Starting out with Goh #3- Sabaki moves

Note: This post is the third of seven written by Midi and translated by Modelah.

Midi's VF5FS Beginner's Blog post

1. How complete beginners can win! (part 1)
2. How complete beginners can win! (part 2)
3. Sabaki moves
4. Sideturned
5. Ringouts
6. Goh vs. Goh
7. The Wall Game

From the VFDC Glossary: A Sabaki is a regular attack or motion with attack-deflection properties. Contrast with Reversal/Inashi: a Sabaki will always animate regardless of the opponent's action, whereas a Reversal or Inashi will only activate when it connects successfully against an opponent's attack.

3. Sabaki moves
When you're at disadvantage and read your opponent correctly, sabaki moves can really help turn the tide of a match. Goh has 4 sabaki moves, and I'll go over how to use each of them in detail. The main thing you need to know about sabaki moves is to use them when you're at frame disadvantage. You should focus on offense when you have frame advantage. The sabaki moves are:
・Kumite Harai-
・Kyōsengeri-
・Yamibarai-
・Tsukamigaeshi-

1. Kumite Harai → Tsukami →
This is the most common way of using Kumite Harai; as a means of transitioning into Goh's Tsukami hold. Be careful not to enter more than once or you'll end up pushing the opponent away instead (Tsukami ).

This move will sabaki your opponent's single-limbed high and mid attacks. You will still be hit by some airborne moves (Vanessea's OS and Eileen's can be sabakied but her can't- Combolammas) and double-limbed moves which cannot be sabakied (Akira's , Pai's , and Taka's for example).

Basically, when the opponent guards your attack you'll be at disadvantage. If you think your opponent will try to retaliate with a strike, use a sabaki move. They'll most probably try an elbow, punch or upper so you should have some success hitting this. Those moves are also used a lot during the game so throwing a sabaki out every now and them should catch them.

Other applications
・Sabaki and Throw Escape
Entering to go to Tsukami also doubles as a throw escape. For example, this situation in a match vs. Jacky: Jacky blocks your knee and you're at disadvange and you enter , ; if Jacky tries to use an upper you'll catch it with your sabaki and if he tries a throw you'll escape it, negating his nitaku attempt.

The command for this is: , (//) .​

・To deal with Attacks and Guard Breaks
This move is very useful against mid attacks and guard breaks. For example, against Akira: Akira comes at you with and , your Kumite Harai/Tsukami will sabaki both threats with the added bonus of a buffered throw escape. More experienced players will use guard breaks to defeat thier opponent's fuzzy guard, this move is very effective against them, too.

・When you get hit
When a move that can't be sabakied beats your Kumite Harai it'll only register as a normal hit. Get ready for the next phase of your opponent's attack. Doing Kumite Harai again straight after can catch your opponent's or , and is lots of fun!

You can also use it to pressure your opponent's tech-recovery and wake up (after your own tech-recovery opponents will usually beat out any sabaki attempts with thier attacks).

And that's about it. Just try it and get a feel for how and when you should be trying to use it. There are lots of moves that can be sabakied, and this move has the most uses of all Goh's sabaki moves.

2. Kyōsengeri
This move will sabaki all of the opponent's high and mid kicks, including knee attacks. It will also sabaki half-circular kicks but not full-circular or jumping kick attacks. A successful sabaki will crumple the opponent giving you a chance to combo them.

(successful sabaki), , - for all characters except Taka
(successful sabaki), - for Taka​

Other applications
At close range:
When your move is guarded and you're at disadvantage, use this if you think the opponent will try to retaliate with a kick attack.

Characters like Wolf, Jean and Goh himself have nasty combos off a counter hit knee attack so this move works great against them. As this move is an attacking sabaki it will also beat throws and hit the opponent to give you a frame advantage.

At mid range:
Not only can you use this sabaki when at disadvantage at close range, you can also use this at mid range to defeat opponents who use long-reaching kick attacks. The opponent will think twice about recklessly throwing out middle kicks, and it'll be easier for you to seize the initiative.

Near walls:
Characters like Brad, Lau and Kage have powerful wall combos that start from a mid kick attack. They'll most probably try to catch you with one so use this sabaki against them. Don't get too predictable with it though, if they figure you out you'll get punished severely.

Sarah:
A character with some of the best kick attacks in the game. Using this sabaki when appropriate should cause all sorts of problems for her. If you're unsure, just throw it out there. It might get you out of a jam, but again, don't get too predictable with it.

・When you get hit
If a move that can't be sabakied hits you it'll register as a counter hit, which is bad news indeed. Watch out for players who start to read you and attack with something that will beat your sabaki. Also, watch that the active frames for the sabaki catch your opponent's kick, if your timing is off they'll get a counter hit on you.

When you're sideturned, the opponent will quite often try a middle kick. Using this will sabaki the kick and also defeat their side throw attempts, but if they use something different you can get hurt. Try to see how your opponent usually reacts in this situation before trying it.

3. Yamibarai
This will sabaki your opponents low moves, except for double-limbed punch attacks and full-circular low kicks. On a successful sabaki you will be at a huge advantage, and able to punish and combo accordingly.

Combos:
(successful sabaki), , , , or
, , ,
, , , - for Taka​

Other applications
A lot of players will try to interrupt your ~ strings as the second hit is high. In that case, stop your string after the first or second attack and enter to catch their .

・Sabaki those mashers
If you're getting bothered by , use this. When you have advantage hitting the knee will yield better damage, though. As this will only sabaki low attacks its use is very limited, you should be trying to use it to sabaki mainly.

・Turn the tables!
Many players will try to hit a low to finish you off sneakily if you only have a little health left. Hitting this to turn the tables on them is so much fun! If your opponent is a beginner and you're not sure what they'll do it's probably better not to try this.

・Against low kicks
Against low kicks this move pushes the opponent pretty far away from Goh but leaves you at better advantage. and are reliable foolow ups but if you want to apply you need to dash in first. (@Combolammas)

4. Tsukamigaeshi
If you hit this as your opponent tries to throw you Goh will reverse their attempt and grab them, a fearsome prospect indeed! The timing for this is very fast. Throws have 1 active frame, and this will only work 1 frame before or after that active frame. That means you have a total of 2 frames to work with, in other words 0.0333 seconds! Naturally, inputting the command repeatedly won't work, unless you can hammer it out 30 times in that time. Because of this move, in theory Goh has been labelled as the strongest character in the game. Some top players can actually use it though, so try to master it so you can shut down your opponent's throw game!

Other applications
・When at -10f
If your frame disadvantage is -10f, the opponent can punish you with a throw. This is the only punishment that is guaranteed, and most players with experience will try to throw you when you're in this situation. This is when you can use this sabaki. They won't be able to throw you when they have the chance, and the pressure is now on them.

Basically you'll be at -10f if your , or is guarded. These are common moves that most opponents will be ready for so look for a chance to sabaki their following throw attempt.

・Use in conjunction with Kumite Harai
Entering will give you the first attack (Basara) of Goh's Shinshōsan Gō combo if it doesn't reverse a throw. In that case, quickly input Kumite Harai with , , or . This will help you to kill 2 birds with 1 stone, so to speak:

・It will buffer a throw escape if you fail to sabaki a throw,
・If the opponent tries to punch you, you'll transition into Tsukami.​

So, although the opponent has frame advantage their throws get sabakied, their throws get escaped, and their punch attacks get shut down... and they will lose their minds!

Latency can be a problem though and all bets are off, so I can't really recommend using this if expect a great deal of success online. If you're at an arcade or offline though, go for it!

And that does it for Goh's Sabaki moves. As you can probably gather, sabaki moves aren't without risks. However, when you get a good read on your opponent and hit a sabaki, it feels real good. Using sabaki moves can really limit your opponent's options.

Knowing when (and when not to) use sabakis and why they were successful (or unsuccessful) is key to understanding how to implement them in matches.

Keep striving to improve while remembering their correct usage!

Sabaki Q and A with Midi
Q. Which characters should I use Kumite Harai against?
A. You should use it mostly against characters with a lot of punch attacks, like Jacky, Lau and Kage. Against -happy Akiras and -happy Takas you should be more careful, but you can still find uses for it once you pick up on the style and habits of your opponent.

Q. I tried using a lot of sabakis and my opponent got angry at me...
A. It's their fault for using moves that can be sabakied in the first place! Keep on doing it! If you're on friendly terms with your opponent give them some pointers on what they should or should not be doing. I can certainly relate to what that opponent was going through, though!

Q. I just can't get these sabaki moves to work...　
A. Your opponent might be getting wise to what you're doing. If your opponent is a beginner, most likely they're just being random. It's easier to get sabaki moves to work against people with more experience; as they know the mechanics of the game they often fall into more predictable patterns.

Q.　I input Kumite Harai and got Tsukamigaeshi instead!
A.　Other moves share the same command so if your input matches the timing of the opponent's throw you'll get Tsukamigaeshi.

Q. Will using sabaki moves make me a better player?
A. That depends on how you want to play the game. You don't have to use them at all, if you don't want to. There are some very good players around that never even use them!　

Q. There's no way I'll be able to that Tsukamigaeshi.
A. Online, it's extremely difficult. Offline or at arcades, there are players who can do it over 90% of the time. It just takes practice.

Goh's sabaki video! (Japanese)


Around the 42:38 mark of the video a question was asked, "Do you always input Kumite Harai to counter throw punishment?" In short, whenever you input Kumite Harai you should always buffer a throw escape, just as you would when doing a guarding throw escape or evading throw escape. Unfortunately there weren't any successful Tsukamigaeshi throw sabakis in the video, but in the following (unrecorded) matches I got about 50% of them!

From the author
And that's it for Goh's sabaki moves. While they can come in handy there are many beginners who rely on them too much and their defense suffers as a result.

Ideally, sabaki moves should complement your basic playing style, not rule it. Keep that in mind and I think you'll enjoy more success when applying them. Thanks for reading this (overly wordy) post and good luck!

Midi