Handicap

Handicap is an optional feature in some Street Fighter games.

Description
Handicap allows players to lower the health of their character willingly, meaning that the character starts off each round without the percentage chosen. This is completely optiional in all games it is a feature in. Some games allow the player to also set the handicap of CPU opponents. It should be noted that the percentage is off the character's total health, a value that is different for each character in modern games. For example Ibuki has 900HP in Street Fighter IV, so setting 50% means it will be 50% of Ibuki's total 900 HP. It should be noted that unlike other games such as Tekken Tag Tournament 2 players can't set health higher than the selected HP value for their chosen character, so Ibuki can't be over 900 without modifications.

Usage
Handicap allows more skilled players to willingly limit themselves against less skilled opponents. Some challenges can even have one skilled player remove all but 1 HP where any hit or chip damage can lead to a loss. Handicap is generally not an option in online game modes.