Identify the stance entry before guessing the follow-up
Alex can reach close pressure through Aerial Knee Smash or enter Breaker Stance after Flash Axe. These routes offer different visual cues. Name the entry first, then distinguish a grounded strike, command throw, or hop instead of treating all forward stance movement as the same attack.
What to watch for
OD Knee into dash pressure
The guide lists heavy Power Bomb, back medium kick, normal throw, crouching heavy punch, and guard after this knockdown. A dash does not lock Alex into the command throw.
Medium Flash Axe into Breaker Stance
The documented options include forward stance movement into Slash Elbow or Tactical Hop, then a jump attack or landing Power Bomb. Keep the stance movement in the recording; testing a raw hop misses its setup.
How to deal with common situations
A strong Knee ender occurs midscreen
The source uses a stopped Drive Rush into a delayed low, delayed throw, or retreat. It uses a different dash setup at the corner. Check screen position before applying the same wake-up timing.
You keep jumping away from Power Bomb
The OD-Knee setup also contains strikes intended for the next close exchange. Record one of those alongside the grab and compare the cost of your escape. A successful jump against the throw does not solve the strike branch.
Distance-specific responses
Before the stance reaches you
Watch whether the movement stays grounded or becomes Tactical Hop. Practice those two arrivals first instead of trying to react to every stance possibility at once.
After Knee in the middle
Notice the rush stop and whether Alex delays the low or throw. An immediate response learned against the corner dash is not automatically timed for this route.
At the corner knockdown
Match the Knee strength or the Flying Cross Chop ender before choosing your defense. The latter has its own back-medium-kick and Power Bomb setup in the guide.
Common mistakes
- Treating every Breaker Stance advance as a throw.
- Reusing the midscreen Knee timing in the corner.
- Testing Tactical Hop without the preceding Flash Axe route.
Training mode practice steps
Use your own character as the defender. Turn on the frame meter and input history so you can distinguish a real answer from a mistimed recording.
Separate grounded stance and hop
Record medium Flash Axe into the documented stance movement. Make one slot end in Slash Elbow and another in hop into attack; add landing Power Bomb after you can distinguish the first two. Keep the setup distance fixed initially.
Defend the OD-Knee choices
Record OD Aerial Knee Smash into dash and either Power Bomb, back medium kick, or guard. Verify the approach, then compare blocking, throw evasion, and reversal against each. Record which branch defeats each choice.
Draws on Alex’s OD/strong Aerial Knee Smash, medium-Flash-Axe stance, and Flying Cross Chop setplay sections. Older assessment frame values are not repeated. For current numerical values, use the linked Frame Data page and confirm important situations in Training Mode.