Example of a Dive Kick, the Falcon Kick.
Dive Kick is a universal term for a certain style of attack in the Street Fighter series.
Description[]
Dive Kick is used to describe attacks that do the following:
- Usually (at varying timings) momentarily stall the aerial momentum of the user.
- Change aerial trajectory.
- Usually (but not always) changes the hurtbox properties of it's user.
- Attack stays active throughout the duration of the attack.
Dive Kick users usually tend to have more floaty jumps so that they could take advantage of the trajectory change their dive kicks provide and possibly discourage anti air attempts.
Tactics[]
Cammy's Cannon Strike as a prime example of a Dive Kick in Street Fighter V.
While a variety of dive kicks appear throughout the series, their utility and strength vary significantly, with characters that use their dive kick as part of their core design and gameplan, and characters that simply use it as one of many options, similar to the relationship between command grabs and grapplers. Examples of the former include Cammy, Rufus, Yun, and Yang, while examples of the latter include Akuma, Necalli, and Seth.
Characters that do not heavily rely on their dive kick have more restrictions with their own versions, such as a slower start up, only being available at the apex of their jump, and being less advantageous on block or hit, forcing precise spacing. These characters are intended to occasionally use their Dive Kicks alongside crossups, altering their jump arcs, and beating certain options.
Characters built around their dive kicks have less restrictions and more advantages, such as a hurtbox designed to avoid low attacks. Some of Yang's advanced combos require Yang to jump and whiff a low dive kick to continue his sequence. At some spaces Rufus can wake up with his Falcon Kick to avoid a throw then do his own throw or combo. These dive kicks also have a lower height restriction, such as Rufus's Falcon Kick having none at all while Yun and Yang's Raigeki Shu having more leniency than Akuma's Tenmakujinkyaku.
Some attacks offer a few of the properties associated with dive kicks, but tend to lack the same versatility and safety, such as Devil Reverse and Divebomb. These tools are used to instead bait anti-airs by modifying trajectory and timing to be different from that of a jumping attack.
Trivia[]
- In Street Fighter II: Champion Edition Dhalsim had his Height Restriction for Yoga Mummy and Yoga Spear removed, these two attacks could be considered the predecessors of modern dive kicks as they had similar applications and usage in that game.
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