Shun's Throws - Escaping Side Throw Post Throw-Break

(Skip to the TL;DR if you just want the conclusion)

If you're anything like me, you probably:

1. Use P+G a lot.
2. Get P+G broken a lot (once they figure this out), and...
3. Are terrible at breaking side throws correctly every time (ok, maybe that's just me).

After having someone point out I was susceptible to being side thrown after they broke my P+G, I decided to spend some time thinking about the post-throw scenario, and how to break correctly.

What I did was make two recordings with Shun vs Shun, and set them to randomly play back.

1. 46P, GTE, mash P+G
2. 46PP, GTE, mash P+G

The reason I used 46P and 46PP was to choose moves that would swap stance quickly and ensure that the breaks were being alternated from either side, rather than deterministic based on which string I was reacting to. In theory, you could also do this with:

1. P, GTE, mash P+G
2. 46P, GTE, mash P+G

to make it even more ambiguous.

Regardless, what I did was randomize playback, then would try to P+G throw them after blocking the punch(es), and then when they escaped that throw (the recording was holding LTE), I would try to react to which side they ended up on and break their immediate side throw correctly.

TL; DR

What I learned was this:

To react properly 100% of the time, what you need to watch is whether, from the camera's POV, the opponent rotates in FRONT of Shun during the escape, or rotates BEHIND Shun during the escape.

If the opponent rotates in FRONT of Shun during the P+G break, then you need to break the opposite direction of the side they end up on. If they end up to the left of the screen, break right, and if they end up to the right of the screen, break left.

If the opponent rotates BEHIND Shun during the P+G break, you need to break the same direction as the side they end up on. If they're on the left of the screen, break left. If they're on the right of the screen, break right.

This took my success rate to more or less 100% on the side throw break after doing the drill for a little bit in training mode. This is super useful to have down, because at a certain level P+G will get broken all the time, and it's good to be ready to defend appropriately when it does.

I'll upload a video and attach it to this post to demonstrate me executing the technique in the lab to show it is viable. I might think of some similar "rules of thumb" for Shun's other post-break scenarios later, as that may also be useful.

 

Here are some images to illustrate the technique I'm discussing.


In this case, the opponent passes behind us and ends up on the left of the screen. Knowing this, we know that we must break left to escape a side throw. The opponent passed behind us, so we will break the same side as they end up on (left).

As you can see - they are on our left arm.


In this case, the opponent passes in front of us and ends up on the left of the screen. Knowing this, we know that we must break right to escape a side throw. The opponent passed in front of us, so we will break opposite the side they end up on (right).

As you can see - they are on our right arm.


In this case, the opponent passes behind us and ends up on the right of the screen. Knowing this, we know that we must break right to escape a side throw. The opponent passed behind us, so we will break the same side they end up on (right).

As you can see - they are on our right arm.


In this case, the opponent passes in front of us and ends up on the right of the screen. Knowing this, we know that we must break left to escape a side throw. The opponent passed in front of us, so we will break opposite the side they end up on (left).

As you can see - they are on our left arm.

So yeah, this isn't a revelation or anything, but I found it very helpful figuring this out. I now know much sooner which side the throw will come from, and can plan my defense accordingly, rather than trying to react after the throw escape has finished its animation completely and then trying to figure out orientation.