Hi, this is Tyler2k and this is the third video in the tutorial series.
A "hit confirm" is a technique for inputing strings by "confirming" if a "hit" has properly landed or not. This is important as many strings are unsafe on block but can be hit confirmed to increase their safety. As CH confirming is far harder than NH confirming, I'll be talking mostly about the former, but I'll go fairly in-depth as to how NH confirming works.
There's three type of hit confirming. Looking for hit indicators or a unique animation, interrupting the animation of your opponent, and lastly pseudo-hit confirming with aniticipation or possibly frame traps.
Launchers
Launchers are the most basic and distinguishable form of hit confirming. They are a Tekken signature and are the easiest for beginners to pick up. Simply put, if the opponent is launched, follow up the hit with a combo. Launchers also the least stringent requirements for hit confirming as multiple follow-ups are possible and even if you're slow on the hit confirm, there's usually a less damaging follow-up that can be performed later in the animation.
Through out this section I've been demoing famous CH launchers to show that some animations on CH are drastically different from their non-CH iterations. Later in this tutorial I'll show attacks with more subtle animation changes and finally attacks with no animation changes (on hit).
MSc/"Ass" stun
This is a stun that's unique to usually only one attack per character. On CH the animation will change and knock the opponent on their butt. Due to their rarity and differing ease of use, they are very uncommon to see in matches. Unlike launchers that are inescapble post hit, this type of stun can be teched. If the opponent does not properly tech the hit, then a follow-up launcher is guaranteed. As I've mentioned, the stun can be teched to fully escape any possible follow-ups and the launcher options are usually unsafe one way or another.
Knockdowns
Now we begin the journey into the land of the "not as obvious". Strings that no longer launch but have a unique animation on CH. Here we see Dragunov's f+2,4 in motion. Notice how Lars' head and upper body whips violently backward when Dragunov's f+2 hits him. Dragunov's d+4,1,3 has a similar effect, except Lars' leg is sweeped to the side confirming the CH.
Then there's more obvious effects (similar to launchers) where the opponent will be knocked directly to the floor for a guaranteed follow up. At the very least there will be a strong, lower in the hit box, hitting attack and sometimes a lesser damage, but better oki, follow-up option.
This doesn't mean you should only look for unique animations (on limbs). Screen shake, sound, and hit sprites, possibly from extra CH damage, can all be used to aide you. It's up to you to figure out where your character best fits in.
Standing Attacks
Standing attacks can still have unique animations on CH and unlike launchers and KND, usually give +frames for 50/50 situations. The other benefit is that they are inherintly less risky (though usually still punishable) and often much easier to hit confirm. At 74 damage, Raven's CH b+1, b+2,4 is one of the strongest standing combos in the game. It's also very easy to pick up once you know what to look for (in this case Heihachi being knocked almost to the ground).
NH Confirm
As I said earlier, NH combos are far easier to hit confirm than CH combos, simply because you're looking for a hit marker versus a guard indicator. Basically if a string's final attack can be input after you can see the first attack hit, then it can be hit confirmed. A great example is Bruce's 1,4,3. To hit confirm we input 1,4 and once we see the first punch hit, then we input the final 3.
What I've said might be a little confussing, so allow me to clarify. According to Human Benchmark, average human reaction time is 215 ms, which comes out to roughly 13 frames. Therefore there's effectively a 13 frame lag time on what you see, what you want to happen, and finally what happens in the game. If the final hit window is greater than 13 frames, then you have more leniency to properly hit confirm (please note the quicker your reaction time, the larger the window for hit confirming).
Grounded Resets
Grounded resets fall in a middle ground between "launchers" and hit confirming. If the opponent is caught by your trap, finish the combo as usual; otherwise if they don't get picked up, set up for your next attack (lease note that B! resets, where the opponent fails to tech, will not allow for an additional B!).
The problem is most hit confirmable i10 punishers expect you to either A) know what you're punishing or B) know how to hit confirm and as such almost all are launch punishable one way or another.
Abrupt/Interruption animation
Now that the "kiddie stuff" is out of the way, it's time to bang your head against the wall for a couple days learning how to properly CH confirm without a unique animation to look for. Instead we'll be using the opponent's standard actions and attack animations as our guide to figure out if our string is CH or not. The easiest way to do this is by looking for the opponent to "flinch". Basically a quarter/half animation that's interrupted by our attack. This technique can be applied to all characters without unique animations on CH. A few famous examples are Bryan's d+2,3 and Feng f+2,1,2, both of which W!/KND.
Best case scenario is you eat a i10/12 punisher. But you'll soon find that many strings end in high attacks which beg for WS punishment. Another common problem is that many strings have attacks that can be delayed and if delayed too much, will cause the string to be no longer NCc. Lastly since we're hit confirming "flinches", some attacks such as throws and stances cannot be CH, therefore leaves us open to punishment.
Anticipation/Frame trapping
While not a true hit confirm, anticipation and frame trapping is a valid strategy for landing attacks that are normally not likely to land otherwise. Here I'm demoing that Dragunov's f+3,3 cannot be hit confirmed, but if the opponent was to be doing a string outside of normal range, (it) might be worth using to ground the opponent. Or if you see the opponent flinching prior to the first hit of your string, would complete with the hopes of it landing, even more valid after a +frame option. But be aware that any flinch might not be an attack thereby causing you to whiff at launch range.
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