A Take on Block Strings

Yesterday I finally got to put a bit of my training mode practice into some real matches against fairly high level competition. I played fairly well but it was a definite up hill battle trying to implement such advanced tactics in game so quickly. Throughout the matches I started to see just how effective my block strings were becoming. While integrating kara throws, kara-karakusa and axe kicks into my strings, I started to see that these strings seemed like the best way to start making my opponent feel very uncomfortable.

Every blocked hit that leaves you with frame advantage can be used to keep pressure on. This is why block strings are one of the most effective ways to impose subtle momentum. Strings can be initiated, then stopped at any given time...unknowingly to the defender, you're still in his face making him feel uncomfortable! This is what makes tight block strings so incredibly effective. It's a way to apply pressure and make the opponent feel uncomfortable in a fairly safe manner.

It's important to know that the safety in block strings lies in the PACING of the strings. For instance, FlashMetroid performs a lot of pressure through block strings that are fast paced...the second he stops, he begins again as if he had never stopped the pressure at all. Though this may seem appealing, I personally believe that a composed player would have no second thought of trying to reversal out, netting a huge loss for Makoto...she had tons of momentum to begin with and now she has nothing. This train of thought can be a bit too risky, so how can we make it more sound? The safety in block strings resides in pacing the string to where you're not too fast nor to slow.

- To fast will make your opponent know that he needs to get out
- To slow will make the opponent feel as if he can distance himself easily or get a poke in the middle of the string.

If you can maintain a subtle speed you'll have the opponent thinking both at the same time, making him hesitant as he second guesses what the best course of action should be. To reiterate, not too fast as to "body" your opponent, yet not to slow as to be "too cautious." You want to keep strings so subtle enough you have your opponent saying "Am I being pressured right now? When did that happen?"

It would be very obvious for me to point out that block strings are a vital asset to Makoto's overall game plan. The ability to make the opponent feel uncomfortable is something you're always trying to do as a Makoto player. Aside from the pressure and fear that block strings cause, these strings become even more terrifying thanks to the kara-karakusa. The fact that you can end your string with a kara-karakusa at ANY point of the string is INCREDIBLY potent towards her game. So not only do opponent's have to worry about "I'm blocking a lot what should I do?" but also they'll have to keep in mind "I can get command grabbed if I don't get out right now."

That's all for now! Maybe next blog some videos from me? I'm definitely going to keep up with practicing as always, and hopefully I can get to a point where I'm performing clean block strings at the drop of a dime while integrating kara throws and kara-kara...heh hopeful thoughts =)

Works in Progress 2.1

Here are the specific techniques that I'm trying to work on in order to begin integrating in my matches. Each "technique" has unsuppressed depth to it and will take a long time to master and perfect.

- Kara throw's
- Kara-Karakusa
- Feint block strings

From first glance it wouldn't be too difficult to start adding these techniques to in game matches right away. However I'm personally trying to go a bit further and truly trying to go an untapped depth of the above techniques. I'm trying to master the mentality that comes with these techniques, not just trying to execute them because they're "good." Here's a bit of insight as to what I mean...

- Kara throw's: The fear of karakusa overshadows getting thrown so much that in many cases it gets forgotten. It becomes one oft he last things on the opponent's minds. My goal is to play off of this "surprise factor" in order to (aside from getting a bit of free damage) condition my opponent to tech or jab out of the throw attempt. After conditioning is set in, I can begin utilizing instant axe kicks to become even more scary. All that aside, the TRUE beauty of kara throwing is when it all comes full circle...once they're scared of axe kicks or wanting to tech...they've forgotten about karakusa. Simply put, kara throwing is just another technique that I'm trying to implement in order to give my Makoto another "I need to worry about that too" factor.

- Kara-Karakusa: Unlike kara throws, the kara-karakusa doesn't need such a detailed explanation as to why it should be implemented into any Makoto players game. The increased range is amazing and once setups are implemented the kara-karakusa plays a vital role in Makoto's game. Mastering this technique entails knowing how to set the kara-karakusa both physically (in game setup) and mentally (knowing when to do it and why it will work).

- Feint block strings: Out of all the techniques, this one will take the longest to learn everything I need to be truly successful with it. Aside from the purpose of keeping the pressure on, I'm trying to go as far as learning my options as far as how to set up counter hits, knowing when to kara-karakusa or kara throw (let alone the ability of knowing which one to do at any given situation) or knowing when to continue with the string and knowing when to let off...it goes far past the ability of just "keeping the pressure on." The goal with these block strings is to figure out what my best options are while in matches AFTER I've made the reads on my opponent. For instance, if I have an opponent who likes to stand block because he's afraid of karakusa's...it would be best to have a setup with a c.hp...thus resetting the situation (because of knockdown). Or maybe I have an opponent who loves to poke back...I'm going to need a block string setup that will be full of counter hit frame traps in order to condition him to stop poking back during my momentum...and what happens when he's conditioned to block? Well I think we all know that's when the real fun comes in with kara-karakusa's.
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All in all, with the side dish of building strong fundamentals and execution, these are the techniques that I'm currently working on. Like I said, they may look pretty "basic" from first glance, but I'm definitely trying to take these techniques into something far more advanced than they would appear.

My current training regiment!

I've been putting in tons of work and trying really hard to innovate with Makoto and learn different tactics and latent ability. At the same time, I'm trying to polish up my own fundamental game to get to that "on point" status with Makoto. Jugging the two mentalities is proving to be a difficult task.

There have been so many things I've been practicing in the training room with Makoto that it's getting to be incredibly difficult to implement all of it during actual matches. At the same time, I'm trying desperately hard to get to the "on point" status where I'm knocking down all anti airs, not dropping combos, taking advantage of every situation and all that stuff...maintaining an equal balance of the two is proving to be a bit overwhelming and very difficult to take in and execute.

All in all, through my experience it's best to take situations like this slowly and set out a sort of "plan" as to how I can accomplish all the things I want to without feeling overwhelmed. So basically here's the plan:

1. Master the execution of said training

2. Implement one of these "techniques" during matches

3. Slowly implement another "technique" during your matches

4. Take a small break to let my subconscious mind absorb it all

5. Take time to think about how each technique "flows" together/compliment each other

The above plan might sound a bit silly and mundane, however the idea is to slowly integrate all my training into matches (duh), while giving myself enough time to break it all down and see how it all flows together in order to witness the "grander scheme" of the training. The first step in my opinion is incredibly crucial..."mastering the execution of said training." To put it simply, if I have some sort of block string or setup that I'm trying to pull off in match, I BETTER have it down before I even BEGIN to implement it into my matches. By doing this I'll be able to feel more comfortable focusing on the "on point" mentality, as my execution should take care of it for me.

So that's the current training regiment I have going for me currently...Later I'll explain the different techniques and fundamentals I'm trying to integrate and implement into my overall game.

Works in Progress 1.1

I've been in the training room a lot lately trying to practice up on various setups and other various findings...things like kara karakusa setups, crossup tricks, FFS/FFSS, post tsugri (on block) options...the list goes on and on. With a lot of solo training, it can get really easy to literally lose yourself in all of your training and forget to actually utilize it in real matches. With that, I thought I'd make a list as a bit of a reminder to say "start using these in real matches more often!" With that, here's the list of things that I'm currently trying to implement more often in my overall game:

- Use kara-karakusa
- C.hp during block strings
- Use f.lk at close ranges to maintain closeness
- Utilize ultra 1 and fukiage as anti airs more often

I'm going to start with these 4 little things for now and come back in a week to give an update on my implementation abilities! Until then, that's what I'm currently working on!

Strengths, a deeper look

Strengths: We all know that Makoto's strengths rely in her mixup game but not just because of her damage potential (simple 600 damage combos are nothing to laugh at) but more because of the fact that every landed hayate or knockdown resets the situation. In my opinion, THIS is Makoto's strongest asset, the fear that comes with landing a simple hayate. Post hayate mixups have the ability to make the opponent freeze up and hesitate/second guess themselves, a key factor in Makoto's overall game. Because the hayate's hit so quickly, opponents have very little time to think/react to the situation at hand...this is completely different from a knock down situation where a person can recollect themselves after the knockdown and keep composure. Post hayate mixups force the opponent to react instantly and think on their feet...this "sense of urgency" is where Makoto's true potential comes into play.

Fact: SF players do not like to block! We are ALWAYS looking for a way out wether it be distancing ourselves (back dash or jump back), a way to reversal out, or interrupting with a jab or throw...whatever the case SF players do not like it when they don't control the pace of the match. So what does that mean for Makoto? The ability to make an "educated guess" post hayate...essentially playing rock, paper, scissors with the opponent

- opponent block > Karakusa

- opponent jump > S.mp

- opponent reversal > karakusa & s.mp

The possibilities can go on and on, however it's important to understand that each correct "guess" hits HARD to the opponent's mentality. Opponent's freeze up and become scared of making a wrong move, allowing Makoto to press momentum and control the pace of the match while at the same time forcing the opponent to think twice and hesitate.

This is huge for us Makoto players, because when we have the momentum, the opponent MUST respect that contr ol. If they don't, you'll need to teach them by punishing reversals/back dashes/jabs (counter hits are Makoto's FRIEND!) by combo's that lead into hayate. Don't w orry about hitting the hardest hitting combo's...if you can combo into hayate, you'll always reset the situation, striking fear into your opponent, making them freeze up and hesitate. To show you what I mean, here's an example of a line I hit on opponents (from low level to high level players) consistently.

- Karakusa, s.hp, hp hayate....s.mp *COUNTER HIT* mp hayate, SADC, karakusa, Ultra 1

The line above does a ton of damage (hence why I said above that damage stacks), I think it's about 650 or so? Now I should mention first that the "SADC, karakusa, Ultra 1" does not combo after the mp hayate (I think we all knew that). However, this line hits so consistently because of the first post hayate follow up (a s.mp). Most times opponents get antsy and try to hit a jab thinking that they can stop the momentum, however the s.mp stuffs the punch, making the opponent freeze up (block) and hesitate...allowing me to SADC and hit the ultra. Keep in mind that this line is best done once you've forced your opponent to respect you. After being shut down once or twice (guessing right), opponents begin to hesitate and question what they should do after each hayate.

Conclusion on strengths: Makoto's true strengths fall in her ability to making opponents second guess themselves and hesitate through post hayate options and mixups after knockdowns. Every successfully hit hayate resets the situation for Makoto to potentially ruin her opponent through "guessing right." However, before you can instill fear into the opponent, they must first respect your ability to press momentum through punishing their escape options (reversal, distancing, poking back, etc.). Once opponents freeze up, Makoto's momentum allows her to control the match and make damage stack like no other.

Makoto: 1 Month in...Impressions and Thoughts

The game's been out for just about 1 month now (maybe a bit more?) and I can genuinely say that main'ing Makoto is a definite love hate relationship. In this post, my goal is to go over this "love hate relationship" as well as my personal thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages of playing her...not just the basic pro's and cons that anyone can point out, but more analytical break downs of her strengths and weaknesses. With that, let me start with a bit of word vomit on how I feel about Makoto as of right now...

Technical as hell (executionally and mentally), completely all in and nothing in between, TERRRRIBLE matchups =(, the most instinctual character in the game (purely opinion), damage stacks, you better guess right or die trying, glass cannon, definitely not for beginners, take your lumps and beat downs, sooooo frustrating, and lastly...momentum, momentum, MOMENTUM!!!

Glad I got that out of the way...it feels good to just vent out how you feel about your character when they can be so FRUSTRATING to use! Honestly, she's lucky I love her because for the amount of times she's broke my heart, she's lucky I haven't dropped her.

If you're here reading this, I'm assuming you use Makoto, you know her ins and outs, you know the basic BnB combo's, general strategy, strengths/weaknesses...all that good stuff. I'm not writing here to go off of primer or general knowledge, but instead to get to a "higher level Makoto" by looking further into fundamentals rather than analytics and technicalities (which don't get me wrong, IS needed since she's so technical). My next posts will go over my own thoughts regarding Makoto's strengths and weaknesses! Hope you enjoy!