SABAKI

A term first used in the Virtua Fighter series, a Sabaki (sometimes called Sabaki Parry/Parry Sabaki) is a move that automatically parries an attack during its animation. Sabakis are not invincible moves, but can absorb, counter, parry or ignore other attacks. This automatic parry allows the player using the Sabaki to continue his attack, as if he had never been interrupted. These moves only work against specific attacks or types of attacks. If used and an attack is not parried, a Sabaki will be a normal move. Examples of Sabaki: Sarah FL P+K (against low punches) and Bruce Irvin (Tekken) f,f+2 (against a high left punch).

SAC

A mediocre player who is only good at taking hits like a punching bag.

SAFE

Safe means without danger. Playing safe is playing without risk and a move is safe if there is no possibility of the opponent counter-attacking on it even if it ends up in the guard.

SAFE JUMP

The technique of timing an aerial attack against a falling opponent so that even if the opponent attempts a Reversal to the relevée, the attacker can defend and block in time, and then have the opportunity to punish him. If such an attack does not happen, the attacker's jumping move will hit the opponent's guard, and allow him to continue to pressure, with mix-ups or ticks throws, followed by another safe jump. This usually puts the opponent in difficulty. This mechanic is very effective in games that include it, as many reversals cannot hit in their first frame.

SCORE ATTACK

Mode a player whose goal is to get a high score in a limited time.

SCRAMBLE

A tense moment in a match when one or both players try to gain an advantage over their opponent. Usually ending in a win, a combo or the elimination of the opposing team, the term comes from scrambling eggs.

SCRUB

Originally this term referred to a player who considered certain moves Cheap or refused to establish a strategy before playing. A good player could find himself blocked by self-imposed barriers. Such a player did not play for victory, but for honour or some other value. The term has lost its original meaning, as it has been taken over by other types of games as an insult. Today Scrub is synonymous with loser.

SGGK

Used only in the Street Fighter III series, this is a select option that combines a Kara-Throw and a Parry, and if the opponent attempts a Chop, the character will tech. If the opponent attempts to attack, a parry will follow the chop used as Kara.

SHENANIGANS

A vicious trick or offensive option that is very risky, but very difficult to defend against, and can be very rewarding if it passes. This term can refer to any situation where a player uses a cheap move to secure a close victory, if his reading of the enemy game is good. It can also describe complex scenarios where a player on the verge of winning suddenly loses due to a combination of the opponent's comeback, poor reading of the game and bad luck on factors beyond each player's control.

SHIMMY

Using a (usually cancelable) move that is slow or not going to hit to make the opponent think they have a window to counterattack, when the first player's goal is just to lure their opponent in to follow up with a hold or other combo.

SHORT

In the Street Fighter series and other six-button Capcom fighting games this refers to the little foot.

SHORT JUMP / SMALL JUMP / HOPS

A characteristic concept of the King Of Fighters series, introduced in KOF 96 with the run and roll, and later included in other games such as Real Bout Fatal Fury, Street Fighter III (in the form of Universal Overheads) Garou: Mark of the wolves and Guilty Gear. A Short Jump is performed by lightly pressing jump, then instantly releasing the direction. It is a shorter version of a normal jump, where the player rises lower and falls faster. It can be used to protect against low attacks and projectiles, to punish sweeps if timed correctly, to launch an Aerial Rush Down due to its low recovery, to do mind games and to provide more safety when jumping.

SHOTO / SHOTOKAN CHARACTER / SHOTOCLONE

Ryu and Ken's basic street fighter style. By extension, it can refer to another character whose style is close to this.

SIX BUTTON FIGHTER

A fighting game using punches and kicks from three different forces, like the Street Fighter series.

SNK BOSS SYNDROME

A term for the abnormal difficulty of bosses in some fighting games, especially those produced by SNK. Bosses have these characteristics: their moves have high priority, very high damage or number of hits, long range (sometimes the whole screen), and occasionally other special mechanics such as moves that cannot be blocked, or an automatic guard. They generally have high stamina, either because of their above average life, or because of their boosted defences. Their speed is also above that of the rest of the characters. One of the most famous characters in this genre is Rugal, a recurring boss (in various forms) in the King Of Fighters series. However, their AI is generally less developed than that of another character, although there are cases where the boss is programmed to read and anticipate the actions of the players, such as Igniz who countered all projectiles in KoF 2001. Bosses generally lack animation when they crouch, making it even harder for players to anticipate where the next attack will come from and how they should handle it. King of Fighters XI has added another symptom to this syndrome: an improved frame advantage.

SPACING

The act of standing at a certain distance from the opponent and using your maximum range to maximise your chances of attacking and minimise your opponent's chances.

SPAM

Repeat the same combination of keys, or the same move, several times.

SPATIAL COGNITION

A way of conducting combat based on information about the environment. This term suggests that a player has a full understanding of his environment and space.

SPECIAL MOVE

A unique technique/stroke, sometimes difficult to perform, often with an exaggerated and supernatural effect. They require multiple inputs to be released, and are mostly unique to each character (except clones). Fighting games also have Super Moves, which have the same characteristics as a special move, but even better. However, a Super Move costs resources, whereas most Special Moves do not.

SPINNING PILE DRIVER

Shortened to SPD, this is one of the key moves in Zangief. The term is often used to refer to moves that require 360 stick input.

STALL / STALLING

A deliberate act aimed at avoiding all forms of conflict and passing the time in order to win with it, thus making the game unplayable.

STANCE

The fighter's position, which determines the way he fights. Most characters have only one, but some have several, like Lei in Tekken, or Tira in Soul Calibur.

STAND

The default position of the fighter, standing. Also called the neutral position.

STARTUP FRAMES

Launching frames, which compose a shot before it is likely to hit.

STEP

Sharp sideways step in the 3D fight, a kind of sideways dash.

STOCK

A unit of measurement of the Super gauge; one or more stocks are used when using a Super. This term is generally used in games where the Super bar can be filled several times, the number being indicated next to the bar. The first game to introduce this mechanic was Frank Bruno's Boxing in 1985. Some games sometimes have only one bar that can be filled, but which is separated into several parts, each part representing a stock. Stocks can be used for throwing Super, but also for other actions such as evasion, countering etc. This system was first seen in the Darkstalkers series.
In the Smash Bros series, a stock refers to a player's life, i.e. how many times he can be ejected from the arena before losing the match.

STOMP

A term used to describe strikes aimed at hitting the opponent without jumping while the opponent is on the ground.

STRING

A sequence of attacks. Generally refers to moves that are not comboed. This term is used both in 3D games to describe a succession of attacks that are executed faster if done sequentially than if done individually, and in 2D games to describe a sequence of poke moves done to keep the opponent on the defensive, in order to create/maintain a safe distance (more commonly known as Block String).
Some 2D games (or players of 2D games) misuse this term by calling strings Chain Combo.

STRONG

Medium punch in Street Fighter and other six-button Capcom games.

STUFFING

Using a move to stop or beat an opponent's move, such as beating an opponent's poke with a higher priority poke. Stuffing does not necessarily include an attack with a higher priority. (In Street Fighter III it was possible to stuff Chun Li Houyokusen's Super by sending a quick poke downwards, like a small crouching foot).

STUN

Dizziness.

SUMMON

A Command Move temporarily summons an object, character or creature to the screen that performs various actions (doing/absorbing damage or even restoring the player's life). Summoned characters are also called assist, while creatures and objects are more like projectiles. There is a lot of summon in fighting games, whether it is for assistants with games like DBFZ or some SNK games, or for creatures/objects (see Puppet Master for more examples).

SUPER ARMOR

A state during which a character can absorb a certain number of hits, without being hit stunned (taking the attack without interrupting the action the character is currently performing), potentially avoiding a Frame Trap. These protective effects can last for one hit, several hits, or more generally for a fixed duration (the end of an animation, or of an improved state) whether or not the character is hit during this period. By definition, Super Armor does not confer invulnerability or damage reduction, although in some games a damage reduction effect may coincide with a Super Armor effect. In some cases it is specific moves that confer Super Armor, in others some characters have Super Armor by default (usually large and imposing fighters). Super Armor can be displayed in some games, where the character flashes a different colour when hit.
Some games differentiate between the two types of Super Armor. Super Armor allows a given number of hits, while a similar state that can take an infinite number of hits, limited only by duration, is called Hyper Armor.

SUPER CANCELLING

Action of cancelling a special move with a Super, which appeared on Street Fighter EX and has since been used on many other titles. To do a Super Cancel, you have to spend accumulated energy.

SUPER COMBO / SUPER COMBO GAUGE

Name of the first super in Street Fighter II. The meaning can be different in different games, as in some titles it just refers to a fairly long/devastating combo. If it's a gauge, however, it's necessarily a reference to Super.

SUPER JUMP

Also known as a "high jump" in some games, a large jump usually achieved by successively pressing down/up.

SUPER JUMP CANCEL

Cancel the animation with a Super Jump. Mechanic that appeared for the first time in the Capcom games.

SUPER MOVE (SUPER)

Even more powerful than the ex version, which requires part of the power gauge to perform.

SURVIVAL

Single player mode where you have to win as many fights as possible with a single life bar.

SWEEP

A move that moves the opponent from a standing position to the ground, usually done with a big foot while crouching. This mechanic appeared with the first Street Fighter.