I'm seeing people play SSF4 and it frustrates the hell out of me, because they just aren't doing simple things that would make them much better players. Maybe they'll practice their plinks, their double-tapping, footsies, and crazy complex combos that have limited practicality like Ken's C.MK xx Fireball - FADC - U2. Or even worse, they'll study frame data.

Instead of all that complicated madness, here are two things that you can keep in mind that will automatically make you a better player.

1: Punish everything that you can punish.

Sign #1 of a bad player is not punishing free-jump ins. If someone jumps forward at you and you aren't doing anything, you need to anti-air it every.single.time. Make it a habit. It does take some getting used to--I can DP jump-ins on reaction in Super Turbo, but I'm sluggish in SF4. But I can also anti-air everything with Juri and Sakura in SF4--but it's absolutely worth learning. It's free damage, keeps them off you, and gives you initiative when they land. Learn whatever your anti-air is, whether it's a crouching normal, a lariat, or a Shoryuken. Learn your range and timing so that you don't get counter-hit or whiff.

For that matter, don't jump forward unless you know you can't be anti-aired (crossups, safe-jumps, attacking while they're down) or if you want to try and predict a fireball.

It's worth it. Learn it. It's not that hard and is a lot easier than you think. Make it automatic and you'll notice a huge change in how many wins you get.

2: Punish as reasonably as you can.

Sometimes I whiff with my Ultra and I cringe knowing I'm gonna lose at least a 1/4 of my health eating an Ultra combo back... then I just get thrown. Crisis averted.

If someone whiffs something that you can punish, punish as best as you can. If you predict a fireball and jump it, don't retaliate with a basic throw or a couple of jabs. Do a 720 or your basic combo or force them into a reset or whatever your best option is. Don't give them minimal damage for their mistakes.

Also, don't make things harder than they should be. I've come back from several games against Ryu, because he wants to do Focus Attack - F+FP - SRK FADC - U1 and whiffs it when Focus Attack - U1 would have killed me anyway. An easy-to-get 300 damage is much more preferable than a hard-to-get 350 damage and definitely more preferable than the 100 damage of a throw.

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Just by understanding and implementing these 2 things, you'll notice a dramatic improvement in your game. It's not like these principles ever go away. You'll learn even more situations where you can punish (like punishing a sweep from Ryu with Chun's Super) and you'll learn more exhaustive punishers (anti-airing a jump-in with a jumping jab and an ambiguous cross-under). You'll be set up perfectly to implement frame data when you need to get there.

This is free damage. Take advantage of it, don't give it to your opponent, and watch your win percentage increase.