There are only a few things you can do if you know that they are trying to chip you with ex stomp at the end.
Ex DP - majority of the time, you will miss and go the other way but it will beat it sometimes depend on random factors of timing.
Back dash - works but again is based on how high the stomp is and when you get up.
Ex SPD - I probably would use this rather then the other 2 only because I think its more reliable. Because its sf4, it will grab them if they are close to the ground as you are invincible to hits on startup and it factors in their landing frame timing.
Thanks for the options! Thanks to Joe Lewis too. The EX SPD is definitely something I’d like to try out… my backdash timing seems to be terrible and EX dp never seems to hit when I need it to.
Gouken matchup is such a joke, tomorrow I get to see how much worse it has become because 2012 is finally launching on PC, but really…it’s even worse than Blanka for me personally.
You can turtle Blanka back, but you can’t do anything against Gouken. You HAVE to play his game. His mixed projectiles are a pain and he’s good vs. jump ins, too. I can imagine EX-Dive 2012 helps a bit, so you probably want to turtle, absorb and get bars to EX-Dive into his face.
Turtling on Blanka doesn’t work in Hawk’s favor because Hawk isn’t good at controlling Horizontal Space and keeping Blanka out. You can force Blanka to come after you but even with that being said Blanka still has the upperhand when he’s in Hawk’s face. Even with the distance nerf on EX Upball, the risk/reward is still in Blanka’s favor even when Blanka is knocked down. If Hawk blocks the EX Upball, it’s a free Mexican Typhoon, Super, Ultra and etc, which is a big reward. On the other hand, if Hawk gets hit by EX Upball not only does Blanka deal some damage but he gets to run away and start the turtling game that Hawk can barely do anything about, all over again. In the Blanka matchup, Hawk cannot maximize the risk/reward in his favor at all. Even when exploiting Blanka’s biggest weakness, Blanka is still the character who will get rewarded more for guessing right.
Gouken on the other hand, does not have good answers when knocked down on when someone’s in his face. In this respect, Hawk is the one who has the risk/reward in his favor. Gouken players are really hesitant to use Kongo (Counter-move) against grapplers because any 360 will completely dominate it. Gouken’s Tatsu is also the most horribly unsafe DP because it has the most longest recovery on block or on whiff and isn’t FADCable at all. None of these options are in Gouken’s favor and that’s the difference between the Blanka and Gouken matchup.
I’m not ruling out the fact that Gouken is a tough matchup, I completely agree. Against a Gouken who knows what he’s doing I’d say the matchup can be as bad as 7 - 3 in his favor. But the difference is that Gouken’s exploitable weaknesses puts the risk/reward in Hawk’s favor. It does not for the Blanka matchup.
That’s the theory. Practically you won’t knock Gouken down because you cannot reach him. That’s what’s giving me trouble and the reason I like even the Blanka matchup a lot more than this shit. At least you get to stop Blanka balls and punish with U2 or let’s just say at least you get to touch him. At a specific range Hawk gets hit by Goukens angled plasma just because he is so big. Also he is able to delay his plasma. It’s really annoying.
They’re both shitty fights but if I had to pick one I’d rather fight it’d be Gouken every time. At least you can do something after a knock down against him. You really can’t do shit against Blanka.
I’ve NEVER seen a Gouken Player FADC the Tatsu. Maybe because they’re afraid of it whiffing when the opponent crouches? That’s one of the biggest complaints I’ve heard about Gouken’s Tatsu. It’ll whiff completely if a character crouches.
Does anyone ever use MP Tomahawk to get over fireballs?
I’m serious because I do this all the time but I’ve NEVER seen anyone utilizing this. I check Youtube everyday, watching the latest Hawk replays from Great Hawk players like Sushiya893, FuzzyPhi, MaaO-MAAo and other Hawks including those of us who are regulars here and NOBODY does this.
Of course, you can’t use MP Tomahawk to go over every fireball. It can’t be too high, would have to be traveling at a relatively fast speed so that you can get over it quickly enough to where the other character can’t close the distance on you to punish you as you’re landing. You can avoid fireballs, build some meter and close the distance all at the same time by using MP Tomahawk!
The left image is Dudley’s Elbow during a Neutral Jump which has a better Hitbox extending downward. The right image is Dudley’s Elbow during a forward/back jump.
If the Dudley Player jumps at you with Elbow you can easily stuff it with Fierce/EX Tomahawk. If it’s air-to-air however Hawk’s own Elbow Drop (Down + MP) is the best normal you can use to deal with Dudley’s. The thing I really HATE about Dudley’s Elbow drop is the fact that even if it trades, it will ALWAYS trade in his favor simply because it knocks you down.
