Escaping the Strike/Throw & How to Play Defense | Guilty Gear Strive

streamed June 23, 2021
A Primer on how and why to use fuzzy jump as a defensive option & other general defense tips
glossary.infil...
glossary.infil...
Follow Sajam on Twitter & Twitch:
/ sajam
/ sajam
/ discord
Clips Channel:
/ sajamclips
Editing/Thumbnail by Magic Moste:
/ magicmoste
#FGC #Sajam #GGST #GuiltyGear

[@Silvers_7]

Sajam doing to Strive what Aris did to Tekken 7, when T7 came out Aris made tons of tips and tricks for new players which helped out so many people, like Sajam is right now

[@arielariel1176]

Sajam is just Aris, but less stoned

[@cactuz116]

One of the few similarities between em

[@ggbeb1177]

aris is too busy in the home or the room or the living room these days i can't imagine him doing that kind of shit anymore lmao, don't need him to either edit: point was that's crazy and aris is a good guy(?)

[@arielariel1176]

@@ggbeb1177 he doesn't play Tekken anymore primarily because he doesn't like online play

[@paultyson2303]

From experience, the focus for new players is always offense, where the focus should really be learning defense and how to punish. Once you get good at block/punish you'll give yourself more time to play the offense you want with some mind games, rather than just desperately trying to hit them first.

[@DjOneOne]

great take

[@James-pb8xu]

Speaking from experience, I've started playing Last Blade 2, Real Bout 2, Art of Fighting 3, and many more retro fighters (I'm also D rank in every one besides last blade 2 on fightcade lol they're monsters). In every instance, I've seen defense being soooo much more important to learn in order to progress. If you can stop leaking health, you can play offense for longer periods of time and get better at that. You won't get better at defense by trying to get really good at offense. Playing defense gives you your turn to play and you'll naturally get better at offense. As hard as it is to setup a powerful offensive game, with all the mix-ups, mixing up the mix-ups, baiting out DPs and panic buttons, it's even harder dealing with an opponents whose offense is nigh-unpredictable, where you have to guess, knowing what move is positive, when it's your turn, etc that's way harder. Work on your defense guys. It's crucial.

[@xcreenplay7264]

Learning that the hard way in season 3

[@chasemarshall7279]

As a fgc newbie this is extremely helpful.

[@albeirovega4993]

Welcome 😁😁

[@TheSteamyG]

Hey good to see new players coming in!

[@AltohP]

An*

[@cactuz116]

@@AltohP yo mama

[@sebz2892]

Damn, he's good

[@mojolito]

This shows me a glaring weakness in my gameplay. No wonder I get frustrated when I simply don’t understand the fundamentals of defense.

[@yungskeleton-wotvffbe8939]

that's fighting games in general. people get frustrated because they don't understand things and complain that they are unfair

[@no_nameyouknow]

Honestly it just takes experience. Cant practice defense against a bot. People are the best way to practice d.

[@ethanowen159]

@@no_nameyouknow at least with strives great training mode its easier to simulate realistic situations 😁

[@ryanlally8116]

Going into Guilty Gear, I knew I had to prioritize defense and that it was the sole reason why I would win games. This guide has helped me enhance my understanding of both fighting game lingo and other characters' offensive pressure. I am grateful for this 2-years-old video still holding up today

[@MH3Help]

Started playing a character without an uppercut recently and quickly found out how bad my defense was. Videos like this is great for helping new GG players figure the game out!

[@Shadowlet]

Your character doesn’t have a 6P?

[@seokkyunhong8812]

@@Shadowlet 6p is not a fully invincible reversal

[@pedrohenrique-db3xd]

@@Shadowlet doesnt have a DP

[@Astraldymensions]

5:47 WHAT????? I honestly just assumed they were super plus on hit there. This is a game changer

[@YouDonMessedUp]

I think this is the number one video that can really help new players and alleviate some frustrations. Understanding these things can really elevate your game. Great video, Sajam!

[@MangaMarjan]

As a I-No player myself: start out the match by challenging the hover pressure with your fastest button but be aware that I-No can frametrap after a blocked j.S. The best thing you can do is not even letting her in in the first place. Once she has you blocking the first j.S it's mix up time for her. Light mash beats a lot of it but be aware that If she commits she gets her most damaging combos. But If she commits and you play passive she will lose her turn.

[@falloutitchy]

Is there a telltale move that says she's committed and that she's given up her turn?

[@BBGunRenegade]

@falloutitchy I.No has committed when she stops going instant hover dashes and throws out a button on the ground. At this point I.No has to take a risk to take her turn back usually by either using H. Stroke, attempting another hoverdash, or trying to do a blockstring into note and you can interrupt the first 2 of these and punish the note blockstrings like Sajam showed in the video. A note tho: The slash version of Stroke the Big tree is minus on block so it's your turn if you block it however she can mix it up with Heavy Slash Stroke the big tree which is +2 on block but has more start up and leaves a gap where you can challenge with a button or throw her.

[@AgentBacalhau]

@@falloutitchy Basically once we hit the ground we got one more mix left, between H stroke and S stroke, and if we go for S stroke that's it, we're minus, if we go for H stroke, there's a gap before it hits, but after it we're plus, and then she can either frametrap with 2k or 5k and that's it, turn over, or she can take another risk right after H stroke and hover on your face, which can be interrupted but will reset her pressure allll the way to the start. After we do S stroke, watch out, cause yeah we're minus, but it's common for I-Nos to jump back to bait a button on your turn and do divekick once you press and that, in the corner, gives her oki

[@GriFFonRec4]

@@falloutitchy This isn't just I-No btw. Every character works this way. You can either keep pressuring with low committal normals that leave gaps, but are risky to challenge, or you can commit. The idea is you do low committal normals until you think they are going to challenge and then you commit to get the hit. Either that, or you do the committal normals but you end in a special that reset pressure (like H-stroke) but they all have a gap in front of it ... if you are looking for it, which you should be, you should be able to challenge. The idea is the low committal normal into low committal normal is harder to see than the special that resets pressure since generally it's gonna be in the same spot and have a bigger, more exploitable tell.

[@justwungo]

Sajam's generalised tips via StrIVe have been some of, if not, my favourite content he's put out.

[@aarono8979]

After watching this I've learned my primary defensive tactic is what you might call a "fuzzy heavy flash kick" and yeah, it goes about at well as it sounds it would

[@floraphore]

Coming here from 2024 to learn how to attack (& maybe implement) fuzzy defensive options. Thanks to you again Sajam for sharing this knowledge

[@CashKetchum718]

thats crazy I was playing this I-no playing that was fuzzy jumping and scooping my pressure and I was like wtf is happening, but now I know, this is why I love fighting games

[@sladevalen2120]

I've always had the opposite problem in fighting games. I've always had really good defense but I always get in trouble whenever I go aggressive so I never know when to actually hit buttons and fight back

[@brocksteele7475]

Bruh, same. As soon as it's my time to take a turn, I do one combo and pass. Can't keep pressure up at all.

[@BlackTestament]

mine is the opposite, once i learn a good set of combos that work for me I can go all out but my defense is trash and a get absolutely pummeled lmao

[@dillonsturm5343]

This is exactly the kind of contend I'd like to see when I search "counter hit properties gg strive"😂 in all seriousness though actually the most dense and informative video I've found on gg good shit man.

[@NexusARC]

Sajam this is helping me out so much, is there a playlist of just the gameplay tips? I need to watch and rewatch a thousand times.

[@EndlessIX]

Sajam is cool and this game is sick

[@SonicSol]

Man I-No gotta commit to minus shit when you shut her down that's crazy.

[@ZetaStriker0000]

I admit, seeing you come in here and say that made me laugh out loud.

[@Rhapsolin]

"you werent thinking a second ago you were sure a second ago" legend

[@ZeroFX1]

I got to floor 10 last week, and still really struggle with being in the corner. It's easily my weakest part of the game. Appreciate the easy breakdown Sajam.

[@soulmantis4627]

it's really easy to get to heaven right because there's a lot of new players. It will probably get harder later on

[@penguinmaster16]

@@soulmantis4627 Not probably, it will get harder. This is true for every fighting game ever made. With each passing day, the playerbase gets better and smaller making it much more difficult (but rewarding!) to grind ranked.

[@NomSauce]

@@penguinmaster16 It's not even a fighting game exclusive, this is true for any competitive game lol. The only time it can get easier is if the playerbase is dying out.

[@happycamperds9917]

Fuzzy command throw is the new wave.

[@Craft2299]

To all i-no players, if you get mashed out of your little dash mix up. 2HS. COUNTER. 236HS, microwalk 6HS, 236HS, 2HS, 214P.

[@stevenluoma1268]

On some characters like may you cant microwalk, you just do it right away. Against ram, afaik, you can't link 236h into 6h unless the 236 is a counter, even in the corner, so this combo doesnt work.

[@marc-antoinegiguere6323]

Excellent content!! I'm loving how you cut through the bullshit and propose easy to understand solutions to these situations.

[@johnwelch2569]

Great video for beginners. I found it super helpful. Really like the new stream set up too.

[@Amsalja12]

Honestly, sajam makes the most helpful videos.

[@jeffgoggin1394]

Dude is and always will be the freshest with the knowledge drip

[@Firrox]

OOoooohh this is what fuzzy jump/guard means!

[@rororoFGC]

Thanks for sharing your fighting games wisdom

[@LackOfCreativiT]

This honestly helped my strike/throw offense and my defense.

[@SpydeTarrix]

What i do when i get hit: die. Thanks for this, very helpful. Good defense makes a world of difference in my play experience.

[@FujiBou]

ji "sajam" yuna almost at 100k, ya love to see it

[@finalbattlereplays478]

He might as well have said "This is how you defend against everybody."

[@deathdanish]

Would really like to see a companion video for defending against chars that have less binary flowchart offense like Leo. Defending against them feels awful because of the combination of forward momentum, frame data, and an overloaded mental stack from the sheet number of options available. Just watching you shoutcasting the NA/JP exhibition the other day, you were audibly dejected for the defender anytime Leo was able to get into BT stance.

[@UncleTonkle]

That's pretty much how Leo works. If he can get into his stance he has crazy offense and wildly increased damage. The trick is to make going into stance as difficult as possible. The main trick is honestly just to grab his 236H when he goes for the crossup. It takes some practice but can be done with decent consistency. That means his only safe way of entering stance is by scoring a knockdown or landing a combo into 214S. When outside of stance, Leo is a pretty standard character. His fireball and DP are good, but outside of that he's fairly slow. If he's trying to keep you out with normals, whiff punishes are your friend. When he does enter stance (which will happen), use YRC if you manage to block the mixup. It removes stance and Leo is probably still pressing buttons so you usually get the hit. If you were in the corner and hit the YRC you can often run up and throw them into the corner instead for your own nasty mixups. With just those 2 things you can make Leo's life a lot harder. Hope it helps!

[@Ironpecker]

loving this strive content :)

[@AdjutantAntithesis]

Hey this video came out just in time for me to be trying to get back into strive again and realizing my defense still sucks noodles

[@hobones2527]

Is there any advantage to teching throws as opposed to jumping them? Besides looking hype

[@TomKlad77]

If the opponent isn"t throwing you might be able to grab the opponent out of his pressure, since throw comes out very fast. However, if you're sure the opponent is going for a throw backdashing is probably your best option.

[@pedrohenrique-db3xd]

On the ground, not really, but if they go for an air throw your only option is to tech throw.

[@kyleflournoy7730]

So from what I'm seeing. A lot of this game is built around fake pressure and just knowing when to mash on your opponents blockstrings

[@sonof7yoshis]

The only character I'm having issues with is Leo

[@eeeecca]

"This is how you defend against- *sees millia* y- you know what i mean :)"

[@jpVari]

I find myself getting hit a lot before the jump starts, so upback but they hit me before I leave the ground and I don't block... upback/downback might help with that. thanks very much.

[@thegoose8663]

I have a reaction of an elephant, do you really expect me to block I-no successfully?

[@TheSimplyJJP]

God everygame is just constant pressure and I have no idea what to do they keep counter hitting me

[@fluury]

they are plus tho, cant press

[@DctrJimbo]

they are plus tho, cant press

[@Setteri_]

Being minus is a state of mind, a May player told me that.

[@mastemathedank4043]

"Stop pressing" "P"

[@mandatorycorpaccount]

I've been trying to lab an oki situation today and got really confused. Can someone help me out? So I used Anji against May. I set up a dummy to do a random of 5P/throw/S on wake up and was using my sweep to cause a knockdown. It was all good when I was using run-up then c.S, but I never managed to get a run-up grab in that scenario. The question's if it's possible at all to grab someone under those circumstances and if so any tips on how to get the timing right?

[@SJNaka101]

There is like 6 frames of throw invulnerability on wakeup, so there is no such thing as meaty throw in this game. You either have to condition your opponent to block on wakeup and then delay your throw (pretty bad option since they still can mash out), or you can tick-throw on wakeup. Hit em with a meaty jab and then throw. Also good to know, if you find your opponent techs your throws or throws you out of tick throw, command grabs are throw invulnerable. If you got one, you can use it to beat regular throw.

[@waycooler]

actually went and hopped into training to test real quick, before talking out of my ass. used anji v may, though i don't think that really matters. if they're throwing on wakeup, you can get a throw break, but i at least cannot for the life of me get the throw out first. usually i get thrown. if they try to mash out with something speedy (i.e. 5P), i can't manage to beat it with a throw. if they're guarding or just standing, doing the throw too soon will whiff, so you'll need to delay it slightly. feels like a few frames after they stand, but i don't know how to measure this stuff accurately. if they use a slower button (i.e. May's 6H), you still need to delay your throw, but you can beat it. if you try too early, you'll whiff and get hit, as you'd expect. i was also able to beat may's 5S, but the timing feels pretty close there. anyway give delaying the throw slightly a shot and see if that solves it. i'm sure there is plenty you could test them trying on wakeup, but I wanted to hit the few that you mentioned.

[@mandatorycorpaccount]

many thanks for the explanation :) I wish they had this throw invulnerability thing explained somewhere in the mission mode.

[@MC-ns8gb]

Sometimes when i go in for a grab it whiffs bcuz theyre crouching but when im expecting a grab and i crouch to try to get it to whiff it always lands why is that?

[@MC-ns8gb]

Not command grabs either just normal grabs

[@zesdeath5133]

Grabs hit crouching. Maybe the reason your grab is whiffing is because of characters having 5 frames of throw invuln after wake up or blocking?

[@DjOneOne]

godly video

[@EstrellaDelRock]

Its possible to tech throw like you do in SFV? i mean in gg you have 5 frames of throw invul so, it is possible to time it and cover both options meaty/throw?

[@pedrohenrique-db3xd]

if the opponent misses the meaty timing you can throw them, but if they do it correctly it will counter hit your throw and you will get smoked.

[@Neloch4]

i think i feel like quitting now.

[@Brian-rp7dj]

I-No can backdash cancel her jS and jH and do 236H to punish mashing jab

[@johnjohnston9255]

I didn't want to watch this video because I only want to do the combos I've labbed lol. Thanks!!

[@madthrasher88]

wut

[@duchuyedisonvu]

i just lost 30 games in a row against an ino who was teabagging me the entire time i am learning how to defend with my character sol - i want to be like mochi

[@00modey9500]

it is an rps in sols favor

[@Soda_Drunka]

I just get hit with projectiles lmao

[@Zzzzz-qz7qu]

Well, I guess I will continue to mash p out of it 😂

[@mcdonald5519]

Can you get grabbed at the first frames of your jump?

[@lunafoxfire]

no

[@biscuitguy4083]

Fucking eltnum theme lmao

[@drftr6073]

tl;dr: think while playing this game.

[@AkibaRyoto]

Yea and man just spam u in courner with infinite strings and u cant reach your jab

[@dimex3362]

Defending against airdash into airdash, mixed with airdash into 2k… is trivial. Defending against that with 2k,2d instead of just 2k is whats the real problem. Then add in airdash k,d etc and ino is effectively unblockable. Its way too hard to just frame fuzzy guard all her options.

[@UncleTonkle]

It's not trivial BECAUSE it makes the I-no go into the next options you mentioned. Fighting games are all about mixups; you can't just expect to invalidate an entire character with a set series of inputs. What you can invalidate is them just spamming the same thing over and over without having to think about their pressure. If you can then block their mixup the attacker is going to feel like their offense just doesn't work on you and you can do mental damage. In the same way, if the attacker has a mixup for every time you try to adapt to their options, it's going to feel like you just can't block. This is the basis of the mental aspect for any game or sport and why people can even spend 1000s of hours without getting bored. So yes, you can't just fuzzy guard I-no's entire existence, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't search for ways to block the baseline pressure that your opponent is using.

[@youare5907]

Pointless video. If I get hit I'm mashing, if I lose i got the next round to get the first hit!

[@astrangeriremain]

Ah a fellow man of culture