Notation

From Wavu Wiki, the 🌊 wavy Tekken wiki

Notation is shorthand for game input. It's used extensively throughout both this wiki and the wider Tekken community. Notation is distinct from jargon.

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
: Pressed together on the same frame d/f:2
, Followed by[b 1] 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[b 2] (1,2),1 1,2,1, where the first two 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
  1. See also § Spaces and commas
  2. This is mostly important for counter hits: CH 1,2,1 means that the first hit is a counter hit, whereas CH (1,2),1 means that the last hit is.

Combo annotations

Notation Meaning
R! Requires Rage
Mn! Requires n bars of Meter
S! Screw (or Tailspin)
W! Wall splat or wall bounce
WB! Wall break
F! Floor break
BB! Balcony break
Notation Meaning Input
cc Crouch cancel
  • u~n
  • f,F
  • b,B
dash[c 1] Forward dash f,F
qcf Quarter-circle forward d,d/f,f
qcb Quarter-circle back d,d/b,b
hcf Half-circle forward b,d/b,d,d/f,f
hcb Half-circle back f,d/f,d,d/b,b
  1. Not written when obvious, e.g. after S!

Stances

Generic stances
WR While running[s 1]
WS While standing
FC Full crouch
BT Back turned
SS Sidestep
SSL Sidestep left
SSR Sidestep right
FUFT Face up, feet towards
FUFA Face up, feet away
FDFT Face down, feet towards
FDFA Face down, feet away

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.

Character-specific stances
Character Abbreviation Stance Input
Lee HMS Hitman Stance 3+4
Lee INF Infinite Kicks (pseudo)[s 2]
Lee MS Mist Step f~n
Lee Sway Sway MS b~n
Lei SNA Snake 3+4[s 3]
Lei DGN Dragon 3+4,1
Lei PAN Panther 3+4,2
Lei TGR Tiger 3+4,3
Lei CRA Crane 3+4,4
Lei PHX Phoenix Illusion b+1+4
Lei DRU Drunken Master f+3+4
Lei sSNA[s 4] Sitting Snake d/b+1
Lei f,n [s 5] Rush Step f,n
Lei KND Knockdown (Play Dead in-game Disambiguation) d+3+4
Lei PLD Play Dead (Play Dead in-game) d+2+3
Lei FCD Face Down (Sidewind in-game) d+1+2
Lei SLD Slide (Sidewind in-game) d+1+4
Zafina SCR Scarecrow 3+4
Zafina MNT Mantis [s 6] d+3+4
Zafina TRT Tarantula d+1+2
  1. Entered by f,f,F
  2. Not really a stance, but it can be helpful to notate it as if it were.
  3. Snake, Dragon, Panther, Tiger and Crane stances (5 gate animals) have lots of ways to enter the stances, specifically some players prefer to explain them through the Razor Rush cycle.
  4. Some players prefer Coiled Snake, or cSNA as an alternative title.
  5. Rush Step is technically a stance, but no one abbreviates it, nevertheless, Razor Rush is commonly seen abbreviated as RR as in RR 3 for the low kick in the end, RR 4 for the mid kick in the end, RR <stance> for a specific transition after a certain amount of hits ~~~This needs improving~~~.
  6. MNT 2+3 puts Zafina into BT MNT and out of it (the move is named Paradox in-game), it does not differ enough to be listed, no new moves, no specific abbreviation.

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

Held 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.

Frame Notations

Main Page: Movelist

Notation Example Explanation
+/- +10, -15 Frame Advantage (0 stays 0)
i i10[1] A move comes out on the 10th frame after animation initiation
f 10f[1] A move will be able to punish -10 at best
() 10 (12)[1] The move is i10, but can only punish -12 at best
g +15g Opponent is -15, but they are able to block
k +8k The move causes ballerina spin
a +22a The move launches opponent in the air
c +5c The move causes opponent to recover in crouch
d +39d Causes Downed state to the opponent needs link
() +22a (+38a) Disambiguation

See also