Tekken Tips - Guarding Options

[@lalo2513]

Oh my god, you solved me a lifetime doubt with the neutral block explanation. Thanks!

[@eduardoserpa1682]

Oh, so that's why neutral guarding felt so inconsistent. It is. Coming from 2D games, I thought it would be worth doing to hold my ground, but I guess I'm better off backdashing to create whiffs instead.

[@Guitar-Dog]

It's useful for things like Paul's deathfist.. Some characters can't punish it consistently

[@BigDaddyWes]

I like how you said "inconsistent" implying it wasn't a skill issue on your part. Good tech.

[@eduardoserpa1682]

@@BigDaddyWes I mean, Tekken is the only game I know where blocking works that way, and it also has some of the most vague tutorials in the genre. It's a bad combination.

[@SirisInidite]

@@eduardoserpa1682 honestly it’s natural really , you hold back, you defend, and with the new tutorial system I don’t see the problem.

[@SirisInidite]

Oh also remember you can block while backdashing

[@Boss-_]

Neutral block also reduces pushback, allowing you to punish some moves you might not be able to with blocking by holding 'back'

[@Zyfur]

Oh what? Do you have any examples?

[@Boss-_]

@@Zyfur It's a lot rarer now to be fair, but for example with Lee, if I have King do 1+2,1 on me, if I block it with neutral block, I can punish with acid rain. If I hold back, the first jab of it whiffs (but my other punishes reach anyway, so it's not that bad). I know I had another example that happened to me, but I forget what string it was. It was a lot more pronounced in Tekken 7, where I could punish Heihachi's ff2 with acid storm if I neutral block, but am out of reach if I hold back.

[@Zyfur]

@@Boss-_ Interesting. Reminds me of Soul Calibur 2 advancing/retreating guard, had some niche applications like this. Thanks!

[@revolt_4588]

oh damn i always blocked lows by holding down and that king move really messed me up when i got hit with the first kick i was wondering why its so strong good to know i was just blocking wrong

[@halcyontri9527]

really appreciate what you do for the FGC! great content as always

[@RokkouA1]

Great video that gets straight to the point. Looking forward to the character overviews, especially Jun!

[@zip0869]

literal game changer for me with low blocking

[@ripmxrcus]

so that's why i haven't been able to punish bro this just saved my life

[@Adqwe467]

OMG, im tenryu and i was wonder why i can never block kings low string i jus held down for every low ty

[@RealReverse13]

I still haven't gotten the hang of crouch blocking yet even though I've been playing the game for a couple of weeks

[@Silvershire]

I don’t understand why neutral guard is even a thing.

[@ramireini]

I mean Tekken is full of legacy and jank in its own way.

[@scorpioigor]

Because Tekken, at most, is not about execution, but making the right choices. That's why most moves are fairly easy to use, you just need to know when to use them. Same with blocking. The game doesn't want to make blocking about pressing something all the time, but about making the right choice of when to low block. At least, that's my guess.

[@qazojn]

@@Silvershire thats why i dont understand why is it still in the game. Why isn't neutral guard is just the same as a standing guard (same for crouch guard). Its not really some real SKILL to decide to press a button instead of not pressing it if its just worse.

[@StuSharp93]

@@Silvershire The only advantage that neutral guard has over active is that it reduces the pushback when certain moves are blocked, such as Paul's deathfist or Bears ff2, outside of that though active guard is always the better option.

[@Enl1gtend]

Neutral guarding leaves you closer to your opponent than a regular guard. There are cases where neutral guarding an attack will allow you to punish utilize punishers that would whiff otherwise.

[@Aspiret620]

lol I have been playing for years I didn't even know the real difference between back block and neutral. Thanks for this based salami.

[@mlpb]

This is super helpful but if I may ask, aren't white arrows for quick press and dark arrows are hold?

[@jysseri]

Bro you just saved me so much trouble why some strings guard broke me in neutral

[@Daisychain738]

Can you make a video explaining all the ways to wake up and block

[@thepayron5204]

I didnt know that it also applied to ducking, now I realize why I was never able to block this king's bullshit low string

[@ripmxrcus]

i know exactly what you're talking about, hworang has one too it's so annoying

[@dragonic22]

@@ripmxrcus Hwoarang has a low string? Do you know the input for it?

[@SFtheWolf]

I really wish neutral guard wasn't even in the game. it confuses new players and is just legacy cruft that adds basically no depth (I'm aware of the pushback). thank you for explaining it when tekken itself doesn't.

[@greenhillmario]

Does neutral block into hold back let you block the follow up attacks after it gets blown up?

[@Th3EpitapH]

it does indeed. neutral guard just takes a while to turn on after you've left any canned state such as attack recovery or block/hit stun, even if you're free to take actions including blocking.

[@YagoOliveira-kh2ci]

So what is the purpose of neutral guard ? Why is that even in the game ? I'm new to tekken by the way.

[@Overheadkianko]

Does each character have moves that can not be neutral blocked? Or is just something that certian characters can do?

[@MiketheNerdRanger]

Wait, there's a neutral block???

[@dingo2106]

Wait doesn’t doing nothing guard highs and mids too? Tekken 8 is my first and guarding in this game confuses me

[@acidicyeild6054]

Lmfao i wish the game had made the difference between guarding and neutral block more clear. Im here getting blown up by that stupid king low kick because i thought it was natural.

[@Point5_]

Wait, why d9es not pressing a direction does neutral block instead of just getting hit?

[@ripmxrcus]

because pressing nothing blocks mid's and high's in this game, holding back is moving you more backwards each hit that's blocked

[@Point5_]

@@ripmxrcus that's so weird to me

[@BigDaddyWes]

There's something to be gleaned from the fact that every Tekken character's default stance is standing block.​@@Point5_

[@COMMANDLIST1]

I think it was placed in the game bc it's a heavy movement based game. Doing nothing allows players to rest the muscle knowing they have 1 block stored before they need to hold back to defend again.

[@NhBleker]

If you're fighting King or Dragonov then all of this goes out the window and basically you might as well just unplug your controller as they'll just bypass all of this shit.

[@dmcfail987]

Thank you I'm able to trap people with kaz but my defense is TRASH!!!!

[@bryansam650]

Bruh, you deserve like a million subscribers

[@MastdarmWeishaupt]

The concept of neutral block is so confusing to my like why is it even in the game in the first place. All it does is great the chance to develop bad habbits.

[@exalmer14]

Okay, Tekken vets, allow me (an anime fighters player) to ask you a somewhat ignorant question: Why would you ever neutral guard? Is it a greedier way to access your neutral buttons to punish an unsafe move? Is it so for option selects when running your offence?

[@dragonic22]

I've been TOLD that neutral guarding reduces pushback so you can better punish some moves like deathfist. But I'll have to see for myself

[@justApplay]

In 2D fighting games, where you can hold db to block most of the attacks, it's easier to keep your spacing 'cause you don't move while crouching. Standard way of blocking in Tekken is by holding back, and that moves you backwards. Neutral guard was probably the solution they found so you can block while maintaining your spacing. Neutral guarding also reduces the pushback of moves on block, making some moves easier to punish. Not very practical, but it's an application.

[@zex69]

Just block bro