5) Learn how to deal with Focuses on the ground and as anti-air: I've saved this one for last, because I think it's probably the hardest one on the list. Or at least it seems that way based on how many players I see that are weak against focus attacks in general (including myself sometimes, but as with a lot of things, I'm working on them). I find it amazing that focusing is one of the core mechanics of the game, and yet most players have absolutely no idea how to actually deal with focus attacks, as if they don't expect their opponent to be using them. Players need to take some time to think about how their character can deal with focus attacks (both as anti-air against them, and in their face on the ground).

For most characters, there is a single easy solution for each situations where simply reacting to the focus with the solution will always beat the focus, no questions asked, no thinking involved. For other characters that aren't as lucky, they'll first have to react to the focus and then choose the right solution based on other details that are character specific such as spacing, meter available, etc.

Once the solutions are figured out, the player needs to spend serious time practicing to apply these solutions in a match. The idea is to make it an instinct to react to the focus immediately with your solution that beats it, guaranteed.

Here are some examples of methods of beating focus attacks. First, using a focus attack as anti-air should never work, but it is a potential strategy against some characters. The most common way of beating an anti-air focus attack is on reaction to seeing their opponent begin to focus while in the air, the player delays their jump in attack to be as late as possible, then as soon as they land, they do an invincible special move (such as an Uppercut).

If the opponent focuses the jump in, and then releases the attack, the invincible special move will beat it. If they absorb the the jump in and back dash, the special move should beat it (if it doesn't, look for another solution, or be aware of this possibility). If they backdash the jump in completely, the special move should beat it (again, make sure of this beforehand). The only possible scenario where this can go wrong is if the opponent back dashes extremely early, causing themselves to be reset out of the air by the jump in attack, which would make the special move whiff. However, to do this, the opponent will have to backdash early enough that the player should be able to react to see the backdash by knowing not to do the special move.

For the unfortunate characters (like Cody) that don't have a special move with invincibility that can be done on command, or perhaps need to be EXed to have invincibility, there are more universal solutions, however, these solutions are not as guaranteed. First, is to simply react to the focus attack by doing nothing in the air, and then landing and throwing. The opponent is likely to hold the focus, expecting to absorb the player's jump in attack. Once there is no attack, if they release the attack, it is significantly slower then a throw, and will be thrown every time. The only escape is if the opponent recognizes the empty jump, and then back dashes the throw attempt. This can potentially give the opponent a chance to punish the whiffed throw attempt.

The second universal way of fighting an anti-air focus attack is to react to the focus by doing a deep jump in, and then using a back dash as the player's “invincible special move” as soon as they land. After absorbing the jump in attack, the opponent will almost always release the focus attack immediately. If they do, the back dash will evade it, and focus attacks are highly punishable on whiff. If the opponent absorbs the jump in and then back dashes also, the situation is simply reset. The only way this solution can be beaten is if the opponent delays the focus attack slightly after absorbing the jump in attack, timing it to hit the recovery of the player's back dash. Though this is definitely a possibility (and would be the best counter if the back dash is predicted), I have never once seen a player do this. The back dash is the only thing that the delayed focus attack would beat, so it would need to be completely predicted. On the other hand, delaying the focus attack loses to almost anything else the player would do besides back dash, and not only would it lose, but being hit after absorbing an attack is an automatic counter hit, so it's extremely risky.

So that's anti-air focuses. Focus attacks done on the ground are typically easier to figure out how to beat. There are a few groups a character can fall into that makes their solution an easy one. First, and most obvious, is characters who have special moves that break armor (either naturally, or by being multiple hits) and have invincibility and also move horiztonally. This might seem like a hard combination to find, but it's actually fairly common, especially if Super or Ultra is available. For example, Rose EX Soul Spiral, E. Honda EX Headbutt, Seth EX Lightning Legs, Sakura EX Sho'oken, etc. Some characters have moves that aren't fully invincible until the first hitting frame, or are but don't travel horizontally fast enough to guarantee the first hit connects, such as M. Bison EX Psycho Crusher, Rufus EX Messiah, Juri EX Pinwheel, Guy EX Shoulder, T. Hawk EX Condor Spire, etc. However, these will still almost always work. So for these types of solutions, it's simply a matter of reacting as fast as possible to seeing the focus attack by using the move. However, be aware of spacing make sure the move will be in range, even if the opponent were to backdash immediately.

For characters without a move that fell into the first category, most of them fall into the next, which is having a special move that travels horizontally and is also very fast. The key here is the very fast aspect. For these characters, the plan is to see the focus attack, then react by doing a normal attack that will be absorbed by the focus attack, and canceling that attack into the special move that has a very fast startup. Focus attacks are slow to begin with, but when armor absorbs an attack, the character with armor gets frozen temporarily. This is called Hit Stop, and will cause the focus attack to be even slower to come out. If the player's special move is fast enough, there wont be enough time for the opponent to hit with the focus attack between absorbing the player's normal and the special move hitting. An example of this is Vega, who can react to a focus by doing c.MP xx EX Barcelona. Additionally, this solution has the benefit of being safe if the opponent absorbs the c.MP, but manages to back dash the EX Barcelona, though I have never even seen that happen. However, for other characters attempting to use this solution, a back dash after the opponent absorbs the normal might result in giving the opponent a free punish depending on the special move, so be aware of the possibility.

A variation of that strategy is that it can also be applied by characters with moves that have armor. For example, Abel can react to a focus by doing c.MK xx EX Change of Direction. Or Balrog can react with c.MP xx EX whatever Rush Punch he wants. If the opponent does not release the focus attack, the EX move will counter hit, because the opponent will have already absorbed the normal. If the opponent attempts to release the focus attack between the hits, the opponent's focus attack will simply be absorbed by the armor of the player's EX move. As already stated, the only danger here is if the opponent absorbs the normal, and then back dashes the player's EX move completely, but this is difficult to do.

For characters with no special moves that fit the above solutions (or without meter to use an EX move), there are other answers. For example, if the character has a teleport, doing a normal canceled into the teleport (ideally behind the opponent!) should always be safe. Additionally, if your character has a solid solution for an anti-air focus, reacting quickly to a focus by jumping forward (either onto or over the opponent) can be a legitimate solution.


Overall, the point of these topics is more to make players aware that these are situations that require thought. These are all extremely common occurrences in matches, and yet I see player after player make the same mistake repeatedly. Understanding how these common situations work and what options are available to the player allows him to capitalize off the opportunity as much as possible, which is an extremely important aspect in high level play.