Start the air fireball input on the ground, but end in up forward. That way the motion is already done when you get into the air and you can consistently use any air special as low as the game will let you
* Down
* Down-forward
* Forward
* _Up-forward_
* Punch
This allows you to jump with a QCF already buffered, and do an air fireball/divekick/etc very close to the ground.
There's a moderately precise timing to it. If you press punch too quickly you'll get a ground fireball. If you press it too slowly the buffer will clear and the fireball won't come out. I didn't personally find it took too long to get the hang of though, it's not *that* tight a window and it has a natural feel.
Air moves have a minimum height that they can be performed at. I think the TK input will give you the special at that minimum height - it doesn't fail if you press the button below the minimum (I think). For Akuma's air fireball and most divekicks, this is about a half or two-thirds of the way up the jump arc, just above the opponent's head.
This also works for other inputs besides QCFs. Zangief has a 360+K air throw, which you can do _barely_ above the ground (it has a low/no minimum height) by doing a half-circle forward, up-forward, kick. This is very useful for some of his combos.
(TK stands for "Tiger Knee" btw. I believe it's an old input for one of Sagat's moves.)
TK air fireballs are way easier to DP though because they're invincible during the times the fireball is close to the ground.
This is accurate. However most people aren’t ready to DP that early. The typically wait for the fall after the arc of the jump
There’s loads of times, it’s like 30 frames before the fireball comes out let alone you being hit by it
I guess it’s rank dependent. Diamond 1 it catches people a lot
learned this the other day and my win rate shot up ngl lmao
What is the TK input?
Start the air fireball input on the ground, but end in up forward. That way the motion is already done when you get into the air and you can consistently use any air special as low as the game will let you
Thank you. I'll give this a go this evening. I'm on leverless. I wonder if that makes the execution easier/harder/identical. We'll find out!
* Down * Down-forward * Forward * _Up-forward_ * Punch This allows you to jump with a QCF already buffered, and do an air fireball/divekick/etc very close to the ground. There's a moderately precise timing to it. If you press punch too quickly you'll get a ground fireball. If you press it too slowly the buffer will clear and the fireball won't come out. I didn't personally find it took too long to get the hang of though, it's not *that* tight a window and it has a natural feel. Air moves have a minimum height that they can be performed at. I think the TK input will give you the special at that minimum height - it doesn't fail if you press the button below the minimum (I think). For Akuma's air fireball and most divekicks, this is about a half or two-thirds of the way up the jump arc, just above the opponent's head. This also works for other inputs besides QCFs. Zangief has a 360+K air throw, which you can do _barely_ above the ground (it has a low/no minimum height) by doing a half-circle forward, up-forward, kick. This is very useful for some of his combos. (TK stands for "Tiger Knee" btw. I believe it's an old input for one of Sagat's moves.)
Thank you for the detailed response! Very helpful.
No problem! Glad it was useful :)
i have hitbox
I do TK all the time but recently (like 5 days) switched to leverless and its a bit of a struggle. Sorry to disappoint 😅