This thread will soon be stickied and updated.
Me and the good Doctor ( Dr. Chaos, duh ) will be doing the write-ups over time, and updating them the more we learn.
This thread will be for the Ken players so feel free to ask questions or add comments about anything.
Ryu
Spoiler
Ryu’s strategy is to zone, and he has the tools to do it. With one of the best fireballs in the game, good anti-airs, decent footsies, and MANY ways to land his Ultra, there is little room for error when playing against Ryu.
This is easily one of Kens hardest match-ups. The moment you dont respect him, you lose.
Fireballs:
Obviously his main zoning tool. Neutral jump and empty foward jump are good at full screen. Foward jump obviously to gain distance, and neutral jump is often used to gain composure or collect yourself. This isnt going to be a fire fight so fireballs should only be used to MATCH his fireballs. @ mid-screen, walk up block is ok just to get in and starting to add some pressure. f mk should be utilized as well.
Kara focus is not safe at many distances. So be smart in covering ground with it. Same thing with regular focus dashes.
The Key in this match-up is to close the distance as quickly and as safley as possible. You will mess up. Tech recover and go after him again.
Footsies:
Yup hes got those too. Your pretty much matched here. While f mk IS a good poke, its not one you can abuse. Your main poke is cr. mk. Ryu can also block string cr mk x hado easier then can obviously. Which is pretty frustrating because not only does it push you out more, but it can be hit confirmed into a super. But there ARE distances where cr. mk x hado isnt a safe block string. In those cases remember you can focus dash it and throw. And that could be the knock down you need to turn the tides in your favor. ( pun intended )
cr. mk x EX tatsu if he tries to focus punish your f mk.
Match-up: Guile
Situation: Guile following his SB+lp and following it
A quick note on Focus-absorbing:
All absorbs should be done like a parry - split second before impact. One should not plant themselves and overtly show they are charging.
Mix and match note: Some options can be mixed and matched with others. But nothing is more important than a simple mix-up of all options. Keep the opponent guessing as what you will do.
Defensive tactics
Block
Defaut tactic. It is usually better to be safe-than-sorry.
F-absorb (SB) and back-dash-cancel
Will reset the situation. If Guile has done a full-screen SB and dash-followed making his body IN THE SB… don’t use this option.
FB
If you have the room and time - nullify the SB with a FB
FADC-bb, FaDC-bb (my new and favorite mix-up)
Charge FA and show an intent to absorb the SB. Before impact - dash cancel backwards and then go immediately to “step 2” (above).
Notes: this is a fake-out. Upon seein the FA charge - Guile is forced to either:
a) stop
b) jump attack
c) ground attack
All of which will unaffect you as you will backdash-cancel out removing you from danger. You can then go immediately into “step 2” and not be worried from a counter as Guile is still trying to work out what to do.
TATSU jump
Launch yourself forward over the SB with an IMMEDIATE TATSU. Should be aiming to fly over the SB and Guile… landing on the otherside of the field.
Counter tactics
F-absorb SB and immediately release FA
You are aiming to absorb the SB and immediately attack Guile…
either forcing him to block, or be countered during the start-up of his follow-up. This tactic usually only works if there is a decent space between Guile and his SB when he is following. Don’t use if he is IN THE SB.
Block and then charge FA
Block the SB and then F-absorb his follow-up.
Offensive tacticsThese are listed as offensive due to their… high-high risk
Jump over and attack
Rarely to be used as counter-punish options for Guile are plenty.
FB.ex
If you believe Guile will stay grounded… a ex might suprise him.
DP.ex
Go through the SB with invincibility start-up of DP and punish his follow-up attack. Very risky
TATSU
You are aiming to go over his SB and get him. I doubt it will get him… but it is an option none-the-less. Timing is also tricky.
Probably a few more to write about. But I’ve had enough now. All this just to talk about his SB. But if you take his SB out of the game… you’ve beaten him.
Awesome can’t wait for all the other write ups, and on behalf of all of us I think we all have learned alot from not only joe and chaos but gunslinger and others who have contributed as well! Thanks alot I will definitely be reading all the material you guys gather.
I find that more often then not, an EX. tatsu over a lp.SB will hit Guile even on a late execution. Along with that, it also seems like, more often then not, you can link into a combo afterward as well, at the very least a throw. Maybe something in the SB animation puts him an a few more frames disadvantage?
I don’t want to spam this thread or anything, since it hasn’t even gotten off the ground yet… But, if you guys need em, I still have documents with all of the information from the first match up thread (probably missing the last 2 or 3 pages). Each document is listed as Ken vs (whoever), and I copied and pasted most of the useful stuff throughout the thread into the document.
I believe I’ve already given a few to big brudda Joe Masters. If you guys need em, just let me know… And give me an email address, so I can send them all at once. That goes for anyone who wants to use em.
First time I ever posted in the matchup-thread and one day later there is a new one and the old one’s closed… do I see a connection? :wow:
Anyway, I was actually waiting for this. Since the matchups were rarely updated in the first post but answered somewhere along it was a pain reading it all… So yeah, great idea
BTW Firekeeper, for Claw, just focus and dash when he does a wall jump. You can even wait until the attack hits (so you know what side he will land on), dash towards him and use negative edge to do a MP SRK. You will always need to be careful though because they may start to do izuna drops so remember to throw other things into the mix. If he becomes really predictable you can FP SRK his ass out of the air while he’s steering.
Once you get him down chase his ass (in moderation :lol:). Being too predictable will get you screwed (ex scarlet terror hurts) so remember everything that you have available:
Rush him down: f+mk, tatsu, air tatsu, hados
or you can play it cool sometimes and space yourself out to see what they’ll do or chase them for a bit and then stop. No hadokens when they have an ultra and are crouching though!
Be a bit more cautious with the SRKs too, because of his backflip it can cost you a wiff so even if you have 2 ex bars you’re not completely safe!
yo Joe, i noticed the first posts havn’t been updated yet. if you need help with copy-pasta’ing stuff into those posts i wouldn’t mind spending some time on here helping to keep this sucker updated, idk how hard it would be to set that up but yeah many hands makes for light work
and besides the more accessable all the basic matchup info is the quicker the ken community as a whole can evolve our strategies to become more and more refined.
I got called a turtle after beating a Bison, he then told me to go to SRK to learn how to play Ken right. He said defense won’t win a match…
…but, I won.
Anyway, I was messing around with arcade/training, and did anyone know you can grab a Balrog through that spinning punch he does?..the one every Rog spams, or am I bringing up old news?
I have not tried it on his other punches, but does anyone know if it works.
yeah throwing the turn punch is old news, but i’m sure there is someone who didn’t know it, so meh. to answer your further question you can throw his overhead and his buster punch but you have got to be very quick.
Just an observation, vs another Ken if you block his super you can always mash out ultra in the middle. I was worried because his hp version can go over and behind you if you block it crouching but it appears Ken helpfully turns around and hits him with your mashed out ultra.
now who knows the good option select for kens?? You learn tons of matchups by watching the best jap ken players.