Street Fighter 4 Wiki Guide

Characters part 6

Street Fighter IV Characters[edit]

Character Select
Dhalsim is unlocked by default.

Fighter Overview

If you're at all familiar with past Street Fighter games, you know Dhalsim is a distance specialist. It's not rocket science: He's got long arms, a good fireball, and in Street Fighter IV he's got new tools to help him even more. As a Dhalsim player, you should always be looking to increase the distance between you and the opponent to take advantage of Dhalsim's obvious strengths.

From a distance, throw out LP Yoga Fires ( 

 + LP ). The MP and HP versions of the fireball are faster and cause a knock down, but they don't travel nearly as far. Follow your slow Yoga Fires with s.HP and c.HP pokes. If an opponent gets comfy behind a low guard, try jumping backward and tagging the opponent with an instant overhead j.HP (you'll have to move the stick/pad back to neutral). These techniques are mostly for stalling and spacing, though you'll catch the opponent with the pokes occasionally. Really, Dhalsim's damage comes in punishing the opponent as he/she tries to get near you.

If an opponent tries to jump your fireballs, quickly jump straight up (not forward) with a j.MP to knock the opponent out of the air. If the opponent gets even closer, a

 + HK or
 + MP is good for anti-air. The HK is better when the opponent is further away, while the MP hits more vertically, making it good against cross-up attempts. The MP doesn't have great priority, so you'll need to do it early. And you should always cancel the
 + MP with a LP Yoga Fire. It doesn't combo, but it will meet the opponent just as he/she drops out of the air, instantly applying pressure in your favor.

To push away opponents that do manage to get in close, poke with a string starting with

 + LK
 + MK s.LK s.MP. None of these four hits does lots of damage, but they're good for pushing the opponent away. And if the
 + MK happens to hit, you can cancel it into a LP Yoga Flame ( 
 + LP ) and/or a super combo.

When you have to get more aggressive to deal damage, use Dhalsim's awesome Yoga Teleport ( 

 + PPP or KKK ). On the ground, the teleport is essentially useless for offense. But you can TK the teleport by inputting
 + PPP which, as you'll notice, has an extra directional input. By tapping
after the main input (and before pressing the PPP buttons). You can adjust the height of your TK Yoga Teleport by waiting a bit longer to input the final PPP—the button input is surprisingly lenient. After you teleport behind the opponent, attack with a j.HP for an instant overhead cross-up. You can then immediately land into a combo or poke string if you get blocked.

And finally, Dhalsim's ultra combo—the Yoga Catastrophe ( 

 + PPP )—is very good. It's slow moving and must be used more strategically than some other characters' ultras. Launch the ultra as a meaty attack. As the opponent stands up, you can try to connect a quick c.LK slide for a low attack or jump backward and hit with a j.HP for an instant overhead. This dilemma forces the opponent to guess which way to guard. If you connect with either the c.LK or the j.HP, the slow-moving Yoga Catastrophe will combo.


 + MK xx
 + LP xx
 + P
This combo is meant to come out of a TK Yoga Teleport ( 
 + PPP ) mentioned above. After teleport behind and above the opponent, hit with a j.HP before landing and then continue with the rest of the combo. The first three hits are pretty bread-and-buttery, a constant-use combo that you should always be ready to whip out. And if you've got super meter, you can cap it off with a Yoga Inferno for very solid damage. This combo is an outstanding way to capitalize on Dhalsim's teleport cross-up, so learn it well.
 + HP xx
 + PP xx FADC xx
 + PPP
You can combo Dhalsim's EX Yoga Fire ( 
 + PP ) off of a standing
 + HP and while the two hits from the EX Yoga Fire connect, you can charge a Focus Attack to stage two in order to get the crumple effect. Dash forward when the Focus Attack connects and you can combo into Dhalsim's excellent ultra combo.
 + K ( in air )
 + P
Dhalsim's Yoga Spear ( 
 + K ) angles differently depending on which K attack button you use. The MK is probably the best for this combo—use it to float over the top of an opponent's projectile, connect with the opponent's feet, and you can land into an instant Yoga Inferno ( 
 + P ).


Moves List

Yoga Spear
 + K ( in air )
Not as good as it used to be, the Yoga Spear is a bit slow in Street Fighter IV. You can still use it to apply pressure, but it's risky now. Mostly, you'll want to use it to jump over fireballs and then quickly get back to the ground, canceling the very slow arc of Dhalsim's normal jump.
Yoga Mummy
 + HP ( in air )
Has decent air priority but leaves Dhalsim in a bad position when you hit the ground. Eh.
Yoga Tower
 + PPP
Good for letting projectiles slip by instead of blocking them or countering with your own fireball. You can evade a projectile quickly via the Yoga Tower and then instantly poke back with a s.HP. Using Dhalsim's Yoga Tower, Yoga Fire and s.HP are key to always gaining the upper hand in distance battles.
Yoga Fire
 + P
The LP version of Yoga Flame is Dhalsim's most useful. It's slow, so it stays on the screen a long time, And unlike the MP and HP versions, it travels the full length of one screen before petering out. From a full screen away, the opponent will have to block a LP Yoga Fire. While the opponent is guarding against a fireball, you can Yoga Teleport behind him/her for a quick cross-up as the fireball now hits from behind.
Yoga Flame
 + P
The LP version of Yoga Flame is comboable (and can be canceled into Dhalsim's super). It's risky to use the attack in any other situation except as a meaty attack. After knocking down an opponent up close (like with a throw), launch a MP or HP Yoga Flame of his/her body. As the opponent stands up, he/she will be forced to guard in most situations. Successfully waking up against the Yoga Flame isn't easy.
Yoga Blast
 + K
Decent anti-air, but going for a Yoga Blast is always risky and takes longer than a normal anti-air. We don't use it much.
Yoga Teleport
 + PPP or KKK
The key to Dhalsim's offense, use it to apply pressure in TK form as described above. PPP forward teleports put you behind the opponent while KKK teleports drop you right in front of him/her, so mix it up to keep the opponent guessing which way to guard (generally you should be using PPP teleports). Be careful, though, as Dhalsim is still vulnerable as he reappears. Generally you'll want to teleport after applying pressure with a LP Yoga Fire.
Yoga Inferno
 + P
Great super that's very comboable, comes out very quick and does solid damage. Dhalsim's EX attacks aren't anything special, so unless you need to counter an opponent's fireballs you are usually good to save up super meter for a super combo.
Yoga Catastrophe
 + PPP
Dhalsim's ultra is a great way to turn an ugly situation around. It's very slow and lets you reestablish the momentum in your favor. Just throw out the Catastrophe when you know the opponent can't jump over it, then either poke low to open up his/her guard or jump back and connect a j.HP for a quick overhead and let the Catastrophe combo.
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