need help with dancing blade

[samdaballer]

hey guys, im having a little trouble executing the dancing blade. I can do the first and second slash, but seldomly get to the third or fourth. can you guys provide tips on the timing to tilt the control stick and when to press b? thanks

 

[thebluedeath1000]

Time your presses, do it with rhythem <----awesome spelling.

 

[UMBC Super Smasher]

Just don't try to do it too fast at first. Do sideB + sideB + Up/Down/SideB + Up/Down/SideB. The third and fourth attacks have a bit more start-up lag than the first two.

 

[lillight3]

If you are still having trouble with it, you could use a Metronome and practice side B-ing to a beat. if you dont have one, you could go to http://www.metronomeonline.com/ of course this is a very literal way of thinking about it.

 

[Mar~]

....................

 

[RT]

Practice is the only way to get better. If you want just be able to get the timing just press forward+B and then just tap B at the right time. Alternatively, you can use A starting from the second attack onwards. Once you get the timing down, start pressing other directions so you can do different variations. You'll eventually learn how to control it to the point where you can perform it very quickly or very staggered depending on your opponent's floaty-ness.

 

[pdk]

put about 1/3 or 1/2 second between each motion, that'll help

 

[Retroking2000]

-The Marth Sword Dance Miniguide-
Version 1.0



Part I: What is it good for?

The sword dance is 70% for mind games and 30% for actual combo value. When you're trying to be spontaneous and unpredictable and your running out of things to do, a well-placed sword dance is perfect. However, this nifty little move should not be overused, as if it gets predictable it's extremely easy to counter, and usually there are moves that produce the same effect as the dance, but are faster and stronger. Pay attention to how often Ken uses the sword dance in his famous fight(s) with Isai. I'd even say he sometimes uses it a bit too much, but who am I to criticize Ken .

There are combos that spike, combos that simply rack up damage, 'get out of my face' combos, and many others. In total, there is one 1-move combo, two 2-move combos, six 3-move combos, and 18 4-move combos, over half of which are actually useful, all in different ways!


Part II: Learning the timing.

Note: This is only if you're having trouble sword dancing at all. If not, skip this section.

Most people have trouble learning to do all 4 moves at first, simply because they jam B too fast. For practice, start out by trying to do a FFFF (all four moves are forward) combo. Hold the control stick to the side, and press B. Now, any time between right before the end of the first swing, and before the lag frames run out, press B again. This is about a quarter of a second after you press B the first time. This should be easy.
Now, try that again, except this time wait a little after the second move, and while still holding to the side, press B again. The timing is a little slower for the third move, but is still pretty close. Repeat this with the 4th move, and look at how frikken cool the combo looks. Although this one isn't that useful, it's good to practice with.
By pressing B and little earlier and a little later than usual, you execute the moves faster/slower than normal. Try to see how quickly you can pull off the FFFF combo, and then see how long you can drag it on.
Now, instead of pressing forward all the time, try rolling the control stick up or down for any of the moves (except the first, obviously). Try out different combos until you get the hang of it, and then you'll be ready to put it to use! :]



Part III: The individual moves.

Note: To save time, I'll refer to moves by their step, and then by their direction (F/U/D).
So the second step forward would be 2F, while fourth step up would be 4U.

Other Note: Pressing back on the control stick will achieve the same affect as pressing forward, and for some people this is convenient becuase they can slowly rotate the control stick all the way around while pressing B to do the dances.




Step 1:

-F-
2-4%
The only step 1 move. Useful for three things: Recovery (use several times in the air to gain a bit of horizontal distance and slow your decent), to start Sword dances, and to cancel most projectiles (risky, but flashy).



Step 2:

-F/D-
2-4%
The second step forward and down are actually the exact same move, so do whatever is more comfortable for you. A really crappy move, the only thing it might do is pop of floaties slightly behind you for a reverse Nair. If you want to go on comboing, I would just use 2U, because it's just faster.

-U-
2-4%
Like I said, not useful for anything except that it's simply faster than 2F, which is extremely useful when you're trying to spike with 3D.



Step 3:

-F-
5-6%
Great move. High knockback, fast, showy, and overall sexy. Really useful if you see they're gonna DI out of the dance and you want them out of your face before they do. However, if you see they won't break out, I recommend going on to step 4.

-U-
3-4%
Meh, not so great. Does the same thing as 3D, but to a lesser extent, although it has lesser knockback so it's easier to move on to step 4 with this.

-D-
6-8%
Fantastic spike, and although Dair is faster and easier, this one throws some variety in there to mindgame your oppent, and is sexier. When used on the ground, pops up enemies just right for a fsmash. Does the most damage out of any 3rd step move.


Step 4:

A perfect set of moves to end your dance. I love all three of these, and if you plant one, you'll enjoy the result. However, these have lots of lag, so use only if you're sure you can plant them.

-F-
5-6%
Great knockback, pretty fast, and a nice dance finish if you're not aiming for flashiness.

-U-
7-8%
FANTASTIC. This is basically 4F, but stronger cooler looking. Ken uses this to finish most dances he doesn't finish with 3F.

-D-
9-10% (If all jabs hit)
This move is more situational, but is really sexy looking. If your oppent WD/Rolls back when he sees you starting to dance, you can speed through the first part of the dance and surprise him with this. You gain quite a bit of horizontal distance, followed by 4 quick jabs and one extra powerful jab with tons of knockback.





Part IV: Learning when to use what.


Unless your spiking someone with 3D, this should be your general train of thought when you're dancing:

Step 1:
-Did it connect? If not, stop dancing and try not to get ***** in the lag. If yes, on to step 2.


Step 2:
-Are you going to connect? If yes, keep fighting. If not, stop dancing and don't get ***** in the lag.

-Is your enemy a floaty with med damage? Use 2F/D to pop them into a nair. If not, use 2U.

-Did it connect? Move on to step 3. Didn't? Don't get ***** in the lag.


Step 3:
-Are you going to connect? If yes, keep fighting. If not, stop dancing and don't get ***** in the lag.

-Are they trying to DI out, and more or less accomplishing something? Use 3F to get them out of your face before they sex kick you.
-Are they not trying to get out, but you want to stop dancing anyway? Use 3D to give maximal damage for the finishing move.
-Are they not trying to get out, and you still want to dance? Use 3U so that they don't get knocked back too far.

-Did it connect? Move on to step 4. Didn't? Don't get ***** in the lag.


Step 4:
-Are you going to connect? If yes, keep fighting. If not, stop dancing and don't get ***** in the lag.

-Want a not-so-powerful final move so you can keep comboing them with other moves? Use 4F.
-Want to finish the dance and get them as far away as possible? Use 4U.
-Did they wavedash/roll back, waiting for you to finish? Make sure they're in range of the 4D, and then use it. If they're just out of range of it, you WILL get ***** in the lag.


-Did it connect? Keep comboing/go edgeguard them. Didn't? You're really, really screwed unless they are too far away to come get you.




Part v: Final Notes

The sword dance looks sexy, but like I said, don't spam it. Various A attacks usually work better, but if you see an opening to dance, by all means, dance.

 

[Retroking2000]

I hope this helps
plaese info me on any mistakes i have made or areas i have not covered

 

[balladechina212]

Ken uses it more against Isai because the sword dance tends to **** Falcon a lot.

 

[Retroking2000]

Ken uses it more against Isai because the sword dance tends to **** Falcon a lot.

Yeah you are right hehe

 

[CBNJ]

I never use it, can't find the right time to. But who knows, maybe my Marth is just terrible.

 

[lillight3]

i just hardly ever use the fourth swing cause the third on either knocks them away far enough so the fourth one cant hit or they dodge the third one and expect the fourth one to come out as well so i trick them.