Mid-Air Hit
This is a section devoted to the mid-air hit situation, touched upon in other various topics, but consolidated here.
Receiving hits while in mid-air, from either grounded or air moves, may cause knockdown (tech or untechable).
But before that knockdown, follow-up attacks are possible.
- Air counter-hit while airborne
- See "Counter Hits" section for allowed follow-ups.
- Non-counter-hit special/super while airborne
- Allowed follow-up specials and supers are dependent on the character.
Meanwhile, non-knockdowning, non-counter-hit air hits put you in hitstop, then air hitstun,
and then -- after falling -- into an air-hit landing recovery.
- Hits of the latter parts of some special/super/TOP attacks while airborne
- Normal/evasion attack hits while airborne
Air hitstun is 11F:
- You have this window of air hitstun for a special cancel to combo.
- Follow-up normals or target combos do not connect during this time.
Similarly, air JDing any attack puts you in air JD blockstop, then air JD blockstun,
and then -- after falling -- an air JD landing recovery.
Mid-air JD has 11F JD blockstun:
- Every type of hit has this same JD blockstun (weak normal, strong normal, evasion attack, special/super/TOP attack).
(See "Exceptions to JD Blockstun Reduction".)
- Another JD can be buffered before JD blockstun ends.
(See "Successive JD's".)
Air Hit Landing Recovery
(Sourced from "0F Move Guard-Impossible Phenomenon".)
After exiting air hitstun while airborne, your sprite is reset, you fall to the ground, and you have 3 frames before you can move again (for Hokutomaru it is 4 frames)
You cannot be hit falling after exiting air hitstun (air invincible) and during these landing frames because there is no hurtbox.
However, during these landing frames' latter half 2 frames, if a 0F move is done, then you are able to avoid it, but not block against it. (On the 1st frame of landing, the 0F move whiffs.)
Air JD Landing Recovery
(Sourced from "Just Defend (JD or JDF)", "0F Move Guard-Impossible Phenomenon", and "JD Buffer Period/Window"
After exiting air JD blockstun while airborne, your sprite is reset, you fall to the ground, and you have 3 frames before you can move again (for Hokutomaru it is 4 frames)
You _can_ be hit while falling after exiting air JD hitstun, unless you air JD again.
But you cannot be hit during these landing frames because there is no hurtbox.
And unlike Air Hit Landing Recovery, there is no "unblockable" situation. The 0F super whiffs on all the landing frames.
Both Air Hit Landing Recovery and Air JD Landing Recovery,
In both cases, the ground JD acceptance window starts the first frame of landing and only after landing recovery can you JD.
Air JD and ground JD do not share cooldown.
So you can hold back in the air, and after an air hit or an air JD, that held back direction will ground JD after exiting landing recovery.
See this link for an example after an air JD.