Sponson

This is also important: don't rely on command throws. First, work on just getting your fundamentals up. Figure out how you can combo from pretty much any random poke and what moves you can use with what spacing to beat Hakumen's moves. For instance, doing 5C right after a throw break will beat Hakumen doing 4C clean. If you can do this, you won't always be going for throws, so they won't be as expected and thus scarier. You also need pressure up close that keeps Hakumen pinned down and stops him from jumping out, or catches jump outs. If he tries to jump out you get a combo, if he starts staying still you can go for throws. You have to "train" the other player first before you can go for your more advanced techniques. Backdash is good if the Haku gets aggressive. IB helps a lot.