Introduction
Moves List
Normal Moves
Special Moves
Lightning Kick: Rapidly tap kick buttons.
Kikouken (Fireball):
Original Fireball: Half-Circle Forward + Punch (41236 + Punch)
Super Street Fighter II and subsequent versions thereafter: Hold Back for at least 1 second, then Forward + Punch.
Spinning Bird Kick:
Most versions: Hold Down for at least 1 second, then Up + Kick (Hold 2 for at least 1 second, then 8 + Kick)
Street Fighter III: Hold Back for at least 1 second, then Forward + Kick
Tenshokyaku (Heavenly Ascension Kick): Hold Down for at least 1 second, then Up + Kick
Senenshu (Flipping Axe Kick): Half-Circle Back + Kick
The Basics
If you're playing as Chun-Li you obviously are a fan of both speed and a fighting style that prefer to pick away at your opponents health bar, as opposed to a straight full-on onslaught of attacks and cornering techniques. Her low attack strength is made up with her speed and ability to escape from opponents if you can successfully bounce around the screen's edges without being knocked ouf of the air via an anti-air move (i.e. Shoryuken). Also, due to her height, her reach is not the great and she needs to be fairly close to successfully land her ground attacks.
Chun-Li is great for beginners, as once they button-mash kick enough, they will uncover her Lightning Kick and add a little flair to their repertoire. However, this not to say that Chun-Li is only for beginners. She can turtle and pick away at a health bar just as well as anyone else. She is decidely a high middle-tier character, with both great advantages when it comes to her basic moveset, but extreme disadvantages when it comes to her special moves and the input motions required of them, charge motions in particular.
Advanced Strategy
As stated above, Chun-Li is no powerhouse and must be used by balancing both offense and defense. Learning the timing for her special moves is critical as every of her special moves leaves her completely vulnerable to attacks if they miss connecting with an opponent or their block. Also, although she is quite speedy when it coming to jumping and attack speed, her reaction and recovery time is just average, not great.
Her trademark move, The Lightning Kick, is only really useful as a somewhat effective cornering tactic when the enemy has very little life left and all you need is to pick away at their blocking stance until their energy is drained away. A cheap tactic, but effective. It can also be useful as an anti-air move as an enemy jumps towards you and lands into her flailing leg.
Chun-Li's fireball, depending on the version you are using, has distinctly different advantages and disadvantages. Chun-Li's original fireball, from the Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting days, is the a dark blue fireball that resembles a big blue version of Dhalsim's Yoga Fire projectile, and is believed by many to be the superior of Chun-Li's fireballs. The motion required for the move is a forward-half-circle motion with a punch button. Many found this to be somewhat unfair considering the other fireball users in the game all received a forward-quarter-circle motion with punch for their fireballs, allowing for a faster fireball shootout.
Chun-Li's second fireball, the Kikouken, though more pleasing to the eye because of it's fan-favorite animation and pose (Chun-Li sticks her rear out, as opposed to simply standing) is a pretty, bubbly sprite fireball, but far less effective once an opponent knows the unfair range of the fireball. Not unless does the fireball require a charge input ala Guile's Sonic Boom (hold back for a second, then press forward and punch), the fireball ALSO dissipates before it reaches the other side of the screen. Once an opponent realizes this disadvantage they can simply retreat to the opposite corner and will be in no danger of being hit as the Kikouken fades away into a glittery mist right in front of them.
Another of Chun-Li's staple special moves is her gravity defying Spinning Bird Kick. By flipping herself upside down and using her powerful legs to propel herself forward like a helicopter, she creates a very powerful special move that is unforunately for some believed to be both her best special move, while at the same time her most underused and underappreciated special move. The Spinning Bird Kick does a nice amount of damage when you can successfully land either her initial flipping animation which does good damage and also knocks her opponent down. If the initial flipping animation does not connect but the first leg rotation does, followed by the subsequent hits, a nice amount of damage will be dealt, along with the possibility of dizzying your opponent. However, the Spinning Bird Kick is also very easily avoided by simply crouching where Chun-Li's torso is helpess and completely open to any attack. Also, it should be noted that the Spinning Bird Kick can also not only knock opponents out of the air but there is also the possibility of a chain combo of either a two or three hit juggle.
Chun-Li also has two more special moves, the first of which is a rising spinning kick called the Heavenly Ascension Kick. Basically this special move is an anti-air move like a Shoryuken without the easy input motion. Once again, its a charge motion, which makes it hard to use in an instant. However, its a great end to a combo, as the initial rotation has her knee rising her opponent into the air right into two or three more air juggle hits. The motion required for this move is the same as her Spinning Bird Kick, and so that motion has changed. However, you will need to check the version of the game AND the Chun-Li version in that game. For example, in Street Fighter Alpha 2 and 3, you can play as either old-school SFII Chun-Li or Alpha Chun-Li and thus has some differences in input motions, as the Alpha Chun-Li does NOT have a Spinning Bird Kick and the old-school SFII Chun-Li has both.
There is always another move known as the Flipping Axe Kick which is actually quite effective and useful. Not only is the motion an actual rolling motion, Half-Circle Back and Kick, but the flipping animation can pass through fireballs and thus allow Chun-Li to successfully hit her opponent if they are still stuck in a fireball or recovery animation. It also does a nice amount of damage, so use it to your advantage as much as possible.