Japanese Tekken player Pinya made waves in 2020 as Asia’s best Master Raven player.
A fairly elusive character with teleporting abilities and back turn combos, Master Raven has a unique infinite Crouch Step (d,df,d,n,d,df,d,n) that can close gaps in a flash.
Pinya showcased his mastery of the move at the online tournament circuit, InterContintental Fight Club. To add to the flair of the dash, the Master Raven player usually ended the two-part dash with a low-sweeping windmill.
ICFC showcases the power of the Pinya Step
Aside from being a flashy movement skill, the crouch dash could be used to trick opponents and initiate quick mix-ups. Pinya often baited out the crouch guard from players who had enough of the windmill follow-up
In one fight against Hazure Metal’s Gigas, Pinya caught the fellow Japanese player crouching during his dash and immediately launched him with a Pendulum Kick for a full combo.
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The move also looks quite deceptive when done in succession. Since the move’s recovery is quite fast, Pinya could do three consecutive dashes in a row and still have enough time to enter neutral guard and defend an enemy’s quick poke.
In the ICFC S1 Asia Finals, the Master Raven specialist continued to style on opponents with the crouch dash. He was crowned the ultimate champion of the region after a 3-2 victory against Singaporean Julia player Lan94.
After the tournament, Pinya became the talk of the FGC’s Twittersphere. Legendary Korean pro player Bae “Knee” Jae-min caught wind of the super move, tried it out on stream, and coined the term “Pinya Step” for the crouch dash.
“Knee named it Pinya Step. I’m honored,” said Pinya in a tweet.
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