Unique Attacks

Yoga Upper

Yoga Upper: A close-range, upward-thrusting uppercut slap, during which Dhalsim takes a slight step forward. Yoga Upper has eight frames of startup and leaves Dhalsim at +3 on hit or ±0 on guard. For the first active frame, Dhalsim punches the area directly in front of him, and then for the next two frames, he hits upward. On hit, the first active frame forces crouching targets to stand up. Canceling from Yoga Upper to Yoga Fire (then canceling into Yoga Sunburst) is guaranteed to hit, whereas canceling another attack (such as crouching or Divine Kick) into Yoga Fire might miss (and might end up slightly too far for a Critical Art cancel to connect, wasting the meter). See Combo 7b for more details. Yoga Upper also naturally combos into MP/EX Yoga Flame. The second and third active frames function as good anti-air against jump-ins aimed at the top of Dhalsim’s head, since his arm is invincible above his bracelets. You’ll just have to press a tiny bit early, and it won’t be fast enough if your aggressor has only left you a small gap. In those cases, use standing , teleport away, or just block.

Yoga Anvil

Yoga Anvil: Dhalsim extends both arms at a 45-degree angle upward to the top of the screen. Yoga Anvil hits along its entire length, but it’s also vulnerable along its entire length, like most Dhalsim attacks. You’ll beat jump-ins with Yoga Anvil by beating them to the punch and anti-airing early. If Yoga Anvil counter-hits, it causes a flipping Crush Counter knockdown, which you can juggle after, depending on position (see Combo 15). In particular, some interesting juggles can occur after counter-hit anti-airing with Yoga Anvil EX Yoga Fire. If Dhalsim is absolutely flush with an opponent who just whiffed something big, like a Shoryuken, you can also start a reversal punish counter-hit combo with Yoga Anvil. (See Combo 10.) Standing also leads to Crush Counter combos, but there may be opportunities where 12-frame Yoga Anvil will catch them in time, while 16-frame standing won’t. Aside from guaranteed whiff-punishing up close, Yoga Anvil isn’t suitable to close-quarters fighting because of its awkward hitting angle, the fact that it whiffs over crouchers, and Dhalsim’s punishable disadvantage if guarded.

Divine Kick

Divine Kick: A relatively quick poke, with Dhalsim leaning back to stick one leg straight ahead, unstretched. This is one of Dhalsim’s most important attacks, hitting in six frames and leaving him at +3 on hit and +1 on block. It also has more range than Yoga Upper. Of Dhalsim’s close-range attacks, only crouching reaches farther (just slightly), but it’s the same speed as Yoga Upper. You can link into Divine Kick after: jumping /(likely after a low-altitude Yoga Teleport), a perfectly aimed Drill Kick or crouching , crouching , and counter-hit crouching . Divine Kick can be canceled on hit into MP/EX Yoga Flame for a knockdown (as in Combo 7a), or canceled on block into LP/HP Yoga Flame. Use LP for fairly safe chip damage, or pick HP to leave a small gap, score chip damage, and also keep frame advantage. When the enemy hands you a big opening, you can link Divine Kick after crouching as a combo starter (see Combo 5). The only catches for Divine Kick are that it doesn’t force crouching enemies to stand and it doesn’t move Dhalsim slightly forward, so there are some instances where Yoga Upper is better in combos.

LK Drill Kick while jumping

MK Drill Kick while jumping

HK Drill Kick while jumping

Drill Kick: Dhalsim wraps himself up and spins to the ground feet-first at the angle of your choice. LK Drill Kick goes the farthest, at a 60-degree angle outward. MK Drill Kick goes diagonally down-forward at a 45-degree angle. And HK Drill Kick goes the sharpest downward, at a 30-degree angle. Each version is the same attack; the angle is all that’s affected. Drill Kicks are active from when you activate them until Dhalsim lands, which is one of their chief strengths—anyone in their path gets hit. The other chief strength is that Drill Kicks allow you to suddenly alter Dhalsim’s airborne trajectory. Combined with his ability to use Yoga Teleport, Yoga Gale, and Yoga Float, this gives him the most unpredictable air movement out of anyone in the cast by far. However, Drill Kicks have extra landing recovery and represent a large commitment. If your Drill Kick is blocked high up on a defending character’s body, Dhalsim will almost certainly be punished while landing. Depending on the incoming angle, being blocked around knee height already leaves Dhalsim between +2 and -2 on landing; by the time you’re talking about being blocked at chest or head height, Dhalsim’s definitely punishable upon landing. And if you miss badly with a Drill Kick, your opponent has plenty of time to take aim against spiraling Dhalsim.

When you do Drill Kick aggressively at your enemy, aim at their feet, hitting as late as possible before landing. This can leave you with a frame situation on block as good as +6/+7/+8 (version dependent) when properly aimed. On hit, this leads to one of Dhalsim’s more surprising link opportunities (see Combo 8). Otherwise, save Drill Kick for air movement, like using HK Drill Kick to return quickly to the ground after a backward air Yoga Teleport, or after jumping up over an incoming projectile.