well AA FA i think is situational like i think rufus dive kick if you predict that then you’re gonna punish him pretty bad correct me if im wrong. But yea after poke string that’s something i can utilize because opponent could get flusterred and want to jump in at you or poke you… now that i think more about it.
I think Ken’s FA definitely has its uses. It isn’t as effective as Ryu or Sagat’s but it works like most of Ken’s other tricks, meaning it’s good to mix in, but not formulate an entire strategy or style off of. I rarely use it against shotos, because I haven’t exactly figured out how to make it work most effectively against them, but against other characters that have pokes with slow recovery times I think it works really well. Blanka, Vega, Bison, Dhalsim and Balrog I find I can effectively use FA tactics. (Although Balrog can be a little tricky with all of his armor break possibilities, but FA baiting a Headbutt or non-armor break dash punch works) It is definitely always a gamble.
That FA backdash bait -> super was beautiful by the way. Great example.
lol dragonboy and his crazy cr.fp links. fearless
me vs. zangief. at fuddruckers.
[media=youtube]XHZP_74nFIo"[/media]
it’s a shame my match against afrocole
edit:
Dawhiteshadow vs. honda (didn’t catch his name, will get back to you on that): [media=youtube]PUHS9qKCjqI[/media]
Ken’s FA can be a good bait…
Not very effective against shotos as a strategy, but just like any other move good to throw in your mix-up, and of course when you want to rush with a srk, it can save you a punishment if they block.
but overall, it’s not very good. You have to put in in your mix-up to be effective.
Here are two videos of me playing my friend’s Zangief. I think I was more patient in the first game, although right at the end I kind of gave up. Some tips would be appreciated. Don’t rip into me too hard haha (unless it’s necessary T_T)
[media=youtube]8bxKRFV3CIY[/media]
[media=youtube]Lr6flQHn97g[/media]
wow…that’s just boring man…lol
but yeah, that’s pretty much how you gotta play gief if you wanna win all the time. For me, I just have fun with the matchup since he’s so slow. But nice kara and footsies…you can mix it up more with a straight jump every now and then, and AA his butt more.
When he whiffs one of those tornado punches thingies you can EX tatsu him, you’ll have to read him, but if he goes for a throw, a straight jump will be a nice option.
That’s just about it…in this match you have to zone gief, and that’s pretty much how you zone with ken. It’s just to me, it’s so lame…
whatever if that was boring. it was pretty effective for the most part. i can just imagine that gief was getting pretty frustrated.
my psn tag is StrifeBurn if anyone feels like practicing. i just got my stick so i need a tonn.
Reiketsu (ex Claw player) as Ken:
[media=youtube]AUXg4f9j4JU&feature=channel_page[/media]
[media=youtube]fbYzPhLgCZc&feature=channel_page[/media]
[media=youtube]g5K5m1UxfpE&feature=channel_page[/media] - excellent match, but he lost here. If this had been a 2 out of 3 matches instead of just one, he might win since he was able to outrush Rufus pretty easily.
He definitely plays very differently from Ichi - probably due to his Claw background?
Your abel and boxer link is the same. Both go to boxer match
Thx. fixed now.
if people wouldn’t mind could we do a critique on my zangief match here?
Fireballs - you gave a lot of free damage because you used your fireball for damage instead of zoning.
Maybe its me but I would rather go for DP combo to get a KD instead of a Tatsu combo where you are not going to follow it up. Yes the Tatsu combo allows you to push him back so you don’t get pinned but there where couple of times, IMHO, that a SRK combo would have served you better.
You also allowed him to do too much jump ins. Ken should always rule the air with Gief.
.02
Match-up critique.
Attack… Attack… Attack
Fail… Fail… Fail
Incorrect strategy. You may have retreated a few times… but you came right back at him.
Specifics.
f+mk fail. In summary - it was abused. It also became very predictable. And it kept looking you as if you were trying to AA with it! 
I understand you were trying to poke him as he landed… but strategy wise - if you can’t AA-DP him… then you shouldn’t be doing anything but staying back. It’s got nothing to do with his ridiculous range of his arm… if you can’t AA him safely… back off immediately.
FB’s.
"…you gave a lot of free damage because you used your fireball for damage instead of zoning."
FB’s should be used rarely. And only if 100% safe. Remember - FB is slow recovery and Gief also has green hand.
The answer. Get in the mindset you are fighting Gief and you are trying to win at all costs. Meaning that you stay the hell away from him and play a COUNTER-ATTACK and DEFENSIVE game.
Stop poking for the hell of it with f+mk.
Patience is key. Make it a long and boring fight. Make it a winning fight.
This link of gief vs Ken was posted earlier. It is a long and boring fight. But it showcases a winning strategy.
[media=youtube]hNXfu0MIACE[/media]
The first match: Ken got too greedy - even if it looked like he was trying to play safe. Needs a little more patience. He learned from his mistakes in the first match and won the next two.
If you master the art of defense. And subsequently can never be hit and lose life… how can you possibly lose? Well… that’s my philosophy Execution of the plan is a whole other topic! 
But the idea is… play it safe.
ok thanks for the write-up. i hadn’t realized quite how much i over-used step kick, i think it’s cause i can get away with it all day long online and clearly it’s a bad habbit.
as for the aa step kicks… another bad habbit from online which is retrospect wouldn’t ever really work on gief, but against other characters i use step kick as a cross-up escape since the forward movement fucks with people’s jumps. clearly though it’s a habbit that needs breaking.
gunslinger
Can you critique my matches please? xD
It’s not an over-use per se. More as wreckless and predictable sometimes.
Since you ask nicely… and I’m bored.
[media=youtube]8bxKRFV3CIY[/media]
First of all. You show Gief respect - you know his power and you don’t mess with him. However… you are giving up ground/space too easily.
You definitely need to hover back and forth so to stuff up his green-hand range (which you done nicely). But you are still giving up space too freely.
“worst punish ever”… hahah - I say that all the time when I don’t reach the potential of a punish situation.
Also… keep in your mind that you can get out of a corner with j.tatsu. Quick exit and he can’t catch you.
[media=youtube]Lr6flQHn97g[/media]
When out of AA range against Gief and he jumps-in. I’d advise NOT to attempt to poke with c.mk on his landing. EASILY punished with G.HAND.ex.
When in immediate danger… jump-back kick. When too close to him… that is immediate danger!
When he jumps-in and you forgot to AA… jump out. Don’t block… take the hit in the air if he attacks and reset the field.
Need to add some more f+mk into your game. You do it as much as you can get away with. Once they start developing counters… then you can think of altering your usage. Until then… use it more til he creates a decent counter. It needs to be used often… BUT SPORADICALLY. No pattern play.
Overall Gief match-up advice:
Ken has a sweet spot in this match-up. F+mk… specifically just outside his sweep and inside his green-hand. He can’t sweep you so you should never crouch (s.hk danger) and he can’t green-hand you because you’ll block and punish. He can’t jump-in because it is easy AA range.
f+mk is your best friend.
It pins him down and he can’t gain ground on you easily.
Occasionally throw in c.mk xxFB afterwards if you think it is unpredictable to get chip damage and push him back.
You can also punish his LARIAT at the end of the animation with a well spaced f+mk. The kick has long range and Ken also leans back and leaves his upper body hitbox out of range.
DANGER MOMENTS
This is general advice. Players will have their own insights to opponent habits and can react accordingly. If you are unsure and fear gief set-ups… take to this:
- Gief jumps in and for some reason you can’t punish
Keep away. Don’t poke. If he lands on top of you… jump out immediately. Otherwise… just back off and get back into f+mk range. - Gief s.hk
Back-off. Don’t poke with c.mk as SPD can easily grab it. EX, super and ultra especially. Back to f+mk range. If he is immediately upon you… jump out. - Gief c.mk
Jump out immediately. Added note: If you are c.block and he just whiffs his c.mk - IT IS STILL DANGER MODE. His SPD is still in range… and ex especially. - Gief Green-hand
Any time he connects with you… you should be punishing immediately no matter the outcome. If it hits or whiffs… it is a free punish. If it is ex… you are knock-down - so you have other things to worry about.
If it whiffs and he is infront of you… Jump out immediately - Gief building meter
Get in f+mk and be prepared for green hand set-ups. Gief players look to punish “poke happy” players. Usually Gief will bait a poke after doing these set-ups:
- jump-ins
- Lariat
- s.hk
- c.mk
More important than ever to keep within range f+mk range and stay alert.
Zoning the Gief
- f+mk
- c.mk
- fb
- combination of the above
If he starts trying to anti-poke and trade with your f+mk with his own standing pokes - use option 2 and 3 more often. If he tries to trade with crouching attacks… use option 1 and 2 more often. Remember that you are at the advantage when you are in f+mk range. Also remember to always be on the look out for easy AA jump-ins.
crouching DP when he is on top of you with a spinning LARIAT. A great punish for a Green-hand is DP.ex - 240dmg and a knock-down. Doesn’t matter how much stamina someone has… that is a massive chunk of life gone.
-Also some Giefs like to green hand then fadc back to get you to whiff a shoryu. You can beat that by always low forward/low strong after you block green hand, so if they fadc you will just to get the normal and not shoryu.
-Green hand punisher should be either Low forward + Ex shoryu or Back throw(because it puts him into the corner, which makes it a way easier fight for you)
Yeah. Gotta watch out for that definitely. If he gets 2 bars… might be best to just stick with throwing.
Low shorts and forwards for hit-confirms are a good idea. But god - I’m so shit scared of Gief that I’ll just spam throw for a knock-down and reset.
So DP him all you want until he gets 2 meters. Then go for the hit confirms or easy throws.
gunslinger
Thanks for tips dude. Going to have to copy/paste that stuff and review my matches. Cheers!