This is part two of The Power of Small Tweaks to Your Game series.  Check out part one here.

Both of today’s tweaks have to do with throwing.  They apply both to 3s and Street Fighter 4 so all of you guys should be able to benefit from this.

1. Teching throws while crouching
   I see a lot of Street Fighter 4 players whiffing throws when trying to tech.  Luckily for them, the penalty for whiffing throws in this game is not very high.  In 3rd Strike, it’s very easy to lose half of your life or more whiffing a throw if you’re playing against a character like Chun Li, Urien or Yun.  So because of this, they don’t realize that it’s a big deal to whiff throws.  Sure you probably won’t get killed for it, but you can definitely get hit by a lot of damage.For example, if you whiff a throw against Balrog, he can D + MP xx MP Dash Straight xx Super.  Ryu could D + MK xx EX Fireball XX Ultra in the corner.  Ken can D + MK xx Fireball XX Super.  These are just a few examples of some majorly damaging combos that you could be setting yourself up for if you’re not careful with your throws.

   There is a solution though.  Instead of standing up to press LP + LK to throw, you can actually press LP + LK while holding Down-Back.  This is called an option select throw because what your character does is dependent on what your opponent did.  Timed properly, here are the possible outcomes for an option select throw:

   • If they try and throw, you’ll tech and get out of it
   • If they don’t try and throw, you’ll get a low jab

   If you can make this a habit and stop whiffing throws, you will be decreasing the damage you take over the longrun which will lead to you winning more games simply because you had more life.

2. Using one finger to throw and tech throws
   This is something I don’t think I’ve seen a lot of people do aside from myself and I think it’s paid off so far.  I throw and tech throws a little different from other people in that I only use one finger to press LP + LK.  Other players use their index and middle fingers, but I cross my index finger over my middle finger, raise my ring finger and pinky so that they don’t hit the other buttons and then use only my middle figner to throw and tech.  I believe this is why a lot of players over the years have complained that they are teching my throws but for some reason it’s not working.

   I believe that when you throw with two fingers like most people, not only is there more room for error, but you aren’t pressing the buttons together as fast a I am, therefore my throw comes out first.  The difference is a fraction of a second, but I believe it makes a difference.  This is all 100% speculation on my part, but it makes sense to me.  If you try my way of teching throws, see if you notice a difference in the number of throws you get off as well as tech.

That’s about it for this part of the series.  As I come up with other tweaks, I will be writing more articles in the future, so stay tuned for those.  Until then, try making these small changes and you’ll see that it makes a difference.  Just keep in mind that although the advantages gained are small in short run, over the long haul these tweaks will make you a stronger player overall.