Effective Turtle Tips

I finally figured out my playstyle. I love to turtle. Though to be honest, I am not as good at it as I would like to be. It is great when I successfully block all attacks thrown at me, but as a newb it does not happen often. I have noticed that good fighting game players who turtle find ways to defend effectively and trasition smoothly into punishing there opponents. What are some tips to being able to do this as effectively as the pros who play this way do?

It will come with time, but what helps is knowing which of your attacks can punish specific attacks from specific characters, know which attack to use to punish Ryu’s sweep vs. Ken’s Sweep. Learn about frame traps so you dont fall for them as often. Learn about the frame data.

Playing a turtle style requires good reflexes, strong knowledge of your character’s normals/specials and their proper applications, and matchup knowledge. It’s more than just blocking attacks, it’s about controlling the pace of the match and learning how to zone properly. First of all, what character do you play? It’s hard to give you anything other than general tips if we don’t know what character you intend to play.

I actually have been playing SSF 2 HDR as of late and use DJ. I did have Super Street Fighter 4 AE and was using Adon at the time. I am looking into getting the game again soon so I can get things going again. I might play DJ as my main in that game as well. Thanks for the advice so far.

Same basic principles you learn in SF2 can be applied to SF4. In HDR, Deejay has a very strong keep-away game. His excellent projectile, with the use of his up kicks, cr.RH, st.RH, st.MP, and cr.FP, can be used to keep a character out indefinitely while maintaining a solid life lead while ticking away your opponent’s health bar. He can be played somewhat similarly in SF4, although to be truly effective, you’ll need to learn his basic cross-up mix-ups, combos, and frame traps.

Adon generally leans towards the rushdown style, however he has a great st.RH with great range and priority, and a number of moves that can help deal small bites of damage over an extended period of time. Although you might want to consider playing Dhalsim and Guile if you enjoy hardcore turtling and defensive play.