Crouch Dash

Crouch Dash
Kazuya executing a Crouch Dash.
User	Kazuya
Universe	Tekken

Crouch Dash (風神ステップ, Wind God Step) is an advanced movement technique exclusive to Kazuya.

Overview

Kazuya executing perfect Crouch Dashes with the SmashBox. Notice the intangibility frames on his upper body.

The player must move Kazuya towards the opponent, then down and down-forward in a Z formation (→ ↓ ↘). The player can also crouch dash by dashing forward then flicking the C-Stick/right control stick down if the stick is set to attack. If done correctly, Kazuya will slide forward a considerable distance. His upper body is intangible during the entirety of the slide. Quickly doing this technique several times is a useful method to close gaps, apply pressure, and dodge some projectiles. Out of actions such as a spotdodge, Kazuya can close distance with minimal vulnerability windows, making him difficult to punish from a distance. It's also useful as a ledge option for similar reasons. If consecutive crouch dashes are done perfectly, Kazuya will only be vulnerable for an extremely small amount of frames before becoming intangible again, making him nearly impossible to hit while using the technique.

There are several ways to cancel the crouch dash, all done by interrupting it with another action immediately after the animation starts. Flicking the control stick up brings Kazuya to an immediate halt. Flicking the stick forward cancels into a dash. Flicking the stick back will cancel into the back fade all fighters with 1-on-1 facing possess. Pressing a button on the diagonal input can cancel into diagonal-down attacks.

Because of the move's nature, pressing the attack button during the crouch dash at any point can allow Kazuya to execute Wind God Fist (tapped) and Dragon Uppercut (held) and pressing the Special move button will allow Kazuya to execute Spinning Demon to Left Hook. Tapping the attack button just as the downward or downward-forward inputs are used for the crouch dash lets Kazuya use Electric Wind God Fist. If Rage is active, then holding the button allows Kazuya to use his Rage Drive. Finally, it's possible to delay an attack input to perform Demon God Fist out of crouch dash, as Kazuya enters a "leaving crouch" animation as it ends. Grabbing isn't possible during a crouch dash, instead executing either Wind God Fist, Dragon Uppercut, or even Gates of Hell depending on how the input was performed.

Origin

Kazuya executing a crouch dash in Tekken 7.

Crouch dashing originated in the first Tekken game. From Tekken 3 onwards, it became possible to cancel a crouch dash into another repeatedly, and such technique was named wavedash by the Tekken community. While far more commonly known as a technique in Melee within the Smash community, the term was adopted by the latter for its similarity in execution and effects. Not all characters can perform Crouch Dash, and the technique to perform it differs between characters. Starting from Tekken 2, Kazuya can use his Mist Step to perform a "simplified" version, which can then be used to execute a Perfect Electric Wind God Fist, a Dragon Uppercut, or a Spinning Demon. Mist Step to any crouch dash move is the fastest way to execute them in the series, as Kazuya can perform the moves 1 frame faster than the other Mishimas from a standing position; however, he cannot perform a Perfect Electric Wind God Fist while dashing or wavedashing, since the Mist Step input is disabled while he's moving.

Names in other languages

Language	Name
Japanese	風神ステップ, Wind God Step
English	Crouch Dash
French	Crouch Dash
German	Crouch Dash
Spanish	Crouch Dash
Italian	Crouch Dash
Chinese	Crouch Dash
Korean	Crouch Dash
Dutch	Hurkveeg
Russian	Рывок в приседе