Orange Book - Lei Fei Strategies

Source - Orange Book
Writer - Hanabirei
Translation - Noodalls

Basic art of Using "Stances"

As the word to summise Lei Fei, "stances". There are 5 types, amongst them dokuritsu (

), hai (

) and nehan (

) can be moved into at any time. Koko is entered automatically after certain set moves and bokutai (hai

) can only be entered from hai.

The basic way of attacking from these stances is to either attack using a stance move, or to change into another stance, or you can cancel the stance with the guard button and use a regular attack (or just guard). When you attack and go into stance, if you hit you'll generally be advantaged, whereas if you're guarded you'll be at a decent disadvantage or even have guaranteed retaliation, which is a concern. However, in this situation, you can use sabaki capable moves or evading moves to keep on attacking and maintain the flow.

One important thing is that while attacking from stance with strings is effective, it does let the opponent rather easily deal with your attacks. So, one important thing to do in an advantaged situation is to cancel the stane and mixup from there. For an opponent who likes to evade when you cancel your stance, throws are a good option.

Also, cancelling stance and then evading is relatively effective. Especially against opponents that go for a big move while you're in stance, cancelling stance and evading then attacking them while they recover (e.g.

) leads into a combo with good damage, which is a good return. You just have to be sure of what attack it was that you evaded.

Photo captions

- When using strings, you'll be unlikely to be interrupted, however for an opponent that knows the strings, they can avoid them quite easily. Even when you are advantaged, you need to pay due care to this.
- For an opponent that does know Lei Fei, cancelling his stance and attacking from there is advantageous. Because the opponent is disadvantaged, you're unlikely to get thrown.

Dokuritsu Stance basics

The ability to reverse high, mid and low single hand punches as well as elbow moves is one of the main features of Dokuritsu. The main moves that are used out of dokuritsu are dokuritsu

and dokuritsu

, which cause stagger on hit. After the dokuritsu

you move into Hai, and Hai

is just about guaranteed. For opponents that are slow at struggling, Hai

can lead into a combo. Also, cancelling stance into a throw mid nitaku is an effective attack. Against opponents that evade when you're in an advantaged situation, the half circular dokuritsu

or dokuritsu

should be used. The latter is not just a full circular low attack, its evasive properties can also be used in a fairly disadvantaged situation to attack while avoid direct attacks, and so in this way it is a very functional defensive offense.

At mid range, the main move is Dokuritsu

and from there the forward roll (Dokuritsu

) to reduce the distance, from which you can pressure with nitaku. While on the one hand, there are plentiful attacking moves from dokuritsu, on the other hand if you eat an unreversible move from the opponent, you'll go down irrespective of hit condition.

Photo captions

- Dokuritsu

is even on guard. In addition to giving advantage on hit, a throw is very easy to land.
- Kage's low kick gives foot crumple on normal hit. If you think an attack is coming, you can cancel the dokuritsu stance.

Hai Stance Basics

Hai stance (

) by its low posture makes it easy to avoid many short range attacks. Further, possessing many functional moves is its special feature. The hai

used at medium to long range has quite long reach, and can be used to punish opponents whiffs, as well as for confusion at long range. When it hits with maximum charge, head crumple occurs, and you can look for big damage. Also, the opponent is staggered on guard, so you can continue the attack. If the opponent sees it he can easily avoid it, but conversely if you start to charge after you see his failed evade, he can't avoid it.

Hai

is Lei's absolute fastest attack, and can string into Hai

or Hai

, which both give advantage on guard or hit, allowing you to keep attacking. If hai

hits on counter, you can dash and throw or if close enough even combo into

. Hai

if it connects on counter or during stagger will float. In stance when advantaged, if Lei can stuff the opponents attack with Hai

it leads to a lot of damage, so look for chances and aim to do this.

Photo captions.

- Don't miss chances to land Hai

. But, depending on your opponent, there will be times where you get sabaki'ed.
- When trying to connect Hai

, input the first

. You can punch without advancing, and so it makes it hard for the opponent to stuff.

Nehan Stance Basics

Because when you go into Nehan from normal stance, you separate yourself a little from the opponent, more thank intending to attack, the basic principle of nehan is either to defend or to setup to go into other stances. If you go into Nehan from Hai, you can change stances while creating distance, and then you can change back to Hai or Dokuritsu and attack from there. But, getting to nehan after attacking is a different matter, as his main opportunities for attack are his (High and middle punch and kick, elbow , middle kick and knee sabaki'ing) nehan

and nehan

. Both of these are neutral on guard, and 2 frames advantage on hit (there are cases however where after nehan

connects throws can be ducked), which is very strong, and you can flow from there.

If nehan

is blocked, it gives advantage, and on counter hit it links through to nehan

for stomach crumple. Nehan

gives advantage on block, is special high and on counter hit can link into dokuritsu

or dokuritsu

. Of course, the opponent might expect this, so make them think that it's coming and then go for a throw.

Photo Captions

- If koko

hits, go for nehan

. If that hits on counter ...
- Koko

is guaranteed, and you can get some big damage. If nehan

is blocked, you're advantaged.

Koko basics

The two main ways to get into Koko are

and

(definitely a typo, should be

?). The first thing to be aware of is Koko

, which parries single handed punch and kick attacks, elbows, middle kicks and knees, gives head crumple on normal hit. The sabaki time is long, and its properties are excellent, but because of this the opponents will be wary of it. If it is evaded, the risk is great, so use it at times like where

whiffs.

Koko

has the ability to sabaki low attacks, and is strong against high attacks, and changes into nehan stance. Also, if

counter hits, it is guaranteed. Further, on hit it causes a stagger. Koko

is a low, high, high, mid string, which if the first hit connects natural combos until the third hit, and will go into dokuritsu stane. The last hit is mid and is half circular, so it's good to use it sometimes. Also, if you mixup between dokuritsu

and dokuritsu

you will often connect with opponents trying to evade the fourth hit. Also, if you move backwards and forwards in koko stance, short range moves will often be avoided.

Photo captions

- In okizemi, you can shift to koko stance and then use sabaki attacks to go through the opponents rising attacks.
- For opponents that hate getting sabaki'ed, and go for low attacks, koko

is effective. The priority is strong, so high attacks won't connect! And, there's something more ... (p.175 = towards the end of the post.)

Bokutai basics

Bokutai, because of its low profile is effective at evading the opponents high and mid attacks. You can only get to it from Hai or from

(by

). In close fighting, use lots of his quickest attack bokutai

. If guarded the opponent is staggered, but the stagger time is short, so if the opponent struggles then Lei Fei will be disadvantaged. Because of this, don't wastefully try for nitaku, instead watch the opponent to see what they do. Against opponents who evade, you can either stay in bokutai a little longer then bokutai

or change to dokuritsu pressure with dokuritsu

as a delayed attack. (If you don't delay it a little it's hard to connect.)

In bokutai at mid-range, use it in response to your opponent. Use bokutai

to skillfully evade your opponent's attack. This move is special high, so it will connect with low moves while they are recovering. and you can go for about the same combos as after

. If you're worried about whether or not it will connect while they recover, you can go for bokutai

or bokutai

. Bokutai

is high, mid, and the second hit has only a small disadvantage, but if the opponent is ready for this you can always swap the second hit for a throw, for a good string.

Photo captions

- If

connects during their recovery, bokutai

cannot be interrupted. Even on normal hit, it will beat most moves.
- Rather than in their face, a little bit back is the ideal distance. Also, the lowest point comes slightly after pulling down on the joystick, allowing even Akira's

to be evaded.

Use stances in Special situations

If during stance, yours and the opponents sides switch, the stance will not change and the opponent will be at your back. From FT, if in dokuritsu and hai stances you press towards the opponent, then Lei Fei will turn to face them, but there are advantages to being backturned in stance. There are some great moves that exist in backturned stance. Particularly, BT stance

will cause vital point stun on normal hit or above, and is even on guard. BT stance

is -5 on guard, and while like other moves with the same motion, it is superior in its properties.

If you're trying for BT koko, at present there are 3 ways to achieve it. After

if the opponent techs to the side you can dash towards them 3 times. Timing your BT

attack to coincide with the opponent's rising attack. Or using

in time with the opponent's rising attack. In real battles, the dashing technique is the most effective. Against opponents who are ready for BT koko stance, break the stance and throw them.

Photo captions

- Once you get used to it, you can adlib and make different positions. This might be the most effective use of stances.
- BT Hai also has special moves. Essentially, they cancel the motion and the move comes out while BT.

Remeber the fighting styles for different ranges.

Close range fighting guide

Lei doesn't possess a standard

. His

(B1) on normal hit is -1, whereas his cahnge move

(B2) is +2 on normal hit. After

(B2) hits, you might want to use his

(the move that has the role of other character's elbows), but because of the dash motion, it actually comes out at 15 frames, so if the opponent

s it's tough. If you want to deal with the opponent's

, you can back dash and then use

. Also, after

you can either attack from stance or go for

, however the usage varies depending on change moves (reference the photograph on the right = captions in this translation.)

After a

hits, or similar to give a slight advantage at close range, mainly go for

(A1) or

has quick execution, and it pushes the opponent back somewhat, so with defensive options like backdashing and moving into hai it's relatively safe.

makes the opponent think that the next hit is coming, so they'll be reluctant to interrupt, and even if it guarded you can attack from nehan stance.

(A1) gives stomach crumple on counter hit, allowing you to go for a combo worth about 30% of their health. In largely advantaged situations, go for

is good as an atemi counter, and is great because the combos don't change between normal and counter hit. The hit confirmation on

is difficult, but after it hits you can go for big combo damage. Because of this, when guarded, mix up by making them fear you delaying the second hit and then stopping after the first hit and throwing, to give a good nitaku.

Also, if it seems the opponent is evading the attacks outlined up to here, you can of course go for a throw or the fully circular

. This attack isn't just good for attacking evaders, it also links into koko

on counter hit.

Captions

(B1) is a high mid string, but on either guard or hit you will be attacked, so if you are yomi'ed you will eat a big move.
-

(B2) is a high high string, It only gives advantage on hit. If guarded, you can move into bokutai to flow.

Middle to long range fighting guide

When you are separated from your opponent, hai

(check the stances section) and otherwise, doku

or doku

should be used widely.

doku

is a two-hit move, and on hit allows for the same combos as from

to connect. doku

is a catch throw from the forward roll, so there is no throw escape. If you can just get the timing right, there are many chances to evade mid attacks while closing the distance and fairly much guaranteeing this. Against opponents who try to use middle-kick sabaki attacks against the roll, you can evade or use normal attacks from the roll. This is quite effective.

Once you've made your opponent expect the attacks from the forward roll, you can mix in the hai

and make them afraid to interrupt, allowing you to take distance with easy.

Photo captions

- If your hai

is being dealt with by Jacky's neutral Pak Sao, use

. You can go for combos after the first hit.

About throw options

For all of Lei's throws, the commands tend to end in the same directions, so his number of throw directions is poor. Because of this, needing to vary between his directions is very important. His most damaging throw is

which if you include the combo comes to over 60 damage. It's the throw that the opponents will be most wary of, so even in throw guaranteed situations, it will be difficult to land it. Therefore, try to incorporate it as past of attacking strings.

Next, his three part throw

. The damage is good, but due to the difficulty of the command, actually getting the throw is difficult. If you miss the command and stop half way through, you will be in a disadvantaged situation and the damage will only be slight, so you have to be careful.

Also, the damage drops, but

and

can be used against the opponents throw break buffering.

and

, because of the command can easily be buffered into a dash, making them threatening from mid-range.

When you have an opponent trapped close to the ring edge, you can go for a ring out with Dokuritsu

. With Dokuritsu

there is a chance of being thrown by the opponent while you roll, and you might get suprised by being ringed out yourself, so it pays to buffer a throw break as well for protection.

Photo captions

- The commands are difficult, and if you miss the damage is 15. If you play Lei you will have to be able to get this out consistently.
- When using

, after landing the throw your feet move forward first, so you have to be careful not to ring yourself out.
-

swaps positions with your opponent, and also because of the way that they lie on the ground, okizemi is easy to affect.
- If the opponent tries to attack after

, evade and then aim for

Guaranteed counters

At 16 frames or above,

gives a combo for about 40-50 damage. The damge for situations less than that is various.
If you connect a throw, you get good damage, however when you consider that you can be throw-escaped, creativity is essential. Advantage - Move
8~ Throw
12~

strings or

14~

15~

16~

17=<

Extracting the special properties of Lei's attacking defence

When against a wall

When Lei has pressured his opponents up against a wall, his attacking power increases by powers. At close to middle range near a wall,

becomes his main weapon. Even if a little away from the wall, it will give wall stagger, and you can often land

. When more separated,

into

combo will take about half of their life.

When you have the opponent trapped against the wall, use Hai

. If you CH they will be wall staggered and you can go for the same combos as after

. If they guard then throw or

, a powerful nitaku. Often when they freeze up, a throw is easy to connect. Also,

is useful. If this half circular moves connects, wall stagger will occur, and you can either delay slightly to get a throw, or use Hai

to knock them down, then follow with a down

.

When further away from the wall, try using Dokuritsu

. It has better range than

when looking to get a wall stagger. Also, the disadvantage on block is small, so if you follow with Hai

you generally won't be interrupted, and can get a wall stagger from the counter hit. Against opponents that retaliate with a low move,

will retreat slightly while going into Dokuritsu stance, and from here you can try Dokuritsu

again. Because of the stance change, it automatically becomes a delayed attack. If it hits, the combo is Dokuritsu

Hai

Photo captions

- On a half fence stage, it depends on your opponent, but after wall stagger

can lead to a ring out right there. The larger the opponent's body the greater the chance of them falling (going over the fence) and you can end the match right there.

At disadvantage, Sabaki and Evasion

In close range fighting, the

is invaluable. It sabaki's high and mid single handed punch attacks as well as elbows, and if it sabaki's or hits on counter the opponent is head crumpled. When you get hit by the opponent's

, you can use it to avoid the opponent's elbow/throw mixup and steal some damage.

Other than that, at disadvantage

and

are useful. With good timing, a

can be used to avoid even a middle kick. The evasive properties are better in open stance.

Photo captions

- More than when you guard an opponent's attack, when you are hit by an opponent's attack

is valuable. Throw it out in these situations.
- Protip - Jumping

into sweep (

roundhouse

) is a great combo. Use that against your friends to show them who's boss!!!
-

will win against the opponent's

/throw mixup when at small disadvantage. Going for the opponent's front is more advantageous.

When in stance and your opponent's attack is guaranteed

When fighting Akira, and your

is blocked, you eat a guaranteed

. In this situation, you hope the opponent will miss, and execute a a sabaki attack. Suddenly, it hits on counter, and the resultant damage becomes very large.... If you abare with Koko

, the damage is less than for a normal hit.

Or, in situations liken when your

(B1) was evaded, you shift into Bokutai. You are considered crouching, so even if you are hit with a float move, you won't float very high.

Photo captions

- You are hit by Akira's

on big counter, the resultant damage is only this much (shown in the photo.) It's about 2/3 of a normal hit. Quite an unexpected bit of information.
- If your stance changing move is blocked and you're at a disadvantage, try throwing out dokuritsu

, as it will help in many situations. But, the disadvantage is great and so the risk is high.

Use his plentiful low attacks

Lei has many low attacks available. In order to overcome their guard, use them reasonably. At close range, his

is difficult to see coming, and being half circular it is difficult to guard. It is also good as a kezuri(?) move. However, it is disadvantage on all but counter hits, so deal with this by using

, ARE or backdash. His

, by nature of its very low stance can duck under even an opponent's

while still hitting, so long as you retrat a little bit to give it room.

The longest range attack is his BT

. Go into BT stance at long range, and you can use it to attack while avoiding the opponent's attacks.

Photo captions

- After

hits,

is useful as reverse-nitaku. This move attacks while evading high attacks, and is easy to hit on counter.

Ukemizemi (attacking techrolls)

Attacking their tech roll, use full circular moves like

, his many circular low attacks or his evade attack, and half circular moves like

to attack then once he starts to guard mixup between throw and mid attack. For oppoents that tech and don't press guard, it's difficult to pressure with direct attacks, so avoid his abare attacks with bokutai stance and use bokutai

to attack is effective. If the opponent appears to freeze up and is watching for attackings from bokutai, start to mix them up with different attacks.

Conversely, for opponents who rise on the spot, they are easy to attack. For opponents that do this after head crumple, be sure to remember to attack them with attacks that cannot be evaded.

Photo captions

- Lei's

and ?typo here, looks like either

? have no counters, and are useful for people that rise in place. Make your opponent fear these.
- Then, if the opponent doesn't tech, switch to

to make them think about teching while hitting them with this bound combo.

Posted by noodalls on 15/08/2004

Edited by Myke on 16/12/2004