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Air Fireballs

Air fireballs are a great way to pressure your opponent. You can force them to try to preemptively beat them out by zoning with them, or you can use this on your opponents wake up. When zoning with an air fireball, it's best to understand that this tactic is not to be relied on, and that it should be used when your opponent feels they can begin advancing on you. When this happens, a jump-back or neutral jump air fireball can stop their progress, and if they were in the air, you also score a knockdown. Don't become obvious with this tactic though because a parried air fireball could mean trouble, and remember to throw one out as late as possible to maximize safety. Air fireballs can also be used on your opponents wake up, which does a number of things for your pressure game. One, it prevents your opponent from anti-airing. Once you scare them away from this tactic, pressuring with other methods will become much easier. Remember that this can be parried, so going for a fake air fireball is also effective. If you do it low enough to the ground, Akuma will start the animation and make a voice cue, but the fireball won't come out. This is pretty tricky to deal with and can set up a low attack, a throw, or even a Raging Demon. Also, if an air fireball connects, you can combo after, and if it's blocked, you can continue pressuring with a Demon Flip cancel, a hit confirm, or a tick throw. Remember to mix these strategies up to keep your opponent confused as to what you will do next.