Did you know Yoshimitsu has 100+ moves?
If you just started this character, this number of moves is really overwhelming.
So, I’ll teach you the moves that helped me climb to God of Destruction.
The very first one is Enma’s Flame.
Why you should use Enma’s Flame
Enma’s Flame gives you plus frames on block.
And Yoshimitsu transitions into Dragonfly stance after the move.
For beginners, it’s very hard to understand plus/minus frames.
For the first step, remember these situations:
- Plus frames = You recover faster
- Minus frames = Your opponent recover faster
In general,
- You hit = Plus frames = You recover faster
- Your opponent blocks = Minus frames = they recovers faster
However, Enma’s Flame is different:
- You hit = Lots of plus frames with Dragonfly stance
- Your opponent blocks = Still plus frames with Dragonfly stance
Obviously, you can bully your opponents who don’t know these facts!
From the next chapter, I’ll explain 3 cases you need to learn to take advantage of the plus frame situations.
Case No.1: Hit with Enma’s Flame for the first time in a round
Goal: Learn Heat Dash offense throw/Enma’s Flame
If you haven’t used Heat yet this round, Enma’s Flame makes Yoshimitsu transition into Heat Dash.
Heat Dash puts you in a very strong situation where you’re at +9.
So,
Heat Dash = Your turn!
In most cases, it boils down to two choices for your opponent: stand block or crouch block.
So, you only need to cover two options to counter your opponent.
- Against standing block = uf+1+2
- Against crouching block = 2nd Enma’s Flame (3, 1)
uf+1+2 is a command throw, hard to break for beginners.
Almost all throws hit against standing opponents.
The second Flame is a mid attack, so it hits against crouching opponents.
Case No.2: Hit with Enma’s Flame after using up Heat
Goal: Learn DGF offence 3+4/4
After you’ve used Heat, hitting with Enma’s Flame makes Yoshimitsu transition into Dragonfly stance(DGF), which has strong 50/50 tools.
Just like the Heat Dash situation, you gain lots of frames, meaning it’s still your turn!
Then, you can narrow down your opponent’s choices like you did above.
- Standing block
- Crouching block
So, you need to memorize only two options:
- Standing block = DGF 3+4
- Crouching block = DGF 4
↓command inputs (the third one is used in the next chapter)
Case No.3: When Enma’s Flame is guarded
Goal: Learn DGF offense on Guard 3+4/4/f+1+2
As I explained earlier, Enma’s Flame gives you plus frames even when it’s blocked.
Even though you’re plus on block, your opponent still has the option to attack
To counter their attacks, you need to learn DGF f+1+2.
This is very fast high that deals a lot of damage.
Even when your opponent tries to counter, you can counter back with DGF f+1+2!
(the image in the previous chapter shows infographics of the command inputs)
Learn to anticipate your opponent’s actions
In the 3 cases, I kept saying your opponent’s actions, standing block, crouching block, and attack.
Do I know my opponent’s future moves?
The answer is “NO”.
In Tekken 8, you always guess your opponent’s next action.
In case No.1, for example, you have to read whether your opponent will stand or crouch.
You might guess wrong sometimes, but these mistakes are part of the game and the reason why fighting games are fun!
In Tekken, we have a rock-paper-scissors like mind game.
This is known as 3すくみ(3sukumi, 3 way deadlock)
Like Naruto, they have a toad, snake, and slug.
A snake wins a toad.
A slug wins a snake.
A toad wins a slug.
We have the similar mechanic.
And we call stand-or-crouch gussing game, 50/50.
I’ll talk about this idea in the future since this is required to win and climb to God of Destruction.
Wrap-up: 3 cases after Enma’s Flame
I covered htree common situations, your opponent’s options, and waht to do after Enma’s Flame.
In the beginning, you’re overwhelmed because of the amount of information.
However, there are only a few things to learn if you break down the information into small pieces.
It’s okay if you can’t memorize everything all at once
Just come back here and re-read the article.
It’ll help the idea stick!
