[CT] Rachel vs Hakumen

[Alex073088]

I hate this guy.

Whenever I'm on the neutral state, I usually IAD backwards to spam lobellias and frog / pumpkins. That zoning usually lasts for a few seconds only to be punished whenever I make a mistake. Getting hit by a 7k combo is frustrating especially after all the effort I placed on zoning. His 6C has an unfair range. It's a sword for crying out loud!

I usually win if I don't make mistakes, but I'm human...

When the beginning of the match starts its important to decide on what style of rachel rushdown or zoning and commit to it based on the palyer your facing. i usually rush hakumen the fuck down and rape him badly. however, hakumen normally just run away from me when i do this at high levels so i beginning zoning, make sure you do not place a frog in a situation where he can clear half the screen to j.c you on block making all the rods you placed mean nuthing. the fact that he can cut the lobelias is annoying, however, your windblowing 6d will prevent him from getting to far. Hakumen does deal alot of damage, but it's only based on his mags. Also as rachel its incredibly tough to get away again when hakumen closes the distance. so your going to have be incredibly patient and block very well.

6C is one of the easiest moves to punish in the entire game, lol

this comment adds nuthing to the actual thing he posted. Give him advice on how to make the match-up easier hakumens do not win by spamming 6c against anyone.

Even with H-man's damage, this match-up is retarded.

By the time he manages to get in, he's lost plenty of life already.

If a Rachel zones this match-up I mean, some don't and it baffles me.

I mean, 6a works wonders to keep Hakumen out and if you have a frog out, they will think twice before rushing in. From there it's just waiting till they mess up and punishing it. With all the zoning you will probably have plenty of heat by then = gg.

Lol i rush hakumen DOWN! lol its pretty funny...until somthing is drived countered then im normally in alot of shit. however normally that only happens if hakumen blocks something or ib's something then drives afterward. Also i highly recommend no rachel 6a anything that looks like a j.c with hakumen, if hakumens going for this, jump and lobelia b or c. And that will smack him down

[mAc Chaos]

I actually have an easier time beating rush down Rachels... it's funny because the ones that rush down have to coordinate all this stuff and it seems to take a lot more skill, but then they can just go spam lobelias and it becomes hell, but that seems a lot easier.

[A.X.I.S.]

believe it or not qwerty is the best haku-men in the west, not only that when he says something about a match up, he is not only right but he adds a humorous twist to it.

6C is easy to punish and him having to tell you that is only letting you know your doing something wrong and he's letting you know that.

haku-men can IB 6D/2D on rachels strings can make it hell its all about when and where.

its a reason its 6-4 and not 6.5-3.5.

[Szcrith]

Great responses from everyone. The most common mistake I usually do is become overly aggressive whenever I have him on half health.

IAD backwards from neutral then summoning pumpkin to 6D somehow works wonders for me since it will usually CH a Hakumen who starts with an air dash to J.C knocking him back to the edge of the screen giving me a safe distance to start zoning. I also learned not to cast 236B lobelia off the start because some Hakumen players tend to counter after air-dashing leading to an aerial-grab counter.

Overall Rachel players really do need to play smart and be patient against this guy. Unlike Hakumen who can take quite a beating, we can't afford too many risks -- which was pretty obvious from reading all the comments on this thread. :P

Also I would like to ask, what punishments do you guys usually do after Hakumen's 6C whiffs? Pumpkin rush down might seem like a good idea or throw if you expect a counter / Hakumen miraculously IBs the pumpkin. Thanks for the great advise, keep them coming.

[TD]

With 3 wind, l do -

CH fork - 5b, 5cdc, 214a, short dash 2b, 5b, 8d (as george is hitting), j.2cd, 214a, 3c (3 hits while george wreaks havok), 236a, 3c (3 hits), 22a, jump air throw (or whatever you want to do)

That's 6000 damage l think, haven't done it in awhile though.

[qwerty]

believe it or not qwerty is the best haku-men in the west

there's one or two that are better, but you get the point.

you can punish 6C on whiff, block or ib with just about anything you want to, lol. if you're getting hit by 6C you've got other things to worry about.

rachel is hella hard for hakumen in ct. you can zone my ass out all day long, you can beat any of my jump ins with your 6A (unless i j.D it on reaction, which is next to useless in this game anyways, lol), and you can rush me down so well that even if i ib your blahlblahblah j.2C blockstrings i rarely have the opportunity to get a 1 frame counter out (that's right, even when i'm +5, i'm still at - frames).

if you're losing as rachel it means one of three things:

1. you need to learn how to block

2. you are wasting your wind meter

3. you aren't taking control of the match

blocking hakumen on the ground is easy. in the air? just look out for hotaru and stay out of air throw range.

the other two are simply not knowing how to play rachel.

[MisterBadguy]

^This man speaks the truth.