Fighting Game Guide

The triangle of offense in fighting games is:
Blocking beats attacking.
Throwing beats blocking.
Attacking beats throwing.

Throws are the the answer to blocking. Throwing beats both stand block and crouch block. It also beats defensive options like parry, counter, and deflect. I like to think of throws as unblockable attacks that can be escaped. The obvious drawback to throwing is its very short range. You have to be almost touching your opponent to throw them.

In almost every fighting game, you can't throw a character that is in hitstun or blockstun. That means if you hit your opponent with an attack, you have to wait until after they've fully recovered from the attack to throw them.

There are two types of universal throws. In the first type, throws are performed with a dedicated input and the throw attempt has its own animation. This type of throw has recovery, making it riskier for both the attacker and the defender.

The other type of universal throw is the proximity throw. The throw input overlaps with the input of another attack and the character attempts the throw only if they are close enough. If they're not close enough, the character performs the other attack instead. Proximity throws are safer because they cover multiple options. You will often accidentally throw your opponent with a proximity throw, which is a good thing.

Command throws are special throws that can only be escaped by jumping. Few characters have command throws and they're very powerful. If you play a command throw character, try to time your strikes to hit your opponent's pre-jump frames to get the most optimal punish.

When to Throw Your Opponent

I don't always throw my opponent when I'm close. I try to make sure they're scared before I throw them. If my opponent is not afraid of poking me as I walk forward, I will never get into throw range. I'll scare them by punishing their pokes. When they're scared, I walk in and throw them.

I want my opponent to doubt their ability to successfully attack, to get them to stop attacking because if they're attacking I can't throw them. Often times when I see that I've counter hit my opponent, I throw them because they might be doubting their ability to successfully attack.

This is human nature:
If you hit someone while they're jumping, it discourages them from jumping.
If you hit someone while they're dashing, it discourages them from dashing.
If you hit someone while they're attacking, it discourages them from attacking.

Throws have very short range and my opponent can easily walk backwards out of range. Throws do not trigger proximity guard like attacks do. The character can walk away from throws without stopping.

I like to use low attacks to get my opponent to crouch block and when they crouch block I throw them. My opponent can't walk away from me when they're crouching. My light punch into throw setup whiffs against stand block but connects against crouch block.

There are some sneaky ways to hit throws. Dash into throw is very common as it's very fast and difficult to react to.

Another way is by whiffing an attack with little recovery into throw. The opponent thinks the attack will hit and they stand there blocking it but get thrown instead.

The Shimmy

The threat of a throw can be as useful as the throw itself. The shimmy is a common application of this. When you're near throw range, walk in and out of throw range to scare your opponent and get them to make a mistake. When they whiff something to keep you from throwing them, you punish them.

I'm going to throw you. I'm not going to throw you. I'm going to throw you. I'm not going to throw you. That's the shimmy mixup.

The shimmy loses to low attacks. Low attacks hits characters walking backwards and forwards. If you ever see a player do a long range low attack from close range, it's because they expected a shimmy.