The goods

What, four entries and I'm already slacking on updates? This is unacceptable.

I'm in the process of building a list of the attacks that I use often with Brad, and which ones of those I need to train myself to fuzzy with afterwards, but that is taking a little longer than expected, so instead I'll write about some of Brad's moves that I've noticed are more effective than I initially realized.

• P6PK





This string is typically used in Brad's combos to followup after a successful launcher. However, by itself, this string gets me more free hits than almost any other. Coupling this string with PP and PPK mix-ups makes for a strong starting point for any Brad player. Here are some of the reason why I like this string.

PPK is a strong baseline attack for Brad. The string opens up off of Brad's jab, his fastest strike, and is a great way to interupt. The second is a free hit (I believe), and the final kick hits low, which means it's rarely blocked, unless you're getting mechanical with your offense. On top of all of that, the move is safe on hit, because Brad is at -5 frames on the last kick hitting, which means you can fuzzy guard and avoid any harm coming your way, thus resetting your offense.

In contrast to PPK, P6PK hits high, mid, and mid. Most opponents starting to get sick of getting hit by PPK will automatically start to block low on impulse after eating the first two punches. The two mids that follow that jab provide additionally ways to mix-up your attack, and force your opponent to guess between low and high.

Also, the third hit of this string comes out just a little bit slower than the kick in PPK. This slight delay, rather than weakening the string, is actually a strength. In my experience, the delay is just enough time for the opponent to second guess their own defense, and either switch to blocking low, or try to break you out of the string with their own attack. In the first case, they get hit by your mid. In the second case, they're going to eat a counter-hit with your knee (as far as I know, there is not enough time for them to hit you between the punch and the knee).

And on that note, there's nothing Brad players like more than getting a free neck-clinch after a counter-hit. Train yourself to enter this string as P6PK,P+G, aiming to hit the throw input right as the knee hits. If you don't connect with a counter-hit, then it's no problem, and if you do, you get to eat away a large stack of your opponent's health bar.

Against newer players, I often open with this string, going P6PK (counter-hit into neck-clinch), 8, K, K, 8, 33PP, P6PK. The result is the combo, a neck clinch, two knees to the body, throw them behind you and followup with Brad's double uppercut, and then finish off with the same string for a massive amount of damage. It's very demoralizing to get hit with all this, especially for a new player, and they almost inevitable will turtle upon rising, making for easy pickings.

Lastly, this is a great string to use along with PP to cancel into throws. Remember, the knee is just a little bit delayed for P6PK, and so after eating a few knees, your opponent is put under pressure to give you just that much more leighway in your delay, creating the perfect opportunity to mixup into a throw.





• 4K





Maybe this is obvious to a lot of people, maybe it isn't. I never used this kick when I first started out, because somehow it felt like it took ages to execute. I wanted something fast that I could hit with, and I was willing to sacrifice range to accomplish that. However, this move actually executes in 17 frames, reasonable in many cases, and opens up an excellent range option for Brad.

I typically like to play my Brad up close and aggressive. Usually that means that I don't do much fighting in his outer range. However, I've been given advice lately that I should work to space a little better throughout my games, including using his sway back to complement my existing aggressive game. Once you start playing very aggressive and close to your opponent, they will switch to using more attacks with lesser range - jabs, ducking jabs, just ANYTHING to get you out of their face. This is a great opportunity to move back out of range, let them whiff, and then close the range again and punish.

4K has great range, in and of itself, and also allows Brad to make use of all of his slipping and ducking options. One set that I've had great success with is 4K, Enter Ducking, P, P. You can delay the last P in that series of hits out of ducking, and if it counter-hits, it floats your opponent, letting you connect with P6PK (remember that little string?). This ability to enter ducking needs to be used now and then, if only because Brad is -8 on guard with this kick. That leaves enough room to ETEG if you are good (I'm not), but with the ability to cancel out of this delay into his stances, you can prevent the opponent from following up overzealously.

Don't forget, any time you have a string that you can delay well, you've got a string that you can also cancel into a throw. These are the type of mix-ups you want to abuse. Delay your strings until your opponents start blocking, and then start punishing them by throwing. Keep them guessing.

4K also has excellent ability to create a wall-bounce, I believe even on normal hit, open up the doors to abuse this move further and gain free hits and throws off of your opponents. This move can also be used to cheat out ring outs, epsecially in conjunction with Brad's throw backwards, 1P+G.

Lastly, you can just do 4K and leave it at that. Excellent range and the ability to push the opponent back is always a nice way to create a bit of distance and some breathing room. Use this move along with 2K+G at distance and you'll be able to keep your opponent guessing and frustrate them.

That's it for today, but check back soon for my list of Brad strings and attacks that are useful and fuzzyable.