CvS2: KCXJ teaches Blanka (newbie/intermediate level)

Classic Fighting Games Capcom VS SNK 2
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Ok, seeing as how I have some free time on my hands right now, I thought I’d share a little insight into playing a tourney level Blanka for those who don’t know yet. By no means am I declaring myself an expert or anything, but I have devoted a lot of time into learning this character so I thought I’d share some tidbits I’ve picked up here and there.

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Overview:
I mainly play Blanka in N-groove because (1) a dynamic/constantly active Blanka is very tricky (the more random-seeming the better) and (2) the benefits of RC make people think “wtf? I can’t even hit this guy!”. He’s also the reason why expert players hardly even use N-groove anymore… no air defense for RC Blanka. So the first thing to do for a Blanka newbie is to learn how to be mobile. Become 100% comfortable with your:

-run and run stop
-back dash
-command dashes (know your distances)
-low jump (all directions)
-walking speed, forward and backward (more important that you would think)

After that, move on to your normal moves. A well played Blanka can actually win using just his normals alone they’re that good. The big moves that give him such his advantage over other characters are pretty much everything he has (d.HP, the sweep, jump up HP, etc…).

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The moves:

RC Hop- Thumb and forefinger on LP+LK, middle and ring knuckles on MK+HK. Hit the LP+LK, roll your hand to the right to hit KK a split second later. Free hops? Almost. There is still a slight vulnerability as you land and recover. Very easy and with minimum wrist strain. Best used to go through FB’s, Sagat d.HP’s for a free throw, or in conjunction with…

RC Electricty- First whiff a move, any move. The newbie should learn it from rolling first (LP+LK, RC shock), but anybody else can use it from

-a back dash; RC command hop; d.MK xx command hop
-whiff d.mk (most common); whiff d.lk (use thumb to hit lk, then be quick with the RC command); whiff sweep
-whiff jab ball
-punch throw, then cross-up whiff MP ball
-as a wake-up
-Block stun (!) <— From BAS (shock 'em when they try to poke you)
-From another RC shock, to build meter <— bitten straight from Ino Inoue :lol:

as long as you’re not in a neutral state, hit

HP, MP, LP (slight pause), LP+LK, HP.

The rhythm should sound like “one, two” in your head. After drumming my fingers across the top three punch buttons, I like to hold down LP+LK, then hold down HP a split second later while still holding down LP+LK. If you whiff it you’ll be invincible for only a split second as you “spark” so people like Chun-li can still easily catch you with s.MP xx super etc… That’s why you should either use it only as a meaty attack for chip OR also learn how to mash on HP to continue the electricty. You can and WILL be thrown out of this move every now and then if you abuse this move as a wake-up every time you are knocked down though. The frames of the roll that come out before the shock are easily throwable if your opponent predicts your RC, then just grabs you as you’re getting up. So if your opponent, has caught on to your little trick and jiggles or stands over your fallen body, be aware of your risk/reward ratio before you decide to bust this move. Roughly 50/50. Don’t forget the good option of just blocking low and getting ready to tech as you get up.

extra: The way to activate from a whiff jab is to hit LP (slight pause), then drum MP, LP (slight pause), LP+LK, HP. That’s the way Nuki was performing the RC back at EVL

RC Ball- Charge back or down-back (ie. sit there), if your opponent tries to poke you with a fireball, boom, RC ball. If they low jump at you, RC ball. If they hit you with a blocked poking string (ie. sweep, hadoken), RC ball. You should get the idea. This move can be anti-anything. Just don’t try to attack with it (important). Treat it solely as a DP and you’ll be good. UNLESS your opponent has no way for punishing it, like non-N-groove Ryu. If that’s the case, then abuse this move like there’s no tomorrow. Rapid fire RC balls if they get frustrated.

The motion that I use is:

charge back, press and HOLD down LP+LK while I’m still at back, then move to Forward+P a split second later. “One, two” timing

To use the RC Jab ball you have to pretend you’re a Jap and press the buttons like them. LP+LK with your middle finger and thumb, release, and then brush LP with your forefinger a split second later. It’s a double tap motion. Negative edge also works too. Hold down LP+LK, and release LP a split second later to activate the ball instead.

d.MK- an amazingly versitile kick for with priority to boot. Many characters simply do not have an answer for this move up close, so don’t be afraid to throw out a ton of these for seemingly no reason as it’s also a great whiff/“shield” move. The meat of Blanka’s basic rush patterns. d.MK xx hop back, into whatever (RC jab ball, lj. HK, d. HP are good choices). Can also be used as an easy whiff move for activating your RC electricity. Use d.MK xx forward hop, RC etc… too

jump straight up HP- The premier jumping anti-air move of the game. Practically comes out in one frame, along with having sick priority and high damage. Low jump up HP will be your main anti-air. You can easily chain a command hop back to be safe or an RC electricity after you touch the ground too.

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Combos:

d.LK, s.LP xx HP ball or level 3
Keep LP held down for best results. This is what you’ll mainly be using when you land those jump-ins in the middle of some action. Can also combo off a low jump HK.

d.LK, d.LK, d.LK xx HP ball or level 3
The Justin combo. Absolutely deadly. Now you can combo a super from anywhere on the screen. After linking the three shorts you’ll always be charged enough to do your special move. Think one touch kill with this combo… Do it after a cross-up MK or use it in your hop mixups. Mindgame ex. —> RC hop forward, RC electricity; RC hop forward, throw; or RC hop forward, short, short, short, ball. Three options. Mix them up as you see fit.

I double tap the first two LK’s, then hold down the third with my thumb while I hit HP after. This isn’t easy though as even then the timing is tight. To make linking easier, you can substitute the last d.LK for a s.LP instead, but you sacrifice range for doing so (ie. the combo will no longer work after a blocked d.MK xx hop back, into hop forward). Only practice makes perfect with this link combo.

Jump up HP, s.HP xx level 1 or level 3
The patented kcxj combo. Yes the s.HP (breast grope punch) combos into a level one (another reason why N-groove is good, lots of level ones). The j.HP starter allows you to do huge damage (5200!) with only one dot. Use only when you dizzy your opponent obviously.

jump-in, d.HK, juggle with level 1 or 3 roar super (corner only)
Sorry I’m not Ohnuki or Ino :D. Learn the shortcut method for performing the roar super, and let your opponent fall a bit after the sweep first to ensure the most hits. The most I can get is 16 hits with level 3. 9700 damage. Crazy.

d.MK into ball or super
Always keep the MK held and hit the HP with another finger to avoid negative edge giving you the kick ball by accident instead.

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Tricks:

empty low jump into d.LK, s.LP, level 3
I use this on wake-up after I get people to become afraid of my lj.HK or if your name is Sabob San from MA and think you’re so good at P-groove you can parry everything. Just use HP ball if you don’t have super. It’s a 50/50 high low mix-up so use it!

forward hop, level 3
This move is so versitile it’s not even funny. Remember the hop can be canceled from anything (d.mk etc…) so naturally some nasty mixups can occur. example: d.lk, d.lk, d.lk xx hop back (blocked), hop foward, super/mixup with grab. Your opponent will fear you everytime you have level 3. Free hops! The motion I use is:

charge back, forward+KKK, back, forward+triple tap all three punches (similar to the finger drum for RC electricity).

The key to doing this move is the timing. The joystick motions must be done as SLOW as possible in order for the hop to finish and the super to come out. By triple tapping (Daigo) for the punch super, you get a ridiculous 6 inputs instead of just 1 by trying to slam the button as hard as you can like I see stupid people do all the time.

Punch throw, meaty level 3
This one’s easy. Just charge while you’re chewing your opponent, then time your level three to hit cross-up as they’re getting up. Against K-groove this is a 50/50 mix-up (front or back) as they have no roll, delayed get-up, or option select block/parry. Therefore it’s use it pretty limited (use sparingly). But still, it’s tricky nontheless for people who don’t know you’re suppose to block the other way.

Punch throw, cross-up whiff mp ball, whiff electricity, throw
Drum on LP and MP for this one, as the animations for the weaker strength electricities are longer the the HP one (gets the opponent more likely to block).

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Basic strategy:

Always keep moving. Lots of run up whiff LPs, random hops, low jump up and down, etc… But be ready to turtle up when the time calls for it too (ie. raged k-groove Cammy). Blocked HP electricity does horrendous chip, especially against big characters. So try to land cross-up MK, into HP electricity as much as possible (a knockdown from Blanka’s great sweep sets it up nicely).

Questions? Comments?

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And the best all around Blanka custom is…?

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Sorry, I only play K, C, N… Coco Savage plays a nasty A-Blanka though, so maybe he might post here.

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Some things that USED to work (they still work every once in a while) before everyone caught on to Blanka’s tricks…

LP ball, KK (RC’d if you want), throw. I don’t use this anymore but it was pretty fun sometimes like on wakeup. What happens if you time this right is you hop through the opponent as they’re trying to do a wakeup or if they block you’re still open for a throw. Now I just opt for mp or lp roll and electricity when I get a knockdown. LP ball is definitely one of Blanka’s useful tools… Instead of throwing you can to the ball and then land right next to the opponent for a poke string. I’m not sure if this stuff still works at high level play, but I find the lp ball pretty useful.

Neways, I was just wondering how you do mk crossup into electricity. I do the piano technique but it doesn’t come out in time; is there a certain finger pattern that makes this easier?

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Character matchups:

vs. N-Chunli
Punish any blocked kick supers with d.MK xx HP ball or d.MP (the funny looking move) xx Level three if you have it. Chun-li has trouble against your low jump HK. Cross-up chip electricity whenever you can. Be very careful with the whiff RC electricities against her and be conservative with the RC balls too. Don’t let her jump-in or cross you up either as getting out of her sbk trap or rush down is very difficult unless you feel confident RC balling your way out (even then she can just bait you so she can just block and punish instead).

vs. rushing Sagat
If you can keep him out (j.HP etc…), so he can’t abuse his standing jabs on you all day, this match is free for Blanka. Stay in Blanka’s sweet spot just outside Sagat’s FP’s and zone, zone, zone! Low jump forward MP xx Hop back is a free poke when Sagat doesn’t have super. Lots of s.MP and sweeps (probably Blankas best weapon against him) should be in order too. HP slide can be used as trip guard anti-air if Sagat low jumps, but hitting him out of the air as he leaves the ground with d.HP is good too. His c.HP does beat your c.HP and slide though, so be careful with those.

I find Sagat to be most difficult when he gets his jumping shorts going. A good Sagat does them at angles where Blanka can’t anti-air easily (or even at all). If that happens, I try my best to RC hop my way out of there rather than attempt to contest them. Stay out of the corner against him too. Try to be patient to find the right time RC ball your way out of the corner to reset the match if the momentum of the match ever gets put in Sagat’s favor.

edit: forget what I said about trying to slide or d.HP low jumping sagat out of the air. Just RC ball the heck out of him each and every time he leaves the ground (because there’s no air defense in any groove when you low jump).

vs. A-Bison
I could use some help here actually. All I know is don’t jump anytime he has meter (because of the BS j.mp x 2).

vs. Any Cammy other than P-groove
You have to keep Blanka on the ground in this fight. Yes, it seems impossible to do so without getting raped by HPs and HKs, but IMO it’s the the best way to approach this fight. RCing is a must. d.HP will be your main weapon here. You can throw in random low jump attacks too. Don’t try to attack Cammy after blocking a close s.HP from her, unless you’re buffering an RC electricity out of block stun and hoping she messes up her timing. Once you establish ground control, Cammy will usually try to get in using her j.LK. Don’t try to j.HP this on reaction, you’ll lose and it’s what Cammy is hoping for you to do. Stay charged and knock her out of the air with an up ball instead (you don’t have to RC it or anything, it wins clean). In case people haven’t noticed, Cammy has a horribly short stun meter. Hit her with a few fierces, some HKs, and she’ll be dizzy if you play your cards right. Combo a level one when that happens (don’t mess up) and boom your match is won. Tokido perfected my N-Cammy at EVL with his r1 (!) Blanka (it’s the reason I stopped using her) so this match is winable. Just RC smartly (ie. don’t get baited so she can punish your ball etc…), stay patient, and chip her whenever possible.

vs. Hibiki
This match sucks big time. The majority of high level Hibiki’s you’ll be facing are the turtling A-groove ones. Even against scrubby players, this match can still be very tough. Against, RCing or P-groove Hibikis… lol, good luck… sh*t can be downright cheap. My general strategy is to rush her down any fast as possible. LOW JUMPS will be key here. Her s.HP may stop your jump-in, but she’ll have to switch to d.HP if you start abusing low jump HK’s. When that happens, you can bait a miss and punish with your own d.HP or sweep. Against RC Hibiki, forget it… You’ll be knocked back by RC MP slash everytime. In that case (or if she has full A-groove meter), let her come to you instead. Stay back and build meter with RC electricities, and hope she does a stupid jump-in from far away so you can knock her back with j.HP. Once you knock her down (also very important) chip her like there’s no tommorow. Watch out if she RCs on wakeup though. When that happens, you’ll want to mix-up hop forward meaty throw along with your meaty electricity. Get them to second guess whether they should RC or not.

vs. Any P-groove characer
Playing against an expert level parrier is entirely different from any traditional match-ups and maybe even an art form in itself. Don’t try to cross them up unless it’s once in a blue moon. The P-groover’s option select of just tapping a direction to get a parry or block correctly on a cross up will most likely get you eating an unpleasant (and free) combo from them. You CAN however, abuse your meaty electricities to their fullest. Your opponent can parry your shocks all day but they won’t be able to retaliate in addition to you not being pushed back the least bit.

Any P-groove match-up is by no way easy though. You have to think differently if you want to win. Stick with single hit pokes (no c.LKx3’s up close), mixing up highs and lows (low jump up and down for example), and stagger the timing of your moves (instead of just doing d.HP, do whiff s.LP then d.HP etc…). That’s all I know so good luck!

(That’s it! All other match ups are FREEE for Blanka.)

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The block stun created by the j.mk gives you plenty of time to hit the five punch buttons necessary to activate the chip. I like to drum HP, MP, LP, then start double tapping on HP as much as possible.

Ricky just drums on on MP and HP as much as possible, but the speed at which he does it is superhuman I swear. So yeah, just piano that shit then mash on HP and after some practice you’ll get it 100%

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this is a very good thread…

i also use j. mk, s. jab, electricity, the electricity doesnt hit as many times (maybe like 1 or 2 hits) but its a nice mix up people might think you going to do something else since you stuck in s.jab…do you know if this shit combos???..most of the time when i do it people block the cross up so i never know…dont have my dc to test it…

im outi

Roberth

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dude thanx for the info. How come MP is good against sagat. also what do you do with blanka in K groove if your oponent crosses you up. Also s. Fierce/randhouse, its good against what ?Thanx

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s.MP is actually Blanka’s best overall poke IMO. Though it doesn’t have the longest range (d.HP and sweep have those), it’s priority and RECOVERY time are what make it so great and SAFE to use. Use this move to keep your opponent (especially big characters like Sagat) locked down and possibly even dizzy them if they’re are stupid and get hit by one too many (it’s perfectly ok to try another run up s.MP after making them block the first one etc…).

Low jump MP I really can’t explain (since I jacked it straight from the Japanese myself). You just have to try it out for yourself and you’ll see why it’s one of Blanka best jump-ins against the big characters. It’s “stuffing” potential is crazy, and the fact that you can just hop back to cancel your low jump recovery afterwords just makes it too good.

s.Fierce is an awesome move too, but not many people know how to use it. Try something like poke, poke, poke, then run up s.Fierce. You’ll knock your opponent out of the air if they try to jump away, get lucky and stuff something (a lot more than you would think), or just make them block it, which is good too as it leaves them in block stun giving you enough time to charge back for an RC ball or low jump HK. Also use it to combo his super as I mentions above (evil…).

There are also some mindgames you can play by just whiffing this move and the s.HK too. One of my setups:

get a knockdown by sweep, hop back, whiff s.HK, hop forward, super

Get the idea? You have to be creative in making uses for whatever moves your character has.

With K-groove Blanka, just don’t get crossed up in the first place. You should be the one crossing up and cheaping/chipping people to death instead. The only really crossup character Blanka needs to fear is Chun-li and her j.LK. All other character’s (Shoto’s etc…) can be dealt with by using a simple jump back HP or HK, dash/command hop under, or just walk under, throw.

If you’re getting crossed up on wake-up, you’ll have to JD your way out. Just defend and throw should be a staple with ANY K groove character anyway.

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There’s another Blanka thread:p Neways, onto more strategies, what is the most consistent way of getting forward hop into super ball? I usually do b,f,b,kk,f+p but the timing is hard to get down; is there an easier way?.. BTW to confirm, s.MP is Blanka’s best poke because of the speed and recovery; it’s about as fast as Morrigan an Chun Li’s s.MP (?.. maybe not as good, but it does the job)

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lol its not THAT hard to do, i do it on command like 80% of the time…

dude even though no one replied this is the best blanka thread so far good shit…

oh another way to escape cross up is the kk hop, dont know if this was mentioned…

im outi

Roberth

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Please refer to the “tricks” section of my first post to get the hop forward into super ball down. Timing is very important (you have to do it slow!). But probably even more important is the way you press the buttons. I’m giving a big secret away here, but if people only start multiple tapping their inputs Japanese style (ie. drum HP, MP, LP quickly when you want a super ball instead of just slamming HP once…), links and moves with difficult timing such as this one become SO much easier. Do B, F+KKK (instead of just two), B, F+(HP,MP,LP) on a slow “one, two” count and you’ll get it 100% after about a week of practice.

By pressing B, F and 3 kicks for the hop, you avoid accidently getting the kick ball instead.

To learn button pressing 101, I recommend everybody picking up C or N Chun-li first. Once you learn to link d.LP, d.LP, d.MP, then kick super by double tapping EVERY button (you can also do K, K, K for the super at the end) (no cheating! otherwise you don’t learn anything), every other combo or trick in the game becomes automatic. Execution is the key to any pro level player, so just being able to do RC shocks or even d.MK, super 70% of the time or anything other than 100% means your game is weak.

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If any expert level players can post or answer some questions here that would be great too. My actual mindgame and ability to think fast in the middle of a high pressure match is still quite poor so I still get smoked in tourneys all the time unfortunately :frowning:

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i dont know if you talked about this but if for some reason you are turtling with blanka:rolleyes: and your throwing out pokes and for some reason you trade, it could be possible to combo the trade into his lvl 3 super ball, of course its all situational on what you traded with and what character and how far and so forth…just something to keep in mind…

im outi

Roberth

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Can you write out the actual combo notation and what is this good for again?

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I’ll tell you how to beat blanka, take K-groove gief!!

o ya, see most blanka players get 360’d cause they forget to jump up…hehehe:D

Blanka customs:

10000:
(corner) j.FP, elec+FP, activate, elec+FP(4 hits), ju.FPx6, ju.FPx6, ju.FPx6, kick super.

or in the corner, you could just dash in and RC feirce electricity, activate, elec+FP, wiff df.FP, elec+FP, ju.FPx6, kick super. 9500 damage

(mid-screen) s.FPx3/4, df.FP, s.FP, wiff, d.SK, j.FPx3, j.FPx3, (corner), ju.FPx6, kick super.

or, RC feirce elec, activate, d.FP, s.FP, wiff jab blanka ball, s.FP, wiff d.SK, j.FPx3 , etc…

(AA)
RC fierce elec, activate, s.FP, wiff jab blanka ball, s.FP, wiff d.SK, j.FPx3 etc…

or just activate and mash on feirce(for electricity), then just jump feirce a bunch of times.

(vs. rolento/dan), AA RC blanka ball, walk back, activate, grab with feirce OTG, wiff strong blanka ball, RC feirce elec, df+FPx3, kick super.
***note, this is mostly a blocked combo, but It’s mad easy to pull off, so use it in the clutch if you’re scared.

main thing to learn with A-blanka is how to charge up fast, and turtle. This is Blanka’s best groove, however it is really techniqal because a lot of it is RCing, and not much poking. Also, customs are very hard to land right off of electricity, so u must practice, otherwise you’ll get owned up easy.
I would recomend C groove for anybody who don’t like all the repeated RC elec work.

A-blanka is the nastiest of all time though IMO, I’ve seen peeps build(including INO) 3 meters in 1 round and burn them easy.

—>turtle–>build meter–>attack–> waste meter–> turtle–>repeat!!!

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C Beast!!!

That vs. Rolento shit is too cool :slight_smile:

Lothar:

“…” means to double tap, first with your middle finger, immediately followed by brushing the button again with the tip of your forefinger. Think of it as a stutter step in your rhythm (like doing a 1/8 arrow in DDR for example)

c.LP… c.LP, c.LP… c.LP, c.MP… c.MP, QCF, QCF+LK… LK (or HK… MK… LK)

Once you learn how to always press the buttons like this, you’ll realize how much easier linking becomes (since you get multiple inputs instead of just one) and be able to apply it to your Blanka game (make hop forward super or the justin combo possible etc…).

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Good blanka thread…picked up a lot of good info. I was wondering if you can post up more character specific strategies. Such as blanka vs. yama, rolento, and vega. Have any of you guys consistently put that damn b,f,k-ball to use? Its gotta be good for something…

19

Dnut:

Coco Nutsack (see his above A-groove Blanka post) uses the kick ball from far away to bait an attack and blow through it with a CC. You pretend you messed up (the opponent thinks you’re vulnerable when you’re actually safe), tries to punish as you land, then ching! 9000 dmg combo. Don’t use it to often obviously.

Alright, I’ll add to my Blanka vs. other character strats later. After I get some sleep…

20

vs. Rolento:

Usually an easy match for Blanka. Outside of CC, RC pipe twirls (iffy), or Lv 3 Tripwire (bar P-groove too), Rolento has an extremely tough time against your low jump attacks. His only real option is to RC pogo hop to run away (which does no damage to you). The most common Rolento to be prepared for are the A-groovers who run away, build meter, then CC you for 50%, rinse and repeat. Try to stay out of the air for this match. Rolento’s jumping jabs are annoying. If he does his poke, poke, poke, d.mk string on you, you can RC ball (damaging him in the process) or command hop your way out. Being PATIENT is most important in this match-up. When Rolento is running away, don’t try to chase him down by running, as when you finally reach the corner, he’ll just wall jump to the other side (and you can’t do squat). Instead, close the gap by slowing walking forward. Your Blanka should be a moving wall. Don’t let Rolento wall jump to run away. Jump straight up HP, s.HP, s.MP, etc… Once you corner him, you can rush, rush, rush! If you can anticipate a RC pogo hop to run away, throw. Up close, Rolento just loses. I don’t know how else to put it.

Watch out for his slide, air d.mk, and all his tricky stuff when he has CC meter (counter hit d.HP for CC etc…).

P-groove is a totally different story. Low jumping is not safe at all against P-Rolento and considering how much parry, combo with Rolento hurts, I wouldn’t even risk it. I suggest C or A Blanka in this fight. Just sit on your supers (turtle almost) and keep him out with your RC’s. There was this one crazy N-Rolento from the Japanese 5 on 5 vids I was watching too. It was the guy who also had the nasty N-Maki. Insane mixups, hypnotic wave-dashing… it was too good! I don’t think my Blanka would stand a chance against anybody who plays Rolento like that unfortunately.

vs. Yamazaki

K or C are the best Yamazaki’s and what you’ll most commonly be fighting against. All good C-Yamazaki’s I have fought in my personal experience are basically the same. This matchup is a lot about patience too. They make you block his guard break/bread and butter combo (jab, jab, jab, sand kick, serpant slash or s.HP, sand kick, serpent slash) then walk back waiting for you to come to them so that can counter you with a s.HK. In other words, don’t be too anxious to attack back after getting hit by or blocking a Yama combo. All you’ll eat is a boot to the face or a sweep instead.

When they’re not trying to turtle and keep you out with slashs, s.HK’s, and sweeps, Yamazaki plays will try to close the gap by getting in with a j.LK or j.MK. Blanka can’t beat these two moves, so don’t bother trying. Just get out of the way or RC through them instead (try to always have your charge ready). This is definately a very underrated character I think. (Dr. B from at EVL beating on the Japs anyone??). Learning what patterns your opponent likes to use, then counter when you know they’ll be a gap. Yamazaki’s jump is very low too, so be conservative with your Blanka slides or other low attacks because if you predict wrong, you’ll most likely get hit by a j.HK then into so more bnb combos etc… (annoying).

C-Yamazaki sitting on a level 3 super —> most annoying thing ever… But not unbeatable. 50/50 guess as to whether you should jump away or just block. Most of the time if a Yamazaki just rolls and picks one of those supers randomly, hoping to guess right, you shouldn’t have a lot of trouble beating him (as he is most likely a scrub). It’s the Yama players who delay the timing for a split second (to wait for you to make a move first, then super) are the ones who are the most difficult. (Watching Jap player Shiro…) Yamazaki’s with RCs are obviously very good. You can still super his serpent slashs, but that’s only because of the non invincible lag at the end. His RC sand kick on the other hand is a great RC move and can be used to build free meter on his part. Try not to let that happen by keeping the pressure on to the best of your ability.

K or N Yamazaki is a different character to fight against. Now you have to contend with the more rushdown minded strategies that Yamazaki can throw out so well. Yamakizaki’s super high priority low jump attacks are the hardest things you’ll have to contend with. But running HK; tick into command throws; and tricky overhead mixups are also things you’ll have to watch for. Yamazaki can now run, command grab or super command grab you. A good Yamazaki will also knock you down, run up, fake a few jabs, and then super grab your wakeup attempt as well. As with any K-groove character, Just Defend into throw is always a threat, but even more so with Yamazaki since he has a powerful command grab. Watch for that by not jumping in predicably and letting him JD you.

Hmm… I seem to have written nothing but strengths for Yamazaki so far. (And why the heck is this post so long?) Anyway, you guys want to know how to beat him? Yamazaki’s biggest weakness is his large character size. Honesty… pick Chun-li or Cammy and rush the heck out of him instead (SBK trap abuse). With Blanka, just play like you normally would. Stay active, sneak in random pokes, chip like hell, and don’t rush in blindly (Yama’s d.HP is a tough anti-cross up to beat). Low jump forward MP will also be your best friend here by the way…

extra: if any Yamazaki ever does poke, poke, poke, far s.HP xx low serpent slash on you, he’s an idiot who thinks this is CvS1. In these cases you’ll want to Lv 3 their butts back to KOF in between the last low LP and s.HP (Blanka can just command hop back to escape too btw…)