Maybe that’s what they had in mind when they gave him two command grabs, but as things have evolved so far, that is like 5% of his overall game. Those grabs are risky and usually not worth it, while he has a huge number of other options to keep an opponent on lockdown and guessing high/low or to roll/not to roll.
Canceling strings into qcf+lp works quite nicely. Even though he doesn’t have a 3 frame attack, s.LK beats a lot of stuff (like 3 frame jabs) pretty clean at close range. s.LP has a pretty small hurtbox too. If you end farther out, you can backdash out or bait a whiff with walkback~c.MP. Once they start blocking after qcf+lp you can start mixing in RnR circus, b+HP, or HBS stuff. j.HK is a really good A2A too. He’s really not so bad up close, even though his frame data doesn’t look promising.
Out far he has HBS. d+pp, b+MP, breakn all make it hard to zone him with fireballs. Roll also is a great tool to get him in and punish predicted fireballs as well. I don’t know if this was mentioned, but EX Roll into headbutt grabs crouching characters.
EX roll into headbutt catches crouchers!? Damn. Doesn’t that do like 250 damage?
Yes, yes it does. Ex roll > headbutt also reaches fullscreen. IMO his best use of meteriutside of super ir tag cancels.You really can’t get predictable with fireballs around Kuma.
Speaking of tag cancels, what do you guys usually safe tag cancel out with for Kuma? I really feel like he has to get a hit in order to TC properly. Most of his stuff is unsafe on block and so far I haven’t found a way to TC qcf lp yet outside of team play. Usually I just try to get sme space and raw tag (double backdash raw tag works well) or do it after a knockdown? Other than that I can blow 2 meters to cross counter and tag off of it but that feels kind of like a waste of meter, though it does work pretty much like a launcher. HBS mp xx TC is barely safe, but most people won’t be able to punish it on reaction.
Thoughts?
Gooood stuff, I’ll be using that a lot more often.
Tag cancelling for the moment I’ve been using Break’n, the armor actually is great for people pressing crouching normals because this actually get’s you a free hit, kind of like a shield, pretty cool. Also it work well with Abel because I can roll to the other side and hit them especially if they’re trying to clip Kuma, haha. Pretty dirty.
After reversal EX FB is usually the best way to ensure safety. And even though you’re using two bars, you can still follow up with another combo if it hits. Same with EX MG punch, into overhead…although I’m not sure how safe you would be coming in after that, on block that is. After bear smash is probably good because of the two hits, but it’s a bit slow. Although on hit you can combo off of it with a tag cancel if you’ve made the commitment to tagging.
Usually backdashing to full screen is good, and if they’re chasing you, just size up a FB to catch them jumping at you, and tag cancel it for a potential combo!
Kuma’s rolling/headbutt is forward to down 360 only. You can’t start with back or it doesn’t work.
Anything that’s negative on block for Kuma, it’s even more so for the tagging partner during a TC. So doing qcf+p,p will get both characters punished if you try to tag cancel it on block.
Another thing of note is that HP+HK launcher crushes crouching attacks as well as tag out.
While on the subject of tag outs. HBS is pretty good at catching incoming characters at a distance. b+mp or b+hp or even dash lmh.
What do you guys suggest for players that roll forward? Kuma sadly doesn’t have a jumping cross up which I feel sucks so that’s not an option. Going into Rock n Roll circus doesn’t seem good because they can wake up grab and its the same with Headbutt because opponents usually are crouching if they aren’t waking up DP or something.
so what do you suggest as a mix up for opponents who tech roll forward?
Yeah, it’s hard to specifically counter both stand up and tech roll at the same time, unless you stand in that middle range, ready to put some pressure on. I have some things for baiting rolls and giving you some decent options:
Personally I like using crouching HP, because it’s especially effective again people who like to press crouch jab after rolling away. Gets you a counter which you can combo into g-clef cannon into really good damage.
G-clef cannon is what I usually do if the opponent rolls, gives me some good options and good some pressure.
Backdash is really effective with Kuma if you’re looking for a rollout, because it makes it really hard for the opponent to see what side they’re going to be on, Kumas big rolling body makes it a really good mix up. From here you can go into G-clef cannon or whatever
Another option is to go for HBS, if the opponent rolls all you do is turn around and throw them, haha. You can mix this up with his HBS string!
There are some particular setups I’ve been working on which allow you to jump back and nail a cross up on the opponent if they roll away, and it’s really hard to block…
Here’s some examples -:
normal throw, dash x 2, backdash, jump back mk
back throw - st.jab - jump back mk
HK > Frollicking bear ender, forward dash, back dash, jump back mk
You can add in a backdash to really keep your opponent guessing!
I have more setups, think I wrote them down somewhere…
Yeah jumping mk crosses up, though it isn’t the easiest to get right…but the situations I posted there will always ensure the crossup connects ^
I don’t, I don’t even like his super. 
Needs more viciousness in my bear.
His cross up is hard to preform tho x.x
I have a question. How do you guys deal with players who get in on you and jump cross up into light attacks into more random jump cross ups?
Like there get in on me and spam a random amount of light attacks then cross up jump. Rinse and repeat. If I jump out I get hit and if I do EX frolicking Bear it whiff and they get a combo.
Please help
Hopefully you all know the situation I’m talking about
Jumpback mp/lp or hunting stance to back+hp(break’n).
On another note, i’ve started to use more and more hunting stance and i must say Kuma feels alot more mobile. The one-hit armor on break’n is really good and he’s got a good forward dash. Still having a hard time doing Rolling Circus when on the right side :sadface: (Never played grapplers on SF4, and i’m a sakura player :<)
I can’t seem to get the 360 motion out for the Headbutt/Roll to save my life. What would otherwise be slam-dunk, fireball-countering grabs from 3/4 the screen away instead turn into Megaton Claws or even RnR attempts (360 to a hcb,f? what the hell is this, Guilty Gear?)
Just a bit frustrating…anyone else find themselves having to wrestle with this? Any suggestions?
I don’t really get why I can only get the roll out when I start with forward. In SF4, I could get an SPD no matter if I started backwards or forward.
But well, it’s a different game…
My problem ist that I really fell in love with Kuma as a character and I love his brutal fierce punches and special moves. But I can’t seem to get him going in a match, his combos feel so stiff and there aren’t many of them…
Is there some kind of Kuma-guide somewhere? Some kind of basic tutorial? I’m not a total noob in fighting games, but I don’t feel this game yet.
For those wondering, to do the mk crossup, the mk must be pressed a lot earlier than for most other crossups.
Random things: Break’n can interrupt supers, I absorbed the first hit of xiouyu and chun li’s super with breakin, and then breakin knocked them away, kinda funny that the move can beat some supers.
Also, if the opponent is crossing kuma up a lot, like jumping repeatedly over and over, his jump back mp is often too slow to catch them, same for the jump back hk. So what I try to do, is even though i know it wont hit, I do frolicking bear, it can get u some breathing space and get outta that crap. Some jump attacks/cross ups, may be able to hit the frolicking bear, so find out which jumpins it works best on. Another strategy is to just hit b+fp. Its a nice anti air if the opponent is over your head. Just do it a little early, its really not too bad, and if they are high in the sky, they are in a juggle state and can be punished with whatever.
If people are crossing up alot you can actually just dash forward if you do it fast enough, should be most jab, jab, j.mk cross up attempts.
As for Heabutt/Roll you have to do the motion hcb, to an up direction its the only way it works.
Wow, you’re right. It is actually pretty easy. Thanks!
I hate Rock and Roll circus motion. Its so silly. I find more chances to just empty jump EX Headbutt to beat out grab attempts. I don’t really know what to use that attack for. Sure it works even when there crouching but its more difficult to get out compared to Headbutt. I mean its not hard but considering how command grabs work it is weird.
On another note I haven’t really been using hunter stance much. Break’n is good and I have beaten out supers with it but I find it only useful when I have the life lead and they have to approach me.
I don’t know if this is new but on certain characters (for example Poison) you can time j.hk so it hits from the front but Kuma lands behind them. It’s really hard to get consistently though.
while i agree megaton combos are good, all the starters for hp megaton combos are really fucking slow. Dont forget that jab~b+mp is his fastest poke string, and always connects to lp megaton to lp ender, for 196 dmg. lp starts up in 5 frames and has no hurtbox, making this poke string, really really fast, plus it gets the enemy off you, allowing time to get into hunter stance and start hbs shinanigans.
the only really fast hp megaton starter is the g-clef cannon, and its 6 frames, and its recovery is fucking ass if u happened to miss the opponent, whereas jab~b+mp recovery is really really really fast, in comparison at least.
Also, if u need dmg, j~b+mp to ex megaton punch allows the hp ender, to hp~frolicking, for about 346 dmg, an increase of about 150 dmg for 1 ex, which is totally worth it.
Mind u, I love g-clef because the range is amazing and dmg is easy, but dont forget that the jab~b+mp is just as important, perhaps even more so in a world of ibukis and rolento’s and rush down zaniness.
rock and roll circus motion is hella easy, especially for anyone who played kuma in tekken. It can be buffered during any other move, and once u get used to it, its second nature. just dont forget to buffer buffer buffer! Buffer = doing the motion for one movie during the active movements of another.