Notation

Notation is shorthand for game input. It's used extensively throughout both this wiki and the wider Tekken community. Notation is distinct from jargon, e.g. “active frames”.

Basic Input

Notation	Meaning
1	Left Punch
2	Right Punch
3	Left Kick
4	Right Kick

Notation	Meaning
u	Up
d	Down
f	Forward
b	Backward
n	Neutral (no direction)
U	Up (Hold)
D	Down (Hold)
F	Forward (Hold)
B	Backward (Hold)

Notation	Meaning	Example
/	Diagonal directional input	u/f
+	Pressed together	1+2
,	Followed by	1,2
~	Followed by, immediately	1~2
:	Followed by, tight input window	1:2
<	Followed by, with delayed input	1<2
^	Held input	1^

Notation	Meaning	Example
CH	Counter-hit	CH 1,1	1,1, where the first hit is a counter hit
CL	Clean hit	CL 1,1	1,1, where the first hit is a clean hit
()	Whiffed or blocked moves	(1,2),1	1,2,1, where the first 2 hits whiff or get blocked
(x?)	Repeat string ? times	1,2,f~n(x3)	1,2,f~n repeated 3 times
[]	Damage	[16] 1,2	1,2, doing 16 damage in total

Combo annotations

Notation	Meaning
R!	Requires rage
S!	Screw
W!	Wall splat or wall bounce
F!	Floor break
WB!	Wall break
BB!	Balcony break

Stances

Stances give access to additional moves. They also often prevent the use of regular, standing moves. If a stance only has one move and one transition, it's usually preferable to just write the full input.

Generic stances

WR	While running
WS	While standing
FC	Full crouch
BT	Back turned
FUFT	Face up, feet towards
FUFA	Face up, feet away
FDFT	Face down, feet towards
FDFA	Face down, feet away

Pseudo-stances are not really stances, but it can be helpful to notate them as if they were.

Character-specific stances

Abbreviation	Stance	Character	Input
HMS	Hitman Stance	Lee	3+4
INF	Infinite Kicks	Lee	(pseudo)
MS	Mist Step	Lee	f~n

Spaces and commas

When writing out a combo, consistent use of spaces and commas helps with readability.

Commas are only used to separate inputs within a string, and should not have a space after them.

Spaces are used to separate almost everything else: strings, stances, damage, counter/clean hit, and combo annotations.

Spaces can be omitted in some cases if it improves readability. The most notable case is writing movement stances in lowercase and without a space, e.g. “ws2” instead of “WS 2”. This should be avoided if there's also a directional input, e.g. write “WS b+1” and not “wsb+1” or “WSb+1”.

Conditions

Some moves can only be done under certain conditions. In these cases, the notation for that move's "input" includes some non-input representing that condition.

Notation	Meaning	Example
p	Successful parry	b+1+2,p,4

Motion inputs

Motion inputs must specify when the final directional input is a hold. This clarifies that the attack input can't be pressed on the same frame. It also often indicates that the input can't be fully buffered.

Character	Move	Explanation
Bryan	f,b+2	The b and 2 can be pressed on the same frame, will still work if b is pressed earlier
Heihachi	f,F+2	The second F must be pressed and held at least one frame before the 2
Heihachi	d,d/f,f+2	The f and 2 can be pressed on the same frame, will still work if f is pressed earlier
Lee	d,D/B+4	The D/B must be pressed and held at least one frame before the 4

Other notation styles

Two different notable notation styles are Iron Fist (also known as official or in-game notation) and numpad (also known as anime notation). Numpad style is so-named because the directional inputs are based on their position on a numpad.

Wavu Wiki	Iron Fist	Numpad
1	1	LP
2	2	RP
3	3	LK
4	4	RK
1+2	1+2	LP+RP
1+2+3	1+2+3	LP+RP+LK
1+2+3+4	1+2+3+4	LP+RP+LK+RK

Wavu Wiki	Iron Fist	Numpad
u	u	8
d	d	2
f	f	6
b	b	4
n	n	5
u/f	u/f	9
d/f	d/f	3
d/b	d/b	1
u/b	u/b	7

Wavu Wiki	Iron Fist	Numpad
U	U
D	D
F	F
B	B
U/F	U/F
D/F	D/F
D/B	D/B
U/B	U/B

Wavu Wiki	Iron Fist	Numpad
1~2	[12]	LP~RP
u/f+4 f,F+3	u/f4>fF3	9RK,66LK
d,D/B+4 3~3:4	dD/B4>[33]:4	21RK,LK~LK:RK

Numpad style is more common in South Korea and Japan. In Japan, LP+RP and LK+RK are often shortened to WP and WK respectively.

See also

• Wavu:TZ Archive