Movelist

Throws

1. Kubikime Otoshi - b/f+C

Kim grabs the opponent and knocks them down in front of him
hard knockdown
opponent will be facing with their back turned when they get up
lots of time to setup an offense after the throw

2. Sakkyaku Nage - b/f+D

Kim throws the opponent in the opposite direction that he was facing
the opponent gets up with their back turned, but they can recovery roll it
Kim only has time to setup a good offense afterwards if he throws the opponent into the corner while he is cornered

Command Normals

1. Neri Chagi - f+B

Kim does an axe kick which has good range and is faster than most other overhead command normals in the game
overhead if not cancelled into
does one hit if executed by itself, and two hits if cancelled into

Special Moves

1. Sanren Geki - qcb+Ax3

Kim does two kicks, the first angled upwards, while the second one is horizontal, then finishes with a two hit Neri Chagi
each input can be delayed
the last hit of the third qcb+A is an overhead and supercancellable
free cancellable into
free cancellable out of on all hits

2. Sanren Geki - qcb+Cx3

Kim does two kicks, the same as his qcb+Ax2. On the third qcb+C, he will do two kicks in the air
very punishable if the last qcb+C is performed
each input can be delayed
supercancellable into qcb hcf+BD SDM on the last hit of the third qcb+C
free cancellable into
free cancellable out of the first two hits
first hit of qcb+C does more damage than first hit of qcb+A, even though they have the same startup speed, hitbox and recovery

3. Sankuu Kyaku - qcb+P uf+K d+K

Kim does an upwards angled kick, then jumps and kicks high when uf+K is input, then does an overhead smash as he comes down with d+K
each input can be delayed. This chain is generally hard to punish
qcb+C does almost double the damage of qcb+A
supercancellable into the qcb hcf+BD SDM on impact of uf+K
the d+K is an overhead hard knockdown

4. Haki Kyaku - d d+K

Kim stomps the ground, creating a yellow aura around him
d+D is a hard knockdown while d+B does not knock over the opponent
hits low
can negate ground projectiles, including Mature's qcf hcb+P
supercancellable
there exists a bug that allows him to cancel this move into a neutral stance when he has less than two stocks and not in maxmode, by doing qcb hcf+BD when it hits. He will flash as if doing a maxmode cancel, yet this cancel does not require being in maxmode. In addition, if done Kim has two stocks or more, he will simply supercancel the move into the DM, which is probably not desirable

5. Hishou Kyaku - qcf+K(air)

Kim flies angled downwards at his opponent. qcf+B is angled 30 degrees while qcf+D is angled 45 degrees
if this move is blocked, Kim rebounds from the opponent and can followup with D
if the opponent is hit with this move, Kim does a series of kicks and bounces off, knocking the opponent back
cannot be executed during a hop, only a normal or super jump

5a. Tsuika Kougeki - D (after Hishou Kyaku qcf+K(air))

Kim does a kick that looks the same as his jump D
this move does no damage even if it hits

6. Hien Zan - _d u+K

Kim does a backflip kick into the air
_d u+B comes out very fast, hits behind Kim and can do two hits on counterhit, while _d u+D does multiple hits but lacks priority like _d u+B has
_d u+D not a good idea when the opponent is not in the air, since even if the first hit makes contact with opponent, the rest of the hits can still whiff
D version is supercancellable on the first hit. There is a bug that results in it being supercancellable in the air, but only if one of the hits connects with the opponent behind Kim
_d u+D can be followed up by d+D on the last hit
free cancellable into
_d u+D is free cancellable out of on the first hit on the ground

6a. Tenshou Zan - d+D after Hien Zan _d u+D

Kim does an overhead kick as he's coming down, doing some good damage
hard knockdown
overhead

DMs

1. Hou'ou Hiten Kyaku - qcfx2+K

Kim does a fast vertical anti-air kick, which has some startup invincibility
qcfx2+B knocks the opponent back a bit, while qcfx2+D hits them straight up
opponent can be juggled while in the air

2. Hou'ou Kyaku - qcb hcf+K

Kim dashes across the screen quickly. If he connects, he combos the opponent with a series of attacks. If this is blocked, he does nothing and can be punished easily
qcb hcf+B makes him go about 3/4 screen, while qcb hcf+D is full screen
hard knockdown on the last hit

SDMs

1. Kuuchuu Hou'ou Kyaku - qcb hcf+BD(air)

Kim flies across the screen. If he connects, he does a series of attacks. Otherwise, he will land in front of the opponent and be open to attack
hard knockdown on the last hit
it is possible to supercancel into this move from the ground, but it's difficult. The bug involves inputting the motion as qcb hcf+ABCD, then D one frame after, as opposed to just qcb hcf+BD. If done correctly, ground supercancellable moves like qcb+B, qcb+Ax3 and _d u+D can be supercancelled on the ground, into this move

HSDMs

1. Zero Kyori Hou'ou Kyaku - qcb hcf+ABCD

Kim grabs the opponent and does an auto combo ending in a flash kick that knocks the opponent far away
instant one frame throw

Notes

cancellable normals are close A, crouch A, crouch B(last frame, not useful), close B, close C(2), crouch C, close D, crouch D, jump A
CD is cancellable into specials and DMs

Combos

Anywhere:
1. Close C, qcfx2+D, _d u+D d+D/qcb hcf+K - 45%/50%
2. Close C, qcb+B, (S)qcfx2+K, qcb hcf+K/(_d u+D, d+D) - 70%/65%
3. Crouch B, Crouch A, qcb+P, uf+K, d+K - 30%

Corner:
1. Close C, qcfx2+K, _d u+D(1), (S)qcfx2+D, _d u+D(1), (S)qcfx2+D, _d u+D, d+D - 90%

Maxmode:
1. (~Crouch A, Close C(2))/f+B, BC, run Close C(2), qcb hcf+ABCD - 65%
2. Close C(2)/f+B, BC, run Close C(2), qcb+Cx2, qcb+D, _d u+D, d+D - 50%
3. Close C(2)/f+B, BC, run Close C(2), qcb+Cx2, qcb+B, (S)qcfx2+K, _d u+D(1), (S)qcfx2+K, _d u+D, d+D - 95% (Corner, 100% with jump strong attack)
4. Close C(2)/f+B, BC, run Close C(2), qcb+Cx3, (S)qcb hcf+BD - 80%
5. Close C(2), qcb+B, (S)qcfx2+D, BC, qcb+Cx3, (S)qcb hcf+BD - 90-95% (Corner, 100% with jump strong attack)

Counterhit:
1. CD(counterhit), _d u+D d+D - 35% (Corner)
2. CD(counterhit), _d u+D(1), (S)qcfx2+K, _d u+D(1), (S)qcfx2+K, _d u+D d+D/qcb hcf+K - 80% (Corner)
3. Jump CD(counterhit), qcf+K(air) - 20%

Strategies

Overview

Kim is definitely one of the best characters in the game, and I'd rate him on the highest tier alongside Athena, Billy and Choi. He is very offensively oriented, and requires some decent execution ability to be able to execute most of his combos. To fully master Kim's stomp glitch pressure, the player will need very good execution and lots of practice.

Kim works well in any order - first, second or third. If he has no meter(or one stock), he can utilize the stomp glitch which makes his rushdown even more dangerous. In addition, he can make full use of some strings when the opponent has no stock. As a character with stock, he can do huge damage off of almost everything, including his f+B overhead, which is why he is a great character wherever he is placed on the team.

Pros:

very damaging combos that result in good positioning
safe guard strings for the most part
very good normals and jump attacks that cover all situations, as well as a great crossup
very fast overhead that leads to damaging combos
a number of anti-airs for different uses

Cons:

needs to get in to do damage

Pressuring

The Attack String

One of the first things any Kim player needs to learn how to execute and use the close C, qcb+C, uf+K, d+K combo/attack string. On block, it causes a lot of damage on the guardcrush bar, effectively guard crushing in 3-4 repetitions. The string itself, when not delayed, is safe against many characters that don't have very fast normals or one frame grabs, but by delaying uf+K and d+K hits in the string, you can reduce the recovery of the final hit and push Kim back enough to be out of range of those punishes.

The only main disadvantage to delaying the uf+K and d+K is that it gives the opponent a window to pull out a fast reversal attack in between. At the same time though, delaying the moves results in mindgames. You can decide to do close C, qcb+C, then wait a fair bit, making the opponent think you might not even followup, or to bait them into doing one.

Also keep in mind that if the opponent has stock, then they can punish the string if they guard roll the qcb+C and you continue by doing uf+K. If they have meter, you should stop after the close C or the qcb+C and try to bait out a guard roll, in which you can do a meaty close C on top of them when they come out of the guard roll.

Other Tools

A great tool for Kim to get into range where he can start/continue pressuring, is his hyper hop C. The hitbox is very wide, covering grounded opponents as well as opponents trying to jump at you or away from you. It's very difficult to deal with. To best make use of this, Kim should do it early in the jump since the move itself has some startup delay.

The other great pressuring tool is his run up close C. It has a 2 frame startup and a large activation range (meaning that Kim has to be further than normal in order for the far C to come out instead of close C). The run up is a useful frame trap after they have blocked a poke such as crouch B, crouch A or far A.

Kim's f+B overhead is a big threat for a number of reasons. His pressure strings involve jumpins, fast dash in close C's and low attacks, and a fast overhead, all of which can lead to high damage combos.

So to summarize some of the options he has for pressure:

1. far A -> hyper hop C

This keeps the pressure on them after doing a far A, especially if they think the pressure has ended after your far A and want to either jump away or jump towards you.

2. crouch B/crouch A/far A -> run close C

Very useful frame trap, especially if you can hit confirm the close C after into qcb hcf+K

3. crouch B -> crouch A -> run up b+C throw

This is useful when you think the opponent feels afraid. Run forward and then hit b+C, in order to do a normal throw as fast as possible from a run. If you screw it up, a close C/far C will come out, which isn't really a bad thing.

4. crouch B -> [crouch B] -> f+B

You can either do one or two crouch B's, followed by his f+B overhead. They will generally not want to move if you have imposed fear into them using the frame traps with close C.

5. crouch B -> crouch A -> delayed f+B

This setup is different than the above. If crouch A is cancelled in it's later frames, then f+B comes out as if it was not cancelled into. This is the "late cancel" glitch.

6. close C -> delayed f+B

This is similar to the above except uses close C. close C must be cancelled during the late frames of the move, making it come out as an uncancelled f+B overhead rather than a cancelled into f+B (which is not an overhead and comes out slow). Practice is needed until you get down this time. If the overhead does connect, Kim can cancel into maxmode and run forward to perform a high damage max combo.

7. close C -> d d+D

This is a complimentary setup to the above one, ending in a low stomp instead. It only works if Kim is standing right next to the opponent, otherwise the d d+D stomp will whiff. If the opponent is aware of the fact that Kim can do big damage off the close C, delayed f+B setup, then they will probably block high by default, in which case this setup with the stomp will more likely hit. Watch out if the opponent has stock to guard roll, as whiffing the stomp is not safe.

8.

When Kim is waking up

Kim has many useful reversals but you really need to know their properties. You also need to be able to react to whether the opponent's jump is a safe jump (jumps in which by the time your reversal comes out, they would land and be able to block it in time).

If the opponent does a safe jump, your best bet is probably to block since your reversals won't come out in time. If you think he is going to block the moment he lands, you can instead do a reversal f+C throw. If your throw comes out just a bit before he lands, a 2 frame close C will come out instead - otherwise you will throw. The close C coming out in that situation is very useful because it also beats any attempts of the opponent doing empty jumps into low attacks. Watch out if the opponent has landed before Kim has gotten a chance to get up because if you try to do a f+C throw and mistime, he might catch you with a meaty normal. The meaty normal will also beat a reversal close C.

If someone attempts a jump attack that doesn't look like a safe jump, or a crossup, a B flash kick can be an option here as it also hits a bit behind Kim (though there are some instances where you can whiff if they are trying to crossup). Keep in mind that certain jump attacks, such as Clark/Ralf's jump CD, can beat Kim's B flash kick. If they are doing this, you might have to respect it and block, or perhaps roll away. qcfx2+D is not recommended in this situation as it's too slow.

If the opponent is standing in front of you, there are a couple of things to note - there are some characters, such as Leona, Iori, Choi, Angel, etc that have certain low moves that will go underneath Kim's B flash kick, making it whiff entirely. In addition, meaty low attacks such as crouch D's, can beat the qcfx2+K DM. Finally, the D flash kick has trouble "picking up" many crouching characters off the floor, meaning that the first hit will connect but the rest will whiff, unless you supercancel the first hit (preferably to the qcfx2+D DM which is much safer and results in more damage).

If you are getting up with Kim with your back turned, and the opponent does a deep jump attack, there is nothing reliable that Kim can reversal with to get out of the situation. D flash kick, B flash kick, qcfx2+K and qcb hcf+K all end up going the wrong way, completely missing the opponent. The B flash kick has a secondary hit that hits behind him but that hit comes out late and will probably connect after the opponent has landed from their jump, and even if it does hit them, it doesn't knockdown so the opponent will be able to combo you even if they got hit.

In the end, you just have to know your opponent. Generally, you should try to limit the amount of risky guesses but do enough to keep the opponent honest to the point where they might want to second guess applying pressure on you.