Stagger Kick, called Ali Kick (アリキック Ari Kikku?) in Japan, is an attack used by King I, King II, Armor King, Roger, Alex, Roger Jr., and Gon since the first game. Armor King II would not gain this move from his predecessor, instead having the similar looking Taurus Cutter.
In Tekken, the only input was d/f+4,4,4 while crouching, or 4,4,4 while running, but from Tekken 2 onwards it could also be performed with d+3+4,4,4. In Tekken Tag Tournament, the running variation can also be performed while tagging in with f,f,N,4,4,4. Stagger Kicks are also used in King's 10 Hit Combos.
In Tekken, the first two kicks are guaranteed on hit, with the opponent only able to block the third kick, while the entire string is guaranteed on a counter hit. This was unchanged in Tekken 2 for Armor King, Roger and Alex, however King's Stagger Kick can now be blocked after the first kick, or the second kick on a counter hit.
If the Stagger Kicks are a counter hit, they can be extended with 4 (or 4,4 in Tekken) after the third hit for five hits. From Tekken 2, the fifth Stagger Kick is performed automatically with no input required. Also in Tekken 2, King could follow up the Stagger Kick with the Octopus Special in order to deplete an opponent's health bar. The running variant cannot use the extra kicks even if it is a counter hit. Gon can only perform the running variant.
Starting with Tekken 2, King can also chain a single Stagger Kick into a Spinning Uppercut. If the Stagger Kicks are a counter hit, he can use the Spinning Uppercut after any kick, or chain into his powerful Octopus Special throw with 2~1~3 as the fourth hit lands, typically leading to an instant K.O.
From Tekken 2, Armor King can also perform Stagger Kicks after a small hop, where the move is called Jump to Stagger Kick, however the Ver. A arcade edition of Tekken 2 does not have the move.
Roger Jr. would gain the Spinning Uppercut variation from Tekken 5 onwards though he would lose the ability to use d+3+4 and the FC d/f+4 inputs in Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion when they were replaced by Tail Mopping.
From Tekken 3 onwards, the third kick will knock over the opponent if it hits side on or from behind. Additionally, if only a single Stagger Kick is performed, it will be weaker than the initial combo version. This is also true for the Stagger Kick Spinning Uppercut combo. The weaker Stagger Kick can also combo to the extra kicks if the second input is delayed to the point where the kick is just about to connect. Since Tekken 3, if all five counter-hit Stagger Kicks connect, the fifth kick will trip the opponent as the kicks move King around to the opponent's left side. Otherwise, it is -15 on hit like the third Stagger Kick.
Users of this move are unable to perform the generic running slide.
Trivia[]
- In Japan, the move is named after a technique used by Antonio Inoki in his infamous match against Muhammad Ali. The match saw Inoki go for low kicks often, due to a bizarre ruleset supposedly imposed on the match.[1]