Additional Topic: The Seldom Seen Standing Forward Kick Heavy-Hitter (AKA The Dee Jay Option Select To YEET All Other Dee Jay Option Selects)
Dee Jay has an interesting option select
off of his standing Forward (i.e., medium) kick which does incredible damage
under the right circumstances . . . so much so I am surprised that other Dee
Jay players haven’t capitalized on it more over SF4’s decade-plus history. Note
that I have already written one journal post talking about the excellent
properties of Dee Jay’s two-hit Forward kick which you can find here. The option select highlighted in
the current post takes further advantage of this kick’s properties – in
conjunction with that of his far Forward kick – to set up an additional damage
game that is heavily in Dee Jay’s favour.
This option select begins with throwing Dee Jay’s Forward kick at a range where the far version of it will connect with the opponent, either as a blocked or unblocked hit. That's important because if you whiff the far version of the Forward, you will give your opponent an opportunity to whiff punish the attack and turn the tables on you. That is, however, the only real flaw the kick has. Given the far Forward kick’s range and quickness, it is very difficult to outright counter hit it and impossible to punish it after being blocked. The damage on this variation of the move is not great, mind you, but that is not the real purpose of it here. Rather, the move is designed purely as a frustrating poke to pester your opponent into leaving themselves open to bigger damage while also limiting their options to mount their own attack sequence. On this front, the far Forward does very well. The move will hit most opponents who are not blocking, whether they are standing or ducking. It will beat out many moves because of its speed and good hit box. And it will even tag opponents who are getting ready to jump into the air to start an aerial retaliation. In short, this normal optimizes both Dee Jay’s offense and defense at the same time, which is reason enough to use it. However, it’s combining this move with his slightly closer version of the Forward kick (the double-hitting version) that creates a devastating option select . . . once you know how to employ it.
The main thing to note with the two-hit version of the Forward kick – the property that makes this option select possible – is that it has two different points where it can hit; one where Dee Jay’s leg is still relatively coiled and one where it is totally extended. Hitting with both hits does almost as much damage as any other character’s Roundhouse kick. However, the best feature of this move is that only the first hit is able to be cancelled into specials like his Dread Kick. This is in fact what makes the Forward Kick option select possible. By throwing the Forward kick at a range where the far version comes out, you can safely add in a cancel for a charged Dread Kick every time with no ill consequence. There are no cancellable frames on the far version of the Forward; therefore, you will never accidentally do it on a blocking opponent. What’s more, the hit stun from the move will generally allow you to have most of your next charge ready again after the Forward finishes animating, so you are never left vulnerable too long after doing it.
The key to this option select is
remembering that, when you are purposely trying for a far Forward version of
the kick, you will only ever get the two-hit version of the standing Forward
kick when an opponent either walks, dashes, jumps, focuses, or throws an attack
at a range where the first hit of the two-hit Forward is activated rather than
the far version of it. Note that in almost 100 per cent of these cases, this
means the opponent is in a state where they are not blocking at the moment that
the first hit of the Forward connects. Because you are already buffering off of
any version of the Forward while performing it, the follow-up Dread Kick will automatically
hit the opponent as a two-in-one from all but the farthest ranges. From there,
you can potentially go into even heavier damage sequences such as a Dread Kick into
Dee Jay’s Super and Ultra 1, or a Dread Kick into a heavy damage focus crumple
combo.
In other words, any time your opponent gets hit by this Forward kick option select, you can net anywhere from approximately 200 to 600 damage on him or her, depending on your Super meter status and Ultra type/level. And all this for a technique that doesn’t require you to do any real thinking while executing it (the definition of an option select is a sequence that covers several different fighting situations at once, automatically doing the best counter action possible depending on what move your opponent does). For reference, here is a video example of the option select working on T. Hawk's low sweep.
NOTE: Like most option selects, this one isn’t foolproof or unstoppable. If your opponent is already far into a jump and gets hit by the first hit of the Forward Kick mid-air, you will buffer into a Dread Kick that doesn’t actually land (since your opponent is not on the ground). What’s more, an early focus attack from an opponent will consistently beat the far version of the Forward kick (although usually not with a focus long enough to crumple you). The number of times this happens should be minimal once you figure out how to use the option select strategically rather than all of the time. Really, what the option select is designed to do is maximize your chances of success under circumstances where you use it wisely and not mindlessly. And this it does, in spades. Give it a try and see for yourself.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: As it turns out, Dee Jay has a good whiff punish off of the first hit of his two-hit Forward as well, given its huge hit box and relatively decent speed. It is maybe not quite as good as his low Strong but is useful when, for example, whiff punishing with the first hit of the Stand Forward and going directly into Dee Jay’s Super at a range where all of his other follow-ups would either be blocked or would miss altogether. Worth some additional exploration, for sure.
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More often than you would have believed possible if you use this deadly option select! |