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SOME SF4 STUFF!!!!
Air
Refers to any action performed while jumping. Example: Akuma can perform an air fireball by executing.
Block Stun
A temporary moment after blocking an attack during which a player cannot do anything but block. Block stun lasts only a few frames of animation. Example: Ken performs a LP Shoryuken and Ryu blocks the attack. Because of block stun, Ryu cannot immediately retaliate with an attack of his, and by the time block stun wears off (just a few frames) Ken will have usually recovered from the Shoryuken.
Buffer
Buffering is inputting commands, usually for special and super moves, early so as to complete the input at the exact moment that the move can come out. Example: Zangief's Spinning Pile Driver command ( circle + P ) includes pressing 8 which frequently makes Zangief jump while you're trying to execute the grab. However, you can whiff a LP to "lock" Zangief to the ground until the LP animation ends. During the animation, input the 360 motion—since Zangief is stuck in the grounded animation, he will not accidentally jump. To complete the buffer, you want the 360 motion to end at the same time as the LP animation and complete the Spinning Pile Driver input with + P. If buffered correctly, the LP will whiff and Zangief will immediately execute his grab after the LP animation.
Cancel
A cancel interrupts an animation from one action to let you perform a new action. There are many different forms of cancels in Street Fighter, but the most common is a two-in-one.
Cheap
A fake word cried by people that are not good at Street Fighter. Example: Mark Ryan Sallee backs Colin Moriarty into a corner and Colin cires, "Stop being so cheap!"
Combo
Any string of attacks that become unblockable once the first hit in the string has connected. Example: If Ryu lands a j.HK from deep in, he can land from the jump and connect a c.MK before the opponent can recover from the first hit and block. When the second hit, the c.MK, connects, Ryu can cancel into his Hadoken and, again, the attack will connect before the opponent can recover from the last hit.
Corner
The corners of the playing field are the far edges of the screen that represent the boundaries of the arena. The act of cornering involves backing an opponent into a corner and repeatedly attacking, taking advantage of the fact that the opponent cannot retreat. Example: Ryu backs Ken into a corner and keeps him there by throwing Hadokens rapidly and using Shoryukens to knock Ken out of the air if he tries to jump toward Ryu.
Cross-Up
A jumping attack that forces the defender to guard in the opposite direction the attacker comes from. Example: Ryu is on the left, Ken is on the right. In the stand off, Ryu is holding left to guard. Ken jumps over Ryu and attacks with MK, forcing Ryu to hold right in order to block the attack.
Crumple
The unique hit stun effect caused by a charged Focus Attack, crumple leaves the opponent vulnerable to a follow-up attack or combo as he or she slowly falls—or crumples—to the ground.
FADC (Focus Attack Dash Cancel)
FADC refers to canceling a ground attack with a Focus Attack and then canceling that Focus Attack with a dash (usually a forward dash) to set up a combo. Example: Ryu can FADC ( MP + MK 6,6) his Shoryuken to combo his Metsu Hadoken.
Frames
Typically refers to frames of animation. A typical half-second-long animation will consist of roughly 30 frames, and each frame could have different properties. Example: Some frames of Ryu's Hadoken are simply start-up frames with no attack. Next come attack frames during which the fireball is formed. Finally, there are recovery frames to end the animation. Also see: Invincibility Frames. Frames may also prefer to frames of gameplay, not related to character animation. If we assume the game is running at 60 frames per second, there are 60 frames in each second of gameplay during which actions can take place.
Frame Advantage
A frame advantage implies that one character has frames of gameplay during which they can execute an action but the opponent cannot. Example: Ryu jumps in on Ken and attacks with a j.HK, which Ken blocks. As Ryu lands, he has a frame advantage—until the frames of Ken's hit stun wear off, Ryu can attack while Ken cannot.
Hit Stun
Like block stun, hit stun is a temproray moment after being hit during which you cannot do anything. Unlike block stun, during hit stun you cannot even block. Hit stun is what allows combos to form—you hit an opponent with one move, and they are frozen by a few frames of hit stun during which you can follow up with another attack. Example: Ryu jumps in deep and hits Ken with a j.HK. The hit stun from the j.HK gives Ryu enough time to land and connect with another attack, such as c.MK, before Ken can retaliate or even block. The combo is born.
Hyper Armor
Hyper armor allows a character to get hit by an attack from the opponent without incurring hit stun, being knocked down, or otherwise interrupting the hyper armor-affected character's actions. Example: Ryu performs his Focus Attack by pressing and momentarily holding MP + MK. When the Focus Attack is charged, Ryu gains temproary hyper armor properties—if Ryu is attacked during this Focus animation, he will take the hit but continue executing the Focus Attack. Because of hyper armor, the attack is not interrupted as any regular attack would be.
Invincibility Frames
Animation frames, usually part of a special or super move, during which the character is invincible and will pass through attacks from the opponent. Example: Ryu's Shoryuken uppercut has invincibility frames at the start of the move. If Ken throws a Hadoken fireball at Ryu, Ryu can execute a Shoryuken and use the invicibility frames to pass through the fireball without being hit.
Jump-In (Attack)
A jumping normal attack launched after jumping toward an opponent, connecting on the downward arc of the jump animation. Example: Ryu jumps toward Ken and on his way down from the jump hits Ken with a j.HK. A jump-in attack is a typical combo setup.
Jump-In Deep
A slight modification to a typical jump-in attack. Jumping in deep essentially means waiting longer on the downward arc of the jump to hit the attack button, resulting in hitting the opponent in the legs with the jumping attack.
Meaty (Attack)
The other side of a a "wake-up" situation, a meaty attack seeks to hit an opponent immediately as they wake up from a knockdown. Example: Ken knocks down Ryu with a c.HK and just as Ryu is standing up, Ken jumps at Ryu with a meaty j.HK.
Negative Edge
For normal moves, pressing and releasing an attack button acts as just one input. However, for special and super moves, pressing and releasing acts as two separate inputs of the same attack button. This is negative edge. Example: If you press and hold HP with Ryu and no directional input, you will get one punch attack. If you then release that HP button with no directional input, nothing will happen. If, however, you input the motion for a Hadoken and release the HP button at the end of it, the release of HP acts as a button press to complete the Hadoken input. We promise, it's useful. Because of negative edge, you should always press and release an attack button when you're trying to execute a special move—since it acts as two separate inputs, you're more likely to correctly time the input for the special attack.
Normal (Attack)
A normal attack is any attack that does not require special directional inputs to perform. There are some exceptions, as many characters have normals that are modified with directional inputs but are still not special attacks. The defining characteristic of a normal is that a normal cannot cancel another normal. Example: As Ryu, pressing the HP button with no directional inputs performs a normal Hard Punch. Pressing 6+ HP with Ryu will perform an alternate normal attack.
Overhead (Attack)
An overhead attack is performed on the ground but hits high, forcing the opponent to guard it while standing. Typically, most ground-based attacks can be blocked while crouching, since the vast majority of ground-based attacks hit either mid or low. Overhead attacks are the exceptions, making them effective in keeping the opponent guessing. Example: Ryu's + MP is an overhead normal punch that will connect if the opponent is blocking from a crouch.
Piano Input
Rapidly tapping, in immediate succession, each of the three punch or kick attacks, in order to better guarantee correct timing for special move inputs. Because of the way Street Fighter recognizes inputs for special moves, inputting button pressess piano-style acts as six different inputs (via negative edge). Typically, this technique is used with arcade stick setups where the buttons are lined up next to each other and the player can drum-roll his/her fingers across the three buttons. Example: Input timing for Ryu's wake-up Shoryuken is tough, so you can input 623 on the control stick and then use piano inputs, quickly tapping off HP, MP, LP, essentially giving you six chances to correctly time the punch attack with the exact wake-up moment at which Ryu can start the defensive attack.
Poke
Refers to a ground attack, typically with lots of horizontal range. Pokes are usually quick and not part of combos, just attacks that are thrown out with the intent to pressure opponents and are usually safe when blocked. Some pokes, when landed, can lead to combos. Example: Ryu's c.MK is a very good poke, a quick, rangey attack that can be canceled into a special or super if it lands.
Priority
Determines which attacks "beat" other attacks. Every attack has a priority level. If both opponents attack at the same time, the attack with the higher priority "beats" the other and connects. If priority levels are similar, the attacks may "trade." Example: Ryu jumps in on Ken with a j.HK, but Ken counters with a Shoryuken. Since the Shoryuken has greater priority, Ken's attack wins and knocks Ryu down while Ken is untouched. Also see: Trade.
Safe
A description for a move that, when blocked, does not leave the attacker vulnerable to a counter attack. Safe attacks usually have quick recovery or induce lots of hit stun to keep the target frozen even if the attack is blocked. Example: Cammy's LK Cannon Spike is typically safe when blocked, but not safe when whiffed.
Special (Attack)
A special attack typically requires a combination of directional inputs capped off with one attack button input. Special attacks, if performed at the correct time, can cancel many normal attacks. Example: Ryu's Hadoken, performed by. Some specials require no directional inputs, such as Zangief's Lariat, performed by simply pressing LP + MP + HP.
Super (Combo)
A super attack is any attack that consumes a full bar of your super meter. Typically, super attacks require double motion inputs capped off with a single attack input. Example: Ryu's Shinku Hadoken super is performed by inputting 236236+ P.
Tiger Knee / TK
Has two meanings, the most obvious is simply the name of one of Sagat's special moves. When not referring to Sagat's special, Tiger Knee, or "TK," refers to performing a special move in the air immediately upon jumping off the ground via a modified directional input that starts on the ground. Example: Akuma can throw a Hadoken from the air by inputting 236+P after jumping. Alternatively, Akuma can TK his air Hadoken by starting the motion on the ground— 236 —and extending the directional input with before pressing 9+P. In this situation, the 9 acts as both a jump input and the final directional input for the Hadoken. By TKing Akuma's Hadoken, he can perform the move sooner in his jump which opens up strategical advantages.
Trade
When both opponents attack at the same time and both opponents get hit, they have traded blows. Example: Ryu jumps in on Ken with a j.HK and at the same time Ken counters with a c.HP. Both fighters' attacks connect as they trade and neither fighter gains the upper hand.
Turtling
Excessive defense. A turtling opponent focuses only on blocking, not on offense, making him/her difficult to damage. Turtling is sometimes a result of fear, but also can be an effective tactic if the player is winning the round and time is about to expire.
Two-in-One (Combo)
Essentially canceling a normal attack into a special attack, using the input for the first attack as part of the input for the special attack. In order to two-in-one cancel a normal move, that normal move must connect with the opponent—it can successfully hit or be blocked, but it must connnect. Example: Ryu does a c.HK by pressing 2+HK that gets blocked, and two-in-ones into a Hadoken by inputting 36+P before the c.HK animation completes. Also see: Cancel.
Wake-Up
"Wake-up" is a general adjective for actions performed by a character after he/she is knocked down onto the ground and is getting up. Example: After Ryu gets knocked down by a c.HK from Ken, he wake up with a Shoryuken, going right into the attack before even moving to a standing animation.
Whiff
Simply means to miss with an attack. Usually when referred to in terms of strategy, whiffing is intentionally missing with a normal attack to either allow for buffering a special or super move, or to make the opponent block or anticipate being hit.
Refers to any action performed while jumping. Example: Akuma can perform an air fireball by executing.
Block Stun
A temporary moment after blocking an attack during which a player cannot do anything but block. Block stun lasts only a few frames of animation. Example: Ken performs a LP Shoryuken and Ryu blocks the attack. Because of block stun, Ryu cannot immediately retaliate with an attack of his, and by the time block stun wears off (just a few frames) Ken will have usually recovered from the Shoryuken.
Buffer
Buffering is inputting commands, usually for special and super moves, early so as to complete the input at the exact moment that the move can come out. Example: Zangief's Spinning Pile Driver command ( circle + P ) includes pressing 8 which frequently makes Zangief jump while you're trying to execute the grab. However, you can whiff a LP to "lock" Zangief to the ground until the LP animation ends. During the animation, input the 360 motion—since Zangief is stuck in the grounded animation, he will not accidentally jump. To complete the buffer, you want the 360 motion to end at the same time as the LP animation and complete the Spinning Pile Driver input with + P. If buffered correctly, the LP will whiff and Zangief will immediately execute his grab after the LP animation.
Cancel
A cancel interrupts an animation from one action to let you perform a new action. There are many different forms of cancels in Street Fighter, but the most common is a two-in-one.
Cheap
A fake word cried by people that are not good at Street Fighter. Example: Mark Ryan Sallee backs Colin Moriarty into a corner and Colin cires, "Stop being so cheap!"
Combo
Any string of attacks that become unblockable once the first hit in the string has connected. Example: If Ryu lands a j.HK from deep in, he can land from the jump and connect a c.MK before the opponent can recover from the first hit and block. When the second hit, the c.MK, connects, Ryu can cancel into his Hadoken and, again, the attack will connect before the opponent can recover from the last hit.
Corner
The corners of the playing field are the far edges of the screen that represent the boundaries of the arena. The act of cornering involves backing an opponent into a corner and repeatedly attacking, taking advantage of the fact that the opponent cannot retreat. Example: Ryu backs Ken into a corner and keeps him there by throwing Hadokens rapidly and using Shoryukens to knock Ken out of the air if he tries to jump toward Ryu.
Cross-Up
A jumping attack that forces the defender to guard in the opposite direction the attacker comes from. Example: Ryu is on the left, Ken is on the right. In the stand off, Ryu is holding left to guard. Ken jumps over Ryu and attacks with MK, forcing Ryu to hold right in order to block the attack.
Crumple
The unique hit stun effect caused by a charged Focus Attack, crumple leaves the opponent vulnerable to a follow-up attack or combo as he or she slowly falls—or crumples—to the ground.
FADC (Focus Attack Dash Cancel)
FADC refers to canceling a ground attack with a Focus Attack and then canceling that Focus Attack with a dash (usually a forward dash) to set up a combo. Example: Ryu can FADC ( MP + MK 6,6) his Shoryuken to combo his Metsu Hadoken.
Frames
Typically refers to frames of animation. A typical half-second-long animation will consist of roughly 30 frames, and each frame could have different properties. Example: Some frames of Ryu's Hadoken are simply start-up frames with no attack. Next come attack frames during which the fireball is formed. Finally, there are recovery frames to end the animation. Also see: Invincibility Frames. Frames may also prefer to frames of gameplay, not related to character animation. If we assume the game is running at 60 frames per second, there are 60 frames in each second of gameplay during which actions can take place.
Frame Advantage
A frame advantage implies that one character has frames of gameplay during which they can execute an action but the opponent cannot. Example: Ryu jumps in on Ken and attacks with a j.HK, which Ken blocks. As Ryu lands, he has a frame advantage—until the frames of Ken's hit stun wear off, Ryu can attack while Ken cannot.
Hit Stun
Like block stun, hit stun is a temproray moment after being hit during which you cannot do anything. Unlike block stun, during hit stun you cannot even block. Hit stun is what allows combos to form—you hit an opponent with one move, and they are frozen by a few frames of hit stun during which you can follow up with another attack. Example: Ryu jumps in deep and hits Ken with a j.HK. The hit stun from the j.HK gives Ryu enough time to land and connect with another attack, such as c.MK, before Ken can retaliate or even block. The combo is born.
Hyper Armor
Hyper armor allows a character to get hit by an attack from the opponent without incurring hit stun, being knocked down, or otherwise interrupting the hyper armor-affected character's actions. Example: Ryu performs his Focus Attack by pressing and momentarily holding MP + MK. When the Focus Attack is charged, Ryu gains temproary hyper armor properties—if Ryu is attacked during this Focus animation, he will take the hit but continue executing the Focus Attack. Because of hyper armor, the attack is not interrupted as any regular attack would be.
Invincibility Frames
Animation frames, usually part of a special or super move, during which the character is invincible and will pass through attacks from the opponent. Example: Ryu's Shoryuken uppercut has invincibility frames at the start of the move. If Ken throws a Hadoken fireball at Ryu, Ryu can execute a Shoryuken and use the invicibility frames to pass through the fireball without being hit.
Jump-In (Attack)
A jumping normal attack launched after jumping toward an opponent, connecting on the downward arc of the jump animation. Example: Ryu jumps toward Ken and on his way down from the jump hits Ken with a j.HK. A jump-in attack is a typical combo setup.
Jump-In Deep
A slight modification to a typical jump-in attack. Jumping in deep essentially means waiting longer on the downward arc of the jump to hit the attack button, resulting in hitting the opponent in the legs with the jumping attack.
Meaty (Attack)
The other side of a a "wake-up" situation, a meaty attack seeks to hit an opponent immediately as they wake up from a knockdown. Example: Ken knocks down Ryu with a c.HK and just as Ryu is standing up, Ken jumps at Ryu with a meaty j.HK.
Negative Edge
For normal moves, pressing and releasing an attack button acts as just one input. However, for special and super moves, pressing and releasing acts as two separate inputs of the same attack button. This is negative edge. Example: If you press and hold HP with Ryu and no directional input, you will get one punch attack. If you then release that HP button with no directional input, nothing will happen. If, however, you input the motion for a Hadoken and release the HP button at the end of it, the release of HP acts as a button press to complete the Hadoken input. We promise, it's useful. Because of negative edge, you should always press and release an attack button when you're trying to execute a special move—since it acts as two separate inputs, you're more likely to correctly time the input for the special attack.
Normal (Attack)
A normal attack is any attack that does not require special directional inputs to perform. There are some exceptions, as many characters have normals that are modified with directional inputs but are still not special attacks. The defining characteristic of a normal is that a normal cannot cancel another normal. Example: As Ryu, pressing the HP button with no directional inputs performs a normal Hard Punch. Pressing 6+ HP with Ryu will perform an alternate normal attack.
Overhead (Attack)
An overhead attack is performed on the ground but hits high, forcing the opponent to guard it while standing. Typically, most ground-based attacks can be blocked while crouching, since the vast majority of ground-based attacks hit either mid or low. Overhead attacks are the exceptions, making them effective in keeping the opponent guessing. Example: Ryu's + MP is an overhead normal punch that will connect if the opponent is blocking from a crouch.
Piano Input
Rapidly tapping, in immediate succession, each of the three punch or kick attacks, in order to better guarantee correct timing for special move inputs. Because of the way Street Fighter recognizes inputs for special moves, inputting button pressess piano-style acts as six different inputs (via negative edge). Typically, this technique is used with arcade stick setups where the buttons are lined up next to each other and the player can drum-roll his/her fingers across the three buttons. Example: Input timing for Ryu's wake-up Shoryuken is tough, so you can input 623 on the control stick and then use piano inputs, quickly tapping off HP, MP, LP, essentially giving you six chances to correctly time the punch attack with the exact wake-up moment at which Ryu can start the defensive attack.
Poke
Refers to a ground attack, typically with lots of horizontal range. Pokes are usually quick and not part of combos, just attacks that are thrown out with the intent to pressure opponents and are usually safe when blocked. Some pokes, when landed, can lead to combos. Example: Ryu's c.MK is a very good poke, a quick, rangey attack that can be canceled into a special or super if it lands.
Priority
Determines which attacks "beat" other attacks. Every attack has a priority level. If both opponents attack at the same time, the attack with the higher priority "beats" the other and connects. If priority levels are similar, the attacks may "trade." Example: Ryu jumps in on Ken with a j.HK, but Ken counters with a Shoryuken. Since the Shoryuken has greater priority, Ken's attack wins and knocks Ryu down while Ken is untouched. Also see: Trade.
Safe
A description for a move that, when blocked, does not leave the attacker vulnerable to a counter attack. Safe attacks usually have quick recovery or induce lots of hit stun to keep the target frozen even if the attack is blocked. Example: Cammy's LK Cannon Spike is typically safe when blocked, but not safe when whiffed.
Special (Attack)
A special attack typically requires a combination of directional inputs capped off with one attack button input. Special attacks, if performed at the correct time, can cancel many normal attacks. Example: Ryu's Hadoken, performed by. Some specials require no directional inputs, such as Zangief's Lariat, performed by simply pressing LP + MP + HP.
Super (Combo)
A super attack is any attack that consumes a full bar of your super meter. Typically, super attacks require double motion inputs capped off with a single attack input. Example: Ryu's Shinku Hadoken super is performed by inputting 236236+ P.
Tiger Knee / TK
Has two meanings, the most obvious is simply the name of one of Sagat's special moves. When not referring to Sagat's special, Tiger Knee, or "TK," refers to performing a special move in the air immediately upon jumping off the ground via a modified directional input that starts on the ground. Example: Akuma can throw a Hadoken from the air by inputting 236+P after jumping. Alternatively, Akuma can TK his air Hadoken by starting the motion on the ground— 236 —and extending the directional input with before pressing 9+P. In this situation, the 9 acts as both a jump input and the final directional input for the Hadoken. By TKing Akuma's Hadoken, he can perform the move sooner in his jump which opens up strategical advantages.
Trade
When both opponents attack at the same time and both opponents get hit, they have traded blows. Example: Ryu jumps in on Ken with a j.HK and at the same time Ken counters with a c.HP. Both fighters' attacks connect as they trade and neither fighter gains the upper hand.
Turtling
Excessive defense. A turtling opponent focuses only on blocking, not on offense, making him/her difficult to damage. Turtling is sometimes a result of fear, but also can be an effective tactic if the player is winning the round and time is about to expire.
Two-in-One (Combo)
Essentially canceling a normal attack into a special attack, using the input for the first attack as part of the input for the special attack. In order to two-in-one cancel a normal move, that normal move must connect with the opponent—it can successfully hit or be blocked, but it must connnect. Example: Ryu does a c.HK by pressing 2+HK that gets blocked, and two-in-ones into a Hadoken by inputting 36+P before the c.HK animation completes. Also see: Cancel.
Wake-Up
"Wake-up" is a general adjective for actions performed by a character after he/she is knocked down onto the ground and is getting up. Example: After Ryu gets knocked down by a c.HK from Ken, he wake up with a Shoryuken, going right into the attack before even moving to a standing animation.
Whiff
Simply means to miss with an attack. Usually when referred to in terms of strategy, whiffing is intentionally missing with a normal attack to either allow for buffering a special or super move, or to make the opponent block or anticipate being hit.
