General

The up and down of obtaining BP is frustrating.  At one point, I was +300 BP (at ~3500 BP) and then I just as easily lost it.  At least this time I had the good sense to walk away.

Later that night, I was down to ~3300 BP.

And then today, I shot up to ~3900 BP, and then lost it by the end of the night to end up ~3300 BP.  About ten or so hours in all, and nothing to show.

I think I need to consider having player matches, since I’m focusing too much on the battle points and it causes me too much stress, to the point where I am not learning from my mistakes.

Ken

Ken is becoming increasingly frustrating and it's getting in my head.  I definitely need more practice against him.

Sagat’s standing HK doesn't seem to be a viable anti-air option against Ken.  The Tiger Uppercut doesn’t reach out enough to hit him if he zones correctly.

I’m convinced that the offensive hitboxes for Ken’s j.HK and Ryu’s j.HK are different, even though the frames are very similar.  IMO, Ken’s has a much bigger hitbox, and a MASSIVE priority.

I beat a Ken later in the day.  It felt SO good.

Cammy

The cr.MP –> Low Tiger Shot or Tiger Knee is a really nice response to the Cannon Drill.  Takes some of the pressure off.

Akuma

I’ve noticed a lot of Akuma players like to do the two-hit standing HK then to cr.HK.  The recovery time on the two-hit HK though is enough that you can jump out before the sweep comes out though.

Gouken

He can miss his throw -> Ultra.

Fei-Long

His flame kick has good range forward (kind of like Ken’s Shoryuken).

Dictator

His HK has really high priority.

Dhalsim

This is such a defensive character.  While I typically like it, I find him annoying.

Against characters with longer recovery times on projectiles, if both characters are not against opposite walls, Dhalsim can j.HP (towards you) from almost anywhere on the screen and hit during recovery.

I have to find a better solution for when he teleports into my space.  I can defend most of the time, but I still get switched up and don’t always block the overhead attack.

Guile

He can link cr.MK –> MP, which is an overhead.  Have to be very careful with the blocking on that.

Blanka

Trying to jump in after a knockdown is a risky proposition unless you can hit deep.  If not, will shock you.  In the event you hit early, hitstun/blockstun is short enough that he can get the electricity out before you can get to the hitframes of the next move in the combo string.

The Backstep Rolling attack can be hit on the way down.

When close, do not jump back if he has charge stored up, otherwise, he will hit you with the Anti-Air Rolling attack.  With Sagat at the start of the match, do not jump back, as any Blanka player worth their salt has charge on open.

Zangief

The same applies here that applies to Blanka with the shock, just replace the electric shock with the lariat.

General

I didn’t notice that the characters heads tilt up to look when the opponent jumps.

I was right about my impression about invulnerability time on wake-up being reduced.  From the Neo-Empire SF IV System Guide (the “Sixth Video” section):

This video:

shows an example of wake-up invulnerability time has being reduced in SF IV. Zangief knocks Honda down and then SPD's him on his wake-up because Honda was caught napping!
I also have these notes:

Wake-up invulnerability time has been reduced

For SFIV, it feels like there's almost no invulnerability time when you wake up from a knockdown. While this would be okay if it was just restricted to regular throws, this also applies to special command throws, so players have to be extremely careful on knockdowns.

During a wake up without holding the joystick up, jump straight up and your opponent can't throw you. So when you think a throw is coming, jump up to force your opponent's throw to whiff and then come down with a jumping attack into a combo. You can also throw out an attack with invincibility frames as a reversal and have it connect, so depending on the character and the circumstances, you can do that too.

Absorbing a hit using a Focus Attack will fill your Revenge Meter as if you had been hit by it.  Again from the Neo-Empire SF IV System Guide (emphasis mine):

- Use SA to parry projectiles:

It lets you increase your revenge gauge without taking damage. You eliminate black stun. You also get no damage for blocking a special move. No damage refers actually to "recoverable damage".

Cammy

I still can’t beat Cammy, it seems that the recovery from her Cannon Drill is non-existant.

Dan

I got beat by f’n DAN.

Ryu

If playing as Ryu as well, executing the Hurricane Kick after your opponent launches his Ultra will always go through the Ultra.  Because of the extra-long recovery time on the Ultra, it will always connect.

Blanka

Sagat can punish Blanka’s Ultra with his own Ultra or the Tiger Knee when blocked.

Also, can punish the Backstep Rolling attack with a Tiger Knee on block as well.

WTF, Blanka can duck under the low Tiger Shot?

Boxer

I have the sneaking suspicion Sagat’s Super Combo punishes Boxer’s dash punch.  Why yes, yes it does, on block, every time

Fei-Long

Apparently he has an infinite combo that works in the corner against Seth and Abel:"

Crap, I’m very glad I don’t play Seth or Abel.

Zangief

Does Sagat’s Tiger Knee punish the Green Hand?

The EX Green Hand seems to be invulnerable on beginning frames, as I saw it go through a fireball.  Frame data doesn’t have any information to support or refute this.

Sagat

I was slighty mistaken when I observed that throwing a low Tiger Shot will make you vulnerable to the high Tiger Shot.  You can avoid it completely if the timing is right.

I need to start exploring using the high elbow as an overhead attack.

God I really need to get the FADC down and get this combo down (start at 21:40):

Akuma

Sagat barely seems to be able to jump over the air fireball, but it can be done.