. Against timid players, you take the offensive - if they block a lot, throw; if they're blocking high, throw in stuff like cr. MK xx shoryuken; sometimes, you can take the opportunity to just jump out of the corner and stick them in it. The point is, in order to deal with a threat like wake-up uppercut, you need to know a variety of counters (which I'll cover in part 2), and you need to avoid falling into patterns/habits.
  
  On the flip side, characters with weak wake-up options that are easily pressured - Yun, Makoto, etc. - usually provoke the first style of play mentioned earlier, thoughtless aggression. Although your options are more limited, a beginner opponent will often unintentionally limit themselves in response by committing to their offensive pressure early, not varying their timing, and often forgoing lower damage options like throws in favor of big damage chains/combos, since they think you can't do much about it. If you latch on to a habit like this, then you can turn things around with a parry, or just by blocking and waiting out the pressure until you have some room to maneuver. You don't have to go from defense to offense immediately to turn the tides; if you start out getting off your ass, and end up with a half-screen of distance between the two of you without taking any damage, then the net change in the position is in your favor.
  
  
• Your previous wake-up responses - It's common, and to some extend understandable, to get hung up on what immediately preceded the current state of affairs during the course of a game - "I just got thrown, I don't want to get thrown again", or "He just wake-up uppercutted me, I'd better not let that happen twice in a row". If you get knocked down, try to be aware of:
  
  - How you responded previously to a similar situation, and
  - How your opponent handled your response
  
  The first point is simply a matter of knowing your habits, and consciously trying to break them. Take into account as many factors as possible; there's a lot more to it than just what your opponent did to knock you down. Ask yourself: Am I responding predictably to a particular manner of getting knocked down? (E.g. Always tech-throwing after getting knocked down by a throw?) Do I fall back on a particular tactic when I'm low health? When I have meter? When he doesn't have meter? And so on.
  
  On the second point let's consider an example. If you connected with a wake-up uppercut on the previous occasion, it's a fairly safe bet they are going to be watching out for it, which opens the door to jump out of the corner, throw them, etc. On the other hand, if your previous wake-up uppercut was blocked, then your response should be based on what your analysis of playstyle is - if they're very cautious, then they'll probably be on the lookout again for another one. If they're more aggressive, then they may have mentally ticked off "blocked wake-up uppercut, don't need to worry about it for a while now", and a second one in a row can catch them by surprise.
  
  
  
  This sort of analysis isn't just limited to uppercut or offensive counterattacks on wake-up - it's just as important for wake-up throws, jumps, blocks, doesn't matter. If you're always keeping tabs on how you react to certain situations, and how they react to what you do, then difficult situations like getting knocked down become a lot less painful. In part 2, I'm going to discuss commonly overused and underused tactics/moves on wake-up.
  

Having dedicated a fair number of posts to general 3S mechanics and techniques, I thought it would be good to change the pace of things and devote a couple of posts to more character-specific discussion. Akuma happens to be a favorite character of mine - very well designed, fairly balanced, and generally very fun to play with his vast arsenal of offensive options.

One of the things that Akuma not only excels at, but probably handles better than any other character in the game is anti-air mixups. He has the most versatile anti-air kit in the game, and has a safe, guaranteed counter to virtually any aerial maneuver, offensive or defensive, that any character in the game can throw at you. Let's examine these options in-depth:


1. DP + P (Shoryuken) xx SAI (Messatsu Gouhadou)

Akuma's "bread and butter" anti-air, this has virtually all of the benefits of a regular anti-air shoryuken - fast startup, invincibility frames, high priority - while eliminating the primary drawback to anti-air shoryuken, which is that it can be parried and then punished very easily. Should your opponent attempt to jump-in parry, there are a couple of things which make it virtually impossible for them to get out unscathed:

• They have to anticipate the SAI followup to shoryuken and parry twice before the super flash, which requires a different timing from parrying a HP shoryuken. Many times opponents will forget about the super cancel and parry anticipating a fierce shoryuken, and will end up eating the super for free.
  
• Even if they do anticipate the super and time the initial parry correctly, they don't have the option of blocking like they would if they were on the ground, so they have 2 equally painful options at this point: (a) commit to parrying all 6 hits, in which case Akuma will recover well before they finish parrying, and can follow up with a virtually unparriable air combo, or (b) parry 1-2 times, then eat the rest of the super so that Akuma can't recover and follow up while they are in the middle of the parries.

Here is a video showing what happens even if they anticipate the uppercut super and try to parry their way out of it (occurs at 4:18):

Although this is a popular and generally fairly safe option, there are a couple of ways to mitigate the effectiveness of it, mostly revolving around doing a jump in normal early enough to mess up the timing on this, since he needs to uppercut late enough to cancel into super while he's still on the ground.. Air projectiles like Akuma's air fireball and Ibuki's kunais also prevent him from using this option.


2. SAI (Messatsu Gouhadou)

Unlike the first option, which requires close proximity and a sufficiently late timing, cutting out the shoryuken has the advantage of being able to punish the opponent at any airborne state - about to land, at the peak of the jump, doesn't matter. It also has much more range than shoryuken xx super, and can catch opponents who are jumping away in addition to jumping straight up or towards you,  Here is an example of this option punishing in a situation where shoryuken xx super wouldn't connect (occurs at 4:30):

Early air normals aren't as effective against this, since there's no cancel involved - at best you'll trade a normal for a super (which should virtually always be in Akuma's favor), and often you'll just end up eating the super anyways. The only downside is that his super doesn't have any invincibility frames, so you may end up taking damage more frequently than with shoryuken xx super. If your reaction time is slow and you super very late, you could end up getting hit out of the super before it even comes out, burning a meter to no avail.


3. LP, LP, f., LK, HP (Raging Demon)

A fairly flashy but effective anti-air, raging demon works very well in the same situations that shoryuken xx super would - empty/parry jump-ins, and against late air-normals. Raging Demon has invincibility at the startup, which allows it to work as anti-air against jump in normals. It can't be avoided by jumping away after the super flash, since jumping has a minimum of 3 frames startup for every character, and Akuma will land the Demon on the first frame after you land.

In order to avoid hitting them with the initial jab - stand jab can easily be stuffed with properly spaced normals - the idea is to do both jabs crouching, avoiding any jump in normals they might throw out, then finish the rest of the input normally. So the overall input looks something like this:

cr. LP, cr. LP, QCF, LK, HP

The "forward" part of the QCF counts towards the Demon, and with a little practice the motion and timing become second nature. Below is an example of anti-air demon being used in competitive play (occurs at 5:38):

4. d., d., d. + PPP (KKZ)

Although this isn't used all that much outside of LK tatsu, st. LP reset xx KKZ, it's actually surprisingly viable as an anti-air. Invincibility on startup, great damage, first hit can't be parried, and unlike all of the previous entries, it can hit someone who is directly above you or attempting to cross you up. The only downside is that the startup is fairly slow, so you need to catch them at the peak of their jump. Otherwise, they'll probably have time to land and block it, which would be disastrous.

Below is an example of this being used in play (occurs at 1:13):

5. st. HP

This may come as something of a surprise. After all, all shoto fierces are identical, so what's special about Akuma's?

What makes Akuma's fierce particularly potent as an anti-air are the numerous mixups he has to follow it up, especially if it gets parried.

1. QCF, QCF + P (SAI, Messatsu Gouhadou) - much like uppercut super, the only thing you can do in this situation is parry, and the first two parries must be in quick succession (before the super flash). This only works if st. HP is parried, though - if they get hit, then super will whiff since they are air reset, and you will be punished - so verify that they parried before going through with this.
2. QCB + MK/HK (tatsu) (xx SAI), DP + P (shoryuken) (xx SAI) - these options follow the regular parry timing for the first two hits (instead of one), but since both MK/HK tatsu and shoryuken can also be super canceled, there's also a parry timing mixup based on whether or not you super cancel. These are both also easily punished if fierce air resets them, but after parrying the fierce it doesn't matter what they do, they're screwed.
3. QCB + LK (tatsu) - this plays out like his normal BnB combo, with yet another parry timing mixup - LK tatsu comes out a little slower than MK/HK tatsu/shoryuken, so the parry has to be a little delayed. Should LK tatsu connect, he has all of his standard followups at his disposal - shoryuken, st. LP xx HK tatsu, cr. LP reset, etc.
4. Nothing - last of all, you can just do nothing while they're in the air, waiting for them to land so you can follow up with something like cr. MK xx SAI.

What makes this so devastating is that you have very little choice but to continue parrying after you commit to parrying the st. HP, but there are so many different timing mixups - 2 quick ones, 2 normal parries followed by a quick one, a delayed parry - that it's very unlikely you'll guess right. Even if you do, the chains that end in super are virtually impossible to get out of without taking significant damage.


Hopefully this has provided some helpful insight into why Akuma possesses one of the strongest - if not the strongest - anti-air kits in the game.

What is a kara cancel? Why is it useful?

A kara-cancel involves canceling the startup frames of a move into another move. This is different from a "standard" cancel, which usually occurs during the hit frames of the move; LP shoryuken xx SAI, with say Akuma, involves two distinct moves that both connect with the opponent, with shoryuken only being canceled after it connects. A kara-cancel, on the other hand, usually occurs during the startup frames of the initial move, so the end result is that the canceled move doesn't make contact with the opponent, and the final result ends up looking like one regular move, instead of two (one canceled into another).

Bearing in mind that the cancel usually occurs within the first few frames of the kara'ed move, the timing for the button inputs is generally very quick. In fact, it's pretty much the same timing you'd use for drumming/plinking all 3 punch/kick buttons for tight combos involving supers; the gap between the canceled and final move should be very small, almost nonexistent. Many times, there will be a distinct noise that will help you know if you did it correctly; for example, if you do Akuma's kara-throw (f+MP xx LK+LP) correctly, you'll hear the grunt he normally does with f+MP, since it occurs during the first few frames of the move. If you don't do you it correctly, you'll either get regular old f+MP, or you'll get a throw without the f+MP grunt.

What do kara-cancels bring to the table? In a word, range. Some characters have moves that move their sprite forward a large distance within the first few frames; when you cancel such moves into other moves, the end result is that the final move effectively gains additional range equal to the distance moved forward by kara-canceled move. This leads to short range moves such as throws gaining valuable extra range, and combos that wouldn't ordinarily work due to spacing or pushback suddenly working and dealing free extra damage.


Kara throws: the most commonly used kara cancel

Throws are an important part of many characters' toolsets; they come out fast, can't be blocked/parried, can't be punished if teched, and knock down. The main thing that keeps them in check is their fairly short range; therefore, it naturally makes sense that anything which adds range to them would increase their usefulness dramatically. As it turns out, kara-canceling is perfect for this purpose, and some characters benefit enormously from being able to do so.

Below is a table containing the most commonly used kara-throws:

There are other kara-throws - every character has one, in fact - but the ones listed in the table above are the most commonly used by far. The range granted by other characters' kara throws is generally considered too small to be worth using in actual play.


Other kara-cancels: kara-shoryuken, kara-palms, etc.

Although kara cancels are most commonly used with throws, they can be used to increase the range of certain specials as well. This leads into combos that can only be executed due to the increased range of the kara-canceled move.

Another table containing commonly kara-canceled specials:

This is not a comprehensive table of useful kara-cancels with respect to specials; one of my weaknesses is that I'm not very knowledgeable about characters outside of top/upper-mid tier, and this chart unfortunately reflects that. Other characters probably have useful kara-cancels that I don't know about; the purpose of this chart is just to give an idea of some commonly used kara cancels, and the impact they can have on a character's combos.

If some of the kara-cancels in the chart above look very difficult, that's because they are; thankfully, not all of these kara-cancels are necessary for mastering a character. Some, like Makoto's kara-grab and Ken's kara-shoryuken are very useful and well worth spending the time to get down consistently; others like the Jiro demon and Yun's kara-palms are more for show/flashiness, and are rarely seen in high level competitive play.


Kara-canceling is one of the most common and useful techniques in 3rd strike, so it's well worth mastering and implementing into your play.

Parrying is invariably the mechanic which draws a huge portion of the new/beginner 3rd strike player base. My first experience with 3S was the famous Daigo video, which from a purely technical standpoint is not that impressive - the first parry was a combination of bad decision making on Justin Wong's part and luck on Daigo's (you could see Ken move forward right before the super flash), and the rest was simply a matter of execution, nothing more. Even so, watching Ken, on the brink of death, staving off seemingly certain defeat and turning around a lost situation, and factoring in the stage, the crowd's reaction, and so on, it still ends up being a great moment. Parries possess a certain flashiness, a certain "gotcha!" to them that never gets old, keeps the game still going more than a decade after its inception.

Unlike my previous posts, which have (for the most part) been strictly technical in nature, I want to explore parrying from a slightly more psychological view. Of course, the focus is, as always, on improving as a player, so the technical aspects of parrying will be at the forefront, but this is more a personal view on how to approach parrying intelligently, and is not as cut-and-dry as my previous posts.


"The emphasis on building meter without fighting, just running to a corner and whiffing moves repeatedly, combined with the universal advantage of parrying, is the primary reason I could never get into the SF3 series as a whole."

The quote above, despite the quotation marks, is a paraphrase of a statement I read in a review quite some time ago. I don't think the review was even for an SF3 game, probably for whatever version of SF4 was newest at the time, but of course my mind became fixated on this point since I both love 3rd Strike and don't particularly care for the SF4 series.

Although this is straying off topic a bit, the first point has always been the one massive scratch on the otherwise nearly flawless diamond of 3rd strike in my mind, and I am ready to concede the point to any 3S critic. Allowing characters to gain meter by whiffing normals has had all sorts of negative impact on the game, from discouraging actual fighting - you know, the point of a fighting game - in favor of just mindlessly hitting normals at a safe distance to being a large part of the reason why Chun and Yun dominate the tier lists so thoroughly, for so long. Both characters are massively stronger with meter than without, and being able to get it so freely without any real effort or risk undermines the whole point of a meter system in the first place.

Now, with that out of the way, I am also prepared to say that the second point is not only indicative of someone who is a beginner at best (at least when it comes to 3S), but is completely, utterly incorrect. Parrying does give an advantage if used intelligently, no doubt; however, to characterize that advantage as "universal" is so thoroughly, utterly wrong that it boggles my mind. And if I seem unusually vehement or worked up on this point, it is because this sentiment - that parrying is universally great - is so widespread among beginners, especially among weaker players who have been playing for a long time without actually progressing much in terms of skill beyond that of an early-intermediate player, at best.


Debunking the myth - appreciating the risks of parrying, and not just the reward

The simplest place to start when explaining why parrying is not "universally advantageous" is to point out that "parrying" has two distinct, mutually exclusive modes: high parrying and low parrying. Immediately, there's a dichotomy that can't be bridged - you can't high and low parry at the same time, and the majority of moves fall strictly into one category or the other. Now, one could say "well, given that there are moves that can be high and low parried, doesn't the overall balance fall in your favor?" Putting aside the gross oversimplification involved with such a mindset, it still doesn't remove the element of chance involved with cold, complete guess parrying - you will come out in a disadvantageous situation a significant portion of the time, and you'll do so in a manner that could've been easily avoided, just by blocking, for example. You hurt the consistency of your play significantly by resorting to such chance-related tactics, and consistency will do much more for you in the long run than a flashy parry here and there.

Now let's peel away the layers of oversimplification a bit more - let's add throws into the mix. Throws do have limited range, but they can't be parried and are very fast, and are thus very effective against parry-happy playstyles. Command grabs are also very similar in nature, and often have better range than throws. Now the scales have tipped somewhat more against mindless, "universal", willy nilly parrying.

And once you start playing against more advanced players, numerous other things come into play:

- Parry baits: baiting you into parrying low-forward and then catching you with uppercut, for example
- Safe parries: throwing out a jump-in late enough that it can't be punished even if it's parried, for example
- Varied timing: waiting for you parry, then punishing you in the interval between parries or between parrying and blocking
- Risk/reward analysis: "If I get the parry, my follow-up punish does 15% because I have no meter; if I guess wrong and get punished, he gets 40% off of a big super combo"

And there are many more things that could be added to that list, doubtless there are other considerations that are beyond my level. And all of this is before the biggest consideration of all: there is another human being on the other side of the machine. They are just as capable of dissecting your play as you are of theirs; they are constantly thinking, analyzing, varying their strategies to punish your patterns and mask or avoid theirs.


Before I give the impression of going off the deep end, I do want to come back a bit and point out that parrying can be used to great positive effect, but only if you abandon predictable, pre-formulated strategies - "I'm going to parry xyz seconds before he hits the ground on every jump in", or "after a knockdown, if he's at xyz range I'm always going to low parry" - and put some thought into your parries. Analyze your opponent's patterns - if he follows up 3 consecutive jump in crossups with strong-fierce (with Ken), and shows no signs of deviating, then you actually have a solid basis for parrying high after the next crossup. If your opponent can't discern between hits and parries, and always goes into super after a low poke, then it's fine to parry provided you either block, parry, or safely hit them out of the inevitable super afterwards. If you're at a range where your opponent's character can't hit you with anything low, then fishing for a high parry is fine, provided you're ready to switch back to a safer mindset the moment they get within a high/low mixup range. The more "evidence" you have for why parrying in a particular situation is a good idea, the more consistently you'll get good results out of it.


Ultimately, the point I want to emphasize above all else - and again, I'm more vehement about this because, in my experience, it plagues low-level play more than a lot of other problems - parrying always has a significant, unavoidable risk built into it. Don't fall into the trap of focusing solely on the positive outcomes of parrying; always be aware of the flip side, the risk of failure, and the punishment that comes with it. If you develop the necessary skills to parry effectively - zoning/spacing, meter/stun awareness, the ability to detect patterns in your opponent's play, good reaction time - then a lot of the risk built into parrying is eliminated, and it can be a consistently helpful, positive asset to your play. If you parry predictably or thoughtlessly, just because you have nothing better to do and you can't avoid the temptation of potentially going from a defensive position to an offensive one, you will always be beaten down by more experienced, analytical players who will pick you apart without trying. Think before you parry.