Just Defend (Garou)

JD Basics

By defending an attack just before it connects, you can 'just defend' it. The just defend windows is normally 7 frames wide, and gives you the following benefits:

• Air Defense: There is no air blocking in Garou, but you can JD in the air.
• Gain Life: Regain a small amount of health for a successful JD, even against moves that would do chip damage when blocked.
• Shorter blockstun: If an attack is JD'ed, the block stun is reduced by 2 frames, allowing you to recover faster.
• Guard Cancel: Completing a special move (including T.O.P. attacks) during a JD will cause a Guard Cancel, immediately ending the block stun and going into the attack's animation. The motions of the command can be buffered before the JD occurs, or done entirely during the JD if you are fast enough.
• No guard meter loss: JD'ing a move will not bring you closer to a guard crush like blocking will.
• A Just Defense also increases your power gauge slightly

Much detailed information about JD was made by Xenozip. in this post:

JD vs. Blocking

When a JD occurs, you will be in a "JD stun" for a short while, just like how you will be in "block stun" if you have blocked it. As noted above, the JD stun will be 2 frames shorter than the block stun you would have been in had you blocked. This is important to know. When JD'ing multiple attacks in a row, if the sebsequent attack would connect when you are still in JD stun, then there is no real timing involved to do another JD; you just have to move the stick to any non-back direction, and then to a back direction before the subsequent hit. The 7 frame window doesn't apply, you can just wiggle the stick and have it work.

If the subsequent attack would hit after you have left JD stun, then your character is in a neutral state, and you must hit a blocking direction within the 7 frame window before it connects. This is easily seen against Hotaru's qcb+P move. If the first attacks are blocked or hit, then the entire 5 hit move combos. If the first hit is JD'ed, then the next three hits can be JD'ed by just wiggling the stick. The last hit is more difficult to JD because you must time it. Because JD stun is 2 frames shorter, your character actually leaves JD stun before the final hit connects, even though you would still have been in blockstun had you blocked. Since your character left JD stun, you have to time the JD of the final hit.

Air JD

When JD'ing in the air, the first JD must be to a back, or a down/back direction. When JD'ing multiple attacks that would hit while in JD stun, the subsequest JD's can be done in any back direction, including up/back.

JD Reset

When JD'ing, the stick must go from a non-back direction to a blocking direction within 7 frames of the attack hitting. This counter gets reset if your character lands. If you jump and hold down/back, you will automatically JD any hits that connect within 7 frames of you landing on the ground.