Street Fighter terms for beginners: Round 2

Is school breaking your spirit yet? Yeah, me too… Lucky for you, we’re back with more Street Fighter terms. Don’t worry, we aren’t getting too in-depth. Just the stuff you need to know to watch your average tournament or stream. This list of terms is going to continue from where we left off before. If you want to start from the beginning, check out part 1.

Ready? Let’s get back to it.

Meter:

At the bottom of the screen, each player has a meter which fills up over the course of a game. The meter is used up to execute certain “super” moves.

Mirror Match:

When both players play the same character.

Parry:

A technique used to evade an incoming attack. Unlike blocking, a parry does not damage the player performing it at all.

Poke:

A poke is a ranged attack that allows the player to deal damage to their opponent from a safe range. Pokes, if done correctly, are not punishable.

Pressure:

When a player forces their opponent to remain defensive. This is typically done by constantly advancing and attacking.

Priority:

What determines the move which will actually register and complete when 2 moves are performed at the same time. If both players attack at the same time, the move with higher priority will cancel the other move.

Read:

When a player sees and understands how their opponent reacts to specific moves. This allows a player to predict what their opponent will do. “That was a good read.“

Recovery:

The frames it takes for a character to return to neutral after a movement or attack. The shorter the recovery, the quicker another move can be done.

Spam:

Using the same move over and over. Typically a spammable move is fast and can be done from a safe distance.

Stun:

A point where the character cannot be controlled. This allows an opening for free damage.

Turtling:

When a player decides to stay defensive, only breaking their defense with reversals or counter attacks.

Wakeup:

The frames in which a character is getting up from the ground. During wakeup characters can still be damaged, but cannot defend or counter-attack.

Zoning:

Spacing is extremely important for landing attacks and combos as well as staying safe. Zoning is when a player uses several moves and movement techniques to keep their opponent at a distance where they can be effective while neutralizing their opponent’s effectiveness.

There you go, we made it through all the basic Street Fighter terms that you’ll hear at nearly every tournament. This list goes beyond just Street Fighter terms though. A lot of these terms apply to most fighting games. Hopefully that gave you a nice reprieve from studying, now get back to it!