(OLD) Ken General Discussion Thread (Combos, Techniques, etc.)

i usually try to footsie my way out of the corner. one thing i do is that i’ll throw in a cr.mk xx ex.tatsu into footsies. if i hit them then my combo connects and i get out of the corner. if they crouch and block it my tatsu puts me behind them and now they’re closer to the corner.
i will do an air tatsu every once in a while, but i like staying close to my opponent, even if that means being cornerec.

i think he’s talking about once we get someone to the corner. personally i like to abuse the fact that it’s very very hard to tell if a jump is a cross-up or not in the corner. depending the character this can change a lot as many can punish this tactic. other idea’s are to throw a meaty fb and then footsie after that, could set up a good CH trap.

I usually try to hover around cr.mk and kara throw range. I find this the perfect distance for mp.dp if they try to jump out, and if they jump straight up (I guess this includes up back) hp.fp > ultra.

Also, ambiguous jump-in with lk where it looks like Ken’s crossed over but glitches so he lands in front, and of course mixed up with actually crossing over.

he’s asking about when we get someone in the corner and when you’re in the corner yourself, i just answered the second part.

but to answer the 1st part too, i like to place myself within kara throw range and do a cr.mk xx fb xx FADC. if he was hit by the cr.mk and the fb then i proceed to do a cr.mk xx hp. shoryu for decent damage and another knock down. if he blocked the cr.mk and fb then i go into either throw, tick throw, j.lk crossup, or another block string. that’s one of the setups i like to use, but its all a matter of preference.

When im in the corner isusally try to do like cynistar and poke my way out the corner except for certain characters like gief bison sim and a couple others with them i like to wait til they get cr.rh. range an tatsu away i don’t like to waste meter (ex kara-tatsu) its safer but i rather go for the reagular tatsu i feel that it make you go higher vertically if i have them in the corner for everyone except abel i ilike to stay cr.rh. distance away so i can srk jumpins, poke kara throw and all of kens other options

My question
what do you buffer when you poke balrog (like his dash punch) or bisons scissor kick i usually beat them clean with my pokes but i know that better people probably capitalize with poke combos or something im too scared to srk (especially bison) should i use a hado or tatsu or just get the poke and start a new mix up

Has there been any talk about how Ken can fadc from his shoryu and do mp srk ultra? I don’t recall if there is, but I was messing with it today and found out you can do it off of both ex and regular fp srk.

FP srk fadc mp srk ultra clocks in at just under 400 damage if I remember right, which is about 80 short of ryu’s fadc ultra.

Bridges the damage gap a bit at least, except for the difficulty in timing it without using an ex srk for the extra lift.

Yea, that’s hard trial 4. Most people don’t bother with the m. shoryu after the FADC and just do the ultra instead.

Plus the timing is kind of harsh - you have to get the m. shoryu out right after the FADC or else the ultra won’t hit.

Ah thats right, I forgot about the trials. I just haven’t done kens in months.

What is the max damage you guys are able to get out of the fp.srk, fadc, ultra without counter-hit?

I’ve done 326 tops, but usually I seem to be getting around 302. I tried really late once but I give less damage (270-290) and I got only 294 … My lowest was 254.

Thanks for the tips btw guys. I never thought of using random ch/block to get some better practice. I know what you mean about the AI lol, I always poke and every single time I get FADC slapped in the face.

I did a lot of fp.srk, fadc, ultra today and I feel like I improved a lot. I like training mode :smile:.

With cross-up j.mk - c.lp - c.lp xxfp Shoryuken - FADC - Ultra I get like 13-14 hits and it is between 330 and 340 damage. With a j.rh its a little more, maybe like 20 pts. more I think.

I’ve done the same set combo and gotten different dmg amounts out of them. Like even doing simple close fk into shoryu hp gets different amounts sometimes. Does the game random scale the damage? It seems to vary. I know counter hit decreases the scaling or something, right? Anyone got the specifics on this?

Also, question. I’ve seen japanese Kens use a wake up jump cross up air tatsu lk. What’s the benefit of that? Is there more frame advantage on block? It really doesn’t feel like it. Looks pro though.

Just a shot in the dark, but depending on how much life your opponent has, damage is scaled, so less life = less damge. Maybe that is why?

Practice perfectly timing a c.lk after your tatsu EX’s. Set your dummy to jump or throw or something. If they get hit with c.lk regardless you’re doin’ it right.

One thing I’ve been practicing is c.lk stand.lp c.hp [hit confirm] tatsu hk / [block confirm] hadou lp. The standing lp only works on Fei Long, Gouken, Zangeif, M. Bison, Sagat, Abel, Sakura, and Gen, though. For everyone else you’ll have to confirm that they’re standing after the c.lk…

Another tip. Just practice your confirms by setting the dummy to random block. Spam your options versus a blocking opponent. Throw, walk up and meaty c.lk c.lp c.lp. See if they get hit or block. If they block, know your options (overhead, kara throw, FA, etc). If it’s hitting, hit confirm into something nice.

Maybe! Weird that it would be implemented in training mode when life is infinite though. Definitely a possibility though.

Yeah, I thought the same thing. But this is how it works:

At 51% health or higher there is no damage scaling.
50% health damage scaling is 95%.
25% health damage scaling is 90%.
15% health damage scaling is 75%.

@Apollo GGS games…tips is simple stuff, you already got down not jumping in like crazy and you got pretty good poke game.

What your not using enough is step kick, EX tatsu, and FADC…

My strategy is simple, combo the opponent to death–semi safely. All that really means is I’m looking for links into a shoryuken/tatsu the entire match, but doing it by hit confirming with lk/lp. A lot of that stuff gets setup by either A) your opponent doing something stupid, or B) you initiating it after a step kick or low forward and of course after a knockdown.

Be a little bit more aggressive with Ken. Stay in your opponent’s face, get there by using step kick, just don’t spam it once you get close, use low forward and low strong once your close in. I think I got you with it a few times but don’t FA a jump-in, especially shotos, 9 times out of 10 you’ll just take a LOT of damage.

You got the bnb down pact lp lp SRK and that’s really a good combo to have, it can really save you.

Your Ken is solid, you just have create your mix-up now. Mix-up is basically a certain number of moves/tactics that your rotate during your fight. I recommend throwing EX tatsu, defensive step kicks, and kara throws all around your pokey combos. if you got two meters and you see a low forward FB connects, FADC for more damage with a tatsu, it really puts the pressure on!

Being a good Ken player is very simple–you really just have to feel comfortable being VERY close to your opponent. Once you do, you’ll win a lot of matches and beat roughly 75% of the users online with Ken. When Ken is close, he has a lot of fast moves that beat out much of the cast, if you stay there–your gonna win. You’ll start to see how easy a lk lp srk combo is to get off, and how great kara throw really is!

Ken is border line God tier IMO…they balanced him out by doing a few annoying things with his style, but up close, he’s just sick!! You’ll have a lot more fun when you start playing like that trust me.

WOOOT just imagine if Capcom makes ken a full-fledge rush-down character and give him a roll!! MIX-UP GOD!

yea apollo is improving fast. i think he’ll quickly get to your and my level omni. we should get some games in sometime by the way.

dude we definitely gotta spar again!! I’m madd though, your ken got better than mines with all those kara throw setups:sad:

I have been using mp more because of you though…Man that strong jab is something else! You played BB yet?

i might not improve that fast. it’ll probably take me at least a few weeks for my stickwork to catch up to my pad. i might as well stop playing with pad against you guys, i dont think theres anymore i can learn with it. i just get late aa’s, no kara, and awkward timing for my links. i stole a few awesome training tips from here though so i’ll just keep drilling myself away. thanks for the games guys.

^^ i’m actually buying BB tomorrow. i can’t wait to learn it.
apollo: i know you’ll be a force to be reckoned with once you get your combos and stick work all straightened out.

and now to stop de-railing this thread…
something i like to do is stand outside of stepkick range (in ken mirror matches) and use cr.mk xx ex. tatsu. so if the other ken tries to use a step kick to close the distance they get hit by this nice little combo and it puts me in their face. ask apollo, he’ll attest to its effectiveness :slight_smile:

^^ lol works best when you have godlike reflexes :stuck_out_tongue: i’ve never seen you wiff a tatsu.

does anyone have some tips on equalling out my stick work? what i mean is, im about a million times better on 2p side, but facing right is very difficult for me.