SvC Chaos: SNK Vs Capcom/Serious Mr. Karate

Overview

Combos

Matchups

Strategy

Misc.

本気になったMr.カラテ, Honki ni Natta Mr. Karate
Category	Final Boss
Playstyle	Pure zoner
Difficulty	Easy Execution, Hard Gameplay
Max Mode Needed?	Essential
Tier Placement	Pretty Good (B)
Standing Hitbox	Average
Crouching Hitbox	Short
Defense Modifier	208? (Player) / 208 (CPU)
Wall Jump	Yes

Introduction

Serious/Shin Mr.Karate (SMK for short), known in Japanese as "Honki ni Natta Karate", is a beefed up version of the classic AOF boss. If you're an Art of Fighting fan, good news: Serious Mr. Karate is loosely based off of his AOF1 iteration. He can jump off walls, has only his Exceed super, huge Haoh Shou Kou Ken fireballs, hard-hitting attacks, etc. Whether SMK is considered a good character or not, let alone if he's better than normal Mr. Karate, is very debatable and, depending on who you ask, boils down to eye of the beholder. Two things are certain though: he's definitely not a god tier, and without Max Mode he's borderline garbage. Give him Max Mode though, and in the right hands he can pose a threat. While not the most unorthodox, he is still a pretty interesting boss character with his heavy Max Mode-reliant gameplay and unique move list.

How to Select Serious Mr. Karate (Outside of Super Plus)

• Do these inputs below before the timer reaches 10 (AES Only):

• (While Holding Start) Up, Left, Up, Down, Right(2x), Down, Left, Up, Left, Right(2x), Press a Button.

• Numpad notation: 848266248466

• Console Method: Hold R1/RT above Kasumi Todoh.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Decent Mobility: SMK is thankfully not lacking in mobility with a fast walk speed and a wall jump, letting him more easily escape bad situations or pressure the opponent. Obnoxious Zoning: There's a few ways SMK can zone: giant Haoh Shou Kou Ken fireballs, a series of 3 said fireballs in rapid succession, or his palm blasts. While these are punishable, their massive hitboxes and SMK's ability to mix up their speeds makes approaching him difficult, especially with Max Mode cancels. Can Charge His Own Meter Like in AOF: A huge saving grace for SMK, he can manually charge up his own meter, which helps him get to and stay in Max Mode faster and more frequently. Just beware you can activate Max Mode this way in case you want to avoid doing so too early. Can Punch Out Normal Projectiles: Not all that practical, but a unique feature to him and another nod to AOF where you could punch out projectiles. This can occasionally prove useful for him when timed right and save meter for Max Mode instead of taking the hit or using Front Step. Multiple Unblockables: SMK's unblockables aren't very potent, but they can potentially help open up unaware opponents. The real meat of his unblockable game, however, is his unblockable Exceed, a ranbu super that may not be as terrifying as Shin Akuma's Exceed but is easy to setup and leads to massive reward, on top of being active for quite a long time and thus being difficult to avoid. Use it at the right moment and it guarantees the round for SMK. Massive Threat in Max Mode: For better or for worse, Max Mode is SMK's identity. When he has access to it, he unlocks amazing pressure, good combo potential, and much higher damage in his kit. In some matchups this allows him to completely dictate the pace of the match.

One of the Hardest Characters in the Game: In short, SMK is a character who requires careful meter management and cannot afford to waste even a small amount of Max Mode meter. A very unique character with very high highs, low lows, and repeated periods of downtime when he doesn't have access to most of what makes him function. And when he's in that downtime, there's little he can actually do. Poor Light Attack Chains: SMK doesn't get much out of his light attack chains, as he cannot cancel them, and thus they don't serve him as much purpose. At most they help pester an opponent off of him if needed, but they're short chains you have to link together. No Running Grab: A minor downside from base Mr. Karate, but the lack of an extra mixup for SMK can make it more difficult for him to open up his opponent, on top of having fewer tools to work with in neutral. Relies on Repetitive Strategies Without Max Mode: When he lacks access to Max Mode, SMK neutral boils down to spamming fireballs, baiting with Hien Shippuu Kyaku, resets, or just running away. SMK players tend to pick their poison and hope for the best, because while not defenseless, everything SMK has becomes a lot more committal. No Cancels Without Max Mode: No, not even lights. SMK cannot cancel anything without Max Mode, making it the single most important mechanic to bring everything together. And because of the lack of any cancels, this oversimplifies what he can do in a bad way, which is to say nothing too meaningful. To make things worse, he has almost zero combos without Max Mode, only leaving you with a follow-up after Hien Shippuu Kyaku. You Must Save Meter for Max Mode: Not having the ability to pop Max Mode whenever he needs severely hurts SMK's full potential. Saving up the meter is the easy part; he has a whole slew of specials and even a manual meter charge, and he never needs to spend meter for supers. But the forced downtime between Max Mode and recovering it is what greatly hampers his momentum and makes it difficult to maintain. It also makes using GCFS a steep cost, regardless of the amount of meter used. Abysmal Without Max Mode: He's trash and feels like it when you don't have Max Mode active, arguably bottom 3 even. Max Mode is this character's entire identity, take it or leave it.

SVC Chaos: SNK VS Capcom Frame Data Glossary
Damage	How much damage the attack does. This takes into account no defense modifiers, so the damage assumes a 0% damage modifier, or in other words the average defense modifier of 223 against characters like Kyo and Ryu. Note: Damage is a little inconsistent. Example: Geese cl.A deals 5 damage. Against Zero, sometimes it does 5 pixels of damage to his life bar, other times it does 4 pixels. Against Ryu, cl.A does 4 pixels of damage, other times it does 3 pixels of damage. This info comes from the Enterbrain Mook, but most likely this is the cause of damage modifiers skewing the damage slightly, thus making it a bit inconsistent. Damage values listed are pulled from the SVC Chaos Enterbrain Mook, save Athena, Red Arremer, Serious Mr. Karate and Shin Akuma. It is listed because it's an official source for this info, just keep in mind damage is not 1-to-1 due to varying health values and screwy ways the game calculates damage anyways. There will be a question mark next to the four mentioned characters because it's only a guess as to what the actual damage values are (until health and damage are better understood), since they were never gathered in the Mook. Unfortunately, when doing attacks, the numbers dealt in damage do not match up with the mook. As an example, Geese's cl.C does 16 damage according to the mook, but against characters like Zero, it only does 14-15 damage, and very rarely it does 16 damage. Against Ryu, it does 12-13 damage at most. But against Orochi Iori, it also does 14-15 damage, and very rarely it does 16 damage. The mook does not explain how the numbers are obtained either, or against who they're tested against, if anyone. In other words, how these numbers were obtained if not through data mining is a mystery in itself, but it can be best assumed it was against 255 defense modifier characters, and at the max damage possible. Lastly, moves like Geese cl.D, though it says 10x2 for the damage, which is true, damage scaling reduces total damage on the second hit. Max Mode also reduces damage dealt by roughly half at most.
Counter Damage	How much damage the attack does on a counter hit, or when it connects with an opponent while they're performing an attack. Counter damage values listed are pulled from the SVC Chaos Enterbrain Mook, save Athena, Red Arremer, Serious Mr. Karate and Shin Akuma.
Guard	Where the attack hits, and thus where it must be blocked. Mids can be blocked standing and crouching Overheads must be blocked standing Lows must be blocked crouching Unblockable cannot be blocked Throws break through block up-close
Guard Crush	How much guard meter damage the attack does to the green Guard Gauge.
Stun	How many points of stun the attack adds to the opponent's invisible Stun Gauge.
Meter	How much meter is gained for performing/landing the attack. Special moves earn meter both when activated and when they connect with the opponent, whether it hits them or they block it.
Cancel	The type of cancel the attack can perform. Any - All cancel types work Ch - Chain cancel; it can chain into other attacks (mostly just lights) Self - Can chain only into itself Cmd - Command cancel; can cancel into command normals Sp - Special cancel; can cancel into special moves, and almost always this means super cancels are possible too Su - Super cancel; can cancel into super moves Free - Free cancel; can be cancelled in Max Mode by other special moves or super moves Written only for special moves as all normals can be Free Cancelled, so writing it in for every move would be redundant X - Cannot be cancelled, either outside of Max Mode or that it cannot be cancelled at all
Startup	How many frames it takes before the move becomes 'active' or has a hitbox. The SVC Chaos wiki uses classic startup notation, which does not include the first active frame. A move with 3 startup becomes active on frame 4. Super and Exceed startup will calculate both the frames before and after the super flash animation as such: X+Y, with X being the startup frames before the flash animation and Y being the startup frames after the flash animation. The startup will not take into account the frames of the flash animation itself where time freezes and the opponent player cannot act. Super flashes last 28 frames, whereas Exceed flashes last 27 frames. Because there is currently no way to view throw boxes, it is assumed that throws/command grabs are at most 0-1 frames of startup. Truthfully, we don't actually know though.
Active	How many frames a move remains active (can hurt opponents) for. Consecutive sets of active frames on a multi-hit move are separated by a comma. (Example: 3, 4 - The attack has its first hitbox for 3 frames, then the second hitbox for 4 frames) If there is a gap between sets of active frames, the gap is denoted by a number in parentheses. (Example: 3, (2), 4 - The attack is active for 3 frames, then is not active for the next two frames, followed by being active again for 4 frames.) Throw boxes are not visible either through dipswitches or the hitbox viewer so it's only a guess how active throws and command grabs are, but it's probably one active frame at most. This also applies to hitbox images - they will still show the push and hurtboxes of characters but outside of that, unfortunately there is no way to depict the throw boxes at the moment.
Recovery	How many frames it takes for a move to finish after it's been active.
Total	The total number of frames the attack lasts on screen for. This adds up the startup, active, and recovery frames into one number.
Hit/Block Adv	These are frame advantage values when the attack hits or is blocked. If the number is positive, then the move will end before the defender can act again. If the number is negative, the defender will be able to act before the attacker and maybe even punish. SKD refers to a soft knockdown, or a knockdown you can tech roll out of. HKD refers to a hard knockdown, one that you cannot tech roll out of. All frame advantages assume Ryu as the opponent. If there are variable wakeup times, it is currently unknown info. Also assume that on soft knockdowns, the frame advantage is when the opponent does not tech roll. If needed, a second frame advantage will be added next to it for when they do tech roll. Frame advantages of projectiles assumes the opponent is point blank range. Any farther and this obviously changes and/or doesn't matter. Block advantage assumes no use of Guard Cancel Front Step. For one, it obviously decreases the attacker's frame advantage significantly. When the defender uses GCFS is also a variable factor so you cannot provide a hard answer as to what the frame advantage is after GCFS, as well as how soon they cancel GCFS into an attack. Generally speaking, just assume the block advantage minus the active frames of GCFS (18 frames), and that's a rough estimate of the frame advantage when GCFS is performed. Do keep in mind that GCFS technically has a slight delay when the dash is performed even if you register the input as early as possible. This doesn't really matter in most cases, since the attacker will automatically be quite minus after most attacks. It would only matter in situations where the attacker can punish GCFS attempts like with throws or multi-hit attacks, but even then, that's because the attacker canceled the blocked attack into another attack that the frame advantage of the blocked attack after GCFS no longer matters in that situation. All that matters, then, is the attack is cancelable at all.
Invulnerability	Indicates whether there's any frames of invulnerability during the attack.

Move List

Normal Moves

Important note to remember: Serious Mr. Karate cannot normal cancel his normal moves, but he can Free Cancel them in Max Mode.

Far/Close Normals

Important note regarding Serious Mr. Karate's close and far normals: A, B, and D are nearly identical in their close and far versions, but both versions of A have very slight differences in frame data. Close and far kick buttons have different hitboxes depending on proximity.

cl/st.A

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	4	4	cl.A= 4 ; st.A= 5	12-13	cl.A= +4 ; st.A= +3	cl.A= +2 ; st.A= +1	-
It's a starter for his light attack chains, but it will whiff against low crouching characters. It has the same speed as the normal Mr.Karate. You can also use this to punch out normal projectiles.

cl/st.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	6	5	9	20	-2	-4	-
Can be used as a finisher for light attack chains without whiffing against low crouchers. Can be used as a poke, or even to anti-air. It has the same speed as the normal Mr. Karate. Close hitbox is a tall vertical box covering most of SMK's leg. Far hitbox is a square centered ending at the edge of his foot. It is farther away from SMK than cl.B but reaches slightly higher and farther past his foot.

cl.C

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	4	4	16	24	+0	-2	-
Simple strong punch. The recovery of the move is different from the normal version but faster than the normal Mr. Karate's.

st.C

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	6	3	10	19	+7	+5	-
Very fast to use as a poke. This move is faster than the normal Mr. Karate's.

cl/st.D

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	14	6	16	36	-2	-4	-
This move was Takuma's in the early KOF games as an anti-air. The normal Mr. Karate doesn't have this move. Close hitbox is similar to B, with a tall rectangular hitbox covering SMK's leg reaching above his foot a little, but it ends at the center of his body. Far hitbox is more square-like and overall wider, but it does not cover as much of his leg.

Crouch Normals

cr.A

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	4	3	7	14	+2	+0	-
This move isn't that useful when compared to the normal Mr. Karate. It's slower, isn't used much in light attack chains due to poor reach, and can't even chain into itself or other light attacks. You can stop normal, ground-based projectiles using the tip of this punch.

cr.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	6	3	11	20	-2	-4	-
The normal Mr. Karate doesn't have this move. It has great reach, possibly the best reach of his moves, and is faster than Mr. Karate's cr.B. It's the best finisher for light attack chains with its reach.

cr.C

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	6	2, 3	17	28	-2	-4	-
It's the same as the normal Mr. Karate's cr.C, but with better recovery. Good when used to anti-air while you charge down-back.

cr.D

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	11	3	21	35	SKD	-6	-
A simple sweep that knocks down. Nothing very special.

Jumping Normals

(n)j.A

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	4	13	-	-	-	-	-
Neutral/Diagonal Jumping Attack Shin Karate will do a punch exactly like his j.C, but it will stay for a longer time and do less damage. The normal Mr. Karate's j.A is different.

(n)j.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	6	nj = 12 ; dj = 16	-	-	-	-	-
Neutral/Diagonal Jumping Attack Incredible move. It can cross up with ease, making it one of his best jump attacks. The reach and the angle in this kick are really helpful too. The normal Mr. Karate doesn't have this move in his arsenal.

(n)j.C

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	8	5	-	-	-	-	-
Neutral/Diagonal Jumping Attack A simple punch with good damage to use on jump-ins. Nothing very special. The normal Mr. Karate's j.C is the same as this move.

nj.D

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	5	4	-	-	-	-	-
Neutral Jumping Attack You won't be using this much, but you can use this in neutral jump combos. The normal Mr. Karate has this move too.

j.D

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	10	8	-	-	-	-	-
Diagonal Jumping Attack Very tricky to use in combos due to the startup, but good anyway. Can be used to cross up too. The normal Mr. Karate can do this move.

Command Normals

Yoke Migi Seiken Zuki
b.A

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
This move isn't that useful. Shin Karate will stop for a brief moment, then do a normal punch (with the same animation as his st.A but more pushback). While Mr. Karate is in the "stop" animation, he will have upper body invincibility. Unlike his st.A, it will hit most crouching characters, but you can't make projectiles vanish with it. You can't normal cancel it.

Ducking Shite Mawashi Geri
b.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Same properties as the move above, but he will do his st.B (with a sprite included). Like the move above, you can't normal cancel this move.

Jigoku Zuki
df.C

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Shin Karate will do a punch. Believe it or not this is an overhead and clearly unreactable, possibly the fastest overhead in the game. It will knock your opponent down, and you can't normal cancel it. Good to use on wakeup games.

Soku Gatana
df.D

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Shin Karate will do a kick that hits low and will knock your opponent down. Because it's fast just like df.C, you can use these two buttons for a simple and annoying unreactable 50/50 on the opponent's wakeup.

Kiryoku Tame
Hold ABC

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Shin Karate will begin charging his meter as you hold the buttons, and he'll quickly stop after you release the buttons. While he's charging, the aura around him will negate normal projectiles (and some super ones), and he'll continue charging after the projectile hits. It can be dangerous to use against some characters (like EQ with his Fat Guilty), so watch out. This move is very important to Shin Karate's game, and remember: in Max Mode, you can use this move but you won't get meter.

Throws

Throw

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
24	24	Throw	0	0	0	X	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Throw

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
24	24	Throw	0	0	0	X	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Guard Cancel Blowback
On Block

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
0	0	Mid	0	0	0	X	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Special Moves

Ko'ou Ken '02
qcf P

Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
qcf A	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Do you remember Takuma's Ko'ou Ken? That invisible one? If yes, you know... That sucks a lot. Here, it is the same thing, but the "projectile" can negate some Supers too. It's very fast, but it can't be used very well mid-combo. However, the A version recovers fast enough to allow for links into some normals, making it a decent combo starter in Max Mode, especially if it's used as a meaty; be aware that when used in this way, there's a small blind spot directly in front of SMK, so your positioning needs to be precise. The A version starts up faster but only reaches a little over half screen, while the C version is slower but hits fullscreen away.
Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
qcf C	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Zanretsu Ken
fbf P

Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
fbf A	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
This move is one of the best in Shin Karate's arsenal. He will begin punching, and if he connects while the opponent isn't blocking, Shin Karate will do 25 hits on the opponent (there's almost no difference between the versions, but Shin Karate will punch for a longer time if the punches are whiffing on your opponent). It's one of the most damaging moves in his arsenal, and it can be used as a follow-up for the D Hien Shippu Kyaku. If the opponent blocks it, they'll remain blocking and there will be no pushback, allowing for GCFS whenever desired. This move does no chip damage and can't be Free Cancelled in Max Mode.
Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
fbf C	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Built Upper
dp P

Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
dp A	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
dp C	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
This move is great. It's like a simple DP, but there are differences between the versions. The A version will do only one hit (two on Counter Hit), can combo from light attacks in Max Mode, and makes Shin Karate land faster; it can also be Max cancelled. The C version will make him jump higher, and he will do 3 hits (where the first 2 hits can be Max canceled). The C version in particular is a key part of his Max Mode loops.

Hien Shippuu Kyaku
[db]~f K

Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
[db]~f B	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
[db]~f D	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
This move is good. The B version will do only one hit and doesn't have as much use. The D version is his main combo tool outside of Max Mode (like his normal counterpart), because the second hit will put your opponent in a free juggle state that allows for almost any follow-up.

Kyokugen Kohou
qcf x2 K

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
This was a Super move in the normal Mr. Karate's arsenal. It can be used as a follow-up to D Hien Shippu Kyaku, and the first two hits can be Max canceled; they have the same animation and properties as his dp+C, which makes it similarly important to his Max Mode loops.

Kishin Geki
qcb x2 P

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
A quasi-proximity unblockable, as the first punch is unblockable but the other two can be blocked, and the move can only be activated when the opponent is close enough and not knocked down. This move is a little predictable (it can just be jumped/backdashed to avoid the unblockable punch) but can still catch a sleeping opponent.

Haou Shikou Ken
f~hcf P (Hold to Delay)

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Super from the normal counterpart. There isn't so much difference between the two of them. The differences are: if you hold the button pressed you'll get more damage (the normal Mr. Karate couldn't get more than the damage of a Super), and if you hold it for the maximum duration the projectile will be unblockable. The A version will be slower and a little easier to jump. The C version is faster, and the jump timing can be almost impossible for some characters.

Chou Haou Shikou Ken
f~hcf AC (Hold to Delay)

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
The normal counterpart's Exceed, with some differences. Similarly to the single projectile version, the more you hold the button the more damage you'll get, and holding the button for the maximum duration will make the projectiles unblockable. Another difference is that this move will do 2 hits by projectile (the normal Mr. Karate's Exceed could do only one hit by projectile). That having been said, SMK's version of this move is slower than base Mr. Karate's.

Exceed

Chou Ryuuko Ranbu

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
98?	98?	Unblockable	0	0	0	X	11+11	26	48	96	SKD	X	None on whiff, full invulnerability during hit animation.
SMK has no true invulnerability when using this move, but it can high profile over attacks that hit very low to the ground using this during the active frames as he charges forward (such as cr.B normals or shoto sweeps). This move isn't that useful for combos and can't hit opponents in juggle states, but it's unblockable and the damage is great. Because it's unblockable, you can instead use as a meaty after any combo into a knockdown or when the opponent is stunned to guarantee it connects. Arguably one of the strongest Exceeds simply because SMK can meaty with it when he has it and the opponent can't do anything about it. It's poor for neutral since the opponent can jump it or potentially counter it. However, it travels decently fast, so you could use it as a punish or when the opponent cannot escape in time. If the opponent is in red health, then it should be a guaranteed win for SMK.

Strategy

Basic Strategy

Shin Karate's Gameplan

SMK's gameplan is simple: Max Mode, the only way to do damaging combos and loops, and you just need to hold 3 buttons to get into it. He is an offensive character who can passively pressure opponents, but if he's being pressured himself he can hardly escape. Don't worry about defensive options though, as he has good (and very fast) anti-airs in his arsenal. Outside of Max Mode, the best thing he can do is D Hien Shippu Kyaku to start combos, negate projectiles with a single punch, charge his meter, and GCFS into grabs. His unblockable Exceed is an extremely important part of his kit as long as it's used correctly; remember that you can't juggle into it or reliably combo into it, so it has to be used as a meaty or in other guaranteed situations. SMK can be played aggressively or defensively due to the versatility of his kit; just be aware of how limited you are outside of Max Mode. Good luck in your matches!

Advanced Strategy

Resets (Partly copy/pasted from base Mr. Karate's sections.)

Resets are really important in this game, and the characters who have moves with juggle properties (like Shin Karate) are experts at that. The normal Mr. Karate has at least 2 good midscreen resets to use in a match. Shin Karate has some too, both with and without Max Mode.

Outside of Max Mode: (May be corner only?) D Hien Shippu Kyaku, walk forward, any normal (ideally st.A/B or cl.C), (while opponent is landing) Exceed

Really easy for a reset outside of Max Mode and a solid "hit-confirm" into a meaty unblockable Exceed.

In Max Mode: (May be corner only?) (Jump-in) (Charge db) cr.C, (Release) f+D, do loop number 4 ending with any qcf+A, any normal, (while opponent is landing) Exceed

Basically just the standard Max Mode juggle loop, but after whiffing qcf+A you perform the above reset into a meaty unblockable Exceed. If you don't like loops, here's the minimum sequence you need:

(Jump-in) (Charge db) cr.C, (Release) f+D, dp+C/qcfx2+K (Max Cancel 2nd hit) qcf+A, any normal, (while opponent is landing) Exceed

Combos

SVC Chaos: SNK VS Capcom Quick Combo Notation Guide

cl. = close normal st. = standing/far normal cr. = crouching normal f.; etc. = forward direction (NOT far) X = any button CH = counter hit , = Used to separate attacks in the combo / = Separates different options for the combo (mainly different starters or enders that are possible) Unless otherwise stated (such as it's a link or you need to delay the attack), assume this is a chain/cancel. Example: cr.B, cr.A, dp A ; cr.B chains into cr.A, then cr.A cancels into dp A [b]~f = Indicates to charge back (or downback), then press forwards for the given special move ( ) = Parentheses used to indicate the attack(s) within the parentheses are optional to add to the combo (C) = Indicates a free cancel, aka a cancel only possible in Max Mode (SC) = Indicates a super cancel via free canceling in Max Mode (1) = Used to indicate how many hits of the attack should connect (or less than) before continuing with the combo Example: cl.C(1), hcb P means that only one hit of cl.C should be performed before moving on to do hcb P, not more than one hit [ ] = Used to distinguish combo loops or combo starters/etc. in case a certain attack is only possible after specific options xN = Repeat the given loop for as many times as either possible or as many times as you wish May change to numpad notation much later down the road.

BnB Combos

BnB Combos

Combo	Position	Damage	Stun	Difficulty	Notes
(j.X,) st.A x3-4, cr.B	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	His best light attack chain. If you use a crossup jump-in attack, you can get up to 6 hits with this simple link, but you can't combo after the cr.B. It can be useful to stun your opponent.
[db]~f D, follow-up, (meaty on KD) Exceed	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Another simple combo outside of Max Mode. The only moves that can't combo with it are: b+A/B (too long of startup), df+D (it's better outside of combos anyway), D Hien Shippu Kyaku (can't loop into itself), qcbx2+P (the proximity activation doesn't work in juggles), any version of Haoh Shikou Ken (normal Mr. Karate can do this but SMK can't), and Exceed (doesn't work in juggles). The best overall follow-up for damage, knockdown, and reliability is fbf+P, or you can go for a reset.

Max Mode Combos

Serious Mr. Karate combos will not list most of the Free Cancels of Max Mode combos, only because it'd be redundant when almost everything in the combo is done via Free Cancelling his attacks.

Max Mode Combos

Combo	Position	Damage	Stun	Difficulty	Notes
(j.X,) cr.A/cr.B, dp+A, (meaty on KD) Exceed	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Simple link to use, but he has better options. You can use this combo everywhere too. The combo will only work with the cr.B if you cross up with a jump attack.
(j.X,) cr.C, [db]~f+D, follow-up / fbf+P, (meaty on KD) Exceed	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Solid damage option for a BnB if you don't like loops.
[dp+C(2), qcfx2+K(2)]xN	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	This is SMK's main loop - the DP loop. He has some others, but this is the easiest and most reliable one. You can use this everywhere too. There are some variations listed below. After Max Mode ends, you can add a meaty Exceed if you want, or if your opponent gets stunned you can begin charging to reactivate Max Mode again, hit your opponent with any combo ending in a knockdown, and do a meaty Exceed, which may be enough to TOD. If you want to begin with qcfx2+K, the loop will work in the same way.
[db]~f+D, dp+C(2) / qcfx2+K(2), [(C)qcf+P (whiff), dp+C(2) / qcfx2+K(2)]xN	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	A simple variation of the DP loop that works after D Hien juggles. Even if you learned the combo above, it can be a little hard to do. If you want, you can add the beginning of combo #2 (you'll get 2 more hits) and a meaty Exceed after the combo.
(Corner Only) DP Loop, qcf+A, cr.C, [db]~f+D, fbf+P, (meaty on KD) Exceed	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	A corner variation to use after the basic loop. Pretty hard to do, but if you can do the loop, you can land it on a stunned opponent in the corner (or even to punish).