ran into these video’s from EC throwdown:
ken v sagat:
[media=youtube]gFFq1eVDNnU&feature=channel_page"[/media]
oh snap it’s dr. chaos:
[media=youtube]jTvPnAlMhBI&feature=channel_page"[/media]
[media=youtube]7V5j2owNxB0&feature=channel_page"[/media]
Sagat is so gay…lol I’d never use him…Dr. has the best poking I’ve ever seen. He plays like Tiba, except Tiba likes to poke with MP more…Chaos likes lp, lk
He seemed to be playing very apprehensively. Not following through with a lot of strings because he was afraid/expecting a Sagat DP counter.
Many players will try to throw out random FA’s to counter Ken’s f+mk. We need to be ACTIVELY looking for this. Especially against Ryu and Sagat.
Ken’s TATSU has armor break. His ex.TATSU is extremely fast.
They FA to punish and stop us from f+mk. We cannot allow this as it is our greatest striking asset. We need to stop them from FA’s. Punish any silly random FA’s from the opponent with TATSU. This will in turn prevent them from constantly using FA… and will leave us more opportunity to spam f+mk.
this is a excellent point, i’ll need to work on this a lot to keep those focus’s down lol.
edit: oh and i geuss we need to start looking out for that nasty move from sagat; fadc’ing a fireball during zoning to punish a neutral jump… tis evil
i’m with you on this. I’ve totally decided after my last tourney Ken is my main and this is a problem against sagats. I faired ok though. crossup ex tatsu ultra ftw!!!
I’m glad you mentioned this. I was getting creamed by a guy who was basically spamming focus attacks. I started reading him a bit and using EX Tatsus… It was really hard (even with a four bar connection, we had quite a bit of lag), but I was able to punish when I had EX. However, when I didn’t have ex meter, I didn’t know what to do. Would RH Tatsu work as well? It just seems to come out so slow that I would think their attack would just hit Ken in mid air.
Depends on the situation at hand.
In the event they are outside of FA range and are simply trying to counter your f+mk. Any TATSU will do.
An ex.TATSU will make certain they have a slim chance to get away.
In the event they are within FA range and charge up
option 1: Simple and 100% defensive. If they make FA2- keep composure and ready your option select defense or go for the counter DP xxFADC (if you have the bars)
option 2: Don’t want to be involved in the mind games? Have a life lead and just want to get some breathing room? This is a good escape option - works with cross-ups and defense against many characters special attacks in general.
option 3: This is the mind games for high level japanese players. They tread this line of bait, defense, escape and counter all in one simple action. Keep in mind that any player can dash-in and out at any point, try to make FA3, or absorb and counter the opponents FA. This is something I’m working on
option 4: On wake-up when the opponent charges FA and you don’t know if he is going to backdash or strike - this is a good option. Saves you from whiffing your reversal fp.DP and look like an absolute flaming douche [pun].
There are many options for many different situations. It’s up to the player to decide.
Thank you for the advice. I need to be more intelligent about my defensive options. I’m usually just thinking about pressing forward: life lead or not… I don’t know how I ever win matches…
I keep forgetting we have guilty gear back dashes now! 
Gunslinger, is it a viable option to back dash after an EX Tatsu? RH Tatsu? I keep trying to OST throw, but sometimes I still get reversal shoryued… Maybe I just suck at mashing things out. I’m just trying to get another option after Tatsu going, so the people I normally play with will have more to think about.
dp will beat a throw after tatsu’s every time, even with ex tatsu’s frame advantage the dp will still win. that being said if you just block one or 2 of those they stop trying to throw them after your combo’s 
I know dp will beat a throw. If I’m 100% sure they will throw (or I have a substantial life lead) I’ll shoryu or neutral jump to counter their throw attempt. But, unless I have the two stocks of meter to burn for FADC, I don’t feel comfortable throwing in a shoryu after a Tatsu.
If they are in FA range you can always Low forward then tatsu. Doesn’t even have to be Ex Rh works fine. If they try to back dash they still get hit. And if they let it go you get the full RH tatsu including the start up knee and its a counter hit.
Against Sagat I try to use F+mk only after I’m inside doing strings, since from afar S.Rh and his C.fierce beat it pretty bad.
yeah I was getting kicked upside my head playing this Sagat the other day with S.RH, and if your close it hits twice–sheesh…
but yeah, does Ken’s s.RH an option in this situation? I’m trying to use it as a poke, but it’s pretty slow, I dunno if it’s really gonna make a difference…
Tks for the suggestion too…I’m gonna try and use lk-Tatsu as my official FA stopper. In the end, this is a big reason why I lose to Sagat/Gouken/Akuma/Ryu players.
I have been successful with doing a RH-overhead on wake-up! Timed right, it’s pretty unexpected. And it’s good for turtles too. Tks for the tips Gunslinger!
btw Dr. Will lk-Tatsu beat out a lvl 2 FA? That’s really what most players hold it too…
Usually when you are close enough where the focus will reach and if you try and tatsu and they release at the same time you usually trade but you won’t crumble you’ll just spiral to the other side of the screen.
Thats why when your close like that you should just low forward then rh or ex tatsu for max damage. My xbox died so you have to try if lk tatsu works from fa range.
I would only throw out a Rh or Ex tatsu if they were out of focus range and just trying to bait you into it. If they back dash I don’t think a lk would reach.
i was wondering why you threw low forwards so many times… but that makes perfect sense
Here’s a match i had yesterday v/s a Feilong who used lots of focus attacks, it seemed like no matter how short he held it, he got a crumple:
[media=youtube]gJViqlfkKE4[/media]
I think even a lvl 1 focus attack will cause crumple stun on counter hit. Unfortunately, I think its almost a reasonable strat for Fei to spam his focus, since it’s so good. If you see him doing that, Tatsu a bit more, or use your c.shorts and c.jabs up close a bit more.
(no offense intended)
You need a ground. You barely poked at him. Fei is very quick so you need to keep him in check. He was basically poking you to prepare for his follow ups (Rekka and DK).
Regarding FA -
Counter will always lead to crumple even at lvl 1.
A simple lk/lp mashing at close range will beat FA 1 counters easily.
HTH
[media=youtube]uPEav6vPcjQ"[/media] was my first tourney match maining ken. Pay no attention to the ryu match lol, I don’t use him really, just trying to scrub out a win on my buddy. On the ex tatsu ultra thing, the next two matches it worked like a champ but I just flat out fucked it up those 2 times. i still suck with him but it seems to be steeping up each day and ken is just fucking fun to play.
Here is one of my matches from yesterday. I make some mistakes, (FADC->ULTRA) but I am still learning. I would love some feedback for sure.
[media=youtube]ITteWL3s0TI[/media]
First of all. I have no doubt that in the future when you attempt high damage combos - you will get them. As you are practicing and trying them… you can only get better.
> So your execution isn’t that great. If I was playing you - I would be spamming dp during your strings. “practice makes perfect”
Secondly. Major problem- match ups. Sure Ken is naturally aggressive - doesn’t mean you have to be. When fighting Honda you should be turtling and only pressing the advantage… WHEN THERE IS AN ADVANTAGE. Otherwise go full screen and FB. Too many times you FB at midscreen.
> Honda’s have a tendency to ‘headbutt’ when you jump back. Look for it and set-up a ULTRA. And on the topic of jumping back… was it really necessary to do it so often? What’s wrong with simply walking? Atleast you can anti-air when you walk. Need to make Honda afraid of jumping.
I’d say don’t worry about ULTRA set-ups. Focus on combat. And focus on being ‘safe’. Too many risky moves versus a much stronger Honda. You need to hit him a lot more than he needs to hit you.
Game deciding tips versus Honda.
You have a f+mk… he doesn’t. You can strike at will from the ground. He is slow and cannot advance effective against you. Stay grounded
His headbutt hurts. But against Ken… he loses out. After a mp/fp headbutt (anything past midscreen) you get a free f+mk on him during his recovery. He gets chip damage on you blocking… you get more damage from kicking him.
Full screen FB’s as annoying poke damage. They don’t win the game… but they add a small edge. Once he gets mid-screen… just turtle with hit and run f+mk. You can punish his jumps and you can counter his headbutts. His only option left is to FA and attack or buttslam. Buttslam requires charge and FA is a gamble.
Good match, monkeyman.
First of all: You made some mistakes… but so what? Everyone does. You play fine - and will improve on your own. You know what you want to do and try for it… soon enough you will be executing flawlessly- making any assault you do very fear worthy by an opponent.
As for judgement. I’m only nitpicking here because there isn’t really much to criticize besides judgment and execution. Execution is solved by practice. Judgment by experience. But just in case you missed it…
Now watch the vid analysing the Guile. You are a good level ahead of him. He wasn’t being a turtle and he wasn’t also trying anything too fancy. Just trying to be solid. He didn’t try anything fancy - yet still so effective? A reminder that we don’t need to be flashy… just solid.
When he gets better - I’m guessing he’s going to be an ‘assault Guile’. Now that’s a HARD MATCH! Sonic boom riot shield charges and then high damage combos. And Guile has a crazy mix-up game of his own!