Chun-Li Strategy and Matchups

[Azrael]

Here's the thread for discussing Chun-Li's strategy and matchups. This post will be updated with new information as it is found.

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While she has many/most of the moves she had in Street Fighter III: Third Strike, she doesn't quite play the same. Many of her key normals are different, and the biggest change is that she's back to being a charge character. Those of you who used her extensively in 3S will have a few things to get used to. I feel that this version of Chun plays closest to her CvS incarnations. She is a solid character in this game - she neither dominates nor is dominated. Winning will depend on your skills.

She has options for almost every situation, and the key to winning will be knowing when to use which option. Although she can be played aggressively, this is very risky - a good offense coupled with knowing when to back off will make for a strong Chun.

Strengths
+ Good mix-up game
+ Normals have good priority
+ Great ranged pokes
+ Tools for just about any situation

Weaknesses
- No dedicated anti-air
- Low vitality
- Extremely vulnerable

Strategy

On the Ground

Chun's best pokes are, in no particular order, S.MP, C.MP, C.RH (sweep), S.RH, S.FP. S.MP is probably the most universal...it hits mid and has good range. It can also be cancelled into Hasan Shu or Kikouken. S.RH has great range, and works as an "air sniper" - if you think your opponent will jump, throw out S.RH and they will jump into Chun's boot. Its also particularly good at keeping Zangief at bay. S.FP is similar to S.RH, but with less reach and slightly lower. It works very well against Balrog and his footsie/jump in game. Chun's sweep is as it has been in many other games - a bit slow on recovery, but very strong during its hit frames.

The big problem with Chun's pokes though is that they are all Focus Attack bait. Especially her sweep. Eating a FA crumple stun combo is never a good idea, but more so with Chun's poor vitality. Many players will integrate FA stances into their footies, in the hopes of catching you throwing out a nice big move. To get past a FA-happy opponent, Chun has the following options:

-- Dash EX Legs. Comes out fast, breaks the FA armor, does good damage and scores a knockdown.
-- S.MP is somewhat safer than FP/RH. You can also link into Kikouken or Hasan Shu, so even if the first hit gets absorbed you have a second hit coming out.
-- If you are close enough, throw.
-- If you are sitting on charge, ultra.
-- If you are close enough, C.FP. It hits twice, and the second hit will get counter hit status, giving Chun frame advantage.

In short, you will want to be very careful about how you throw out sweeps and heavy pokes, especially against FA-savvy opponents.

Speaking of FA, many new Chun players like to try and close distance with Hasan Shu. Its fast, counts as an overhead, and is safe on block. However, HS is really bad FA bait. Try to avoid using HS in this way, or you will end up eating a lot of high-damage FA crumple stun combos.

Chun's B&B connects very easily off C.LK, so you should be looking for opportunities to land a crouching short. She has great range on her shorts as well, which helps increase her offensive zone. Chun also has a great dash, so you should use this together with FA stances to help control space on the ground. FADC forwards lets Chun absorb pokes and get in on opponents, while FADC backwards lets Chun run away to regroup.

After a knockdown, Chun has a few really good mixup options.

1. C.LK
2. Throw
3. Hasan Shu
4. Do nothing

Of course, you can tick throw by doing C.LK into throw, or C.LK x 2 into throw. This setup works fairly well because if the opponent tries to anticipate and tech a throw attempt, both C.LK and HS will beat this out. If the opponent does nothing, throw wins. This is just the basic pattern, you can modify it to your own playstyle.

You have to include the "do nothing" option, because everything else Chun does there is extremely vulnerable to wakeup attacks. The opponent doesn't even have to know what you are going to attack with, all he needs to know is that you are attacking, and he can hit you with a wakeup. By doing nothing, you give him the opportunity to whiff the wakeup - if this happens, you may get a nice clean shot at good punishment damage. You also need to show that you aren't going to be attacking every single time, to make him wonder whether he should throw the wakeup or not.

You can include other options as well, such as jumping crossup, Kaiten Kouhou (DF+FK) crossup, Head Stomp crossup (JF, D+MK), JS.FP, and even integrate FA's into your pressure strings. Whatever you do though, avoid being predictable, as this leads to Chun losing big chunks of life.

Chun's anti-air options are...bizarre. She has options, but certain moves work better than others in certain situations. These situations will vary by character, by attack, and even by distance/timing. Its nothing I could hope to try and explain here, so all I can do is say to get a feel for what works and what doesn't through your own play. I can try to give some general advice/tips though.

EX SBK is probably her most stable/reliable AA option. It comes out quickly, has good priority, and does decent damage. EX SBK however is far from perfect - it suffers from two major flaws...

1. If the jump-in attack is very deep, there's a good chance that EX SBK will not come out in time, giving the opponent a chance to block. Chun is very vulnerable after a blocked/whiffed EX SBK, so you will be losing some life here if the EX SBK doesn't connect. This happens sometimes against very deep shoto jump-ins/cross-ups, and also Zangief deep jump-ins.

2. If the jump-in attack comes in at a steep downward angle, EX SBK will flat-out LOSE. Some jump-ins that beat EX SBK include but are not limited to; Akuma dive kick, Rufus dive kick, Vega J.FP, Balrog J.FP, El Fuerte elbow, etc. It also loses to some cross-up attemps, particularly M.Bison.

So there will be situations where you are better off doing something else, or blocking, rather than EX SBK. The more you play with Chun, the better of a feel you will get for EX SBK usage.

Some of Chun's other AA options...

- JS.RH - The horizontal range on this is very good, so if you can anticipate the jump-in and get off the ground fast enough, you can have your opponent running into Chun's boot before they are able to attack.

- Air throw - Don't sleep on the air throw. Air throws have great priority in SFIV. Similar to JS.RH, it takes some anticipation of the jump, but can be used very effectively. Good for players who like to do multiple cross-up attemps in-close (Blanka comes to mind).

- DF+LK - Not a bad AA for when the opponent is jumping right on top of you. Don't get much damage from it, but it will give you a knockdown on counter hit.

- S.MK - best for when opponents jump in at Chun from a distance. Why would they do that? If you are walking around and they know you're not sitting on charge for EX SBK, they might. S.MK will take them out of the sky for that mistake.

- S.FP - The far version is good for opponents who are coming in on Chun from far, while the close version (double palm) is great for opponents coming in on top of her. Both far and close FP work really well against Balrog.

- C.FP - The first hit of C.FP hits at an upward angle, plus Chun's position sitting on the ground make this a surpringly good AA in certain situations. If its a jump in from mid-range, and you don't have time for S.MK or JS.RH, C.FP often works. It will lose to anything deep and many downward angled jump-ins, but it does beat out quite a few other ones.

- C.MP - Although not technically an AA, it does lower Chun's hitbox down pretty close to the ground, which can make some jump-ins whiff.

- C.RH - Her sweep as AA worked well in some games, but in SFIV it loses far more than it wins. If you've gotten used to sweep as AA, this is a habit you'll need to break in a hurry. It does have some uses, especially against incoming aerial attacks that hit horizontally, but it has a hard time against anything with a downward angle. It either trades or loses against shoto J.FK, and it flat-out loses against Blanka's J.RH.

Again, Chun's best option will vary greatly between character, attack used, and distance/angle of the attack. The more you play with Chun, the better of a feel you'll have for which AA option works best. And sometimes, Chun's best option is to just block - don't forget that.

EX SBK is also good for getting an opponent off you if Chun is getting pressured badly. As always though, if the opponent blocks or it whiffs, Chun will probably pay for it with a nice chunk of life, so use it wisely.


In The Air


Chun does not have nearly the air superiority she used to have in other games. Her jump in SFIV is kind of floaty, which makes it easy for her to get AA'ed out of the sky. You'll need to pick and choose your jump-ins wisely - this is true for any character, but especially so for Chun.

J.FP is one of her best aerial moves. Being an optional two-hit jump-in, it makes her safe against AA FA attempts, and leads to a great mix-up game. If you can jump in on your opponent, jump in with J.FP and randomly alternate between doing the second hit and not doing it. From there, you can further confuse them by going into Chun's in-close mix-up options - c.shorts, throw, c.short into throw, Hasan Shu, etc. If it connects on an airborne opponent, it knocks them down and sets up a juggle state - you can juggle with Head Stomp x 3, EX SBK, or ultra if the corner is close enough. J.RH is actually stronger than J.FP, but it suffers from being FA bait.

J.LK serves as her crossup. Its a decent crossup - neither great nor awful. With her floaty jump arc though, she can make life difficult for characters whose anti-crossup moves are charge/forward motion based. Specifically, E.Honda, Blanka, Guile, Balrog, Vega, M.Bison. For example, if you jump in normally at a Blanka, he will use Vertical Ball and knock you out of the sky. With Chun's cross-up though, unless the player gets the timing/input absolutely perfect, the Vertical Ball will miss completely. Its sort of similar to CvS1 Nakoruru's cross-up, but not nearly as good. Please note that although you can bully these character with crossup J.LK, they can still beat you with their AA's if done properly. And anyone with a good shoryuken (Ryu, Ken, Akuma, Sagat...) can still make you pay for even leaving the ground.

J.MK actually has really, really good horizontal range. It will surprise a lot of players who don't think she is in range to hit them on the ground. Its also good for hitting opponents as you jump away, and can help control space if you are jumping forward and you're relatively sure your opponent is going up there as well.

Air throws are very good in SFIV, and Chun is fortunate to have one. If an opponent is jumping in on you in close range, you can meet them up in the air and throw them back down.

Though Chun can wall jump in this game, as with any other game she's been in, with her floaty jump its not too useful in SFIV.


Focus Attack: MP+MK


For her FA, Chun will do a slightly-extended version of her close FP palm attack. As far as FA's go, its average - neither particulary good or bad.

The nice thing though is that Chun is a frame advantage after dash-cancelling the hit. If your FA is blocked, this lets you dash in and continue to apply pressure, or go into Chun's in-close mix-up game. Using this, you can set up block strings such as -

C.LK -> C.LK -> FA -> Forward Dash -> C.LK -> C.LK -> FA -> Forward Dash -> Hasan Shu

or...

C.LK -> C.LK -> FA - > Forward Dash -> Throw

...etc.

Much like everything else, please remember that FA - both the actual hit and the stance itself, are vulnerable. In close quarters, anyone can simply just throw you out of the FA stance before the attack hits. Anyone with a good armor-breaking move, such as Guile's Flash Kick, can use that to break your attack string. Or worse, you could get tagged by a super or ultra.

FA stance can also be useful for Chun's AA. If the opponent is jumping in on you, and you can't use any of her other AA options, you can FA-absorb the jump-in and dash backwards away from a throw attempt/block string. Actually using the FA strike as AA will depend on the character and the jump-in. Many characters will be able to at least land and throw you out of it. Shotos can usually land and DP. If your shoto opponent does this, you can dash backwards - their DP will whiff, giving you an opportunity to punish.

EX Focus Attack (Focus Attack Cancels)

As you know, certain normal or special moves can be cancelled into a FA at the cost of 2 bars of super meter. For certain characters such a Ryu, this is very useful - Shoryuken, Focus Attack Dash Cancel (FADC), Ultra is a powerful tool that helps him to win matches. Unfortunately, Chun doesn't get such great usage out of her FA cancels. Perhaps this is for the best, as Chun is already a character who uses a lot of meter.

That having been said, she does have some FA cancel options.

Special Cancels

Hasan Shu - The recovery frames of Hasan Shu can be cancelled into FA. Normally, this is not particularly useful. If the HS actually makes contact with the opponent, blocked or not Chun will be safe. However, if you miss a HS, doing a FA cancel may be useful in helping to escape getting punished for it. Some players will also use Hasan Shu FADC to surprise the opponent and get in on them easier.

Kikouken - The recovery frames of Kikouken can be cancelled into FA. This has some uses in combos - if you FADC forward, you can continue the combo. Her best option for continuning the combo will be the Tensho Kyaku target combo. You can also do an EX Legs combo, but take note that doing this will require 3 bars of meter, and is generally considered to be not worth it.

Normal Move Cancels

Chun can cancel many of her normal moves into FA. There just isn't much of a reason to. Maybe if you mistakenly throw out something big, and have the quick reflexes/timing to FA cancel it you can get out of a hairy situation, but aside from that its not too useful.

Many people ask if the launcher of the Tensho Kyaku target combo series can be FA canceled. Yes, it can. But again, there isn't much reason why you'd want to. There isn't a whole lot she'd be able to do, as you lose your charge after the dash. It'd just be a waste of meter.


Character Specific Matchups

Regarding numbers in ( ) - This is the matchup ranking that the Japanese Wiki for SFIV gives. The numbers represent the number of matches one side would win in a 10-game bout with two players of equal skill. Chun-Li's number of wins will be given first. For example, if the entry said "Vs. Ryu (4-6)", it would mean that in 10 matches, Chun would win 4 numbers while Ryu would win 6)

Vs Ryu (5-5)
Both characters have ways of dealing with each other - Chun can Hasan Shu or ultra through Ryu fireballs, but SA takes care of Hasan Shu and many of Chun's pokes, giving Ryu good damage opportunities. You'll need to avoid throwing out any big moves in close, especially sweep and HS. Stick with her faster pokes, and look for places to land c.short into EX Legs. You'll also need to be careful with your mix-up and rushdown game, as a random shoryuken can foil your plans, and a SRK FADC Ultra can really take off a huge chunk of your life. For the most part, you'll want to stay grounded. Also, avoid using Kikouken too much, as Ryu's fireball is much better and he has many ways to hurt you if he correctly anticipates your Kikouken. In a close match, be very cautious of SRK FADC attempts. When in doubt, its better to eat a throw rather than get hit with the SRK FADC into ultra.

Vs Ken (5-5)
Similar to Ryu, except you have less to worry about if you run into a SRK FADC. Ken's F+MK can be stopped by Hasan Shu, or if you block the F+MK you can Hasan Shu over the following C.MK if the Ken player does it (most of them do).

Vs E.Honda (6-4)
This is a good match-up for Chun. Her J.LK crossup can really give Honda problems. And if Chun has revenge meter, you can counter a blocked Headbutt with ultra. You can zone Honda well with Kikouken - his JS.FP loses to Chun's sweep, so you can bait it out with Kikouken, follow it in, and punish. Her floaty jump throws off the timing for Honda's AA against the crossup, so you can abuse him with this somewhat.

Vs. Blanka (5-5)
With EX Ball and slide, Kikouken is risky against Blanka. Similar to Honda, her jump messes up the timing of Vertical Ball as crossup AA - the Blanka player will whiff the Vertical Ball. If you dash across the screen, you can catch up in enough time to throw him as punishment. Be warned though that Blanka electricity will beat your cross-up attempt. If Blanka likes to jump in close, try to anticipate and beat him with air throw. If Blanka is jumping in with J.RH, you are better off with EX SBK or just blocking - that attack stuffs many of her other AA options, and will lead to damage against her. Up close, you'll need to be very, very careful about Blanka's ultra.

Vs. Zangief (5-5)
Your gameplan in this matchup should be to keep Gief as far away from you as possible. S.RH works well at a distance, and S.MP/S.FP are nice when he starts gaining ground. J.FP beats *non-startup frames* of Lariat, but everything she does loses if Gief does a deep crouch Lariat. You can zone with Kikouken, but be careful about EX Backfist retaliation at mid-range. If you can bait out and block an EX Backfist though, you get to punish him however you like.

Vs. Guile (6-4)
Despite both being charge characters, Sonic Boom is far better than Kikouken, so don't get into fireball fights with Guile. Your main problem against Guile will be just trying to get to him. You can FADC through Sonic Booms, or use a well-timed Hasan Shu. Chun's in-close game is much better than Guile's, so once she gets in she can bully him. Guile also can't deal with J.LK crossup attemps very well, so this is another way to take the fight to him. Be sure to curb your offensiveness enough to make the Guile player whiff Flash Kick attempts, or at least be hesistant in throwing them out.

Vs. Dhalsim (6-4)
Chun can get to Dhalsim by FADC'ing through a poke, Hasan Shu over any low attack, or by throwing a Kikouken and following behind it. Sim has some good tricks inside but Chun's in-close game is much tighter. You can punish teleport cross-up attempts with EX SBK, or S.MP.

Vs. Balrog (5-5)
Balrog can actually out-jab Chun, and his jabs lead to some painful combos, especially anything with Headbutt + Ultra tacked on. Chun can do a pretty good job keeping him out of her life though, with S.FP and C.MP. Both the far and close versions of S.FP do a good job of beating out Rog's jump-ins. Which is good, because EX SBK tends to lose. You can also zone him with Kikouken, but be careful of EX dash punches. Try to bait out headbutts when in close. You can not punish Rog on a blocked dash punch, but if you see it coming you can ultra him out of it.

Vs. Vega (6-4)
Vega doesn't have any good tools for keeping people away, so you can really bully him once you get in close. With no good AA options you can also utilize the J.FP mixup game, as well as cross-ups. EX SBK is a nice way to get out of throw setups from Vega's DF+RH. With dash ultra, Chun can punish wall dive fakes. Vega's wall dives can give you problems, but you can beat them by jumping backwards with J.MK, or jumping up with JS.RH, or just air throw. This may force the Vega player to start throwing out the attack early, which would then let you stay grounded and take care of him from there.

Vs. Sagat (4-6)
This is a hard match for Chun...but Sagat has advantages over most of the cast. You'll need to play your attack very carefully, as one small mistake can lead to huge chunks of life lost. While you can Hasan Shu through Tiger Shots, good Sagat players will be very careful about TS usage. Sagat can power through many of Chun's pokes and her ground game as well, so being careful here is the key. See if you can force the Sagat player into whiffing Tiger Uppercuts to punish. If Sagat has at least 2 bars of meter and Revenge Meter, you can expect a Tiger Uppercut x FADC attempt sometime soon.

Vs. M.Bison (5-5)
M.Bison out-pressures Chun on the ground. He's got very good block strings. Additionally, his J.LK cross-up is sort of immune to EX SBK. But Chun has tools too - she can sweep him out of the opening frames of Scissors Kick. She can also punish whiffed Devil Reverse with dash ultra, same as against Vega. Bison's AA options aren't that great, so you can jump against him sometimes - J.FP on wakeup is a good thing to go for. Avoid throwing out large pokes (sweep, S.RH) as Bison has several ways to deal with them.

Vs. C.Viper (4-6)
Chun is at a disadvantage here because many of Viper's moves go over/through Chun's counter-attack attempts, and Viper deals more damage. You will need to be very careful about how you attack her. When Viper jumps, if you try to EX SBK and she does Flame Kick, you will end up losing. Sometimes its better to just block and see what happens next. The invincibility on Viper's EX Seismo also takes away much of Chun's in-close and poking game. One day to deal with EX Seismo is with Hasan Shu - timed properly, Hasan Shu will still be in the air during EX Seismo's invincibility, and will come down and hit her as she becomes vulnerable. Viper's Thunder Knuckle AA is deceptively good, so don't try to abuse jumping against her.

Vs. Rufus (4-6)
The primary things that make this match hard are that Dive Kick beats EX SBK cleanly, and EX Messiah Kick destroys Chun's in-close game. If you are getting Dive Kick spammed, you can try to jab Rufus out of it, anticipate the jump and beat him in the air, or FA absorb it and back-dash away. As for EX Messiah Kick, same as against the shotos, you'll need to be very careful about your wakeup game. If you can bait out the Kick and jump straight up over it, you can punish Rufus afterwards. If you end up blocking it, you end up in a position where Rufus can still potentially hurt you. The best Rufus strategy is part keeping him away, part attacking him carefully. Also, be wary of the skies - he has a number of ways to beat you up there which lead to great damage for him.

Vs. El Fuerte (6-4)
ELF can be tricky, but nothing Chun can't handle. Blocked Frog Splashes will leave him very vulnerable. The run throw will be his best way of hurting you, but you can beat that with EX SBK. Be careful though, as many of Fuerte's air attack do defeat EX SBK. Many Fuerte players like to use FA tricks, but if you sit on ultra you can make them pay for only going into FA stance.

Vs. Abel (6-4)
You can also bully Abel fairly well, but you'll need to be wary of his command throws in close. Also, be careful with the mid-range poking game, as Abel's EX Rekka string can blow right through your pokes. Kikouken actually becomes quite risky against Abel, so don't rely on fireball, at all. J.FP as well as cross-up games work fairly well against him.

Vs. Akuma (5-5)
Akuma can be a problematic match-up. Although you don't have to worry about SRK FADC as much as you do against Ryu and Sagat, it still gives him a safe way to get you off him. Also, his demon flip options give Chun problems - Dive Kick beats EX SBK cleanly. Dive Kick is FA bait, but his other two options (fist strike, throw) completely beat FA. If you want to be safe, perhaps try to backdash away from demon flips, or try to jump and beat the Akuma player in the air. Do NOT try to jump over air fireballs to get to Akuma, you WILL pay for it either by getting uppercutted, or getting ultra'd.

Vs. Sakura

Vs. Cammy

Vs. Fei Long

Vs. Rose

Vs. Gen

Vs. Dan

Vs. Gouken

Vs. Seth

[Deezo]

I can definitely agree with everything except the Gief matchup. I think at worst, it's 6-4 Gief. I believe it's even for the most part.

[Ironreaver7]

I can definitely agree with everything except the Gief matchup. I think at worst, it's 6-4 Gief. I believe it's even for the most part.

gonna have to agree with Deezo alot of people say she has good pokes to keep gief at bay. Not to mention i dont have trouble with Gief players

[Ironreaver7]

Balrog's spin around punches get totally stuffed with a standing fierce or crouching roundhouse, not to mention he can get throw out of it fairly easily aswell

[Super Sonic]

How do you read these matchups? Like when you say "Chun-Li Vs Ryu - 4/6" does that mean Ryu is likely to get 6 matches out of 10 and Chun-Li 4?

[Deezo]

How do you read these matchups? Like when you say "Chun-Li Vs Ryu - 4/6" does that mean Ryu is likely to get 6 matches out of 10 and Chun-Li 4?

Yessir.

[Super Sonic]

Yessir.

Oh I see, thanks so much.

[Dime_x]

it's a theoretical breakdown of two people who have the same exact playing level, who also play using all of there characters known at this time tools in the matchup to near perfect effect.




i dont believe the 'gief versus chun matchup... st.hk is the basis of what chun has to use to beat gief down... w/o this move gief runs all over our poor little hottie, but right now i havent seen a gief figure out a counter for her HK other than predict with ex glove or jump over from proper distance.



edma, who doesnt even play gief however found that well timed and distanced cr. forward with gief hits chuns st hk. i then quickly found out that my st mp hits his low forward, which is of course jumpable, and brings it backaround to st hk to hit his beginning jump frames...


gief wins the matchup for sure. everything he does is low risk medium reward (except when he has ultra) whereas everything chun has is medium risk (except st hk) with rewards being dependent on positioning and meter.


i honestly think this matchup is at 5/5, 6/4 gief if only 'cause of the cheese that is st.hk when applied versus the bear wrestler.





-dime

[y2kenjination]

Okay, so Chun isn't my main in this game (she's my experimental character, as I think she's pretty fun to play).

Anyhow, I'd like to know how she has a slight advantage over Guile? My friend has honed his Guile to the point where it's damn near impossible to come in against him. You can't really do fireball battles with Guile, as his Sonic Boom's are faster than Chun's Kikouken's, and none of her fireballs go full screen (other than EX Kikouken).

Basically, my friend usually throws a Sonic Boom, and walks forward, waiting for you to do something. I try to block the Sonic Boom, and wait for him to stick out a poke so I can focus it. If I try to focus dash forward, he has just enough time to trade hits with a meaty standing fierce, or forward kick (ST all over again). I tend to lose more life during the trades, so it doesn't even seem to be worth trying to focus dash forward. Honestly, I haven't tried dashing back after focusing his pokes...perhaps I should try that next time.

His Sonic Boom's seem to recover too quickly for me to punish him with the flip kick. I can land it on him every now and then, but only when I anticipate the Sonic Boom's. Trying to jump in with fierce fierce or roundhouse is pointless as Guile's crouching fierce is just too good. I wonder if any of Chun's jump in normals can beat, or at least trade with Guile's crouching fierce?

Chun can usually outpoke her opponents, but most of my pokes seem to get stuffed by Guile's. Honestly, I have an easier time fighting against the Shoto's. Then again, perhaps I'm not utilizing Chun to her full potential.

[Azrael]

Instead of trying to SADC through the SB, just SA. I play Guile as well, and I've learned through experience that you can't follow fireballs too closely or else you eat a SA.

You can't fireball battle Guile, but Kikouken will at least cancel SB. Make sure you don't fireball within a range where Guile can just jump over you and hurt you, but you can cancel out with the kikoukens.

You can Hasan Shu the SB on reaction. Difficult but not impossible. Hasan Shu is also great anti-low poke. You do run the risk of getting FK'ed, but if its a c.forward at least and your timing is good you should win that battle.

Don't bother trying to jump in blindly on Guile. Stay on the ground, you can beat him there. Jump when you are sure he doesn't have FK charge and you can meaty the J.FP enough to the point where it will beat C.FP.

The thing about Guile is, walking forward Guile can't really hurt you much. Walking forward, Chun can do good damage. Utilize your c.shorts. Because Chun without charge is more dangerous than Guile without charge, its fairly easy to get Guile players backing up into a corner. And Chun LOVES having her opponent in the corner.

SB can also be ultra'd through if you are in fairly close range and your reaction time is good. Look for opportunities to quick-wakeup ultra through a SB, Guile players will usually give you at least one of these per match.

[y2kenjination]

Thanks for the tips! I'll try them out today.

I tend to use the forward version of the Hazan Shu, and if I do it too late, Guile has enough time to recover from his SB and SADC my Hazan Shu. Yeah, I suppose my reaction time is just too slow whenever Guile throws those SB's. I really need to work on that.

[Resolute]

Any tips on Rufus? I get dive kicked spammed, and without an anti-air I just sort of sit there and block it low. When I try and guess and meet him in the air, he sometimes reads it, waits, then meets me with an air kick to shoryu-rapid punch thing.

Ex SBK might work, but it costs meter and his doesn't, so you'll still run into this problem.

5/5, but I know I'm at a disadvantage as a player.

[McRomes]

She has advantage on Bison(Dictator)? How? I really can't think of anything.

[y2kenjination]

She has advantage on Bison(Dictator)? How? I really can't think of anything.

As far as I know, she out-pokes Bison. Her standing strong beats most, if not all of his pokes. Also, I might be wrong about this, but Bison doesn't have a decent anti-air either. So jumping in with fierce+fierce, and your target combo is a viable option.

[Azrael]

Any tips on Rufus? I get dive kicked spammed, and without an anti-air I just sort of sit there and block it low. When I try and guess and meet him in the air, he sometimes reads it, waits, then meets me with an air kick to shoryu-rapid punch thing.

Ex SBK might work, but it costs meter and his doesn't, so you'll still run into this problem.

5/5, but I know I'm at a disadvantage as a player.

For Rufus dive kicks, EX SBK DOES NOT WORK because of the angle at which he comes down. Its not even a trade, you just get stuffed.

I believe you can s.jab Rufus out of the dive kick...not really damaging or anything but at least it stops his momentum. I think you can maybe c.jab him out of it as well, but I'm not entirely sure on that one. Other than that, SA works well here. You can try to SA absorb the attack and then counter-attack, or just SADC backwards to break the momentum. Once you've gotten away from him, zone him like Gief.

Jumping against Rufus is really risky, as he can hit you with J.FK and then juggle with ultra, which hurts, or juggle with the finger-poke thing...which actually hurts worse. I try to stay grounded, out-poke him, and when I can get in, try to get the target combo off while being mindful of the EX GOD MOVE.

She has advantage on Bison(Dictator)? How? I really can't think of anything.

What y2k said - also, Chun takes away Bison's air game. JS.FK is good for stuffing Head Stomp fly-bys. She can also just air-throw him out of it. Perhaps most devastating though, is that Chun can ultra a whiffed devil's reverse, so while she has meter Bison leaving the ground is very, very risky for him.

[Resolute]

Sweet. Thanks man. I'll give it a go. I do pretty well as long as he stays down, except, yeah, that stupid ex move.

[Dime_x]

chun can punish with super after blocked honda ex headbutt and regular ones, so saving meter in this matchup seems like the thing to do as i dont really like being close to honda (he hurts stuff). also chun can pinish blocked elf splash with super or ultra.








-dime

[MagnetoManiac]

I got to play a lot of matchups. I definitely think that this tier list was rushed and that they didn't get an opinion from a Chun player. I think any Chun player will tell you that she has a slight advantage over Ryu at worst. So that matchup should be 6-4 or a little better for Chun.

I also think Chun vs Sagat should be 5-5...but I don't see her going 6-4 or 4-6 in either direction. Sagat has some big damaging combos on her, but really doesn't have an opportunity to land them. But all he needs is a trade or another break to get in.

Chun vs Dictator...I can see why they listed it as 6-4. Chun double fierce air juggle into EX SBK -> Ultra, or double stomp, she has better pokes than Dictator so she usually comes up on that...good reversal against his crossups etc. Personally, I think it should be 5-5 because Dictator can play really safe with the teleports and Devils Reverse and avoid too much punishment, and later mounting a good offense.

Chun vs Viper...5-5? It should be at least 6-4, Viper can't really touch Chun's ground game. If she wants to go to the air mixups, Chun meets her with double air fierce or dashing under, or even one of her other anti airs occasionally.

Chun vs Boxer...I think it is 5-5, she keep him out very easily. Boxer has to make something happen to get inside.

I haven't played the other matchups so I can't say. She's solid though.

[Azrael]

Chun doesn't have an advantage over Ryu. On paper and in theory it makes sense, but in practice it doesn't really work that way. The Ryu match is like a game of point/counter-point. Hasan Shu takes away fireball spam, but SA takes away Hasan Shu spam. Ultimately I think Ryu has the edge because he has better AA/get off me options, and blow for blow he just does more damage and takes less. If Ryu has ultra and 2 bars of meter, Chun's got to play really carefully lest she eat a DP SADC Ultra. Chun just doesn't have such a safe/damaging option.

And no way is she even with Sagat. Sagat has the advantage for basically the same reasons that Ryu does, except Sagat's options are easier and hurt more.

That's not to say that these matches aren't winnable, Chun can win but I think she's got to out-think her opponent, which is why if the two players were on an equal level Chun would be at the disadvantage.

I also would put the Balrog match-up at 5-5 though, lately I've found that S.FP is wonderful for keeping Rog at bay. Most of Rog's jump ins flat out lose to some variation of S.FP (close palm or far fist). Chun just needs to be wary of EX Dash Punches through pokes and not running into any headbutts.

[MagnetoManiac]

Chun doesn't have an advantage over Ryu. On paper and in theory it makes sense, but in practice it doesn't really work that way. The Ryu match is like a game of point/counter-point. Hasan Shu takes away fireball spam, but SA takes away Hasan Shu spam. Ultimately I think Ryu has the edge because he has better AA/get off me options, and blow for blow he just does more damage and takes less. If Ryu has ultra and 2 bars of meter, Chun's got to play really carefully lest she eat a DP SADC Ultra. Chun just doesn't have such a safe/damaging option.

And no way is she even with Sagat. Sagat has the advantage for basically the same reasons that Ryu does, except Sagat's options are easier and hurt more.

That's not to say that these matches aren't winnable, Chun can win but I think she's got to out-think her opponent, which is why if the two players were on an equal level Chun would be at the disadvantage.

I also would put the Balrog match-up at 5-5 though, lately I've found that S.FP is wonderful for keeping Rog at bay. Most of Rog's jump ins flat out lose to some variation of S.FP (close palm or far fist). Chun just needs to be wary of EX Dash Punches through pokes and not running into any headbutts.

May I ask why the Chun player would be trying to go blow for blow with Ryu or Sagat? Hasan Shu is cool, but that shouldn't be the first thing that she is using to counter fireballs. She should absorb 1-2 fireballs at a time, and jump away from others to restore her health. You can occasionally match a fireball to restore health, but need to be very careful since Ryu can tatsu right over it. From a distance, you can recover on time and c.lk c.lk B&B him when you crouch under and he lands. Against Sagat, you can match his fireball to restore health when you absorb a tiger shot. But you need to be careful about which tiger shot you absorb, because if you absorb a short one, you could get caught by a roundhouse one if you're near the corner. Same thing with a little less extent with Ryu.

Now that you have meter, you have more options than they do. To keep your charge, if you want to move close, throw a jab fireball (outside of jumping distance) and dash once, or walk up a little, then start charging. If they throw a fireball when yours is finished, you should be able to ultra through and hit them. If you're in jumping distance, you can just walk up and poke, walk up further and crouch jab, walk up grab, etc.

Ryu cannot jump in on Chun at all. She has so many options, but there are ways to play it safe.

Focus absorb the jump in, back dash and bait the shoryu. If they're fairly new to the game and don't know about that, then just release it and pressure. Dashing away/under works good because you have the normals to poke from that neutral range, then mix up with dash up grab, flip kick, whatever. Even her anti airs get good priority against Ryu, low roundhouse, sometimes low fierce, neutral jump roundhouse, jump forward double fierce, far roundhouse for far jumpins etc.

So with his fireball nulled, I give the poking and mind games to Chun. He can't jump in on Chun unless I'm really really missing something here, and I don't think random shoryu xx FADC is a threat because of he misses he's gonna be in a bad position. One thing that can change thinks for Ryu is landing an EX fireball, but that doesn't give him enough time to cross up if she quick stands.

I'd like to hear more of your thoughts on the match though, maybe I missed something or the Ryu I played against didn't abuse something.

[Azrael]

You can absorb fireballs to a point but at some point you're still going to have to get in on your opponent. Any good Ryu or Sagat isn't just going to spam fireballs - they know about the ultra and Hasan Shu. So they won't throw a fireball if you are sitting on charge or are within HS range.

NEVER dash after a fireball. NEVER. I re-evaluated my play recently and found that I was taking a lot of damage from throwing a fireball, dashing after it, and then getting jump kicked in the face + combo. Dashes are vulnerable, and even if Chun recovered in time she now is forced to just block the jump-in. Kikoukens should be used sparingly, either from full screen distance to force the opponent backwards, or randomly up close, or after a knockdown to set up some mind games. She just has too much recovery to use it effectively during footsies, and most people will be ready to jump over one and punish her for it.

Ryu can jump at Chun. Not blindly of course. If he catches her without charge and manages to get in fairly deep her AA options become risky/disappear. Another reason I was losing matches was because I was trying to always AA things that I really just should have blocked. If you watch match vids of high-level players using anyone with a DP, even they just have to block jump-ins sometimes. SA dash backwards is OK, but if you become predictable with it the Ryu player can throw an EX Hadouken, Super Hadouken, or even just Ultra as he lands and tag you with it.

While Chun's pokes are better overall, they're still SA bait, even S.MP. Ryu's C.MK can also be SA'ed to some extent, which is where the point/counter-point game comes into play that I mentioned earlier.

So far, they're both about even, but ultimately I give the edge to Ryu because of SRK SADC's. If Chun is pressuring Ryu, she's always in danger of eating a SRK SADC. They're not that risky - unless you were expecting the SRK SADC or you just have amazing reflexes, chances are the best you'll be able to do is to tech the throw attempt afterwards. Many players if they have a full bar will just do SRK SADC -> SRK SADC. If you were trying to tech a throw you end up eating the second SRK SADC and then subsequently an Ultra/whatever else they want to throw at you. Or the Ryu player could play it safe and dash backwards. Chun can also get her pokes SRK'ed, which forces her to be very, very careful about what she does up-close.

Chun can't put that kind of fear into Ryu. If Ryu is pressuring, the best she can do to try and get him off is the EX SBK. If she hits, great, but if she misses she's at far more risk than Ryu is after the SRK SADC. If they're near the corner and Ryu goes spinning into it she can ultra juggle, but Ryu gets that payoff anywhere on the screen for much less risk. If Ryu scores a deep jump-in or a cross-up, you have to try and figure out if he's going to go for throw, C.LP, or SRK SADC. While Chun can theoretically do the same to Ryu with throw, C.LP, or Hasan Shu, Ryu's SRK beats all of those options, so Chun is forced into another option - do nothing.

Plus, Ryu just deals more damage on the whole and takes less (thank you Capcom for Chun's low vitality ), so the advantage goes to him. Chun can beat him but she's got to be a bit more careful about her options.

[Ironreaver7]

Ryu kinda has a slight advantage over her but see Chun Li has to constantly outsmart Ryu. Her strengths rely in mix ups or she will get the raped. Shotos have good zoning and better options when she does miss or whiff something. Shotos also have that the issue that there biggest strength is there biggest weakness, they rely to heavily on those same techniques and become predictable. I like to knock a Ryu or Ken down and then whiff a throw on purpose because i know they'll register that as a legit walk up throw miss and wake up SRK and see you just block that and punish how you see fit. Ryu or Ken has meter and an Ultra then you know he's gonna try to bait you into jump so he can SRK xx FADC xx Ultra, already knowing this if you have the life lead then sit on it and let him come to you, make them lose there cool and play head games. Not many Shoto players will sit and spam fireballs all day they'll get tired and try to come at you so you just need to be ready and punish them accordingly. Chun Li takes work yes but she can beat anyone long as you dont become predictable.

The dashing after her Kikoken like Azrael said isn't good but it isn't always bad either, it kinda depends on your spacing too you don't wanna be dashing across the screen just to get baited by a Boxer with a headbutt xx Ultra or EX Dash Punch thats just stupid. If your mid range or close and you know your opponent isn't safe to attack then Kikoken and dash fwd and throw them, if it gets teched then so be it you are safe after a tech since you bounce back, or you can Kikoken then dash once then df+RK for the cross up, or you can dash then jump in with a FP. there are other things you can do but just be smart use whatever technique with caution even the ones i mention because a good player might risk trying to hit you. Its all situational.

Sagat is a slower Shoto with the same options of having alot of rush down options but can be broken down if you can get him to mess up, if they try to spam fireballs you can ultra or even dash up ultra if you block a tigershot and know another is coming. Good Sagat players and Shotos wont rely to much on spamming projectiles against a solid Chun Li.

But both of what Azrael and MagnetoManiac should be taken into consideration to help step your Chun Li game up. I wish i lived closer so could be more solid but i get by with what i can do

Kai and JO5O (Dae) are both good Chun Li Players and i've learned alot from watching them. Kai's Chun Li Pressure game is nasty and Dae can outsmart damn near anyone. Both have solid execution too. Deezo is also pretty damn good too. And Shiningsoul can't forget him.

[JO50]

Anyone got any tips against blanka?

[Deezo]

Blanka to me was the hardest matchup for a while but only because I wasn't so used to his tools. But what I do/look for is........

-Save up for super as it makes Blanka respect low short again. I don't really think ex sbk is needed against Blanka. Ex kikoken isn't needed outside of combos.

-Jab him out of ball/hop whenever possible. For a while I was using crouching strong to stuff Blanka ball. Also neutral jump rh is great against Blanka ball should they try balling you as you're falling.

-Lvl 3 SA his slide should I see it/anticipate it. I notice that a lot of the Blankas I've fought against will slide when they see me SA if they aren't sitting on charge. My guess is because it sorta looks like the beginning animation of her fierce kikoken. I used to try to hazan shu slides on reaction, but there would be times where I would get swept out of hazan shu, so I haven't tried it in a while.

-I never try to punish Blanka's ultra on block with Chun's ultra anymore simply because I had two gross incidents occur. One time I ultra'd as he was falling and flew THROUGH Blanka. Another time I waited a bit longer, and he was able to land and block.

-I can't remember if this is true, but I think you can punish upball on block with standing rh.

-I remember this thread a while ago with stuff that everybody can use to punish Blanka ball and headbutt on block, and it stated that outside of ultra, Chun can use dash up standing rh. I tried it and it didn't work for me =/.

-One thing that I ALWAYS wanted to test, was to see if Chun can airthrow Blanka out of ex rainbow roll while he's airborne. I really wanna believe that she can.

-My main anti airs of choice against Blanka are neutral jump rh or fierce and standing forward. I've never tried low fierce or df+short as I was too scared to try.

Hopefully this helps. This matchup is weird, but it seems to me that it's one of those matches that require a not so straightforward kinda gameplan.

[JO50]

Thanks, I appreciate it...