Index

1. Index
2. Before We Get Started
3. Introducing Ibuki
4. Understanding Hit-Boxes
5. Understanding Frame-Data
6. Terminology
7. Standing Attacks
8. Crouching Attacks
9. Unique Attacks
10. Lets Take A Break #1
11. Special Attacks I
12. Special Attacks II
13. Anti-airs I
14. Anti-airs II
15. Ultra Combos
16. Using Ibukis Ultra Combos
17. Bread & Butter Combos
18. Lets Take A Break #2
19. High Jump Cancelling
20. Advanced Combos
21. Tsumuji Loops
22. Kasumi Suzaku Combos
23. Lets Take A Break #3
24. Kunai Vortex
25. Escaping The Kunai Vortex
26. Understanding Option-Selects
27. Safe Jumps
28. Unblockables
29. Practicing Meaties
30. Launcher Combos
31. Ambiguous Mix-Ups
32. Lets Take A Break #4
33. Match-up vs. Ryu
34. Match-up vs. Cammy
35. Match-up vs. Zangief
36. Match-up vs. M.Bison
37. Izunas General Strategy
38. Ibukis Frame-Data I
39. Ibukis Frame-Data II
40. Thank You For Reading

Before We Get Started

Hi my name is Izuna, the writer of this guide. First of all, before you start your
ninja-training Id like to talk to you about how this book will teach you.
Whether you are a Beginner or Expert Street Fighter player, when it comes
to picking up a new character, it is important to learn the fundamentals. Not
every attack for Ibuki will be talked about in detail, only the most important
ones. Ive tried my best to streamline the information for efficient learning.
Between chapters, there will be Lets Take A Break pages, which will summerise what you have learnt so far.
You are not expected to memorise everything that is in this guide in one go,
it is built to be used as reference as well as introducing you to Ibuki. Finally,
this book is built for SUPER Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition Ver.2012. Any
differences with previous versions will not be mentioned, it is up to you to
discover what doesnt work should you be playing an earlier version.

-- CREDITS -Writer of Contents - Izuna Theophilou (@izuna_zuna)

Researcher of Contents - MingoDynasty
Cover Designer - MR_47 (SRK Community)
Interior Graphics Designer - Andreas Theophilou (Osuoa)
Proofreaders - Torbjrn Rnningsen (@2Rbear)
- Kendrick Nakamura (SoulSynapse)

Presented by CrossCounter TV
SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV, its Characters and Art are owned by
CAPCOM U.S.A. -- this book is in no way affliated with CAPCOM U.S.A.
2

Introducing Ibuki
STAMINA:
900
STUN:
950
WALK-SPEED RANK (fastest):
24th
DASH-SPEED:
18-frames
BACKDASH-SPEED:
28-frames

Ibuki may be considered as an easy-to-use, hard-to-master character. Her typical gameplay is based on knocking her opponents down, and attacking them
while they get up. With high damaging combos and many ambiguous tools,
she can quickly shift the momentum of the match in her favour.
Her drawbacks then, are that her entire gameplay revolves around her opponents defensive abilities. That being said, she has a harder time fighting characters with options to escape when getting up off the ground. In this guide,
we will look at ways to overcome this issue using what we call Option-Selects,
and Safe Jumps.
Currently a character who is ranked Top 10 in the Japanese Arcades, Ibuki
consistently places high in tournaments all over the world; rarely however,
coming in first place.
Many people do call Ibuki a random character, winning matches due to
chance rather than decisive ability. There are those out there who wish to
disprove this theory, using creative and high damaging set-ups, which only
another Ibuki player would know how to defend against. Read on to find out...

Ibuki TRIVIA - Did you know...

Drawing by Omar-Dogan

Her first appearance was in Street Fighter III: New Generation. In 2nd Impact, she was S-tier alongside Gouki
and Sean. Capcom addressed her imbalance by removing her Hashinsho Super Art for 3rd Strike.
3

Understanding Hit-Boxes
You may already be aware of this, but Street Fighter IVs
fighting-engine uses an invisible mechanic called Hit-boxes.
Its not important to memorise the Hit-boxes for every attack,
but it is important to understand how they things work.

Solid Yellow Boxes

This is the physical space occupied by the character. Two of these boxes cannot pass eachother, but it is not a characters Hurt-box. Akumas
Teleport, for example, will make his box disappear so that he may pass
through his opponent.
Long Solid Yellow Boxes
If your opponent is inside this long box, as they hold back they go into
a blocking animation, so they cannot walk away.
Solid Red Boxes
This is the Hit-box. If this box touches an opponents Green Lined Box
(or Hurt-box), a hit will be registered. The numbers seen inside these
boxes represent values of height, length etc. these Arbitrary units are
for the developers of the game.
Green Lined Boxes
This is the Hurt-box. If any attacks Hit-box touches this a hit will be
registered, including projectiles.

Ibuki TRIVIA - Did you know...

Ibuki is a female ninja, which is called kunoichi in Japanese. Born an orphan in a ninja village, she spends
her time living a double life. She keeps her Ninjustu a secret while attending High School with Makoto.
4

Understanding Frame-Data
Frame-data is another hidden mechanic in Street Fighter IV.
Learning Frame-data is very important as it teaches you what
you can and cant combo, and what something can be punished
with etc.

Frames Per Second = Street Fighter IV runs at 60fps.

1-frame is 1/60th of a second (16ms).

Action = name of the attack.

Start-Up = number of frames before attack begins.
Active = number of frames a move hits for.

In otherwords its the number of frames the Hit-box is present.

Recovery = number of frames between after the Hit-box disappears

and when moves animation has ended.

Frame Advantage =

number of frames before the recovery of both characters

after an attack. A positive number indicates how many frames the attacker
recovers before his opponent after a move. A negative number indicates how
many frames the opponent recovers before the attacker. For example (-5) on
block means opponent can punish with an attack with a 5-frame Start-Up.

For a full list of Ibukis Frame-data go to page 38.

Ibuki TRIVIA - Did you know...

Makoto attending the same school as Ibuki is an issue. All Makoto wants to do is fight strong opponents.
Ibuki dodges Makotos challenges day in, day out, hoping that her classmates dont suspect shes a ninja.
5

Terminology
Street Fighter series has
been around for over a
decade, and because of
this, there are Jargon thats
commonly used throughout its community. The list
on the right includes all of
the Terminology you need
to know to read this book.

[Safe] -- an attack that cannot be punished after it is blocked.

[Block-stun] -- stun caused by an attack that is blocked.
[Hit-stun] -- stun caused by an attack that hits.
[Meaty] -- attacking an opponent with a Meaty is to hit them during a moves
last active-frames, thus increasing frame-advantage as block/hit-stun starts right
before the recovery frames start.
[Link] -- a link is when you combo a move into another by waiting until one move
is over, and then starting the next, therefore a 1-frame link means you have 16ms
after the end of one attack to start to next.
[Tick-Throw] -- using a throw after your opponent has blocked or gotten hit a
move giving you frame-advantage.
[Frame-Trap] -- performing an attack during frame advantage to punish the
start-up of an opponents attack.
[Cross-Up] -- this refers to when you hit the back of an opponent, forcing them to
block the otherway.
[Zoning] -- this refers to using attacks to control space on the screen, either keep
your opponent away from you, or for pushing your opponent into the corner.
[Overhead] -- this is an attack that must be blocked standing.
[Tech] -- Throw escape.
[kara-Cancel] -- this is when the start-up of an attack is cancelled into another attack, for example [st.MK~Throw]; only some attacks can be kara-Cancelled.
[Motions]
QCF = Quarter-circle Forward
QCB = Quarter-circle Backward
HCB = Half-circle Backward
SPD = 360 or Full-circle
DP = Shoryuken Input (forward > down > down-forward)
[Buttons]
LP = Light Punch
LK = Light Kick
MK = Medium Kick
HK = Hard Kick
etc.
[Shorthand]
DP = Dragon Punch, or Shoryuken/Invincible Attack
FADC = Focus Attack Dash Cancel
cr. = crouching
st. = standing
far. = far
cl. = close
, = link
xx = cancel
-> = do (next attack/movement) at next available frame -- means and then into

Ibuki TRIVIA - Did you know...

The highest ranked Ibuki player in the world is named Iyo. He went up to a player in the arcades and firmly
said: Dont film anymore of my matches! Just like Ibuki, he keeps his Ninjustu a secret.
6

Standing Attacks
(Far) Standing Light Punch [far.st.LP]
With a 3-frame start-up, this is probably Ibukis main Normal Attack. It
can be linked into many of her different normals because it has a Hit-stun
of +8! She can actually link it into itself whilst walking in between the
punches.

Standing

Medium

Punch

[st.MP]

A very important Normal Attack with

a start-up of 5-frames. It is used as
a combo starter and for Meaties. It
can be used as an Anti-air against
high Dive Kicks, but its mainly used
to beat fast moving attacks like FeiLongs Rekka as a Footsie.

Standing

Medium

Kick

[st.MK]

With a start-up of 5-frames, this is

a [Special Cancellable] move that is
mostly used at the end of combos.
It can be chained from a st.LK, and
High Jump cancelled out of. It can
also be kara-Cancelled to increase
Ibukis Throw-range.

Crouching Attacks
Crouching

Medium

Punch

[cr.MP]

Besides having a start-up of 8-frames,

this is very similar to st.MK. Mostly
used as a Footsie, it can be combined
with Neckbreaker as an Option-select to punish dashes. It has a longer
start-up, and less range than st.MK,
making it unsuitable for combos.

Crouching

Medium

Kick

[cr.MK]

Mainly used to lower Ibukis Hurtbox, this can be used to escape various moves such as C.Vipers Burn
Kick. It cannot be Special Cancelled,
and only linked out of as a meaty or
on Counter-hit. With a start-up of
6-frames it is used as a Footsie tool.

Crouching

Hard

Kick

[cr.HK]

Ibukis cr.HK is one the best in the

game; with a start-up of 6-frames, it
can also be chained into a far.st.HK
to launch her opponent or make her
safe when the far.st.HK is High Jump
cancelled. The cr.HK alone causes an
untechable knockdown.

Unique Attacks
SPIN KICK

[f+LK]

Far-reaching attack with the same speed as

st.MK. Can be cancelled into LK Tsumuji/Kazegiri, or EX Tsumuji/Kazegiri for a combo. It
can combo into any other Tsumuji but only
on Counter-hit.

HAMMER KICK

[f+MK]

This is Ibukis amazing combo-able overhead.

It is very slow and easy to react to, but it
hops over some projectiles and low-attacks.
It can be chained into from b+MK. Shes also
protected against Throws as shes airborne.

BONSHO KICK

[f+HK]

This attack goes over low-attacks, but

sometimes Ibuki jumps too high (she cant
hit Ryus cr.MK). It is not an overhead
like [f+MK] and is -3 on block. It is +5 on
Counter-hit, so its a good combo starter.

SAZAN

[df+MK/slide]

If Ibuki is too close, it is very unsafe even on

hit. If done at the correct spacing, you can
link st.LP after it for a combo. This move
slides underneath almost every projectile
in the game. It is used for Zoning.

Lets Take A Break #1

Youve done a lot of reading already, you probably feel that you
havent really learnt anything. DONT WORRY. What youve
just read is important, its just not obvious yet.
So the most important things we learnt is that st.MP is a combo starter, and st.MK is used at the end of combos. It was mentioned that st.MK was [Special Cancellable]. What that means
is that the attack can be cancelled into a Special Move (you
will find out about them on the next page).
As for the other attacks, whatever you use will depend on the
situation. Where the two characters are on the screen, at what
frame-advantage they are at, as well as what options your opponent has. I can assure you that youll just learn gradually but
surely as you continue playing.

Ibukis Throw didnt fit into the

other sub-headings, so heres a
bonus Hit-box.

Ibuki TRIVIA - Did you know...

Also in Street Fighter 3: 2nd Impact, she used to be able to punish a teched throw with her Super Art
Hashinsho. Throws were option-selected too. She was very scary!
10

Special Moves I
NECKBREAKER [hcf+P] -> The normal version is what is used to set up

Ibukis Kunai Vortex, as it causes an [Untechable Knockdown]. The

different strengths of punches only change its range of travel. It is
very unsafe on block, so please refrain from using this move unless
its part of a combo, or when reacting to a projectile. The EX version goes through projectiles (including Guiles Sonic Hurricane).

TSUMUJI [qcb+K] -> MK and HK versions cause an [Untechable Knock-

down] if the third hit is made low by down pressing [d+K]. Less damaging than Neckbreaker, but not as unsafe on block. EX version is used for
wall combos, and can be changed to hit low by holding down. Range on
knockdown is variable depending on spacing, so be careful when using
it as part of your Okizeme. The LK version is used for Tsumuji Loops. HK
Tsumuji does more damage, but the spacing is not good on block. MK
Tsumuji (2-Hits) is 0 on block, whereas HK Tsumuji (2-Hits) is -4 on block.

KAZEGIRI [dp+K] -> All versions have [Throw Invincibility] during the startup frames, but are unsafe on block. HK version does the most damage.
EX version is the only move Ibuki has that make her invincible on the first
frame (it is her version of a Shoryuken). EX Kazegiri can be cancelled into
LP Kunai (which makes it safe on block) but the Kunai can be focused or
dodged. Finally, all version of Kazegiri may be Focus Attack Dash Cancelled (FADC) to make them safe. When FADCd on the first hit, they can
be followed up with a juggle combo.

11

Special Moves II
HIEN [reverse dp+K] -> All version are overhead attacks. Normal Hien may

be unsafe on hit unless EX, or cancelled into Kasumi Suzaku. Normally you shouldnt use this attack without a full Super Combo gauge, but
against some characters, HK Hien can be used to apply pressure from
afar. EX Hien is [Throw Invincible], and if it connects it puts Ibuki in the
opposite side of the screen. EX Hien may be cancelled into a reverse Kunai to make it safe on block.

KASUMI GAKE [qcf+K] -> This is Ibukis command dash. HK version makes

Ibuki go through characters to the other side. There is no invincibility with any version, and they all put Ibuki at a frame-disadvantage.
They are best used on an opponents wake-up to confuse them, or
to get close after using a special cancelled normal to induce stun.

RAIDA [hcb+P] -> LP, MP, HP, and EX versions increase in range, but only
EX deals more Damage and Stun. It can be used on juggled opponents.
Raida also beats all throws in the game, but is largely unsafe on block.
It can be used to break limbs (including Dhalsims from afar), but the timing is very strict.

KASUMI SUZAKU [qcfx2+P] -> Ibukis Super Combo which is performed in

the air. It may be cancelled into from Hien and Kazegiri. It is difficult to
combo after a Kazegiri, so it is typically used after cl.st.HK or Hien instead. It can also be cancelled instantly from a Tsujigoe [dp+P] to catch
low attacks. Generally this Super Combo is used for Chip Damage. Please
turn to page 22 for more information of how to use this attack.

12

Anti-airs I
[Ageman] is probably Ibukis go-to Anti-air.

The first hit may be [Special Cancelled]

for air combos and resets. If the first hit
trades it still puts the opponent in a juggle-state. This means she can still juggle
Raida, Kazegiri etc. So the trade should
actually be in Ibukis favour, but many
attacks with good Hit-boxes make it difficult for Ibuki to Anti-air with this.

[cr.HP] is by far her best anti-air in

terms of hitbox; but at 9-frame
startup its not too easy to use. It
would have to be used earlier than
other anti-airs, but it rarely trades.
It completely resets her opponent,
but can High Jump cancel with a
Kasumi Gake to get in afterwards.

The second hit of [cl.st.HK] is useful if you manage to get really close
to your oponent, usually for when
opponent want to jump over you. Like
the first hit of Ageman it causes a Juggle-state, but it cannot be Special Cancelled. However, cr.HP or Kazegiri will
connect after. It can be High Jump cancelled for combos and mix-ups.

13

Anti-airs II
[nj.MK] is also very good, especially

if the opponent does not suspect

Ibuki to be off the ground. Not
only can this be used as a anti-air,
but it is a good combo starter too.
Usually used in anticipation of Dive
Kicks, it has similar uses as Ibukis
air-Throw.

[Raida] is only worth using if the opponent lands in front of you, like
a far Dive Kick. Unlike a Throw, it
can actually grab limbs, so it can be
used to catch Dhalsims Yoga Sniper
(j.HP). Although grabbing limbs is
nearly impossible to master, it can
take an opponent by suprise.

[EX Kazegiri] is best when you want a

desperate anti-air, but it costs meter. It can be done later than the
others, and will almost never trade.
It can be FADCd for Launcher
Combos.

14

Ultra Combos
Ultra Combo I - Yoroitoshi

HCBx2+3P
501 Damage
274 Damage (Energy Blast)

With a start-up of 8-frames, Ultra

II passes through projectile attacks
such as a Hadouken or Guiles Sonic
Hurricane. After connecting, it pushes
the opponent into the corner, but Ibuki
recovers far away from her opponent.

This Ultra Combo begins as a Throw

with a startup of 2-frames. This means
that anything that puts an opponent
close to Ibuki, and is 2 or more frames
negative on block, she can punish with
Yoroitoshi.
If the Throw doesnt connect, she
throws out an Energy Blast instead
which has a start-up of 13. This can be
used in combos whether High Jump
cancelled into, or as a Juggle such as
after a cl.st.HK or EX Tsumuji in the
corner.
The Throw and Energy Blast (as a Juggle)
cause an [Untechable Knockdown].

Ultra Combo II - Hashinsho

It is mostly used in combos when High

Jump cancelled into, dealing more damage than the Energy Blast from Yoroitoshi.
The downside to this Ultra Combo is that
because it pushes the opponent far away
from Ibuki, she cant do any mix-ups after.
It does a small number of damage as a
Juggle. HK Kazegiri or Raida will deal more
damage at the end of a wall combo.
Its start-up frames are longer than its
hit-invincible frames, so it can Trade.

QCFx2+3K
469 Damage
180 Damage (Juggle)

15

Using Ibukis Ultra Combos

You may have a preference to one Ultra Combo over another, but
your choice should be strategic. Below are some of the attacks
you can punish with an Ultra Combo on block.

Other Notable Punishes

[U2] blocked cr.HK from various characters i.e. Ryu, Akuma and many others
[U2] blocked cross-up Psycho Crusher from M.Bison (Dictator)
[U1] HK Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku from Ken (on hit)
[U1] blocked instant-air Burn Kick from C.Viper
[U1] blocked DP FADC forward from various characters i.e. Ryu, Seth, Yang and many others
[U1] blocked EX Zesshou Hohou from Yun

16

Bread & Butter Combos

The term Bread & Butter refers to the most important combos. They are not the most damaging, but these are the easiest
useful combos for Ibuki. If you cannot perform these combos,
you should go into TRAINING and practise.
Target Combo 4 (TC4) = LP xx MP xx HP <- The MP can hit twice if you delay the HP
Target Combo 6 (TC6) = LP xx MP xx cr.HK xx far.st.HK
Target Combo 10 (TC10) = cr.HK xx far.st.HK

TC4 xx Neckbreaker
-- doesnt work on a crouching Blanka or Vega
cr.LP, st.LK xx st.MK xx MK Tsumuji (low-ender)
cr.LP, cr.LP, st.MK xx HK Kazegiri
cr.LP, far.st.LP, far.st.LP, st.MK xx Neckbreaker
-- doesnt work on a crouching Blanka or Vega
TC4 xx EX Tsumuji, Raida
-- corner only
f+MK, cr.LP, st.MK xx HK Kazegiri
Hien xx Kasumi Suzaku
You may find it difficult to do some of the links, or perform Special Moves at the end
of the combos. These are actually the easiest links for Ibuki, but they are at worst
2-frame links. If theyre too hard to do consistently, stick to the Target Combos.
Typically youll want to end all of your combos with an [Untechable Knockdown], so
feel free to end every combo with Neckbreaker. When playing however, try to make
sure you dont go into Neckbreaker if your opponent is blocking, as you will get punished. Going into MK Tsumuji (2-hits) when your opponent is blocking is a better idea.
After EX Tsumuji in the corner, HK Kazegiri is the most damaging follow-up, but Raida
and Yoroitoshi cause an [Untechable Knockdown].

17

Lets Take A Break #2

When I first got into playing Ibuki, it was actually the first time I wanted to learn how to be good at a
Fighting Game that wasnt Virtua Fighter. I would be late to class everytime, because from 10PM to
3AM, I would practise doing the same combo over and over again in Challenge Mode.
Eventually I started to understand a few things about how to do combos in Street Fighter IV. I found
out from a friend the method of plinking. How I learnt to do it was from watching what I think is the
best tutorial for plinking on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acuTIlxcjz0 <- search for
Plinking Slowed Down and explained
Anyway, even though I mastered this new technique, it didnt instantly make me good at doing combos. Simply understanding that I had to input an attack at the end of the other attack, not during,
was what helped me practise in the right way. Street Fighter IV is very stict with its links. You have
to do your next move right at the end of your previous move, but not too late otherwise your opponent recovers. You cant buffer in your next move.

A lot of people ask me, should I get an Arcade Stick?

Is playing on Pad a handicap? My reply is simply NO.
There are pros and cons for both. With an Arcade Stick, you can practise for playing at the Arcades,
and no matter what system you play Street Fighter IV on, you may have the same controller without
converters. However, its much more difficult to learn how to do motions with an Arcade Stick.
With a Pad, the only issue you may have is with the
button layout. If you dont find it too hard to remember where all of the buttons are, and you are able
to press two buttons at the same time, using a Pad
shouldnt be a problem for you.

Next page we will be looking into High

Jump Cancelling. This is definitely by far,
the hardest necessary execution based
part of playing Ibuki. Feel free to skip
to the The Kunai Vortex (page 24), and
come back to High Jump Cancelling later.

Ibuki TRIVIA - Did you know...

If you search on YouTube The Power of Raida, youll come across a showcase video of Ibuki grabbing
various different moves and Ultra Combos with her Raida. Impractical, but very cool to see!
18

High Jump Cancelling

A High Jump cancel or HJC (otherwise known as a Super Jump cancel or SJC) is
performed by inputting [Down] then [Up] during a move. Not every move can
be cancelled into a High Jump, but if you want to combo into Ibukis Hashinsho
(Ultra Combo II) there is no better way.

HIGH JUMP TRAINING Unless youre a master at this already, or you dont want to beat people up with
the strongest Kunoichi in fighting games, skip this sub-heading. Otherwise, do your practice!

Being able to execute this is required to complete Ibukis Trial #24. In the usual notation its [st.LK, st.MK xx
High Jump xx Hashinsho]. Load up Training Mode, turn on INPUT DISPLAY, and give this combo a go. Do it as
slow as you need to, dont rush this. Keep practicing until youve done this twice.

A LOT of people have issues with this. In shorthand: [cr.HK xx st.HK xx High Jump xx HK Kasumi Gake]. It is
very important you do this combo as shown above; any other method isnt going to help you be consistent.
If youre having troubles, just do the kicks with the High Jump, and watch when Ibuki jumps. If Ibuki isnt
making a noise, youre Jump cancelling, not High Jump cancelling. Thats when you want to press the final
kick. When youve done this twice, move on.

Shorthand: [TC4 xx High Jump xx Yoroitoshi]. After this, consider yourself well prepared to use [High Jump xx
Kasumi Gake] more often in matches. Even though you probably wont use this combo, its very important to
give this one a go before you give up on High Jumps.
Are you getting EX Raida instead of Yoroitoshi? Take a look at your INPUT DISPLAY on the left of the Training Mode screen. Take a look at the very last input, you should see this:

If you see this as your last input, and youre still getting EX Raida, find this input:

If both of these exist, then youre just doing the movements too fast, or theyre not accurate.
Practise Yoroitoshi on its own, and then practise doing TC4 xx High Jump on its own.

19

Advanced Combos
Now that you have tried out High Jump cancels, its about time
you familiarise yourself with more difficult combos. If youre
new to playing Street Fighter IV, youre not expected to be able
to master all of these combos. Everything here is practical,
nothing is hard for the sake of it.
st.MP, st.MP, st.MK xx Neckbreaker
-- doesnt work on Hakan/Dan unless
after a focus attack
-- works best on standing opponents --

cr.LK, cr.LK, far.st.LP, st.MK xx Neckbreaker

-- cr.LK, far.st.LP hits more consistently than cr.LP, far.st.LP

-- when youre close, the far.st.LP becomes cl.st.LP

cr.LK, TC4, far.st.LP, st.MK xx Kazegiri

-- TC4, far.st.LP is character specific

EX Tsumuji, Kazegiri FADC cr.HP

-- on some of the cast Kazegiri FADC isnt needed

f+MK, st.MK xx MK Tsumuji

-- st.MK is a 1-frame link but this
is the most consistent followup

These combos arent necessary to learn, but they do make using Ibuki easier when
you master them. Its not exactly the extra damage that they do, but [cr.LK, cr.LK] for
example is the only way to hit-confirm after a low-hitting attack or [crouch-tech].
[EX Tsumuji, cr.HP] doesnt work on the following characters:
Blanka, Evil Ryu, Guy, Ibuki, Ken, and Ryu -- you must use Kazegiri FADC before the
cr.HP will hit.
[TC4, far.st.LP] doesnt work on the following characters:
Adon, Akuma, Fei Long, Hakan, Ibuki, Ken (random), Rose, Ryu (random), Sakura,
Vega (Claw)
Because cr.LK lowers Ibukis hurt-box, it can be used to cleanly punish Guys Elbow
Drop. Using TC4 or far.st.LP (depending on spacing) to follow up with a knockdown.

20

Tsumuji Loops
The Tsumuji Loop is a Character-Specific combo which is linking a far.st.LP after a LK Tsumuji. It is a 1-frame link that allows
Ibuki to extend her combos for more Damage, Stun, and Meter gain. I recommend doing Tsumuji Loops after st.MP, st.MK.
These arent necessary, but if you have good execution it can
only make your Ibuki stronger.

st.MP, st.MK xx LK Tsumuji, st.LP, st.MK xx Neckbreaker

340 Damage / 483 Stun
THIS COMBO DOES NOT WORK ON THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS

Blanka, Cammy, C.Viper, Dan, Juri, Rose, T.Hawk

st.MP, st.MK xx LK Tsumuji, st.LP, st.MK xx LK Tsumuji, st.LP, st.MK xx Neckbreaker

385 Damage / 528 Stun

THIS COMBO ONLY WORKS ON THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS

Abel, Dee Jay, Sagat, Vega (Claw)

The general rule is that you have characters you cannot

Tsumuji Loop, and characters you can Tsumuji Loop twice.
Abel is easier to beat if Ibuki does the Tsumuji Loop,
because doing so will increase the damage and stun
output greatly.

For a full list of who what combos allow you to Tsumuji Loop characters, check out
MingoDynastys Spreadsheet : http://tinyurl.com/tsumujiloop

21

Kasumi Susaku Combos

Ibukis Super Combo offers guaranteed chip damage on
a grounded opponent, but it has better uses. It can be
hit-confirmed from anywhere on the screen using Kazegiri.

HK Kazegiri xx Kasumi Suzaku

Performing this combo is not easy. This combo heavily depends on the space
between Ibuki and her opponent, and how close they are to the corner.
To learn this combo, you need to first practise cancelling as late as possible. Go into
Training Mode and do [j.HP, st.MK, HK Kazegiri xx MP Kasumi Suzaku].
When you have the timing down, now you must memorise which strength of the
Super Combo you should use depending on the spacing. If you get it wrong you may
waste your Super Combo and your opponent falls out after just a couple of hits.
If you are very close use LP. Only use HP when very far, or on El Fuerte and Dhalsim
for slightly more hits than when using MP. When youre in the corner it becomes
very character specific, so I discourage you to try this combo in the corner.
In General you will be using MP Kasumi Suzaku to connect this combo. This
combo does the most damage the less hits you do before the HK Kazegiri.
When using it as a punish, go for a simple TC4 into the HK Kazegiri xx Kasumi Suzaku.
Ibuki will always do more damage if she does a HK Kazegiri before the Kasumi Suzaku, and it gives an [Untechable Knockdown], making it a better idea than simply
doing a High Jump cancel straight into it.

22

Lets Take A Break #3

*phew* The last few pages have been full of Character Specific combos, 1-frame links, and High Jump
cancels. If youre not very familiar with fighting games, whats in the pages above may appear to be
way too advanced. Dont worry. None of it is required.
In the next page we will finally look at what makes Ibuki an effective character. The Kunai Vortex is a
form of Okizeme (the technique of hitting a grounded opponent. You will understand why [Untechable
Knockdowns] have been bolded thus far. Its pretty much what seperates Ibuki from other characters.
But Ibukis Okizeme isnt limited to just the Kunai Vortex. We will also be looking at how it is escaped,
even easily by some characters. To keep Ibuki scary for those particular characters, we will be looking
into what we call Safe Jumps, and even Unblockables.
For those of you who had a go at the above combos and are really good with execution, later on we
will be going into Launcher Combos and Ambiguous Mix-ups which will really test your ability of High
Jump cancelling.

Those combos were easy! Give me a challenge!

Freaks of nature out there, I have exercises for your fingers.

Here are a list of impractical combos for Ibuki that will really test your skills.
(Abel/Corner) [Focus Attack, st.MP, st.LP, st.MK xx LK Tsumuji, st.LP, st.MK
xx LK Tsumuji, st.LK, st.MK xx EX Tsumuji, kara(Kasumi Gake)-HP Raida]
[cr.LP, st.LP, cr.LK xx High Jump xx Hashinsho]
(Abel) [st.MP, st.MP, st.MK xx LK Tsumuji, st.LP,
st.MK xx High Jump xx Yoroitoshi]
(Rufus) [cr.LK, cr.LK, cr.LK xx HK Kazegiri FADC
st.Roundhouse xx High Jump xx Yoroitoshi]
(Makoto/Corner) [j.MK, cr.HP xx High Jump, MP Kunai, TC4 xx MK Tsumuji,
f+LK xx High Jump xx HK Kazegiri xx LP Kasumi Suzaku]
(Seth/Corner) [j.HP, cr.HP xx (backwards) High Jump,
MP Kasumi Suzaku, Hashinsho]
(Akuma/Corner) f.MK, st.MK xx High Jump xx LP Kasumi Suzaku,
(walk forwards) st.MK xx High Jump xx Hashinsho
These combos would make for a pretty good Combo Video wouldnt you say?
See if you can be the first to do all of them and record yourself doing it!

Ibuki TRIVIA - Did you know...

Ibuki is able to kara-cancel Kasumi Gake with a Raida, showing her after-image before grabbing her opponent. This has little practical use, only allowing Raida to hit after EX Tsumuji when further from the corner.
23

The Kunai Vortex

This is what defines Ibuki as a character in this game. The Kunai
Vortex is a concept of knocking the opponent over, then jumping over them, throwing a Kunai which either hits in front or
behind. If it hits, Ibuki does a combo into another knockdown.
Ibukis Kunai Vortex is the very foundation of the character. However you must know how to
practise it properly. The key is to always use LP Kunai, and to make sure you have the timing
down correctly follow these steps (or watch [TrueHD] How to Play Ibuki video on YouTube):
Go to TRAINING
Select Ibuki as your character.
Select Yang as your opponent.
Press Start, and select TRAINING OPTIONS
Choose ACTION -> RECORD
Repeatedly Perform LK Senkyuutai (dp+LK)
Choose ACTION -> PLAYBACK
Hit Yang with TC4 xx Neckbreaker, or MK Tsumuji (3rd hit = low attack)
(High) Jump and aim the LP Kunai to land on the back of Yangs feet
What you are aiming to do is perform a Meaty Kunai. The importance of this is so that characters like Ryu
dont hit Ibuki with a Reversal, and also so that if they block the Kunai, Ibuki is able to continue a blockstring. The Kunai has more frame-advantage if it hits the bottom of a character. You can do a Meaty Kunai
after a Throw, cr.HK, MK/HK/EX Tsumuji or any other [Untechable Knockdown] where Ibuki isnt too far.

If you have done the Meaty Kunai, Yang will Juggle. This is because Yang is airborne on the early frames of his Reversal. You cannot combo him normally if this happens, but realise that this Juggle state means you have timed the Kunai perfectly. When Yang is Juggled like this, you can combo a
Raida, Kazegiri, or st.HK. However against the following characters you must practise the Kunai Vortex
differently: Cammy and Sagat rise 1-frame slower. Blanka rises 2-frames slower, and Ibuki rises 1-frame
faster. Everyone else is the same as Yang.

24

Escaping The Kunai Vortex

Every character may dodge the Kunai with a backdash, but characters with slow
backdashes may get punished on reaction. Every character can FADC out of the vortex,
but they must guess the correction direction to dash otherwise they may run into Ibuki.
Its not a real solution, since if they dash the wrong way theyre susceptible to even more
damage. Ibukis Kunai Vortex (when timed perfectly) will not allow moves to auto-correct.

& Shout of Earth (Anti-Air)

EX Soul Spiral

There are various other ways to escape the Kunai Vortex. Yang, Sagat, C.Viper (Burn Kick), and Rufus (LP Snake
Strike) can force themselves to Juggle, and Gens Zetsuei [Ultra I] may also punish Ibuki. The Kunai Vortex has
various timings whether you Jump early, High Jump, or throw the Kunai late. Not every counter will always
work, but spreadsheet above lists the common ways to escape the Kunai Vortex. For example: Makotos Abare Tosunami does not punish (hit) Ibuki if the Kunai Vortex is done close to the corner.

25

Understanding Option-Selects
Option-Select is a term used for covering multiple options at
the same time, letting the game decide on the best option. Its
essentially like choosing Paper and Scissors at the time, and if
your opponent chooses Rock, you automatically counter with
Paper. Its an important part of Street Fighter IV.
In the next page we will be trying out Safe Jumps, and next to them I write something like [OS
Neckbreaker]. Ive also already mentioned [Crouch Tech] in an earlier page. Its about time to
clear up what I mean.
Firstly lets start with the simplest Option-Select in Street Fighter IV. Go into TRAINING and
press the throw command (LP+LK) whilst crouching. You should see a cr.LK. If your opponent
were to try and throw you as you did a [Crouch Tech], you would Tech the throw, otherwise
a cr.LK will come out.
Now lets try something a bit more interesting. Away from your opponent, try inputting cr.MP
xx Neckbreaker so fast that the Neckbreaker doesnt come out. The reason why it doesnt
come out is because you cant cancel the Recovery Frames of the cr.MP. Now with the same
timing, do this close to your opponent. What should happen is that the cr.MP is now Special
Cancelled into a Neckbreaker.
cr.MP xx Neckbreaker is what we call an Option-Select too. You already know that if a Neckbreaker is blocked, its very unsafe, but if we were to do a cr.MP xx Neckbreaker far away from
your opponent, the Neckbreaker will only come out if your opponent were to dash into the
cr.MP.
Finally, lets talk about Option-Selecting from the air. This will be more evident if you were to
watch a video such as [Option select Raida + option select U2 vs Rose] on YouTube. You can
watch this by going to http://tinyurl.com/ibukios
Option-Selects from the air may look difficult to understand, but whats happening is that
the Option-Selected attack (which is Raida in the video) will only come out if the j.HP whiffs.
To perform an Option-Select like this, you must press the j.HP, then quickly input the Raida
BEFORE the j.HP connects the opponent.
There are many more videos on how Option-Selects work out there to help you.

26

Safe Jumps
A Safe Jump is a set-up used to force an opponent to block after a knockdown. Its a set-up so if they did a Reversal DP, you already be on the ground
to block it, but if they didnt, your attack would connect. To understand these
set-ups [->] means [on the first available frame perform]. So b+MP [->] j.HP
means to jump immediately after the Ageman (by holding up), and pressing
HP on your way down. Ryu (SRK) means he can hit Ibuki with a Shoryuken.

Neckbreaker -> b+MP -> j.HP

This basic Safe Jump works on every character except Akuma (SRK), Evil Ryu
(SRK), Gouken (Parry), Ken (SRK), Oni (SRK), Ryu (SRK). Sagat, Cammy, and
Blanka also can hit Ibuki out of this because they wake-up later.
OS Neckbreaker to beat backdashes, but characters such as Rose will punish the Option-Select (with EX Soul Spiral). Raida will cover Roses EX Soul
Spiral too. Do not always Option-Select, on characters with DP moves like
Yun, it stops being a Safe Jump as their Reversal will hit the Start-up of the
Neckbreaker/Raida. Against characters like Yang or Abel who have invincible
dashes/rolls, Option-Select with a Throw or Yoroitoshi. For more information
about this Safe Jump go to http://tinyurl.com/agemansj

Raida -> HK Kasumi Gake -> j.HP

This Safe Jump only works on Blanka, Dan, Guy, Ibuki, Juri, M.Bison
(Dictator), Makoto, and Rufus.
The importance of Safe Jumps is that it forces your opponent to block, or try
to escape via backdashing or FADC. The vast majority of players, when they
know they have to block a Safe Jump, will perform a Throw as their opponent
lands. You can take advantage of this and counter by doing the Safe Jump
without the j.HP, and instead Empty Jumping with a Hammer Kick (f+MK) to
punish their Throw attempt (or stand-tech as its more commonly known).
Youll actually have a lot of extra recovery frames after a High Jump if you
dont do an air attack. However j.HP and hj.HP have the same recovery. If
you want to do an empty High Jump into Hammer Kick, then do an air-Throw.

Technically the Kunai Vortex is a Safe Jump.

27

Unblockables
These are set-ups where your opponent is unable to block. Ibuki has the easiest Unblockables in the game due her being able
to set them up after almost any attack. These arent nescessary,
but they greatly improve Ibukis offense. It will be worth your
while to practise these Unblockables.

The Shoto Unblockable

EX Neckbreaker -> MK Kasumi Gake

-> (wait a few frames) -> j.LK
Works on the Following Characters
Akuma, C.Viper, El Fuerte, Evil Ryu,
Fei Long, Guy, Hakan, Ken, M.Bison
(Dictator), Oni, Ryu, Ibuki (with j.MK)

Seth/Vega Unblockable

EX Neckbreaker -> LK Kasumi Gake

-> (wait a few frames) -> hj.LK

Sakos Makoto Unblockable

(Corner) Raida -> HK Kasumi Gake
-> (wait a few frames) -> hj.MK

Unblockables work because characters

go into a blocking animation before
getting hit which slightly changes their
hit-box. The idea is that as they block
one direction, their hit-box changes so
it hits on the other side.
Go to [http://tinyurl.com/sakomako] for
a Spreadsheet on more Unblockables and
how they affect other Characters

28

Practicing Meaties
Hitting an opponent with a Meaty attack gives you more frameadvantage on block or hit, and also stuffs anything that isnt
invincible on the first frame. But instead of guessing when to
press the button to make it hit on the last active frame, there is
a good way to practise the timing.
One of Ibukis best attacks is st.MP, due to its vast follow-up potential with kara-Throw, Tsumuji
Loop, Frame-Trap with st.LP etc. We will be looking into how to perform a Meaty st.MP after
EX Kazegiri, and also testing an Option-Select after it:
Go to TRAINING
Select Ibuki as your character.
Select Zangief as your opponent.
Press Start, and select TRAINING OPTIONS
Choose ACTION -> RECORD
Choose QUICK STAND -> ON
Repeatedly Perform LP SPD

If you have turbo, repeated perform a 360 in the pause menu,

hold the LP button, then unpause

Choose ACTION -> PLAYBACK

Choose S.C. GAUGE -> MAX START
Hit Zangief with EX Kazegiri
Immediately dash towards Zangief and perform st.MP

What you are aiming to do is perform a Meaty st.MP. If done correctly, you will hit
Zangief, and you will see the Reversal sign show up.
If you want to practise Option-Selecting after the st.MP, you should
pick Vega (Claw) as your opponent
and have him repeatedly perform
the short backflip (3K).
You may Option-Select with Neckbreaker, and even Hashinsho. You
may even wish to use different normals as meaty attacks.

29

Launcher Combos
If youre good at High Jump cancels, you may want to incorperate these combos into your game. Especially the Anti-airs, as
they will make your Ibuki a scary character to jump in on.

Focus Attack
Dash Cancel Combos
EX Kazegiri FADC Raida

TC4 xx HK Kazegiri FADC cl.st.HK, HK Kazegiri

-- Kazegiri FADC cl.st.HK doesnt work on Sagat
st.MP, st.MP, st.MK xx EX Tsumuji, HK Kazegiri FADC cr.HP
-- Corner Only

High Jump Cancel Combos

cl.st.HK xx High Jump xx LK Kasumi Gake, cr.HP

cr.LP, cr.LP, st.LP, st.MK xx HK Kazegiri FADC cl.st.HK
xx High Jump xx LK Kasumi Gake, cr.HP
Focus Attack Level 3 -> HK Kasumi Gake, b+MP xx LK Kasumi
Gake, cl.st.HK xx High Jump xx LK Kasumi Gake, cr.HP
-- This is known as the MoTempest Combo

Anti-air Combos

cl.st.HK, cl.st.HK, HK Kazegiri

b.MP xx HK Kasumi Gake, Raida
b.MP xx LK/MK Kasumi Gake, cl.st.HK, HK Kazegiri
b.MP xx LK/MK Kasumi Gake, cl.st.HK
xx High Jump xx LK Kasumi Gake, cr.HP
b.MP xx LK/MK Kasumi Gake, cl.st.HK (jump) Kasumi Suzaku
-- [Untechable Knockdown]
b.MP xx LK Kasumi Gake, Yoroitoshi
-- [Untechable Knockdown]

Every combo listed above has its uses. Regardless of your execution, make sure you
can perform atleast one b+MP Anti-air combo, and learn the follow-up options on
EX Kazegiri FADC. Without being able to follow-up EX Kazegiri FADC, you wont have
a safe Reversal with good risk/reward. Kazegiri FADC st.HK is a 1-frame link on some
characters. When against Gen, punish his DP [Gekiro] with st.HK so you dont have to
guess if he presses another button or time exactly when he falls down.

The combo in the picture above is st.HK (jump) j.HK

30

Ambiguous Mix-Ups
Ibuki isnt just about The Kunai Vortex or Safe Jumps, there are
many ways she confuse her opponent in more creative ways.
Most of these Mix-ups sacrifice damage, but youll see that
theyre very worthwhile.

Corner Mix-Ups

Raida -> far.st.HP -> LP Kunai

Raida -> far.st.HP -> HK Kasumi Gake -> f+MK
Raida -> far.st.HP -> j.MK
cr.LK, st.LP, cr.HK xx st.HK (jump) LP Kunai
cr.HK xx st.HK xx High Jump xx Kasumi Gake
-- Ibuki always stays on the Same Side

cr.HK xx st.HK -> Forward Dash

-- Ibuki Crosses-Up on Some Characters

cr.HK xx st.HK xx High Jump xx Focus Attack Level 2

-- Hits Meaty

Launcher
Mix-Ups
TC6 xx High Jump xx MK/HK Kasumi Gake

st.MP, cl.st.HK xx High Jump xx LK Kasumi Gake,
cr.HP xx High Jump xx MK/HK Kasumi Gake
cr.HK xx st.HK xx High Jump xx MK Hien xx Kasumi Suzaku
cr.HK xx st.HK xx High Jump xx MP Neckbreaker
-- Crosses-Up

EX Kazegiri FADC cl.st.HK (jump) j.HK

There are many more Mix-ups you can

do as Ibuki, but these are the safest and
most consistent ones.
The general idea for the Resets is that
you can go for tick-Throws, overheads,
or block to bait a Reversal.
Where it says MK/HK, that means you
can choose between which Kasumi Gake
you want to use. Most of the time MK
Kasumi Gake wont Cross-Up.
TC10/TC6 xx High Jump xx MK Tsumuji
is safe on block, but it isnt a true blockstring. It can be a Frame-trap.

Meaty
Set-Ups
TC4 xx HK Kazegiri -> HK Kasumi Gake

-- Crosses-Up (only works if opponent Quick Rises)

Neckbreaker -> far.st.HK -> MK/HK Kasumi Gake

-- (far.st.HK moves Ibuki forwards)

Neckbreaker -> HK Kasumi Gake -> MK/HK Kasumi Gake

Jump-Ins

Neckbreaker -> (walk back) -> hj.LK/MK

-- Crosses-Up

Neckbreaker -> (walk forwards) -> j.LK

-- Unblockable vs. Ibuki [http://tinyurl.com/unblockibuki]

Neckbreaker -> (wait) -> hj.LK

-- side it hits depends on waiting duration

The Shoto Unblockable

Seth/Vega Unblockable

31

Lets Take A Break #4

Youre now at the final point of your Ninjutsu Training!
Street Fighter IV isnt just about performing combos and
set-ups in the Training Stage, its more about fighting your
opponent. To do this, you must also learn their character.
In the final pages of this book, we will be looking at how to
apply what we have learnt to specific Match-Ups.
I have taken four Match-Ups which I think all together
will give you the most general knowledge of how to use
Ibuki, applying most of what she has across all of them.
Experience is key, and this guide is to help you be aware
of your mistakes so you can learn from them faster.
The Match-Up pages will touch only on the most significant bits of information.
Finally, before the book is over, I will share my general
strategy for Ibuki. I do not think I am the best Ibuki in the
world, and even if I was, you shouldnt always follow someone elses strategy. Your goal is to learn Ibuki inside out,
and decide on your own strategies. Being able to adapt is
important because sometimes your opponent wont know
as much as you do, and if you overthink a Match-Up youll
only make things harder for yourself.

Ibuki TRIVIA - Did you know...

In Super Gem Fighter: Mini Mix, Ibuki can transform into many different forms: Rolento to throw a kunai;
a penguin to perform Hien; and a geisha to sing. She can also summon giant frogs with her Ninjustsu.
32

Match-up vs. Ryu

Fighting against a good strong Ryu player will require you to understand a few things about the character. Ryu
is going to be using cr.MK as his main footsie tool, cr.HK to whiff punish your attacks, and his main Zoning tool
is the Hadouken (or fireball). You should bring Hashinsho as your Ultra Combo of choice because it punishes
cr.HK (on block) from any range.
When you have one bar of meter, you effectively shut down his fireball zoning because (if you practise
enough) you can punish them on reaction with EX Neckbreaker, and subsequently go into The Shoto Unblockable. NEVER try to guess-punish a fireball with EX Neckbreaker, you have more than enough time to react to
one. You can punish fireballs on reaction (if youre close enough) with Hashinsho. f+LK is good against almost
all low normals, including Ryus cr.MK. f+LK can combo into any Tsumuji on Counter-hit, but to be safe either
use LK or EX Tsumuji.
Before you have meter you can zone past his fireballs with f+MK, slide (df+MK), or you can Focus Attack Dash
Cancel. Watch out for his cr.MK and when youre close enough you can try to whiff punish with your own
cr.HK. Be careful not to use the slide too much as it is fairly easy for Ryu to punish on reaction, and do not do
a slide too close otherwise its unsafe (even on hit).
Jumping in on a strong Ryu player isnt a great idea because he has his trademark invincible Anti-air, the
Shoryuken. A clean Anti-air will deal 160 damage to Ibuki. It is safer to try and build Super or Revenge meter to shut down fireballs instead of guessing with a jump. Of course Ibukis EX Kunai can be used to bait a
Shoryuken as it drops her straight down, but if youve got meter you have already shut down his zoning. If
you do jump in with j.LK, make sure to cancel it into the air Target Combo [LK xx MK] so you can continue a
blockstring on the way down.
If you get a knockdown from Neckbreaker, its either best to go for the Kunai Vortex, or try use the [Neckbreaker -> (walk back) -> hj.MK]. That set-up isnt a Safe Jump but it will beat a Reversal SRK, though a good
Ryu player can delay the SRK by one frame and hit Ibuki out of it (though this is very hard for to do).
When Anti-airing Ryu, you have to be careful because if you time the b+MP wrong his j.HP will beat it clean.
Though you shouldnt have too much trouble Anti-airing Ryu, but if you find it hard to time the b+MP, cr.HP
will beat every jumping attack Ryu has.
Watch out for when Ryu has two bars of Super meter, because he can FADC his invincible SRK. If you expect
a Shoryuken FADC you can backdash so that it doesnt connect and he cant FADC to safety. Once Ryu has a
full bar of meter, DO NOT do a LK Tsumuji as part of a block-string. It is (-4) on block and Ryu can just do a
Reversal Shinkuu Hadouken to punish. Also bare in mind that Ibukis st.MK xx MK Tsumuji is not a true blockstring, so it can be punished by a SRK, as well as the third (low-hit). Similarly Ryus cr.MK xx Hadouken isnt a
true block-string either, so you actually do a Hashinsho in the middle to punish it.
A general strategy for this match-up is to build meter to shut down his fireball zoning, score a knockdown
with EX Neckbreaker, then rinse and repeat The Shoto Unblockable
There is another Unblockable vs. Ryu after a Neckbreaker which is [Neckbreaker, (walk forward), f+LK, j.LK]
Demonstration availble at [http://tinyurl.com/unblockryu] -- though its a lot harder to perform.

33

Match-up vs. Cammy

A strong Cammy will take quite a bit of adjusting to. She is going to be using cr.MK OS Spiral
Arrow as a footsie, far.st.MK (sometimes), and far.st.HK to control space. Of course, youll
have to watch out for her Cannon Strike, which shell be using to zone in.
In this matchup, I wouldnt recommend being frugal with meter. Using EX Kazegiri just because you cant Anti-air Cammy with a normal attack is not good. If Cammy likes to use Cannon Strike, especially EX Cannon Strike, Ibukis st.MP and Raida are your best tools here for
Anti-airing. However you must get the timing right because if Cammy gets a Counter-hit its
a big deal.
The problem with using b+MP and cr.HP as Anti-airs is that you might time it too early, and
Cannon Strike will hit your recovery, and if you do it too late you get Counter-hit. b.MP only
has 3 Active-frames. However you can opt for using nj.MK or air-Throw. nj.MK is generally
the safest option but against very good Cammy players, youll want to be careful how much
you jump because her DP travels a far horizontal distance. You also shouldnt use EX Kunai in
this match-up much because Cammy can punish it with either her EX DP or clean Gyro Drive
Smasher (Ultra Combo I).
Ibukis far.st.LP can be good against Cammys far.st.MK and far.st.HK, but you need to make
sure you capitalize each time it hits (into a st.MK) since when it trades Ibuki takes more damage. Ibukis cr.MK is obviously good for lowering Ibukis Hit-box, but since it doesnt combo
into anything as a footsie, use it sparingly. In this match-up Ibukis slide doesnt really do
much for her, only use it to move around.
Cammy (and Sagat) wake-up 1-frame later from an Untechable Knockdown. This means youll
have to re-practise your Kunai Vortex. Cammys dash is really fast so she can actually escape
the Kunai Vortex fairly easily with a Focus Attack Dash Cancel. In terms of Mix-Ups youll want
to mix in more Meaties and Launcher Combos, though be aware that like Ryu, she can FADC
her invincible SRK.
Cammys Spiral Arrow can be made safe if done at the proper spacing, otherwise punish starting with cr.LP as TC4 will sometimes whiff. However against a good Cammy player they will
likely be safe, and pressing a button will be to your detriment. You should practise the spacing
to do a safe Spiral Arrow, so that youre familiar with the spacing Cammy players want to do it.
You may use f+MK to punish them on anticipation, though if you do it too early youll get hit.

34

Match-up vs. Zangief

Zangief is a different sort of character from the rest. Like T.Hawk and Hakan, he is considered a Grappler (i.e.
his gameplan is to use Throws). He has a 2-frame SPD and some of the scariest Okizeme in the game. It is
much more damage (and riskier) than Ibukis Okizeme, but as a character with low health, Ibuki must play
this Match-Up very cautiously. Zangief will be looking to get close enough perform a LP SPD which is a very
far-reaching Command Grab, and otherwise score a knockdown.
First of all, jump-back Kunai is basically saying: Hey, wanna win? - you should be trying to push Zangief into
the corner, not let him put your there. You do NOT want Zangief to put you in the corner. Use cr.HK (xx st.HK)
to whiff punish him should be whiff a normal attack too close. This is the only Match-Up where I suggest using HK Hien as Zangief cannot punish it on hit or on block. However he can Anti-air with Lariat on reaction.
far.st.HK and st.MP are also goot footsie tools against Zangief, but the best is definitely far.st.LP. The reason
why is because far.st.LP puts you at the least risk of being whiff punished by a LP SPD, and you can hit-confirm
off of it.
If Zangief tries to build meter with Lariat, either punish with a Neckbreaker, or go for free block-stun, just
make sure you recognise which Lariat he is using (Single or Double) as they end at different times. You can
listen to the sound if that works for you. It is important that you Anti-air him EVERYTIME. cr.HP is your easiest and safest Anti-air, but also be aware that Zangief is capable of doing short jumps. If he presses up then
up-fowards instead of just holding up-fowards, he can shorten the distance of his jumps. Only Zangief can do
something like this. When jumping in as Ibuki, make sure you dont do only a j.LK, as you cannot do a blockstring afterwards, do the air Target Combo.
If Zangief brings Siberian Blizzard [Ultra Combo II] to this match-up, he can actually punish Ibukis backdash
and EX Kazegiri during their start-ups. This means that Anti-airing with EX Kazegiri or even going for EX Kazegiri FADC are huge risks. As for Ibukis backdash, its incredibly difficult for Zangief to Option-Select his Siberian Blizzard to punish one when close, but he anticipates a backdash from his Okizeme then its not hard.
However if you do backdash to escape from an SPD you can punish it on reaction with Hashinsho.
Its important to work on your Okizeme against him, as well as familiarise yourself with his Okizeme. If he is
punishing the Kunai Vortex with Lariat, youre simply timing it wrong. He can punish any Safe Jump with his
EX Atomic Suplex, or even armour cancel it into Ultimate Atomic Buster [Ultra Combo I].
Zangiefs Super and Ultra Combo SPDs are what we call 0-frame Command Grabs. This means that if youre
not Throw-invincible (or airborne) before the the Super/Ultra freeze, you cannot escape the grab. Ibuki getting hit by an Ultra Combo from Zangief is very bad (due to her low Stamina), and he even gets to set up his
Okizeme after it.
When youve got a significant life-lead, back off from your Okizeme should you score a knockdown. Do a High
Jump Cancelled Hashinsho whenever you have a chance, dont neglect it for Okizeme as spacing and damage
is more important (it pushes him into the corner). Play as if you expect a timeout.

35

Match-up vs. M.Bison

M.Bison (Dictator) is considered Ibukis hardest-to-beat opponent in Street Fighter IV. M.Bison has dominant
normal attacks such as far.st.MK and far.st.HK. M.Bison also has LK Double Knee Press (or Scissor Kicks) which
are safe on block, dealing a lot of chip damage. After blocking LK Scissor Kicks, he has the ability to frame-trap
you with another one or with cr.LK xx Scissor Kicks. His general gameplan will be to put you in the corner and
start his dominant pressure. As Ibuki youll have a hard time escaping the corner, and you may have to guess
with an EX Kazegiri FADC.
What makes him such a hard opponent for Ibuki is that not only is his footsie game dominant, but he can
completely escape the Kunai Vortex. It simply does not work against him because he can just teleport out of
it, and unlike Akuma, he recovers so fast. Still, Ibuki has ways to apply Okizeme on him. Despite the fact that
M.Bison actually has five invincible Reversal wake-up options, she can eliminate two of his options by using
HK Kasumi Gake to make him lose his charge. There is a special option-select against M.Bison which will help
you a lot in this match-up.

Option Select vs. M.Bison

Knockdown with Neckbreaker ->

HK Kasumi Gake ->
Meaty cr. MP xx MK Tsumuji ->
Option Select with HP Neckbreaker.
Demonstration: [http://tinyurl.com/dictatoros]
- He is crossed up removing EX Psycho Crusher
and EX Knee Press options (and Ultra II in AE).
- If he uses EX Headstomp, Ibuki Neckbreakers to safety.
- If he teleports he gets caught by Neckbreaker.
- If he jumps he gets hit with the meaty cr.MP xx MK Tsumuji.
- If he blocks he blocks the meaty cr.MP xx MK Tsumuji.
- If he uses Ultra II, Ibuki can block in time.
- If he uses EX Devils Reverse toward from Neckbreaker,
he will be crossed up by a whiffed Neckbreaker,
and will land vulnerable next to Ibuki (who recovers first).
- If he uses EX Devils Reverse away from
the Neckbreaker he ends up full screen away.
Personally I like to use Safe Jumps and mix them up with empty jumps into f+MK. Ibukis f+MK makes her airbone, high enough to go over a Reversal EX Psycho Crusher, and if M.Bison uses EX Headstomp, because Ibuki
moves forward, he will get fully punished. This means his choices for escaping the Safe Jump are limited, and
EX Scissor Kicks is unsafe on block at that range so he most probably wont use it. Use Ibukis f+MK to punish
M.Bisons LK Scissor Kick on anticipation as well as his cr.HK (slide). Because Ibuki will hit from above he is
unable to FADC to safety. Opt for Launcher Combos if you have the execution. The Shoto Unblockable works
on him, but you have to guess what Option-Select to use or do none at all incase he does EX Psycho Crusher.

36

Izunas General Stategy

In the character select screen, most of my strategic decisions are made. Which Ultra Combo should I pick?
I consider the Match-Up and usually pick whichever Ultra Combo shuts down the most of my opponents
options. For example, choosing Yoroitoshi against Adon shuts down his Jaguar Tooth. However sometimes
theres a dilemma... choosing Hashinsho vs. E.Honda shuts down his normal Headbutts, but Yoroitoshi also
shuts down his Butt Stomps. Then it depends on my opponent, whether they like to use one more than another.
If Im playing against a new opponent for the first time, I always test to see if they can Anti-air effectively or
not. If I get Anti-aired clean, it tells me a lot about my opponent. It means that I must use jumps sparingly,
and its better to make that my first mistake then to have it be what ends the round.
As for Okizeme, it heavily depends on my opponents character. I play from the point-of-view that they will
always block the Kunai Vortex, and instead prepare for block-strings, I use it as if it were an ambiguous Safe
Jump, and not expect it to hit. My most favourable follow-ups after the Kunai Vortex are st.MP and cl.st.HK.
If you do the whole [cl.st.HK xx High Jump xx LK Kasumi Gake, cr.HP] combo earlier in the round, because of
how much stun it does, it puts my opponent on edge. When Im not so confident that the Kunai Vortex will
hit, thats when I use st.MP instead. After a st.MP (blocked) you can do a st.MK or st.LP for a frame-trap, or
kara-Throw (kara with st.MK). I only really go for Tsumuji Loops on either characters I can loop twice (like
Abel/Dee Jay), or as my first combo. This is because I dont want my Tsumuji Loop combo to cause a Stun. If
it does, theres too much damage scaling.
I prefer using cr.MK as opposed to cr.MP xx Neckbreaker as a footsie because it gives me enough time to Antiair with Ageman if my opponent were to jump. Dashing forward with Ibuki is just as unsafe as jumping in, so
I try my best not to be predictable. When Im jumping in I prefer j.HP xx MK because I always expect for it to
be blocked, and this air Target Combo beats people who like Anti-airing with Focus Attacks. If my opponent
is Anti-airing with normals, thats the only time I will go for a jump-forward Kunai. The idea is to hit the limb
my opponent sticks out to Anti-air, otherwise jump forward Kunai is way too unsafe as my opponent can just
do a Focus Attack or Neutral Jump to punish.
In terms of using Reversals, it would be best to continue blocking with Ibuki until I have three bars of Meter
for a safer EX Kazegiri FADC, but if I do an EX Kazegiri without FADC, depending on how good I think my opponent is, I wont throw a Kunai. From experience, Ive noticed that decent players will try to Focus Attack Ibuki
as theyre expecting a Kunai. People who really know how to fight Ibuki however know that you can punish
Ibuki with a dash whether she throws a Kunai or not.
The Frame-Traps I use the most are [cr.LK, cr.LK]; [cr.LK, st.LP]; [cr.LK, st.MK] <- this combos on Counter-Hit;
[cr.LP, cr.MP] <- on Counter-Hit this combos into st.MK; and of course [st.MP, st.MK]. cr.LK is my favourite with
Ibuki as the timing to use it as a Frame-Trap is the same timing you need to do combo it. Because of this Ive
had a lot of practise comboing cr.LK with itself. This is actually a 1-frame link.
Now of course this is just a general strategy. I will use whichever Mix-Ups work most consistently on my opponent, and I only change my Mix-Ups if they start getting avoided or blocked. If something works, Im going
to do it again until it stops working.

Ibuki TRIVIA - Did you know...

Ibuki hates Guys stuck-up attitude towards being a ninja, but thats not the only reason, hes just plain weird!
Once Ibuki wanted to fight Guy, but he dodged the challenge by distracting her with a potato.
37

Frame-Data I
SUPERSTREETFIGHTER4IBUKIFRAMEDATA
fromPrimaStrategyGuide

Action
LP(Far)
MP(Far)
HP(Far)
LK(Far)
MK(Far)
HK(Far)
LP(Close)
MP(Close)
HP(Close)
LK(Close)
MK(Close)
HK(Close)
LP(Crouching)
MP(Crouching)
HP(Crouching)
LK(Crouching)
MK(Crouching)
HK(Crouching)
LP(NeutralJump)
MP(NeutralJump)
HP(NeutralJump)
LK(NeutralJump)
MK(NeutralJump)
HK(NeutralJump)
LP(Jump)
MP(Jump)
HP(Jump)
LK(Jump)
MK(Jump)
HK(Jump)
Agemen(B+MP)
Backhand
SpinKick(F+LK)
ReverseSpinKick(B+MK)
Hammer
Kick (F+MK)
HammeKick(F+MK)
Sazan(DF+MK)
BanshoKick(F+HK)
Bonsho
Kick (F+HK)
LP>MP
LP>MP>HP
LP>farMP
LP>farMP>F+LK
LP>MP>D+HK
LP>MP>D+HK>HK
HP.D+HK
HP>D+HK>HK
LK>MK
LK>MK>HK
Kunai
EXKunai
LPNeckBreaker
MPNeckBreaker
HPNeckBreaker
EXNeckBreaker

Startup
3
5
12
54
65
10
3
7
6

4
8
9
4
6
6
6
6
9
6
6
7
6
7
11
4
8
8
6
15
4
10
26
25
7
13

7
8
15
15
15
15

preparedbyCicada
Active
2
4
4
4
4
3
2
4
4

2*2

3
7
3
2
5
2
7
7
5
12
7
3
6
8
5
8
7
5
2*2
3
2
4
2
2
11
2

10
12
21
14

Recovery
5
6
16
9
14
17
10
18
23

23

6
7
18
8
9
25

10
20
9
17
10
11
21
11
10
9
9
25
18
25
18
16
18

16
17
19
19

Adv.Block
+4
+2
2
2
4
2
0
6
5

-5

+3
0
3
+1
0
9

0
4
1
0
+3
11
5
-3
1
+1
+2
1
9
7
9
7
4
3

13
13
13
13

Adv.Hit
+8
+6
+2
+1
+1
+2
+3
2

+6
+3
+2
+4
+3

+4
0
+2
+4
+5
5
1
+1
+3
+4
+5
+2

+1
+1

38

Frame-Data II
LPRaida
MPRaida
HPRaida
EXRaida
LKKasumiGake
MKKasumiGake
HKKasumiGake
LPTsujigoe
MPTsujigoe
HPTsujigoe
LKKazegiri
MKKazegiri
HKKazegiri
EXKazegiri
LKTsumuji
MKTsumuji
HKTsumuji
EXTsumujiHighFinish
EXTsumujiLowFinish
TsumijiFollowuphigh
TsumujiFollowupLow
LKHien
MKHien
HKHien
EXHien
YamiKazura
UkiYami
Tobizaru
FocusAttack(Level1)
FocusAttack(Level2)
FocusAttack(Level3)
KasumiSuzaku
Yoroitoshi
Hashinsho

6
6
6
6
20
22
24
54
57
61
5
7
9
5
12
15
15
12
12
5
8
25
27
27
3642
3
3
3
21
18+11
65
1+7
1+1
0+9
1+9

5
5
5
5

13
13
13
7(2)8
2(10)2
2(12)2
2(13)2
2(10)2(10)2(10)2
2(10)2(10)2(10)3
1
1
7
7
7

2
2
2
2
2
2

2(10)17
2(2)2(15)2(26)3(8)2

25
27
29
20

25
28
25
39
16
14
20
9
12
17
16
17
17
17

20
20

34
34
34

77
71

14
16
18
9

27
30
27
26
4
0
4
2
1
3
2
28
29
28
10

20
14

5
63

+3
+4
0

+1

23
31
25

20

MK (Far) has a Startup of 5-frames in Arcade Edition.

LK (Far) has a Startup of 4-frames in Arcade Edition.

39

Thank You For Reading

40