How to read Tekken 8 Combos online – for beginners

Learning combos is addictive, and the community writes them in a way that everyone can read regardless of platform. The issue is it looks like a whole new language until you figure it out. If you’re confused, here’s how to read Tekken 8 Combos online – for beginners.

How to read Tekken 8 notation

Understanding Tekken notation is one of those hurdles every player must clear when they want to take the game more seriously. Fortunately, it’s not so bad when you figure it out.

In Tekken, we use letters and numbers instead of the move names or buttons. You can see how this looks in the image above. We do this so the moves are digestible regardless of whether you’re on Xbox, PlayStation, or PC. 

This is how each command is written:

• Left Punch – 1
• Right Punch – 2
• Left Kick – 3
• Right Kick – 4
• Up – U
• Down – D
• Forward – F
• Backward – B

Note we use Forward and Backward instead of left and right, as these change depending on the direction your character is facing.

Individual moves in a combo are separated by commas for ease of use. For diagonal inputs like Up and Forward simultaneously, we write that as u/f. Any buttons that must be pressed together are linked with a “+” symbol, so ‘”left punch” and “right punch” would simply be 1+2. 

I capitalize buttons that are held down, but it’s not strictly necessary. Some common movements are also abbreviated, including the following:

• Sidestep – SS (can be SSR or SSL if the direction matters)
• While Rising – WR
• Counter Hit – CH
• Back Turned – BT
• While Running – WR
• While Rising – WS (As we already use WR, we use WS for ‘while standing.’)

There are more complex notations, like “i” for instant, but you don’t need to worry about most of these until you’re comfortable with the basics.

We usually write character-specific abilities in full. I would notate Claudio’s Starburst as “Starburst,” for example. In Tekken 8, I would write “Heat Burst” and “during Heat,” although the community may abbreviate this later.

For example, check out one of Azucena’s Sample Combos in the image above. Here’s how it’s written: d/f 2, d/f 4 1, b 4 3 4 3.

And how about one more? Note we don’t usually write ‘during X move’ as it happens naturally during the combo: WS2, 4 3, d 2 3, 1+2, f 2 1 4.

Do I really have to learn this stuff?

If you want to start learning Tekken 8 beyond the in-game tutorials, you do need to learn Tekken notation. I know it seems overwhelming and weird to begin with, but it’s a universal language that every Tekken player understands. 

Tekken notation is so widespread that commentators use it in high-level tournaments like Tekken World Tour and EVO. The best thing about it is you can share knowledge with players worldwide, regardless of spoken language.

I was utterly lost with this concept when I started playing Tekken, but when it clicks, you’ll be able to read and reel off your combos in no time. If you’re a new player and are struggling with Rage Moves (Rage, RA) check out our guide to learn how they work.