Not quite, teching (throw soften) reduces the damage, a counter throw will end up with you throwing your opponent when they try to repeatedly throw you.
In Classic ST there were nasty, nasty throw loops, they have all been nerfed in HDR.
Also, you can reversal out of throw attempts.
Antolalism (jesus, I know I didnt spell that one right.) and Gishdeath are both very skilled at tick throwing (they are both good at a variety of other tactics as well, but I am going to use them in my example quite simply because they are very skilled at said tactic)
Now, for example, Kens knee bash, repeated with a quick jump in jab x knee bash, its a nasty loop, but if you know its coming, you can take the hit and counter throw, or use a reversal move, in this example, I saw he (Antolalism) was coming in for the loop, I quickly bust out my super with Sagat (because I was then invincible for the jumping jab), and pow, massive damage in the face. (He still raped me in that match, he is a beast, but it is a recent example in my mind of how to get out of throw loops)
Also, some characters have very fast throws, like Vega, and can counter throw certain tick setups after blocking.
Gish likes to bite my face alot, and I have countless times counter thrown his bite with Sagat, done it with Guile too, same for Honda. (Not to say my face doesnt get raped all the time, it does, but it works against him as well, its a counterable tactic)
Throws are a *vital weapon *in HDR/ST, several characters would be badly weakened if they did not have some throw antics. All they are is a **tool **in your arsenal, one more option too add to your spacing and mind games.
An example:
Guile, pushes an opponent back into a corner, from here he has some brutal mix up options, Boom xx overhead, Boom xx cr.fwd, boom xx back.rnd, boom xx walk in throw, jump in.shrt xx throw, meaty xx FK, etc.
It just boils down to** mind games**, if you anticipate a throw set up, know what your options are, and respond accordingly, it takes practice, its not always super easy or anything like that, but it works.
Its all about finding your characters proper spacing, and trying to control it, instead of just reacting, you** CAN **force a turtle out (usually with throws/tick setups!), you CAN punish a tick throw, and you CAN punish predictable, repeated moves, it takes skill and timing to unleash a constant barrage of attacks, every pattern has a response, idenitfy it, learn the counter, and excecute it.
Sure, there are some bad matchups/counter picks, and Akuma is a dick, but for the most part, there are counter strats for every matchup, some are harder then others (Gief vs Sim) but they are still do-able.
Throws are a serious threat in HDR/ST, the fact that you have to get so very close to your opponent IS a risk, if your throw attempt gets read, there are several things your opponent can do to* fuck you right up*, like something simple, like walking back a touch and unleashing a fancy combo on your UNBLOCKING, foe. (can that be hard? Yuppers, this game is fuggin hardcore sometimes, but we love that)