Kuma

Kuma
Heat	Shortens charge time of hold attacks Enhances ROLL stance Allows use of Wind Bear Fist
Heat Smash	Mid, i13, +10
Heat Engagers	1+2 b+1 b+1+2 WR.1+2 HBS.d+1+2
Stances	HBS (Hunting) – 3+4 ROLL (Bear Roll) – FC.1+2 SIT (Bear Sit) – d+3+4
Fastest
Launch	i15 – df+2,1 (standing) i15 – WS.2 (crouching)
CH launch	i10 – 1,1,1 (high)
Wall splat	i12 – f+2,1 (high)
Archetypal moves
Mid check	df+4
Hopkick	uf+3
Stature kick	db+3
Generic moves
Remapped	(none)
Missing	(none)
External links
Lore	Kuma
Twitter	#T8_Kuma
Discord	Big Bear Family🐾

This page is for Tekken 8. For Tekken 7, see Kuma (Tekken 7).

Kuma (and Panda, often just referred to as bears) is an oddball character specializing in ranged poking and whiff punishment.

Cursed with often terrible frame data on his moves and the worst overall mobility in the game between his huge size, lack of specialized movement tools and a generally bad backdash/sidestep, Kuma has to navigate the mid range carefully and deliberately, lest he gets run over by enemy pressure.

To offset this, the bears come equipped with some of the absolute best whiff punishment tools in the entire game. Kuma Musou (df+2,1) is an i15 whiff-confirmable launcher that hits all the way from range 3 for close to 45% damage without Heat on open ground. Demon Bear Breath (1+2) is an i13 mid stolen from Heihachi, which boasts similarly impressive range and heat engages. Kuma also has an array of ranged mids and low pokes to gradually chip away at the opponent from outside their effective range, and a decent selection of tracking keepout moves such as b,f+2, uf+1 or b+1+2, all of which deal considerable chip damage when blocked.

Holding down or pressing 3+4 after select moves transitions Kuma into the Hunting Bear Stance (HBS for short), a naturally high-crushing, mixup-focused stance. HBS allows some additional light pressure with the threat of an enormously plus on hit, fast low in HBS.2. This can be mixed up with HBS's good selection of safe, or even plus on block Mids.

Kuma's Heat allows him to become even deadlier in the neutral game, as he gains access to Wind Bear Fist, a plus on block launcher similar to the iconic Mishima Wind God Fist, which cannot be crouched under. His Heat Smash is also top class. It's incredibly fast at i13, has huge range, hits mid and does above average damage for a Heat Smash, further reinforcing his identity as the more "neutral" focused of the two bears.

Strengths

• Massive range and damage
• Possesses an i10 CH launch to keep opponents on their toes
• Unapologetically strong in Heat, dealing loads of chip damage with nearly uncontestable pressure
• Wonky hurtbox makes him much harder to hit with lows and gives him surprising evasion with HBS and moves like WR1+2
• Can be tricky to play against with a plethora of strings

Weaknesses

• Wonky hurtbox makes him more susceptible to unique, higher damage combos for nearly the entire cast, as well as making evading moves harder
• Somewhat hinges on players not knowing Kuma's strings very well
• Several launch punishable moves, including most of his lows and some of his key moves
• His strong lows are also slow

Key techniques

Mashing

importance

★★★★★

value

★★★★★

dexterity

★☆☆☆☆

rhythm

★★☆☆☆

Blocking

importance

☆☆☆☆☆

value

☆☆☆☆☆

dexterity

★★★★★

rhythm

★★★★★

External links

• Kuma/Panda Combo Guide | TEKKEN 8 by RyzingSol