Lei-Fei 101

I was asked to start a thread with some basic combos and strategies for beginners. So here goes.
Any and all comments, concerns, etc. from all Lei-Fei players is encouraged, as I am not the authority on Lei,-Fei just an avid enthusiast.

Combos (For an exhaustive combo list, be sure to check the Resources tab. The list is growing every week, so if you don't see a combo listed, please be patient. Also, feel free to list combos in the Lei Combo thread or PM me.)

From :
->Kyo ()->-> / /
->Kyo->->

Heavy-Weights use:
->Kyo->

Taka use:


From :
->->Kyo->
->Kyo->
->Kyo->
->->Kyo->

From :
Wait five frames ->->Kyo->
Immediately after ->->Kyo->

From Charged "Cannon Punch" aka "Arrow Punch" or or successful Koko-> sabaki or successful Kyo-> CH crumple, side crumple from or crumple from side turned :
->->
->->Kyo->-> / /

From Hai->:
[go back to Hai]->->
->
->

Tip: after combos that end Lei in Hai, use a quick followed by or for additional damage to punish opponents. If opponents tech roll, charge to attack them as they get up.

[Updated on 12/10/12]

 

Thanks a lot for this, Phanatik, it helps out a lot. I'll have to try and hammer some of these out in dojo. .

Edit: Got another question for you. What is the best way to mix things up with lei fei? Would it just be experience, or just trying to make the opponent guess, or constantly switching stances?

 

I started learning Lei recently. Primarily so I don't fall for some of his traps and so I have a better understanding of when he can go into stance and what he can produce from them.

It seems to me that in order to be able to use his stance dancing effectively you would need to condition your opponent to defend rather than abare or put them in a position which allows you the chance to change stance quickly enough to hit out with something unusual.

For instance, something I'm doing a lot at the moment is using 6K CH, K. This gives me plenty of time to cater my followup to my opponent.

Something I am having trouble with and would appreciate any help with is people evading mid string from a stance. It seems like you are way to open as as a result I have taken to just tapping away, poking trying to open someone up or hope they fall for a trap where Lei still has the advantage but doesn't seem it.

If I do get evaded I'm just G cancelling out and hoping for the best. With Lei's variety of evasive moves and sabakis are there any other options available to me or should I just stick to defending?

So far I'm enjoying him. Totally different pace from Blaze.

 

To talk strategy and tactics, I base mine off of my opponent. Obviously you can use an opponents lack of Lei-knowledge against them; however, as you play more seasoned fighters, you will have to adapt. Lei has a strong offensive game, and it is a challenge to use him without relying on his stances, but you should train with a partner to rely only on moves that do not go into stance--work on Lei's poke game.
Lei has a pretty strong mid game. Lei's Doku->, Hai->, Nehan->, , and are relatively safe, as they push the opponent back and allow for resets. You can also use Lei's at a distance to allow for a safe recovery.
At the beginner level you should get familiar with Lei's strings. For example:
->Hai->->Doku->->Hai->->Doku->->Hai->->Doku, etc.,etc.
->Kyo->->Hai, etc.,etc.
Another thing you can work on is just stance changing. Go through two to three stances again and again as fast as you can. For example: Doku->Hai,->Bokutai->Doku. Also, use Hai->Kyo or Doku->Kyo rather than going straight to Kyo; it's faster. One other thing you might notice is Lei will put a lot of distance between him and the ooponent by going from Hai->Nehan; an effective tactic.
As far as mixing things up, you have to adapt to your opponent. If you notice your opponent evades whenever you go into stance, pause and catch them in the middle of the evade, or stance cancel [i.e., ).
Remember to practice stance cancelling. Once your opponent is conditioned to block, cancel your stance and use Lei's throws.
Finally, certain stances canceled will change stance from open to closed/closed to open. For example, Doku cancelled with do this. It is useful for those special max combos against some of the lightweights such as El Blaze, Eileen, and Aoi.

 

For Taka your BnB of 1PK should be this.



This one is also worth learning for some light weights just due to the sheer damage.

 

Sharizord, good stuff. Notice on both combos Lei is in open stance. The combo against Eileen can be used on Aoi, but in closed stance. I think it can be used against El Blaze in open stance as well. We should be able to do the combo from Boku->, too.

Here are the combos:

Taka
->->->->Kyo->

Eileen
->->->Kyo->->->