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Chun-Li is more thanthe First Lady of Street Fighter; she’s arguably the First Lady of Fighting Games! Her impact is so significant that she’s returned to every mainline Street Fighter from SF2 toStreet Fighter 6(Don’t @ me about SF3: New Generation and Double Impact. She made it into Third Strike. That’s what counts!)
Related:Street Fighter 6: World Tour Tips
The “Strongest Woman In The World” has always boasted an assortment of exceptional attacks using her “lightning legs.” But she’s more potent than ever in Street Fighter 6, with several new techniques. Chun-Li has a steep learning curve, especially when learning to do a Kikoken. But with practice and our pointers, you’ll discover she is a blast to play!
Updated Jun 13, 2025, by Chris Sanfilippo:Our latest update adds a new example video to our Bread And Butter Combo section. Plus, we added more tips for how to do a Kikoken.
This attack is not available in the Modern Control scheme
Punch x2 (simultaneously)
Kick x2 (simultaneously)
Used between buttons to denote a target combo
Neutral movement (not pressing any directional buttons)
This move has an Overdrive version
[c]
This attack can cancel into special moves
↳
[charge⬅️]➡️ + P
[charge⬅️] + S
(During a neutral or forward jump)
[charge⬇️]⬆️ + K
[charge⬇️]⬆️ + At
N or ➡️ + S + H
(During a jump)
(more powerful when vitality is at 25% or below)
⬅️ or ➡️ + MP
⬅️ or ➡️ + M
⬅️ + HP
↘️ + HP
➡️ + HK
↘️ + HK
(During a jump) (Can be performed up to three times)
⬇️ + MK
(During a jump) (Must be near a wall)
↗️
Koshuto(when near opponent)
N or ➡️ + LP + LK
N or ➡️ + L + M
Taiji Fan(when near opponent)
⬅️ + LP + LK
Ryuseiraku(during a jump) (when near opponent)
Classic:[charge⬅️]➡️ + P
Modern:[charge⬅️] + S
Kikoken isChun-Li’s projectile attack. What’s neat about this ki blast, compared to others, like Hadoken, is how it progresses with attack strength. Kikoken’sspeed increases at higher attack strengths, but itsdistance decreases.
So, how will this trait affect your gameplay?Light Kikokenworks great for planning an offensive approach. You cancharge the attack from far away and use its slow speed to cover youwhile you walk toward your foe.
Medium and Heavy Kikokenswill come in a pinch during a crouching guard, providing a counter-attack to your opponent. They’ll alsowork wonders in a close-range combo.
OD Kikoken is a gamechanger. It combines the Light Kikoken range with Heavy Kikoken’s power and adds multiple hits. This is a stellar option when you want to throw your opponent off-kilter.
How To Do A Kikoken With Classic Controls:
To execute a Kikoken, you musthold down the backward button for about two seconds and then enter the forward and punch buttons.
But how can you do that without retreating into the corner?Use crouching attacks to cover your chargeand lead into the Kikoken.
Classic:⬇️↘️➡️ + K
Modern:N + S
Who doesn’t love Hundred Lightning Kicks? This offensive skill puts Chun-Li’s lightning legs to good use withmultiple high-speed kicks!
While Hundred Lightning Kicks seems convenient, it comes with a catch: it isunsafe when blocked. So, you should combo this move out of a normal attack. By working this way, you can hit-confirm before taking on Hundred Lightning Kick’s inherent risks.
OD Hundred Lightning Kicks adds even more hits to the attack. You canfollow this attack with Lightning Kick Barrage at no cost to your Drive Gauge. However, it would be best if you didn’t use this follow-up unless OD Hundred Lightning Kicks lands.
Modern:S
Aerial Hundred Lightning Kicks works under similar conditions as its grounded version. Itimmediately turns a jumping attack into a combo, making it great for confronting airborne opponents.
Start practicing by performing Aerial Hundred Lightning Kicks out of a Jumping Medium Punch. After you’re comfortable with this sequence, try performing OD Aerial Hundred Lightning Kicks after a launching attack, like Tenku Kick.
Classic:[charge⬇️]⬆️ + K
Modern:[charge⬇️]⬆️ + At
Spinning Bird Kick, aka the ‘WTF-HOW-IS-THAT-EVEN-POSSIBLE-KICK,’ is abeautiful high-damage attackthat feels satisfying whenever it lands.
Spinning Bird Kick iseasy to perform out of a Crouching LK, LP, MK, or MP. Plus, it knocks down your opponent. So, if you can land any four of those crouching normal attacks, canceling them into a Spinning Bird Kick is a no-brainer.
Once familiar with Spinning Bird Kick, you should try its OD version. This versionlaunches your opponent, making it a perfect precursor to Tensho Kicks. But remember, OD Spinning Bird Kick only combos out of a medium attack or higher.
Classic:⬇️↙️⬅️ + K
Modern:⬇️ + S
Hazanshu is afast and furious flip kick that will keep your opponent in checkand avoid sweeping kicks. It’s a great overhead that will punish opponents in crouching guard.
The Light Hazanshu, in particular, is very fast and takes advantage of its overhead quality well. However, even Medium and Heavy Hazanshus are safe bets since they leave some distance when blocked, allowing you to go on the defensive.
OD Hazanshu launches your opponent, making it a fantastic combo starter.
Classic:⬇️⬇️ + K
Modern:➡️ + S
Tensho Kickslaunch your opponent into the air with several high-speed kicks. This attack’s upward movement gives it outstanding offensiveanddefensive qualities.
Tensho Kicks is ahighly effective anti-air attackif an opponent attempts a jump-in. Yet, this assault is also malleable, allowing it to fit in several combo strings.
Suppose you’re a Marvel Vs. Capcom fan. In that case,Tensho Kicks will give you that aerial combo razzle dazzle!
OD Tensho Kicks is invincible to all attacks, making it the perfect reversal necessary for competitive play. Use this skill when you need to change the course of the match.
Related:Street Fighter 6: Beginner’s Guide To Luke
Combo 1
Our first combo addresses most beginners' main issue when learning a charge character: how do you charge an attack without moving backward?More specifically,how do you do a Kikoken?
One option ischarging an attack via a crouching guard. The other is touse an attack to keep your character in placewhile you charge the special move.
Classic Input:⬅️ or ➡️ + MP > [charge⬅️]➡️ + P
Modern Input:⬅️ or ➡️ + M > [charge⬅️] + S
This combo displays both techniques at work. You mustbegin with a crouching guard to add valuable charge time. Then, once you enter Swift Thrust, you’re able to cancel into Kikoken.
Combo 2
Chun-Li has incredible aerial combos. Even simple maneuvers, like our example below, can damage an airborne opponent significantly. This combo also shows offAerial Kikosho, a great combo finisherthat’s easy to execute out of Yoso Kicks.
Classic Input:⬇️↙️⬅️ + P > HK > jump > ⬇️ + MK > ⬇️ + MK > ⬇️↘️➡️⬇️↘️➡️ + P
Modern Input:⬇️↙️⬅️ + At > H > jump > ⬇️ + M > ⬇️ + M > S + H
When you’re looking for aDrive-free launcher, Tenku Kick does the job. Practice quickly canceling Serenity Stream into Tenku Kick to make these launches less predictable.
Combo 3
Our last combo adds meat to the format we reviewed in Combo 2. However, instead of a Tenku Kick,the launching attack is Hoyoku-sen, which can get canceled into a jump.
Crouching Medium Kick and OD Hundred Lightning Kick create an opening for Hoyoku-sen that adds extra damage to the front of the combo.
Classic Input:⬇️ + MK > ⬇️↘️➡️ + KK > ⬇️↘️➡️ + K > jump cancel > ⬇️ + MK > ⬇️ + MK > ⬇️↘️➡️⬇️↘️➡️ + P
Modern Input:⬇️ + M > ⬅️ + S + Auto > ⬅️ + S + H > jump cancel > ⬇️ + M > ⬇️ + M > S + H
Notice how we condensed the input from OD Hundred Lightning Kick into Hoyoku-sen? You canuse the ⬇️↘️➡️ motion from the first move to begin the input for the second. This will make canceling less cumbersome.
Modern Players can learn something from this lesson too. After entering OD Hundred Lightning Kick,hold the back button and press S + H. How simple is that?
Chun-Li General Strategy
Like any dedicated teacher,Chun-Li tests and challenges her opponents, even when they don’t realize it. So, to win as her, first, you should observe your opponent’s responses to pokes and projectiles. Then, you can punish them with a cavalcade of aerial attacks and close-range combos.
Kikoken portrays this sequence well. You cantest the opponent with Kikokensto see whether they’ll respond with a projectile cancel, a crouching guard, or a jump-in.
Once you see their response, you canpunish them accordingly.
This is one example, but you can test the waters with your opponent in several ways while strategizing your next move. Chun-Li hasgreat mid-range pokes. Herfast normals can also chain into Unique Attacks and Special Moves, which is great for counters.
Once you’re in melee range,focus on making an opening for your Bread And Butter combos. Besides your medium crouching attacks, you can alsotrick your opponent with Serenity Stream, which has six different options. They’ll never know what’s coming!
Too much hesitation is the greatest weaknessof a Chun-Li player. If you spend too long in a crouching guard while you charge up that next Kikoken or Spinning Bird Kick, you’ll get crushed before you can react.
When you find yourself cornered or guarding for dear life, whip out that Kikosho. It’s aDrive-Free reversal that’s guaranteed to deflect opponent pressure.
