Hello! I’m new to these forums (I’ve been reading for awhile but this is my first post). I’ve been playing Third Strike for about 2 years now, and playing seriously for about 6-7 months. Right now, I’m at the point where I can play competitively against the other people in my area, but I’m trying to reach the next level (I’m sure if any of us went to FFA and went up against real competition we’d get wrecked).
I play a handful of characters with proficiency (Q, Dudley, Makoto) but my main focus has always been on playing Akuma. I’m trying to get better with him, specifically, and this seemed like a good place to ask. So, here’s what I’m wondering, any help would be great.
Teleportation - I’ve fucked around a lot with Akuma’s teleports and tried to find ways to work them into serious gameplay. Aside from using them to escape from the corner, I’ve used them to cross-over an opponent (much like Yang’s teleport is used) and I’ve also used them to “counter” attacks by avoiding them (using it in a similar way to Dudley’s cross counter). It seems to work well against my friends, but if I try teleporting in a serious match, am I going to get punished every time at the end of the teleport? Is it ever really safe to teleport?
Kara-throwing - Does Akuma have any good ticks into his kara-throw? I can never quite find the right kara range when I’m in close, and I usually end up whiffing.
Dragon kicks - Normally I’ll use the short version on wakeup and mix up between all four options (knockdown/throw/slide/kick), but I abuse the throw a lot more. I’m able to abuse this move endlessly on characters without decent wakeups, but against characters who can knock me out of it if they see it coming (shotos, Dudley, etc) I can never seem to work it in. Any recommendations for openings to use this? Is there any way to “tick” into it or do something similar?
Wakeup games - When an opponent is waking up, I’ll usually try to dash them towards the corner and then either go overhead (UOH or >St, sometimes close Rh), go low (C. Sh, C. Fw, sometimes Sh Dragon slide) or throw (throw, karathrow, Sh dragon throw). My wakeup game is that I’ll use C. Fw 50-60% of the time, and then I’ll try to mix it up if I think they see it coming.
Shungokusatsu - I flat-out can’t do the jump-in Rh, close Rh combo (in actual play, anyways). Once in a while I can pull off the far Rh combo, but it’s so hard to land it when they’re standing that I usually fuck up the Shungo because I get too excited when the Rh hits. Any other suggestions for landing it? I read the kara-Shungo thread and that was interesting. When have you been able to catch an opponent with this outside of a combo or a kara?
Super choice - Normally I use SAI because it’s so versatile. Sometimes I’ll use SAII if I’m going up against someone slow or someone with a lot of stamina (Q and Hugo especially). I’ll use SAIII occasionally against characters like Chun and Yun as a wakeup super when I’m getting rushed down. I really like SAII, though - the damage is really nice, and I’d love to work it into my regular game. Any advice on using SAII instead of SAI, and changing my game to accomodate that?
That’s everything I can think of to ask at the moment. I would love some help.
Thanks!