Comics, Daigo Interview, etc.

I added more X-Mania VII matches to the Win-Loss numbers in the player report. Also some percentages.

Here is a fragment of a 2005 interview with Daigo from the Yoga Book Hyper. The Bickys arcade gets a mention in the final installment of the Yoga 48 so this is somewhat germane.
---
[SF2 classic/SF2CE - elementary school 4th/5th grade Umehara mostly plays against the computer. Early on can't win at all against other players.]

Q (INH Guy Sakamoto): After that, how did young Umehara go about becoming stronger?

A (Daigo): You know, I was getting frustrated so I thought "I want to get stronger," and I started fighting in arcades earnestly. Around the time I started middle school I would check tournament announcements in Gamest Magazine and then I'd hop on the train and I started entering tournaments at central Tokyo arcades like Maruge-ya and Bickys frequently.

Q: Wow! You don't see many people going that far for the simple reason, "I want to get stronger."

A: As a middle schooler, no less. (laugh) Then when ST came out I started commuting to Bickys all the time. I was still just a kid so I wasn't able to stick around if there were a lot of people and a tournament ran long. (laugh) In those days there were a ton of strong players at Bickys and amidst the tussle I came to understand key concepts like "tachimawari*" and "how to win."

[* - lit "moving about". Poking, spacing, footsie, jump-ins, etc. Tachimawari is, like, what you're doing in a fighting game when you aren't doing some kind of set-play like a combo or okiseme]

Q: Oh! At this point the 2D Fighting God finally awakens!

A: As I was beginning to win at ST more and more Vampire Hunter came out [1995]. I took the sense I had cultivated on ST and put it to use on VH and suddenly nobody could beat me on that game!

Q: Oh! And that's when you got your famous 286 game win streak?!
[@ akihabara high tech sega arcade using Pyron]

A: Yeah. That time I played for 7 hours on only 100 yen. (laughs) But I was just playing around on VH. In the end, fighting on ST was my main thing. After all, the SF2 series is something special, I played being conscious of that fact.

Mikado Vampire Savior Showdown 022407 bump2plusalpha

There are some movies from Mikado's monthly VS gathering up. This batch features a showdown between two weak characters: Ego (Lei-Lei) vs. Kame (Victor.)

http://blog.mi-ka-do.net/?eid=289834

Coming soon -- the top tier showdown: Nasu (Sasquatch) vs. Sakai (Zabel.) FWIW, I'm pretty sure that those are the top two Kanto area VS players.

UPDATE -- That Nasu-Sakai batch is here:
http://blog.mi-ka-do.net/?eid=290556

Next: Nasu beats down challenges a Jedah/QB/Aulbath player.
UPDATE2 -- Kinokonokinokun vs. Nasu:
http://blog.mi-ka-do.net/?eid=291662


Just for fun, here are a couple old Nasu movies I had lying around:
Nasquatch vs. Daigo (Bishamon) (<- Classic match!) and Nasu vs. Haitani (Sasquatch.)
http://www.wikiupload.com/download_page.php?id=113483

The 48 Killing Arts of Yoga - 31-40

For a Yoga Fire tick, Dhalsim does Yoga Fire (blocked) -> throw.

Hat tip to T.Akiba for the skinny on the Guile Midnight Hell glitch.


31. Yoga Crystal Bomb

This is a truly magnificent technique.
It's said that this is a powered-down technique that only compensates for the limitations of the Delight Sight Kiss [#30]. Anyway, it has its uses.
To perform it, simply make like you're going to do a Delight Sight Kiss, but instead of using a headbutt, whack them with a Yogaku.
The merit here is that you can pull this off without having people think that you messed up a Yoga Fire tick.
"As I thought that something had flashed before my eyes, there was a 'Bomb!' sound, and I was eating Yogaku. Anyway, it stung." (So says Blanka)

32. Yoga Double Headbutt

Frankly, writing about this technique is scary.
You see, Hama said, "just forget about that crap!"
In spite of his opposition, however, I dare to describe it.

Against an opponent who has previously fallen victim to the Yoga Headbutt Throw, the chances that they'll try to counter throw after getting hit by a headbutt are high. In that situation, feign like you're going to try to throw and then hit them with another headbutt to land a Yoga Double Headbutt.

Since this trick has yet to work on anybody, if a reader gets it to work please contact me.

33. Yoga Galactica Phantom

Legend has it that this technique was perfected at a power plant.
It seems like a Galactica Magnum technique was developed at the same time, but that one is a phantom art that is still not understood.
The key here is to take advantage of SF2 Classic Blanka's close standing fierce.
After you attack with a drill kick -> headbutt sequence, if your opponent mashes the button to get a counter throw, Blanka will accidentally do a close fierce. Hit him here with a Yogaku, then another drill kick.... (etc.)
Your opponent can easily escape if they time their throw properly or if they use a close standing strong, so this has a short life span.
Even in SF2CE, after a drill kick if you feign a throw attempt and attack with a Yogaku it's possible to stuff Blanka's ball, although the timing is very strict.

34. Yoga Side Magic

Usually when you use the Okeyan Kick [#16] it trades.
If you're near the corner, however, Dhalsim gets pushed back farther, and you can avoid the Sonic Boom. This is truly the magic of the corner -- the Yoga Side Magic.
If Guile throws a fierce Sonic Boom this is somewhat difficult.
(With proper timing this works even against the fierce.)
To some extent this all negates the Okeyan Kick, but there are still situations when you can use the trade = OK attack. In that case, use that technique. OK, OK.

35. Yoga Endless Rain

When you're fighting against Guile, first knock him down with a Yoga Fire such that you are standing at opposite sides of the screen. After this, simply shoot well-timed fierce Yoga Fire attacks.
If Guile tries to escape with a Sonic Boom, just keep on firing. He may try to jump in here, but since he's coming from a good distance he'll generally use a jumping roundhouse, and you can close the gap with a short slide -> throw.

The Fire that knows no end now becomes an Endless Rain.

36. Yoga Crazy Train

SF2 Classic Guile had a defect called "Midnight Hell*" (special move seal.)
When this occurred and you had a substantial health lead, simply doing repeated roundhouse slide kicks became surprisingly intimidating.
You see, if your opponent messed up their counter attack they'd eat the roundhouse slide and then quickly get pinned down and die.

On SF2 Classic, you could say without reservation that this was the technique Guile players most feared (kidding!)
Also, against other characters or on SF2CE this was still fairly useful.
Compared to the Crazy Train, the Shou Shou Train and Chuu Chuu Train are merely toys -- the Crazy Train is the one true locomotive.

[* - When Guile gets hit during a move's recovery, he becomes unable to perform Sonic Booms and Flash Kicks. He can fix this condition by whiffing a ground attack.]

37. Yoga Bomber

Once your opponent has very little health, finish them off with a noogie (strong punch throw.) If you hold up on the joystick here, you can jump after they die; immediately do a mummy attack to use this technique.
On SF2 Classic the post-KO slowdown made timing the mummy attack tricky. When SF2CE came out it became extremely easy, however, so the name became Even-a-monkey-could-do-it Yoga Bomber and nobody used it any more.

P.S. In Quiz Sangokushi (or possibly Tonosama no Yabou*,) in response to the question "Which of the following is one of Dhalsim's special moves?" I wonder if anyone but Idagoro responded with 'Yoga Bomber.'

[* - These are arcade trivia games by Capcom with a Romance of the Three Kingdoms/Nobunaga's Ambition motif.]

38. Yoga Triple Rod

You could say that Dhalsim's techniques number in the hundreds; there was a time when even the slightest movement would get a name that would echo throughout the arcades.
Because of this, in the end there were names that were constantly used and other, less interesting moves were never spoken of. This is one of those.

Close in on Guile and hit him with the tip of a far crouching jab. When you do another crouching jab it won't hit your opponent. After this do a far crouching fierce and, since he's thinking "their attacks are out of range," Guile will throw a Sonic Boom and your fierce punch will hit him in the leg.
Ideally, you should stuff his attack before he releases the Sonic Boom. Or if you're near the corner, Side Magic will allow you to block it.

Well, everyone uses this technique, but I want people to remember this name for it!

39. Yoga Flying Pirates

Sniper attacks are boring if they don't catch people on the ground.
Still, if you're annoyed at the way Chun-Li jumps to escape ticks then this is for you.
After you make Chun-Li block a Yoga Fire or a drill kick, feign like you're going to throw her and then jump up or back and do a jump roundhouse kick. Then enjoy watching Chun-Li get hit as she tries to avoid the throw with a jump.
If your opponent uses a Spinning Bird Kick instead of a jump you can beat it cleanly with a drill kick.

This was difficult on SF2 Classic but after CE came out it was hard to see the drill kick failing here. It seems like Jenety (Jimbou area Chun player, quite strong) falls for this a lot. (Right, Hama?)

P.S. Sorry Takahashi!

40. Yoga Most Dangerous Throw

When fighting against Guile on SF2 Classic, if you executed close standing strong -> throw with the perfect timing he wouldn't have a chance to do a Flash Kick before getting thrown. The timing was extremely strict, however, and so this was called the "Most Dangerous Throw."
Nevertheless, according to Hamah if you approached Guile as he was doing repeated crouching jabs (Psycho Punch?) and thew him, "this one is the Most Dangerous. Let's call that one (close strong -> throw) the More Dangerous Throw."
And thus he decreed that throwing Guile out of his rapid crouching jabs was the Yoga Most Dangerous Throw.

Still, the Most Dangerous Combo in Kinnikuman was weak.

HSF Vids - Leisure Land Casuals 081406

Here are some casual HSF movies that I got via this page (now defunct?) a while ago. The players are unknown, but the theme was "Nomura Guile and KKY Dhalsim visit Bypass Leisure Land," so that's a clue.

http://www.wikiupload.com/download_page.php?id=110268
(9 files, 122 MB, feat. Guile, Dhalsim, Cammy, etc.)

For some more unknown (probably Nomura) Guile movies check out mnemosyne32's YouTube videos. For example, I think this is Nomura (Guile) vs. Shinryu (Blanka) -- part of a series of him wailing on folks at an arcade called Shirane Chance.

Scouter Match HSF Vids 030407

Akashachi Blanka and co. have kindly upped some videos from a recent Kasugai 50 HSF tournament.

http://starcup.news-site.net/mov/movmenu.htm

Here's the card:
(If the version is unspecified that means it's ST.)

yosenA2-1.zip - KomodaBlanka & Maron (CE Dic) vs. Yokkun (Dictator) & Danjiri Dhalsim
yosenB1-3.zip - Kashiwagi (HF Ryu) & Suzuki (Guile) vs. Tani (Guile) & Mune (CE Sagat)
yosenC2-2.zip - Shadoloo (CE Dic) & Gotoh (Ryu) vs. Edorekibunkichi[?] (Classic Honda) & Eronimo[Gunze] (Classic Gief)
yosenD1-2.zip - Sawada (Cammy) & O-Guy (Dictator) vs. Aniken & Mayupapa (Claw)

haishaA1-3.zip - ZTT (Classic Gief) & Nogucchan (Ken) vs. Oh!J (DJ) & HAS (Ryu)
haishaB2-2.zip - Unjama (Zangief) & TatsumakiRYU (O.ST Ryu) vs. Sekisan (DJ) & Wassekun (Dhalsim)
haishaC2-2.zip - Oomura (Ryu) & KKY (Dhalsim) vs. Nakamura (Cammy) & Yoshio (Guile)

final1-1.zip - Tasaka (Cammy) & Kachu (Claw) vs. Yokkun & Danjiri Dhalsim
final1-2.zip - Futamura (Ryu) & Shikkusu (CE Dic) vs. Yamamoto Feilong & Gian (Dhalsim)
semifinal2.zip - Matsu (Dhalsim) & ARG (Claw) vs. postman (Boxer) & Shacho (Cammy)

The 48 Killing Arts of Yoga - 21-30

Unfortunately, the names for all of the techniques in this section were missing.

21. Yoga Cheering Squad

Fighting is always a solitary activity and SF2CE is no exception.
In a lonely fight, Dhalsim has the ability to cheer himself on.
To accomplish this, simply do a Yoga Flame immediately after you've burned your opponent.
When you do this, Dhalsim will say, "Yoga Fure! Fure! imu"
Even if you do this in the middle of a fight, nobody will notice if the sound is turned down. Use this technique in an arcade that has the volume set high.

[Fure (Hooray?) - a sports cheer.
Fureimu - Japanese pronunciation of "Flame"]

22. ?Yoga Winning Throw

After dodging a Sonic Boom with a short slide kick, do a drill kick that lands directly in front of Guile. When you do this, Guile will get frightened and crouch block so you can throw him without missing a beat. That's the Yoga Winning Throw.
Most Guiles, however, will react to the short slide with a crouching forward kick. When this happens, your drill kick will hit and you won't be able to go for the throw. That's fine, too.
Depending on the player, this technique can be difficult to counter, so use it frequently when you're playing against Guile.

23. ?

When playing a Dhalsim mirror match and you've got them near the corner do:
noogie -> drill kick -> mummy -> another drill kick -> Nospey x2
The final drill kick works like a Spiral Break starter.
When a drill kick (or mummy) gets stuck and falls in the corner, that's a Yoga Okayu*. Or you could call it Okayu state since the rice isn't ready yet.

I don't get it.

[*Okayu - rice porridge]

24. ?Yoga Fire Till Death

When you've chased Guile into the corner, stand just outside his Flash Kick range and do repeated Yoga Fire attacks until your opponent dies (or Guile jumps in, does a three hit combo, and Dhalsim dies.)
As per the name, Dhalsim stakes his life on the repeated Yoga Fire.
Usually, Yoga is the first to die.
Substitute Flame for Fire and we have the Yoga Flame Till Death.

25. ?Thank You, Danna
["Master" cf. Foosuke entry here]

"Boy, that was really amazing."
Mr. H recalled the fight between F__ suke (Dhalsim player) and 20-Gou (Guile player, charges Sonic Booms quickly, not to be confused with Machine Guile, pretty strong but stopped using Guile since the Gamest Cup and got weaker) like it was yesterday.
"Naturally, that guy backed into the corner and turned into a Sonic Boom manufacturing machine. Foosuke went to his corner and fought back with repeat Yoga Fire attacks and dodges. And then, curiously, 20-Gou followed in behind a jab Sonic Boom. Foosuke avoided the Sonic by jumping backwards.
At that point, 20-Gou was thinking, 'Nice, he's eating Sonic. I can go back to being a Sonic Boom manufacturing machine. How many Sonic Booms can I throw this time?' However... swish.
That's right. Foosuke Dhalsim landed from the back jump without getting hit by the jab Sonic.
At that point I couldn't see any more because of the tears in my eyes."
The end.
When you dodge a jab Sonic Boom by jumping backwards and then landing safely that's called "Thank You, Danna" (<- affectionate name for Foosuke.)
If it looks like you're going to get hit by the Sonic Boom and you use a drill kick to avoid it, it becomes "Sorry, Danna."

26. ?

This technique can be used when you've knocked your opponent down and you're right next to them.
As they stand up, there's a moment when your opponent floats. Do a short slide kick the instant there's a gap between them and the ground, and then headbutt them from behind. [TL?]
The difficulty for this technique is Ultra-C, super hard.
Your opponent will receive a terrific shock from this one.

27. ?Yoga Whatchamacallit Train

This technique is just awesome. How is it awesome, you ask? Just keep reading.
After canceling a Hadoken or Sonic Boom with a Yoga Fire, do forward slide -> roundhouse slide and if your opponent tries to throw another fireball they'll eat the roundhouse slide kick.
This is tricky against the Sonic Boom, however.
Whenever a Shimoigusa area Ryu/Ken player gets caught by this technique they howl, "damn, I ate the Yoga Whatchamacallit Train!"

28. ?

This is one of the few Yoga three-hit combination attacks.
When you've dizzied Zangief, leap and hit him with a jump roundhouse kick and then follow up with a headbutt after you land.
The timing and spacing are extremely difficult, but if you do it well you can definitely get the three-hit combo.
I've landed this only once in an actual match and it didn't surprise anyone, so that was a bummer.
Once you learn this technique, you'll often get into trouble when you attempt it on a dizzied Zangief, but I think you can win over the spectators.

29. ?Yoga Headbutt Throw

As the name suggests, this shameless technique consists of a headbutt hit followed by a walk-in throw.
When Idagoro thought up this technique, everybody had already discussed it so people were too wary to fall for it. And yet, at last, it worked on someone:
Yoga Headbutt Throw victim number one was none other than Yoga Strike Backers' own Yokomura.

Back then, Yokomura was using Guile on SF2. In this case, the first headbutt hit caught him on the ground and the second hit him in the air (this happens sometimes.) Since he didn't get pushed away, he was easily thrown afterwards.
Matsumoto (a friend who owned a cabinet) was passing around home videos and when he suggested that they add player names to the bottom of the screen to create an archival copy it made Idagoro so happy he still remembers it like it was yesterday.

P.S. Sorry, Yokomura

30. ?Yoga Delight Sight Kiss

This is a frighteningly sleazy technique.
You make it seem like you're going to tick with a Yoga Fire but attack with a headbutt instead. Of course, there's no way to avoid having this look like a mistimed tick.
Still, if you pull this off and go for a Headbutt Throw afterwards, that technique is called the Yoga Delight Sight Kiss Throw.

Vampire Savior West Winner's Cup Vids 031007

Bow uploaded some movies from the Vampire Savior Ranking Battle -West- special event, Winner's Cup. Past ranbat winners got to skip the early blocks and proceed straight to the final eight bracket.

BTW, it seems like Shiimaro is an alternate nickname for Zabel player CAA. Maybe.

http://www.filebank.co.jp/guest/vpsnc/38movie
password: vpsw

Filebank quick-start graphic

vsrkbw07a.avi - Dara (Demitri) vs. Buppa Shokunin (Sasquatch)
vsrkbw07b.avi - bow (Aulbath) vs. Kenta (Demitri)
vsrkbw07c.avi - Shiimaro (Zabel) vs. Deka (Lei-Lei)
vsrkbw07d.avi - Oshabu (Lilith) vs. Oboro (Victor)
vsrkbw07e.avi - Shokunin vs. bow
vsrkbw07f.avi - Oboro vs. Shiimaro

vsrkbw07g.avi - 3rd Place: bow vs. Oboro

vsrkbw07h.avi - Finals: Shokunin vs. Shiimaro

The 48 Killing Arts of Yoga - 11-20

A couple quick notes:
"Mummy" refers to the head-first drill (down + fierce in the air.)

Maruge, the official Gamest magazine store, carried arcade-game-related publications, action figures, comics, etc.


11. Yoga Wonderful Low

When Dhalsim does a far crouching punch, his hit box gets lower.
With this in mind, meet a Ryu or Ken jump-in with a whiffed far crouching strong and then throw. That's the Wonderful Low.
If your opponent does their jump attack late, however, you'll eat it, so be careful.
Also, if you do this against someone other than Ryu or Ken it's going to cost you.
In the print version at Gamest's Maruge store, this had the incorrect name, "Beautiful Low."

12. Yajima Special

First, when you're fighting against Dhalsim, grab him with medium punch (the noogie.)
Then, immediately after it ends, jump towards and juggle[*] with a mummy.
After this, since you will be able to act first, hit him as he lands with a properly timed Nospey x2 combo.
On top of being very likely to dizzy, this trick can be used a second time for the re-dizzy.
This is extremely difficult to do in the corner, however, so you're better off not using it there.

By the way, if you do the mummy a little late, move behind them after the mummy and hit them with Nospey x2, this becomes the Yajima Special mkII.
The mkII can be easily countered with a throw, though, so hit them with:
Yajima Special -> mkII -> Yajima Special
and your opponent won't know what the hell is going on!

In a Dhalsim mirror match, the noogie is much more important than the throw.

[* - SF2CE!]

13. Yoga Flame Strike

From mid-screen, burn your opponent down with a Yoga Fire, then shoot a jab Yoga Fire and head towards them with a mummy.
At this point, if they miss their wake-up attack they'll eat the mummy and then the jab Yoga Fire will catch them in the back.
This trick takes advantage of the fact that Dhalsim's opponent gets pushed back a good distance when they eat the mummy attack (far fierce, etc. = no good.)
The timing to set up a Yoga Fire right behind your opponent's back is tricky, but if you get it to work this is a beautiful ultimate art of Yoga.
If you're wondering why it isn't called Yoga Fire Strike,
"that's because flame is cooler." (says Foosuke)
That's it.

14. Yoga Sunshine Reds Overdrive

"Boy, I was really happy."
Mr. H (Dhalsim player) said this when describing his fight the day before against 20-Gou (Guile player, age 19, single, unfamiliar with Comic Market. Ghastly sister. Cozy house. Crappy bicycle. Real name [...]. Made it to the final eight at the SF2CE Gamest Cup.)
"Naturally, that guy backed into the corner and turned into a Sonic Boom manufacturing machine. I went to my corner and fought back with repeat Yoga Fire attacks and dodges. Eventually he missed a Sonic Boom and wound up blocking a Yoga Fire; I blocked one FB, too, and then time ran out.
At that point, 20-Gou was thinking, 'Draw game, huh? Oh well, how many Sonic Booms am I going to throw next round?' However...
'DHALSIM WIN!'
... That's right. Even though I hadn't lost more than one pixel of life, it turns out that Guile had lost 2-3 pixels. So I yelled:
Yoga Sunshine Reds Overdrive!
...plus, thank you Idagoro (inventor of this killing art.)"
The end.
A painful (<- NB) Yoga Fire that takes off two or more pixels when blocked is called the Yoga Sunshine Reds Overdrive.

15. Yoga Chuu Chuu Train
[Chuu means medium, as in "medium kick"]

The repeated Dhalsim forward slide kick technique is called the Yoga Chuu Chuu Train.
This comes from a TV commercial featuring the Choo Choo Train from ZOO that was a fad at the time.
This technique was made just for fun.
We haven't seen you on TV lately, ZOO. What happened, ZOO?
Did you get tired of Skiing, ZOO? Farewell, ZOO.
... (Apologies to ZOO fans.)
In addition, repeated short sliding is called Shou Shou Train.

P.S. Later, I heard from my sister that ZOO was quite popular.
And they were still running commercials. Sorry ZOO.

16. Okeyan Kick

When you're facing a Guile player who is trying to creep in behind a Sonic Boom, kick right into it with far standing roundhouse to score a trade.
In the old days of SF2 classic, when we were struggling to deal with Guile players walking in behind Sonic Booms, the Okeyan* Dhalsim player Beta explained to us, "go ahead and trade with all of those guys with a standing roundhouse."
From that point on, using standing roundhouse to trade with Sonic Booms became known as the Okeyan Kick. Thank you, Beta.

[* - Okeyan: a team of gamers, a la YSB]

17. Yoga ShouChikuBai
[lit. Pine, Bamboo, Plum]

When you have your opponent dizzied at a distance do:
far standing short (whiff) -> far standing medium kick (whiff) -> far standing roundhouse (brain burn)
to use this humiliation technique.
The short becomes Shou, the forward Chiku and the roundhouse Bai.
Even when your opponent isn't dizzy, call out "Shou - Chiku - Bai" as you do short - forward - roundhouse as a goof.
And if they get hit along the way you'll have a good laugh.
Incidentally, if you do forward kick twice that's Yoga ChikuChiku, and roundhouse times two is Yoga BaiBai.

18. Yoga Bloody Nail

This technique involves knocking down E.Honda's flying headbutt or Blanka's horizontal ball attack with a properly timed far standing jab.
Based on its appearance, that attack used to be called "Got any change?"
When this killing art was developed, Idagoro, eager to hit Blanka's ball with the far jab said,
"Oh, fantastic! Let's call this the Yoga Bloody Nail,"
and he flew off to make a memo in the Yoga Note.
Where is he now?

19. Yoga Tiger Crush

It's said that this flying knee attack is based on the teachings of well known Thai martial artist Sagat.
It goes like this: do a drill kick such that it lands in front of your opponent without hitting them and then, without missing a beat, hit them with a close roundhouse kick (the knee.)
Do this while crying out, "Tiger!"

When you've dizzied Sagat, deliberately back away and do:
vertical jump -> quick drill kick repeatedly (while saying, "Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!")
Then finish with a Yoga Tiger Crush.
Pull this off, and you, too, become a member of
Magic Sworded Heaven and Earth of Dragon's Master*

[* - This is a mash-up of the names of various Capcom games.]

20. ?Melancholic Five

In terms of both psychological damage and health damage, this is the strongest of all of Dhalsim's techniques.
When your opponent jumps at you, hit them with:
cross-up short slide -> close crouching jab x2 -> Nospey -> short slide OR walk-in fierce throw
Let's point out, when you land this technique it usually dizzies, it takes off nearly half their life and moreover, you inflict a crippling amount of psychological damage on your opponent.
There are some pitfalls: if they anticipate the technique, you'll get only four hits. It doesn't work if they don't jump in from the appropriate distance. Close crouching jab x2 is very difficult to land, etc.
The name reflects the fact that an opponent hit with this will be overcome with melancholic feelings.

Mikado Ranbat 021707 Vids

Movies from the second mikado ranbat are up. One-player, two-character format this time. By the way, the 2nd place finisher from the first month, Buzan, got taken out by Nakamu early.
http://blog.mi-ka-do.net/?eid=272312

0217_01.zip - Gian (Ryu/Sim) vs. Takiba (Ken/Blanka)
0217_02.zip - Kita (Chun/Cammy) vs. Akynd (O.Ryu/O.Ken)
0217_03.zip - TZW (DJ/Guile) vs. Yuzuru (O.Guile/Guile)
0217_04.zip - Noguchi (Fei/Claw) vs. GorillaImo (Honda/O.Honda)
0217_05.zip - Gotoh (Dhalsim/Ryu) vs. TZW
0217_06.zip - Noguchi vs. Gian
0217_07.zip - Gotoh vs. Taira (Sagat/Dictator)
0217_08.zip - Finals: Gotoh vs. Noguchi

The 48 Killing Arts of Yoga - 1-10

Here is the first installment of my translation of the 48 Killing Arts of Yoga, a collection of Dhalsim tricks by Foosuke and the Yoga Strike Backers. All of the YSB members were champions of various old school (SF2 and Vampire) fighting games, and these "Yoga 48" techniques provide an amusing look at the early days of Dhalsim strategy.

Credit for the original text goes to:
1-26: Hamah*
27-44: Idagoro
45-48: Miira

* - "Hammer" in the ST Player Report. I'm going to write his nickname this way henceforth.

There is a companion video for the 48 Arts. It's out there on the net somewhere... (if anyone has it, please contact me - nohoho at gmail dot com)

Some of the silly bits have been paraphrased. When there's a passage that I struggled to translate and it concerns actual gameplay I'll mark it with: [TL?] -- don't pull your hair out trying to get these to work.

Some of the technique names were missing. Guesses and omissions are marked with question marks.

I'm going to continue to use the character naming scheme (for the bosses) popularized by NKI on shoryuken.com.


The 48 Killing Arts of Yoga

Notes on Proper Usage
- When you land one of these techniques, you must suavely say its name.
- When you land one of these techniques, you must thank the YSB members.
- Even if you use one by accident, you must be nonchalant about it.
- If you try a technique and lose, you must have no regrets.
- Work diligently on using each technique, day after day.

1. Yoga Strike Back

This one goes without saying: Strike Back.
That's right, the origin for the name of the "Yoga Strike Backers."
When your opponent is crouching, attack from the air with
jump fierce -> far standing fierce for a beautiful combination.
It's quite splendid. Initially, Foosuke, who developed this killing art said,
"They have to stand to block Dhalsim's jumping fierce. Still, depending on where it connects, they'll eat it if they don't crouch block.[TL?]"
But it took Hamah about two months to believe this.

2. Yoga Sniper Custom

AKA Sniper. The moment your opponent is about to throw an FB, jump forward (or up or back) and hit them with jumping fierce.
Unless you hit them on the ground (air-to-air = no good) you can't claim a true Sniper hit.
Landing this when they're at "eat a Sniper and die" health is extremely thrilling.
If you're at a health deficit on top of that, land this for big EXP UP.
We'll leave with the aphorism, "The Sniper loses with with no regret."
(<- We're just left with regret!)

3. Yoga Bonjour

This fabulous technique is where you hit your opponent on the top of the head with a jump roundhouse as you're falling from a jump. When you land it, you're obliged to look at your watch and say, "Yoga Bonjour. The time is exactly 9 PM, it's morning in France. I'll have a cup of coffee... (etc.)"
By the way, Hamah once ate a Guile low forward while he was looking at his watch and saying all this.
If you land this technique, you may want to have someone nearby say the line.
If they won't, just say it yourself.
But, why is called "Bonjour?"
You see, the Killing Arts of Yoga were originally going to be written in french (or so Idagoro had hoped,) and so we have the Bonjour.
Idagoro, however, didn't know any other french words and thus this was the only french killing art.

4. Yoga Grand Strike

As your opponent is landing from a jump, hit them with a deep forward (or short) cross-up slide kick and combo into a close fierce (head butt.)
In SF2CE it became more difficult to use the forward slide kick and this technique fell out of fashion.
Note that the forward slide cross-up -> close standing strong -> throw sequence is called the "Grand Strike Variant."
This Grand Strike (Variant) is particularly useful against Chun-Li's jumping short.
By the way, there was a time when the variant was called the "Yoga Sexy Throw," but we like both names.

5. ?Nospey

This is Dhalsim's close crouching forward (the thrust kick.)
Why is it called, "Nospey," you ask...?
In the days of SF2 classic, when Guile player Nosuke was playing with Dhalsim against Chun-Li, he discovered that a deep thrust kick could beat wake-up throws. So he said "hey, Hama, this thrust kick is like Chun-Li's crouching forward in that it can't be countered with a throw. Ok, this is the Nosuke Special; call it Nospey!!" and thus it became known as the Nospey.
During SF2 classic days, it was said that there weren't any [Yoga] Killing Arts, so we're grateful for the finding of this one. Since Nosuke said, "Hama, since SF2CE came out people often use the Nospey, but nobody actually says, 'Nospey.' I'm so sad!" let's all call the thrust kick Nospey!
Of course, all Yoga Strike Backers members call it Nospey.

Thank you, Nosuke

6. Yogaku

This term describes Dhalsim's close standing roundhouse kick (the knee.)
It's not Yogaku- (inhalation) because he's straining his yoga to do the kick.

Frank Crowther: "By the way... I was wondering... what's the deal with that finishing blow?"
Tsukumo: "The 'Yogaku?' Gaku refers to the mountain..." (etc.)
(C) Gate of Shura [info]

When Blanka uses this it's Bugaku. When Guile uses it, it's Gagaku.
When Ryu and Ken use it, it's Fugaku, seemingly.

7. Nagata Shougatsu Happy New Year Special

As your opponent is getting up, hit them with a deep Yogaku and then jump away and combo into a Sniper.
A great technique to use if you expect your opponent to miss a reversal, land this to inflict unimaginable damage to their spirit.
By the way, Nagata Shougatsu is the nickname of the developer of this technique.
It's broken down like this: the initial Yogagu is "Happy" and then the Sniper is "New Year."

Thank you, Nagata

8. Yoga Blast

The decals that came with SF2 classic didn't have Yoga Blast on them, so we appropriated the name for this Killing Art.
When SF2CE came out and the Yoga Spiral Break (see below) was created, Yoga Blast became the term for a drill kick attack that goes past Dhalsim's opponent without hitting them.
When you think you've pulled off a Yoga Blast and you start to say "Yoga B-,"
but you actually failed to do it, just fudge and say "Yoga Brassiere."

9. Yoga Spiral Break

As your opponent is getting up, hit them with a cross-up drill kick,
then combo into Nospey x2. That's the Yoga Spiral Break.
This works well against Ryu, Ken, Blanka and Zangief but if you mess it up against Zangief you're in deep trouble.
Studies show that this is easy to set up after you've burned your opponent
with a Yoga Fire (or Flame.)
Research the timing on your own.

10. Yoga Rolling Crystal Flash

This beautiful technique was developed by taking a cue from Claw's Rolling Crystal Flash (partly true.)
It consists of this four-hit combo: cross-up drill kick -> close crouching jab x2 -> Nospey.
Getting two close crouching jabs to combo is extremely difficult.
When you use this technique it goes like this: "goro-goro" (drill kick,) "doka!" (low jab,) "baki!" (low jab,) "gusa!" (Nospey.)