Notation

Numpad Notation

Each direction corresponds to a number on the numpad.

7 File:7.gif	8 File:8.gif	9 File:9.gif
4 File:4.gif	5 File:5.gif	6 File:6.gif
1 File:1.gif	2 File:2.gif	3 File:3.gif

So File:2.gifFile:3.gifFile:6.gifA becomes 236A.
File:6.gifA becomes 6A
If no direction is listed, then it is assumed to be neutral. For example j.C means C (jumping) with no directional input

Abridged List of Abbreviations

X

Press X if no direction is mentioned, assume neutral (5)

j.X, c.X, f.X, etc.

Press X while jumping, close, far, etc.

X~Y

Press X then immediately press Y

[X]

Hold X. Can be used for both directional commands as well as button presses

JC

Jump Cancel

RC

Roman Cancel/ Rapid Cancel

FRC

False/Force Roman Cancel

X(#)

after the #th hit of X

X > Y

cancel X into Y

X, Y

link X into Y

360X, 720X, 1080X

perform a 360/ 720/ etc. degree motion with the stick/pad (clockwise or counter-clockwise) and press X.

Example

Here is a simple example using Ky from Guilty Gear. Use the table above to determine the meaning of this combo. If you get stuck, look at the explanation below.

6P > c.S > 6P > 236K (2) > RC, 66 c.S > 2H > JC > j.K > j.S > j.623H

Explanation <toggledisplay>

Template:6 > close  > Template:6 > Template:236, Roman Cancel the 2nd hit, run up close  > Template:2 > jump cancel >  >  > Template:623

</toggledisplay>

More Abbreviations

IAD

Instant Air Dash

To perform an air dash from a standing position as fast as possible. Done by pressing 956 to air dash forwards or 754 to air dash backwards.

IB

Instant Block

A mechanic used in games like Guilty Gear and BlazBlue where you begin blocking right before an attack strikes you. The benefit of this is that you recover faster, suffer less pushback, and gain extra meter.

CH

Counter Hit

To interrupt the opponent's attack with your own. Counter Hits usually have increased hitstun or have additional properties that normal hits do not have. This usually gives the opportunity to retaliate with even stronger combos.

OTG

Off The Ground

The act of hitting the opponent when the are knocked down, thus hitting them Off The Ground.

TK

Tiger Knee

The act of performing an air attack very close to the ground starting from the ground. For example, to perform j.236C very close to the ground, perform a 2369C. If you did this correctly, your character will be airborne and your character will perform a j.236C.

FD

Faultless Defense

A Guilty Gear term that refers to a special type of blocking that negates chip damage and increases pushback. Can be used to refer to similar mechanics in other games (such as BlazBlue's Barrier Block).

OCV

One Character Victory

When a single person defeats every opponent in a team match.

Gameplay Related Terms

Normal

A type of attack that is performed by pressing a single button.

Special

A type of attack that requires a command like 236A. These attacks typically special effects that normal attacks do not have such as chip damage, invincibility, etc.

Super

A type of attack that consumes meter, and is typically followed by a superfreeze.

EX / Force Break

A type of special attack that consumes meter, but is not a super. Normally the power of these attacks are between that of Specials and Supers.

Combo noun

A sequence of attack where if the first attack hits, then the followup hits are guaranteed to hit the opponent.

Cancel verb

To perform a second action while the first action is still in motion. Used to create combos, advantageous situations, etc.

Link verb

To perform a second action after the first action completely finishes its animation in order to create a combo.

Low Attack noun

An attack that the opponent must block low.

Overhead noun

An attack that the opponent must block high.

Mixup noun, verb

To perform a maneuver that forces a defending opponent to choose between 2 or more options (typically blocking high/low). If the opponent chooses incorrectly, then he is hit by an attack. There are many different types of mixup (such as crossup and high-low).

Crossup noun

To perform a maneuver where a defending opponent must block the opposite direction. An example is Ragna jumping over an opponent and attacking with a j.B. Depending on the timing, the opponent must block in two different directions.

50/50 noun

A mixup where the opponent has a choice between 2 options.

High-Low noun

A mixup where the opponent must choose between blocking high and low.

Command Throw noun

A throw that is performed by inputting a special command like 214C. Generally command throws have special properties like more damage or inescapable.

Neutral noun

When neither player is in an advantageous position in terms of position on the stage.

When the player does not press any direction on the joystick/pad.

Shoryuken, DP, SRK noun

Ryu's dragon punch attack (from the Street Fighter series). Used to describe any character's attack that has invincible startup, long recovery, and a jumping/rising motion.

Rekkas noun

A series of special attacks that are only available after the first one is performed. Named after Fei-Long's Rekkaken punches in Street Fighter 2.

Reversal noun

An invincible attack with lots of recovery. Commonly used to describe attacks like Ragna's Inferno Divider or Sol's Volcanic Viper.

Hit Confirm verb

To perform the first hit of a combo, but only performing the followup hits if the first hit successfully hits the opponent.

Fuzzy Guard

An advanced offensive technique where the player tricks the opponent to block high then low, then does two high attacks in a row that would normally miss the opponent if done independently.

Wake up

The character state after a character is knocked down and is about to be able to move again.

Okizeme

Attacking an opponent about to wake up.

Gatling / Revolver Action

The special name of cancels that each character can cancel normals

Burst

An invincible attack that can be performed during hitstun to prevent an opponent from performing a full combo. Bursts usually consume a very hard-to-come-by resource and can be baited and punished.

Faultless Defense / Barrier Block

A special type of blocking that negates chip damage, increases blockstun, and pushes the opponent back further than usual. This type of blocking comes at the cost of a resource.

Dead Angle/ Alpha Counter/ Counter Assault

An attack that is done during blockstun that has invincibility and is used to stop the opponent's pressure.

Option Select

A technique where one command (or series of commands) will perform a different action depending on the circumstances, thereby allowing one action to be able to handle two distinct situations.

Meter

A generic term to describe a resource that is used for offense/defense such as Guilty Gear's Tension, BlazBlue's Heat.

Chip Damage noun

Damage incurred when blocking an attack. Typically, only Special Attacks and Super Attacks have chip damage, but there are exceptions.

Chicken Block noun

Jumping into the air and blocking rather than standing on the ground and being forced to guess a high-low mixup.

Pressure noun

To attack the opponent continuously and leave little room for counter attacks.

Rushdown noun

Style of play where you constantly attack the opponent in close range fighting, never giving him an opportunity to retaliate.

Zoning/ Keep Away noun

Style of play where you stay far away from the opponent and use ranged attacks to keep the opponent away while slowly whittling away the opponent's life.

Whiff verb, adj.

An attack that completely misses the opponent such as when the opponent is out of range of the attack.

Frame Trap

An offensive technique where the attacker leaves a small opening in their offense, goading the defender into performing an attack. This opening is designed such that the attacker can easily counter the defender's attack with his own.

360, 720, etc

To input a directional command that is 360/720/etc degrees clockwise or counter-clockwise. This is typically for command throws like Zangief's Spinning Piledriver or Tager's Gigantic Tager Buster

Catch Move

An attack where you character goes into a blocking stance and will only trigger an attack if the opponent hits you. Examples of this include Hakumen's Drive attacks or Axl's Tenhou Seki (214P/K)

Guard Point

An attack that automatically blocks certain attacks. Examples of this include Bang's Drive attacks and Baiken's Suzuran (63214K)

Super Armor

An attack that can absorb a single hit from the opponent (usually taking a fraction of the regular damage) before the opponent's attacks will hit you. An example of this is Potemkin's Hammerfall ([4]6P)

Hyper Armor

An attack that can absorb multiple hits from the opponent (usually taking a fraction of the regular damage). Examples of this include Tager's 6[A] and Potemkin's Judge Gauntlet (63214D)

Ukemi, Tech

To recover from a knockdown or air hitstun state by pressing a button. This is a common action found in games like BlazBlue and Guilty Gear.

Negative Edge

Using button-release to perform attacks. To perform, hold down an attack button, perform the motion, then release the button.

This technique can be applied to doing special attacks for almost all characters, but characters who use this intensively include Guilty Gear's Eddie and BlazBlue's Carl.

Meaty Attack

Performing an attack early on okizeme to gain a lot of frame advantage.

Frame Data Related Terms

Frame noun

The smallest unit of time in a fighting game. Most fighting games are 60 frames per second.

Startup noun

The time before an attack is active including the first active frame. For example, an attack with 10F startup means the attack will do nothing for 9 frames, then hit the opponent on the 10th frame.

Active noun

The active frames of an attack refers to the amount of time an attack can hit the opponent.

Recovery noun

The recovery of an attack refers to the amount of time an attacker must wait before he may perform another action.

Frame Advantage/ Static Difference

The difference in time an attacker and a defender can begin moving again after blocking an attack.

Hitstop noun

When a character is hit, both characters are stopped in place to give the hit the feeling of impact. Hitstop describes this phenomenon. Typically hitstop affects both players equally, but this is not always true. For example an attack may cause the opponent to be in hitstop longer than the player, or in cases of most projectiles, the attacker does not experience hitstop at all.

Hitstun noun

When a character is hit, the defender is forced into a stun animation for a set period of time where they are vulnerable to further attacks. This period of time is called hitstun.

Blockstun / Guardstun noun

Similar to hitstun but applies when the opponent blocks an attack.

Hitbox noun

A general term showing where an attack can hit the opponent and where the character is vulnerable to attack.

The hitbox specifically relating to where an attack can hit the opponent.

Hurtbox noun

The hitbox specifically relating to where an attack is vulnerable to an opponent's attack.

Fighting Game Culture Related Terms

Scrub noun

A low level player.

I'm a scrub! Go easy on me!

Beast noun, adj

A very strong player.

That guy is so beast! I felt totally outclassed.

Stream Monster noun

A person who watches many video streams of tournaments/other fighting game events and participates in the stream chat.

I don't feel like going anywhere this weekend. I think I'll just be a stream monster.

Free adj

To declare that something (or someone) is easy or requires no though.

You're challenging me? Dude, you're free! I don't even have to use my main to beat you.

Salty adj

To feel remorse and bitterness.

He must have been salty after losing to him; they were arguing with each other all year on the forums.

Broken adj

An overpowered character or tactic. Comes from the idea that the game's developers did not fully test a character/tactic thus being 'broken' and not ready for release.

Man that shit is broken. Did you see how much damage it did?

Shoto noun

A character in a fighting game that resembles Ryu and Ken from Street Fighter in terms of playstyle.

Who's the shoto of this game? They're always good for beginners like me.

Grappler noun

A character in a fighting game who's primary gameplan is to get close to the opponent and throw them for massive damage. Grapplers usually have poor mobility and high health.

I hate fighting grapplers, they're so scary when they get close to you.

Money Match noun

A match between two players where both players put money into a pot and the winner of the match gets the money.

Anyone here want to money match? I need to make some money this weekend!

Main noun

The character(s) a player primarily uses and devotes most of his time to using him.

It's been a year since last talked, how have you been? Do you still main Sol?

Sub noun

A character a player uses, but does not use as much as his main.

I swear that guy has an army of subs that he switches between. Maybe he's trying to find a new main.

Mash verb

To press buttons rapidly without any planning. To perform an action without thinking.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

"Sorry, I'm just mashing till I figure something out"

Download verb

To learn a player's behavior patterns in order to gain an upper hand in a match.

He won the first game, but I was just using that time to download him. After that I didn't lose a game against him for the rest of the night.

Technology noun

New tactics and combo

XCopy verb

To shamelessly copy another player's combos/tactics/playstyle

Comes from the Street Fighter 3 character Twelve's Super Attack of the same name