SvC Chaos: SNK Vs Capcom/Serious Mr. Karate

本気になったMr.カラテ, Honki ni Natta Mr. Karate
Difficulty	Easy Execution, Hard Gameplay
Max Mode Needed?	Essential
Tier Placement	Pretty Good (B)
Standing Hitbox	Average
Crouching Hitbox	Short

Introduction

Serious/Shin Mr.Karate (SMK for short), or in Japanese known as "Honki ni Natta Karate," is a beefed up version of the classic AOF boss. If you're an Art of Fighting fan, good news: Serious Mr. Karate is loosely based off of his AOF1 iteration. He can jump off walls, has only his Exceed super, huge Haoh Shou Kou Ken fireballs, hard-hitting attacks, etc. Whether SMK is considered a good character or not, let alone if he's better than normal Mr. Karate, is very debatable and, depending on who you ask, boils down to eye of the beholder. Two things are certain, though: he's definitely not a god tier, and without Max Mode, he's borderline garbage. Give him Max Mode though, and in the right hands he can pose a threat. While not the most unorthodox, he is still a pretty interesting boss character with his heavy Max Mode reliant gameplay and unique move list.

Pros	Cons
Very fun to play when it all comes together Great walking speed Max Mode makes him a monstrous threat to deal with has wall jumps Able to charge his own meter like in Art of Fighting Faster normals Can punch out normal projectiles A few unblockables up his sleeve Never fools around	One of the hardest characters in the game Is abysmal without Max Mode You must save meter for Max Mode Cannot cancel anything without Max Mode No real super moves Light attack chains are mediocre Lost his running grab Has to rely on really repetitive strategies outside of Max Mode Almost zero combos without Max Mode

How to select Serious Mr. Karate (Outside of Super Plus)

• You wish to play as Serious Mr. Karate? Do these inputs below, before the timer reaches 10 (AES Only):

• (While holding start) Up, Left, Up, Down, Right(2x), Down, Left, Up, Left, Right(2x), and press a button to select him

• Console Method: Hold R1/RT above Kasumi Todoh

Moves List

Normal Moves

Important note to remember: Serious Mr. Karate cannot normal cancel his normal moves, but he can Free Cancel them in Max Mode.

Far/Close Normals

Important note regarding Serious Mr. Karate's close and far normals: A, B, and D are nearly identical in their close and far versions, however they have very slight differences in frame data. Close and far kick buttons have different hitboxes depending on proximity.

cl/st.A

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	4	4	cl.A= 4 ; st.A= 5	13	cl.A= +4 ; st.A= +3	cl.A= +2 ; st.A= +1	-
It's a starter for his Light Attack chains, but will whiff against low crouching chars. It has the same speed as the normal Mr.Karate. You can also use this to punch out normal projectiles.

cl/st.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Can be used as a finisher for Light Attack chains without whiffing against low crouchers. Can be used as a poke, or even to anti-air. It has the same speed as the normal Mr. Karate. Close hitbox is a tall vertical box covering most of SMK's leg. Far hitbox is a square centered ending at the edge of his foot. It is farther away from SMK than cl.B, but reaches slightly higher and farther past his foot.

cl.C

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Simple strong punch. The recovery of the move is different from the normal version, but is faster than the normal Karate's.

st.C

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Very fast to use as a poke. This move is faster than the normal Karate's.

cl/st.D

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
This move was Takuma's in the early KOF games as an anti-air. The normal Mr. Karate doesn't have this move. Close hitbox is similar to B, with a tall rectangular hitbox covering SMK's leg reaching above his foot a little, but ends at the center of his body. Far hitbox is more square like, and overall wider, but does not cover as much of his leg.

Crouch Normals

cr.A

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	4	3	7	14	+2	+0	-
This move isn't that useful when compared to the normal Mr.Karate. It's slower, isn't used much in Light Attack chains due to poor reach, and can't even chain into itself, or other Light attacks. You can stop normal, ground-based projectiles using the tip of this punch.

cr.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	6	3	11	20	-2	-4	-
The normal Mr.Karate doesn't have this move. It has great reach, possibly the best reach of his moves, and is faster than Mr.Karate's cr.B. It's the best finisher for Light Attack chains with its reach.

cr.C

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	6	2, 3	17	28	-2	-4	-
It's the same as the normal Mr.Karate's cr.C, but with better recovery. Good when used to anti-air while you charge downback.

cr.D

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	11	3	21	35	SKD	-6	-
A simple sweep that knocks down. Nothing very special.

Jumping Normals

(n)j.A

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	4	13	-	-	-	-	-
Neutral/Diagonal Jumping Attack Shin Karate will do a punch exactly like his j.C, but it will stay for a longer time, and will do less damage. The normal Karate's j.A is different.

(n)j.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	6	12	-	-	-	-	-
Neutral/Diagonal Jumping Attack Incredible move. It can crossup with ease, making it one of his best jump attacks. The reach and the angle in this kick are really helpful too. The normal Karate doesn't have this move in his arsenal.

(n)j.C

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	8	5	-	-	-	-	-
Neutral/Diagonal Jumping Attack A simple punch with good damage to use on jump-ins. Nothing very special. The normal Karate's j.C is the same as this move.

nj.D

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	5	4	-	-	-	-	-
Neutral Jumping Attack You won't be using this so much, but you can use this in neutral jump combos. The normal Mr.Karate has this move too.

j.D

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	10	8	-	-	-	-	-
Diagonal Jumping Attack Very tricky to use on combos due to the startup, but good anyway. Can be used to crossup too. The normal Mr. Karate can do this move.

Command Moves

Yoke Migi Seiken Zuki

• b+LP - This move isn't that useful. Shin Karate will stop by a brief moment, and a little time after that, he will do a normal punch(With the same animation as his s.LP, but will push your opponent by a longer distance). While Mr. Karate is in the "stop" animation, he will have upper body invincibility(Only moves with a hitbox near from the ground can hit him). Unlike his s.LP, it will hit most crouching characters, and you can't make projectiles vanish with it too. You can't normal cancel it.

Ducking shite Mawashi Geri

• b+LK - Same properties as the move above, but he will do his s.LK(With a sprite included). Like the move above, you can't normal cancel this move.

Jigoku Zuki

• df+HP - Shin Karate will do a punch. It's pretty good, I can say. Why? It's an overhead, and can be the fastest of all ground overheads in this game. It will knock your opponent down, and you can't normal cancel it. Good to use on wakeup games.

Soku Gatana

• df+HK - Shin Karate will do a kick that hits low, and will knock your opponent down. It's very fast too, you can use it on wakeup mixups.

Kiryoku Tame

• Press(and hold) LP, LK and HP - Shin Karate will begin charging his meter as you hold the button, and he'll quickly stop after you release the button. While he's charging, the (kind of) blue energy that envolves him will negate normal projectiles(And some super ones), and he'll continue charging after the projectile hits. It can be dangerous to use against some characters(Like EQ with his Fat Guilty), so watch out. This move is very important to Shin Karate's game, and remember: In Max Mode, you can use this move, but you won't get meter.

Special Moves

Ko'ou Ken '02

• QCF+P - Do you remember Takuma's Ko'ou Ken? That invisible one? If yes, you know... That sucks a lot. Here, it is the same thing, but the "projectile" can negate some Supers too. It's very fast, but it won't help you so much on combos(But he has some possible ones). The projectile will come out faster in the LP version, but the it won't hit your opponent if he/she's full screen away(While the HP version can hit your opponent in there).

Zanretsu Ken

• f, b, f+P - This move is one of the best in Shin Karate's arsenal. He will begin punching, and if he connects while he/she isn't blocking, Shin Karate will do 25 hits on the opponent(There's almost no difference between the versions, but Shin Karate will punch for a longer time if the punches are whiffing your opponent). It's one of the most damaging moves in his arsenal, and can be used as a followup for the HK Hien Shippu Kyaku. If your opponent blocks it, Shin Karate won't be pushed away from your opponent, and your opponent will stay blocking(And won't be pushed away from Shin Karate), where he/she can do a GCF when he/she wants. (Note: If this move was blocked, your opponent won't receive any damage). You can't even MAX cancel the last hit(Unlike Ryo in '02).

Built Upper

• DP+P - This move is great. It's like a simple DP, but there are differences between the versions. The LP version will do only one hit(Two if it does a counter hit), can be comboed from the Light Attacks in Max Mode(Only the Lights), and will make Shin Karate land faster(Can be MAX canceled too). The HP version will make him jump higher, and he will do 3 hits(Where the first 2 hits can be MAX canceled). This move is very useful on his MAX loops.

Hien Shippuu Kyaku

• Charge db, f+K - This move is good. The LK version will do only one hit, and you won't use it so much. The HK version is his combo source outside of Max Mode(Like his normal counterpart), because the second hit will put your opponent in that beautiful juggle state(You can followup it with almost anything he has).

Kyokugen Kohou

• QCF(2x)+K - This was a Super move in the normal Mr. Karate's arsenal. It can be used as a followup for the HK Hien Shippu Kyaku, and the first two hits can be MAX canceled(They have the same animation and properties as the HP version of his DP). There is a loop involving this move too.

Kishin Geki

• QCB(2x)+P (While near from the opponent) - What is this move...? I don't know, but the first punch is unblockable, and the other two can be blocked. This move is a little predictable(Your opponent can just jump/backdash to avoid the unblockable punch). (Note: You can't do it on a knocked opponent.)

Haou Shikou Ken

• f, HCF+P (You can hold the button to delay it) - Super from the normal counterpart. There isn't so much difference between the two of them. The differences are: If you hold the button pressed, you'll get more damage(The normal Karate couldn't get more than the damage of a Super), and if you don't release the button, the projectile will be unblockable. The LP version will be slower, and a little easier to jump. The HP version is faster, and the jump timing can be almost impossible for some characters.

Chou Haou Shikou Ken

• f, HCF+PP (can hold) - The normal counterpart's Exceed, but with some differences. First, the more hold the button, more damage you'll get, and if you don't release it, it will be unblockable, like the "Super" version. Another difference is that this move will do 2 hits by projectile(The normal Karate's Exceed could do only one hit by projectile. Oh, did I said that the normal counterpart's version of this move is faster, and if you hold the button, the normal will release the projectile after the Shin Karate? That's strange, but it's true.

Exceed

Chou Ryuuko Ranbu

• QCF, HCB+PP - Hmm... This is a move that the normal Karate was needing... What can I say? This move isn't that useful for combos, but it's unblockable, and the damage is incredible. You can use as a meaty after any combo(Assuming it knocks your opponent down), or even while your opponent is stunned. Sadly, it can't be used to followup the HK Hien Shippu Kyaku.

The Basics

Shin Karate's gameplan

His gameplan is simple. It's called "Max Mode", the only way to do damaging combos and loops, and you just need to hold 3 buttons to get into it. He is an offensive character(Not agressive), but if he's being pressured, he can hardly escape. Don't worry about defensive options too, he has good(And very fast) anti-airs to use in his arsenal. In the normal mode, the best thing he can do are only HK Hien Shippu Kyaku combos, negate projectiles with a single punch, charge his meter and GCF+grabs. His Exceed is something good(And important) on his arsenal, only because it's unblockable(You can better use it as a meaty on the opponent's wakeup), but it won't be good to use after normals/Command/Special Moves(You'll just lose the Exceed). To play him, you can be agressive, or even patient, which is good, because Shin Karate is a character with a big arsenal(but no Supers) to use on the offense or in the defense. Good luck in your matches.

Some Combos (Without Max Mode)
If you know some more options(Which can be hard), you can add'em here.

Links that you need to know:

1- [Jump Attack(Works better if you crossup the opponent)] s.LP(3-4x), cr.LK - 5 hits; 6 with a Jump Attack

His best Light Attack chain. With the Jump Attack crossup, you can get up to 6 hits with this simple link, but you can't combo after the cr.LK(I can't confirm that you can't, but it's almost impossible to combo after it, even in the Max Mode). It can be useful to stun your opponent(If he/she has low stamina).

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HK Hien Shippu Kyaku(Charge db, f+HK) combos:

1- Charge db, f+HK, (Almost)any move [If you knocked your opponent down, Meaty Exceed] - 52 hits(Assuming you used the f, b, f+P, and considering the Exceed's hits)

Another simple combo on the normal mode. Nothing very special, because you already know that the HK Hien will put your opponent in that juggle state. The only moves that can't combo with it are: b+LP/LK(That stop animation won't help you), df+HK(It's better when your opponent is on the ground, really), the same move(Just imagine how broken he would be!), the QCB(2x)+P(It can be used only near from the opponent, but only if he/she is standing), and the 2 versions of the Haoh Shikou Ken(The normal counterpart could combo with them... Strange...), and the Exceed(Strange too). The best followup for it is the f, b, f+P(It's the most damaging, and easiest one), but you can use the other ones.

Advanced Strategy

Some combos (With Max Mode)
His combo options in Max Mode are a little big, so I'll put here only some possible ones. You can add some more if you know good combos.

Built Upper(DP+P) combos

1- [Jump Attack] cr.LP/cr.LK, DP+LP [Meaty Exceed] - 28 hits(If you consider the Exceed's hits); 29 with a Jump Attack

Simple link to use, but he has better options to use. You can use this combo everywhere too. The combo will only work with the cr.LK if you crossup with the Jump Attack(If you want more damage and a low-hitting move, I mean).

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HK Hien combos:

1- [Jump Attack(While charging db)] cr.HP,(After the charge) f+HK, f, b, f+P(You can use other followups, this is just the most damaging one) [Meaty Exceed if you knocked your opponent down] - 53 hits(Again, considering the Exceed's hits); 54 with a Jump Attack

Good damage on this one(Better with a Meaty Exceed). It's used with the normal counterpart too. Can be used as a BnB for his game if you don't like loops.

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Loops:

1- DP+HP,(Max cancel the second hit) QCF(2x)+K,(MAX cancel the second hit) DP+HP, QCF(2x)+K ..(Until the MAX mode ends or if your opponent gets a stun).. 4n hits(Where n is the number of loops)

This is his main loop. He has some others, but I'll put only this one, because it's easier to do. You can use this everywhere too. There are some variations for this combo too, I'll put (Some of) them below. After the Max Mode ends, you can add a Meaty Exceed if you want, or if your opponent gets a stun, you can begin charging(To get on Max Mode again), hit your opponent with any combo ending with a knockdown(Won't matter if he/she recovery rolls), and do a meaty Exceed(Can insta K.O your opponent). If you want to begin with QCF(2x)+K, go ahead, the loop will work in the same way.

2- Charge db, f+HK, DP+HP/QCF(2x)+K,(MAX cancel the first/second hit) QCF+P(It needs to whiff), DP+HP/QCF(2x)+K, (Again) QCF+P ..(Stop when you want).. - 2+2n(You know what n is)

A simple variation with the HK Hien. Even if you learned the combo above, it can be a little hard to do. If you want, you can add the beginning of the combo number two(You'll get 2 more hits) and a Meaty Exceed after the combo(For more damage).

3- (Corner only) Do the DP+HP, QCF(2x)+K loop(You can do many loops if you want, it won't affect the combo), (While your Max gauge is ending, MAX cancel any second hit of any uppercut into) QCF+LP(It needs to hit now, and begin charging db here), cr.HP(Last cancel), (Stop charging) f+HK, f, b, f+P [Meaty Exceed] - 4n+54 hits

A corner variation to use after the basic loop. Pretty hard to do, but if you can do the loop, you can land it on a stunned opponent in the corner(Or even to punish).

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Resets (Part of the things below were a little copy and paste from the normal Karate's sections)

Resets are really important in this game, and the characters who have moves with juggle properties(Like Shin Karate) are almost experts on that. The normal Mr. Karate has 2 good resets(Or even more) to use in a match(But only midscreen ones). Shin Karate has some too, and I'll put here one to use in the normal mode, and other in Max Mode. Now for the normal one:

(Corner only? I think you can do it on midscreen, but I can't confirm) Charge db, f+HK, walk a little forward, Any Normal(The best to use are the s.LP/LK, and the cl.HP), (While your opponent is landing) Exceed

Really easy for a normal mode reset. The fact that the Exceed is unblockable makes you want to do it(Hit-confirming the Exceed is the best thing ever). Now for the Max Mode one:

(Corner only? Yeah, the question still stays) [Jump Attack(If you want to use it, charge db, and watch out if you crossup)] cr.HP(You can charge db before it too), (Stop charging db) f+HK, Do the loop number 4 and when you want, after any QCF+LP, Any normal, (While your opponent is landing) Exceed

Another hit-confirm to the Exceed. The cr.HP is better for punish situations. If you don't like loopss, you can use this instead:

(That question again) [Jump Attack(You know what would be here)] cr.HP(Again, you know), (Stop charging db) f+HK, DP+HP/QCF(2x)+K(MAX cancel the second hit into) QCF+LP, Any normal, (While your opponent is landing) Exceed

A little easier to do, and... Good luck with this, it won't be hard for you. Now, practice, and be the best.