Street Fighter - Charge Motions


Charge motions are powerful on Hit Box.  In this guide we are booting up Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection with Street Fighter II Turbo and the classic charge motions.  Spoiler: Charge motions are nearly exactly the same now as they were back then in the days of old.
Hit Box techniques truly shine with charge characters.  By using only fingers, we are able to skip the center moving from Left and Right.  This give a natural edge by eliminating travel time.

SOCD Flash Kick

Note: The input transcript above follows normal transcript convention, but is technically incorrect.  In Super Turbo you need to press the Jump input first, so I am actually pressing Jump before the Kick button.  The shown transcription accurate for most all other games where you are allowed to hit Up + Kick simultaneously.
Down + Back (hold)
Up into Kick (tap) (Down + Back + Up + Kick)
 
Notice how I am never letting go of Down-Back?  We are utilizing the power of SOCDs (Simultaneous Opposing Cardinal Directions).  This is when you press two or more directions that are opposite of each other.
Hit Box by default is set so that Up always beats Down.  In other words, Jump always wins.  Up overrides Down, but Left is still being held the whole time.  This is why all three of the buttons together give you an Up-Back input to finish the motion.
To input a Flash Kick, simply charge Down-Back, and press Jump into Kick.  As noted above, in ST you are required to hit Up before the Kick button.  Slightly delay your Kick.
You will also notice that I am using my Right Thumb.  This makes it extremely easy to hit Jump + Kick together, and you will always get the timing right! 
Left Thumb still works fine, but I am always an advocate for using my Right.  Give it a try! 

Note:  True Neutral SOCD has become a popular alternative for Street Fighter gameplay.  In this setting Up no longer prioritizes over Down -- they nullify each other just like Left + Right.

Neutral SOCD:  Down + Up = Neutral

While this has many advantages, it requires coordination in your vertical charge moves.  No big deal, just release the down button when you finish.  The true power is the right hand Thumb into Finger to finish the charge.

Sonic Boom

Down + Back (charge)
(Release Down-Back)
Forward + Punch (release Down-Back)
With proper hand coordination, there is no travel time that you would get with traditional joysticks and pads.  With practice you can very efficiently throw a Sonic Boom and return to charging. 

Half Position Sonic Boom (Reaching)

Down + Back (charge)
(Release Down-Back)

Forward + Punch (Reach Right Index to Forward and simultaneously with another finger press Punch.)

If you want to go for the perfect Sonic Boom, try reaching your Index Finger over to hit Forward + Punch.  Reaching your index is called "Half Position."  Many advanced Hit Box techniques take advantage of this unique stance.  You will always throw your Boom right away and allow you to return to charging near-instantly!
Note: This technique only works on Player 1 side.  It's worth it.

Vertical Charge Super

Note: The input transcript above follows normal transcript convention, but is technically incorrect.  In Super Turbo you need to press the Jump input first, so I am actually pressing Jump before the Kick button.  The shown transcription accurate for most all other games where you are allowed to hit Up + Kick simultaneously.
Down + Back (charge)
Down + Forward
Down + Back
Jump into Kick (tap) (Back + Down + Up)
This is the classic triangle motion.  We can use the same SOCD technique of Down + Up to finish the motion from Down-Back to Up-Back by simply adding the Jump button in the end.

Horizontal Charge Super

In Street Fighter V, Back-Forward-Back-Forward is Guile's Sonic Hurricane super, but Balrog is going to fill in and demonstrate the motion for us with his Crazy Buffalo.
Down-Back (charge)
Forward
Back
Forward + Punch
 
Once again, our fingers in coordination eliminate any travel time that would otherwise be crossing the chasm over neutral from Right to Left.
Note:  Be sure to not accidentally hit Left + Right at the same time.  This will give you a Neutral input and possibly miss the motion. 
Half Position Horizontal Charge (Reaching)
Let us see how fast we can go!
Down-Back (charge)
Forward (Right Index)
Back
Forward + Punch (Right Hand)
Reach your Right Index Finger over and drum this motion out for maximum speed!
Remember to be very concise about letting go of your Down-Back so you do not accidentally cancel your move with a Neutral input from Left + Right.
Note:  This technique works only on Player 1 side.  But I think we'll manage just fine.
Happy Training
HBDustin


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