- The defense

Understand Your Options: Familiarize yourself with general defensive tools including normal guard, barrier guard, instant block, jump/high jump backward/neutrally/forward, backstep, Dragon Punch, Distortion Drive, and Overdrive. Some characters may have additional reversals like Noel's 4D, 6D, and 2D, or Mai's Moon Blossom (214), which often have invulnerability frames.

Analyze the Enemy: Study the opponent's character's attack chains, potential mixups after specific attacks, and their ability to reset pressure.

Observe Enemy Tendencies: Identify patterns in the opponent's pressure, including common mixups, timing of mixups after strings, and specific moments where they create gaps to reset pressure.

Identify Defense Goals: Choose between blocking (safest, low reward), evading (balanced), or countering (risky, requires prediction).

React to Previous Attacks/Hit Count: This empirical strategy allows you to block, evade, or counter based on the enemy's previous blocked attack or the number of hits guarded. It's uncertain and risky but commonly used.

React to Gaps: Respond to interruptions or slight pauses in the enemy's pressure string before their next attack. This strategy primarily allows blocking or evading and loses to frametraps.

React to Startup Animation: The safest strategy, this involves reacting to the enemy's next attack's startup animation, primarily allowing you to block.

Consider Distance: Guarding at close range versus medium range significantly impacts your defensive decisions.

Assess Risk: Evaluate the risk involved with each defensive goal and strategy, ranging from safe to very risky.

Match Factors for Decisions: Combine defensive goals, strategies, and distance to decide how to handle enemy pressure. Safer play (reacting to startup to block) yields less reward. Escaping or countering often requires reacting to previously blocked attacks and predicting enemy actions, involving risky bets like jumping or using a Dragon Punch.

Fuzzy Block + Throw Tech/Fuzzy Jump: Use these option selects to deal with not-too-long startup mixups. Requires predicting the mixup timing and can be beaten by resets. Best for close-range defense (including after guarding Plus on Block Moves) or on wake-up.

React to Mixup Startup (4+AB(C)): Prevent punishment and safely block long startup mixups (≥ 24 frames) when defending at medium range. This does not focus on escaping or countering and leaves you vulnerable to resets. It's ineffective against not-too-long startup mixups.

React to Gaps (4+ABC): Best for blocking not-too-long startup mixups, though it leaves you vulnerable to delayed lows and frametraps.

Escape or Counter (Gaps/Resets): Focus on seeing enemy attacks to react to a previously blocked one, predict a gap, and bet on using:

2A or DP/Distortion Drive/Overdrive to COUNTER.

Jump or Backstep to EVADE.

DP/Distortion Drive/Overdrive or Backstep for INVULNERABILITY.

Instant Blocking: Increases odds of success in escaping/countering pressure. It's risky but rewarding, allowing you to break free or start your own offense. Loses to punishing pressure.

Reacting to Gaps by Evading: Jumping or backstepping works if the gap is at least ~25 frames long. Safer than predicting gaps but may not effectively allow escape and leaves you vulnerable to delayed lows.