SF6 Anti-Drive Rush Guide: Countering Drive Rush Lows

This isn't a complete guide on stopping all drive rushes, but it does cover a big chunk of the cast.
Not all drive rushes are the same, not all the drive rush normals are the same, but typically each character has only one or two drive rush normals they do, and those are the ones you need to focus on.
This guide focuses on
Kimberly, JP, Chun Li, Aki, Guile
Lesser Extent - Rashid, E Honda, others
Those 5 their main drive rush approach normal (not behind a fireball/projectle, just raw) is drive rush 2MK/crouch.MK.
May make a guide soon on countering Juri and DJ's drive rush. Stopping drive rush jab, it's possible but again it's range dependent and based on how far reaching your lights are. Contrary to what Angrybird said, it is possible to react to drive rush jab, but some characters with really far reaching 4f and 5f normals have a far easier time.

[@CD_bson]

Funny that you post this the day after we first played against each other and on the same day I figured that the core of this principal is very helpful for counter poking/whiff punishment in general. Having the info on what normals your opponent is using and which of your own are good at countering them is huge to have down pat, particularly against patient players. Cheers!

[@saado99]

Glad to know we played! What was your tag again? And yea that goes in general in neutral, not just drive rush. You don't technically 'need' it, there was no hitbox tool or even frame data back in the day but people could just tell which moves to use and know what was cheap based on the interactions/speed/range. They called it "priority". Hitbox kinda just reduces clutter and fully explains it.

[@CD_bson]

Tag was B.Son! Deejay player and yeah the hitbox tool really just gets straight to it which is awesome@@saado99

[@jeako777]

That drive rush cancel tech vs DJ sway at the end is genius

[@saado99]

Thanks! Although even so, I do think DJs sway is a little bit overpowered, it's quite mindless. The best way I could compare it would be if Luke could get free suppressor traps from his normals at will, it's very hard to punish without making a full commitment, can't even consistently drive impact it.

[@computervision557]

Defender need at least 3 bars to deal big damage. It is not a good trade to press button like 5MK, you stop the attacker with small damage, but if they hit you, you loss 3000+ life and sent to the corner with 1 bar only The problem of raw drive rush is the risk reward ratio are totally imbalance Drive rush is too bias for the attacker, every time your rival perform raw drive rush, it is a game of timing and guessing. Maybe block and parry are the most consistent solution for drive rush, they are just so damn difficult to stop consistent

[@DayFul]

This was really helpful, I tend to use Lily's standing medium punch as a check as it does have excellent range but crouching medium is a frame faster and super cancellable. I also probably don't use her crouching light in neutral enough there's so many pieces to the puzzle to pick up.

[@saado99]

Yea her neutral buttons are actually not that bad for what they are, they have good hitboxes. I guess the issue is she gets little from them, sometimes nothing.

[@doctorfunk801]

Ya, one thing I’ve noticed is people think some drive rushes are faster than others when in reality they have the same startup they just cover different distances. If you are close enough that you hit their hurtbox that’s on their body not necessarily their move, checking drive rush is much more consistent. At further distances more things can happen since the hurtbox depends more on the button they use and they can stop short to bait dps etc. Luke’s shp actually works surprising well at longer ranges in some instances because they can’t use Dr, DI on it like they can on sweep and it has such range that it can reach a lot of stop short shenanigans and you can get a ton of damage off it.

[@saado99]

Yea I think when people talk about "fast" drive rushes they just mean speed/momentum. As far as Luke's fierce, I guess it depends you can definitely use it if you are fast enough and it yields huge damage, the only characters drive rush I use it against are Marisa and E Honda, I actually prefer stand MP more but again it depends. It actually works well against juri from very far. I could do a whole video explaining that match.

[@doctorfunk801]

⁠@@saado99 I’d love to hear what you have to say about the Juri matchup and her drive rush specifically, if you ever make a video about it.

[@saado99]

@@doctorfunk801 with Luke basically only need 3 buttons to stop it, crouch LP, crouch MP and stand MP. Effectively three ranges to play around, I haven't fought Naji or other top Juris with my new counterplay but it has worked on other Juris so far. One of the reasons hers is particularly annoying is the multi-hitting Juri stand MK, it's similar to Jamie's stand HP those hits can hit a lot of stuff you do very easily. In general, 2LP and 2MP can't go wrong against a lot of characters, Luke's range on his far normals are alright, but his closeup normals like his 4f and 6f, very far.

[@yeehaw8089]

very nice tutorial, thanks dude

[@GalacticFGC]

really informative!

[@nonuvurbeeznus795]

i have a hard time reacting to DI as it is. Checking a DR is like reacting to a DI with three times as many variables. of all the skills i will have to learn in this game, this one seems downright herculean to get good at. i cant even imagine getting good enough to do this. and it so brutal that attempting to check it can lead to way, way more damage than succeeding in checking it would. it is conditioning to just hope to be able to block. but if you just sit there and block drive rush, they will get in. no distance is safe. it is kind of demoralizing. at any moment they could turn green and get past all your defences. thank you for the video though.

[@saado99]

Practice. It's not that bad, don't start with juri, or DJ, or drive rush jab with some characters like Ken. Start with one of the slower ones like ehonda or Chun Li. Don't press too fast, not too slow either. Also remember, it's not just a raw reaction you also have to sort of expect it. If it occurred when you didn't expect it, you don't have to check, but if you're expecting it due to them going to that option then look for it. Hopefully that helps.

[@TOMLElog]

thank you this is really useful. What your suggestion for JP main, which normal for JP to counter Ken and juri drive rush? thankyou

[@saado99]

I don't use JP so you'll definitely need to go to training mode. I would actually use crouch medium punch with JP a lot, it has very good properties to stop drive rush. But also remember it's distant dependent, from super close you might want to use crouch LP or stand LP, or stand LK. Although since JP is a zoning oriented character they most likely won't be at this distance much. Yea it's tough to say, but the JPs I've seen use a lot of crouch MP into drive rush or departure (bomb explode) into combo. Against Ken drive rush 5LP, that will be difficult to stop but try in training mode. Juri, main two drive rush normals 5MP and 5MK, sometimes I see 5LP and 6MP, I would definitely use 2MP and then try to experiment with other normals like crouch LP, maybe back MP, stand HP Is also really good. Remember to keep the distances in mind. Hopefully that helps again I don't play JP I mostly play Luke with a bit of Ken.. hopefully that helps.

[@saado99]

Update - against Ken drive rush jab, from close range I would use stand LP for sure with JP, and you can buffer into 236LP. Outside of that... crouch MP works very well, fast, amazing hitbox, 4 active frames. Against Juri, I just looked at it, same idea. Even though JP's stand LP is a bit slow at 6f for a light, for some reason it has amazing properties at close range. Outside of that range, try 2MP it's very good. From extremely far range (like full screen), that's tough but maybe downforward HP? Or even just a forward jump.

[@TOMLElog]

@@saado99 thank you very much! really appreciated

[@ShinOwen2]

The boy problem I see on a, your doing this a a certain range and your aware of the DR.

[@PONDON10]

How did you get the hit box

[@saado99]

twitter.com/WistfulHopes/status/1666309438679179268

[@berryai7265]

1:08

[@faeylis]

Just too many variables with drive rush. At mid range I honestly think you shouldn’t even bother trying to check it. If you don’t react to the green flash immediately it’s already too late.

[@saado99]

If you didn't react in time, yea definitely think it's better to play it safe.. but it's not just about raw reacting, there's an expectation involved. You react to it if a player goes to it often, you don't have to if they don't.

[@andresouza5751]

With Rashid I mostly use cr.lk and st.mk to check drive rush, I believe those are the most reliable but doesn't grant the best rewards. I'm open to suggestions.

[@saado99]

That looks good, I would try stand light punch actually depending on the range. Even against DJ, it's so fast I think it might just run into it.

[@saado99]

I kinda wanna update this. I have not played SF6 really since the day they rolled out the MR Legend update, but finally got back into it today. I just tested out Rashid against Ken drive rush jab which is notoriously BS. I would actually use stand LK based on what I've seen against closer distances or fast drive rushes. It has shorter distance than stand LP, but one extra active frame, which is crucial. Outside of that distance, you can use stand MK like you said or even crouch MK depending on the character and what's coming in. Again, I don't play Rashid so I apologize, you can watch players like JB, or in Japan Gachikun and see how they deal with it. But yea I just looked at stand LK and it looks really good against close range drive rushes, such as a ken or Luke drive rush jab, that's cause they just run into it which is a key in a lot of these drive rushes, they just get stuffed by active frames. Hopefully that helps!

[@Nostalgiaforinfi]

​@@saado99yo great video. Will look out for an update.