Bringing a Sword to a Fist Fight - SFxT Yoshimitsu Guide

[FatMus2]

One of the worst characters in the game, Yoshimitsu is. However very fun to use, he can be. When teamed with a good partner, a very dangerous fighter he can be. To make a guide, I have decided. Only then realise the true potential of Yoshimitsu after reading, people will.

Yoshimitsu - Leader of The Manji Clan


Alright, Enough of the Yoda speak.
The Ninja/Samurai/Alien/Robot/Jedi hybrid has appeared in every Tekken game to date and there's no way he was going to sit this one out. Wielding a green energy blade, Yoshimitsu is one of the more unique characters in the game. You'd think being a ninja he'd be a fast character, but au contraire, all the armour he lugs around makes him very slow. His dashes aren't very good either. But never fear my young Manji apprentices. He has a number of tools in his arsenal, some useful, some not so much, but when used correctly he can be difficult to beat.
The Version 2013 Patch has changed quite a few aspects of Yoshi's gameplay, and the entire game in general. The guide will have updated details of certain moves in this colour.

Contents
-Summary
-Normals and Unique Attacks
-Special Attacks
-Super Art and Cross Art
-Frame Data
-Basic Combos
-Strategy

[FatMus2]

Summary
Yoshimitsu plays a poking game. Most of his attacks are meant to be used as pokes to your opponent, both as offensive pokes and counter pokes. With Yoshi you want to stay mostly around midscreen, using his pokes and Anti Air to keep opponents out. Yoshimitsu should preferably always play as a point character. He builds a good amount of meter and has effective tag out opportunities (especially with Sword Poke Windmill).

Health: 1000. A nice average hit point amount.
+Has a teleport. Do not underestimate this teleport. While it has a large recovery, it's great for running away and repositioning.
+Above average ranged normals due to his sword.
+Some good normals. Some. For example Close Standing Medium Punch. Most other normals are unsafe on block but are still good pokes. His pokes are even better now, with increased range, increased damage and special knockback animations on Counter Hit.
+Has a few ways to avoid projectiles.
+Pretty fun to play as, more so when you win.
+Has a great AA which can be combod off of.


-Sluggish movement. Bad dashes. While his walk speed has increased, he's still fairly slow compared to most of the cast.
-While he's a poking character, his normals are pretty bad during exchanges.
-Sword range is deceptive; at distant ranges it may look like it's passing through your opponent but they will be unaffected. (This no longer applies)
-Doesn't have a good low hitting poke, meaning opponents don't really need a strong low defense against him. (This no longer applies)
-Not many combos. A couple of Bread and Butters with some slight variations, and using EX Meter doesn't offer a whole lot of damage addition. He also doesn't have any good links to start combos with outside of cr.lp, cr.lp
-Jump is slower than most characters by a few frames.
-Almost everything is unsafe on block.
-Has no way to apply pressure on opponents nor does he have any mixup abilities like the rest of the Tekken cast.
-Can play keepaway, but has no full-screen attacks to make your opponent stay away for long. Your opponent can close you down easily which means you always have to be on the move. A good opponent will always have the advantage of keeping you where he wants you. (This almost no longer applies, Yoshi now has an AA and better pokes to keep opponents out.)
-No real reversals to get opponents off you besides teleport and EX Gehosen, but teleport is unsafe if predicted, and EX Gehosen uses up a meter, and is also unsafe if blocked. (This almost no longer applies, he now has a barely invincible reversal in Medium Gehosen, and each version of Suicide is invincible to hits/throws/projectiles however you still have to guess which one to use correctly as a reversal)

[FatMus2]

Normals and Unique Attacks

Let's take a look at Yoshi's normals.

Standing Normals
- - This attack has slightly more range than the average jab due to his arm being fully outstretched with the added length of his hilt. It's a decent attack at close range. You can link it into itself but not into anything else.
Cancellable.
Damage: 30.

- (far) - It has a slow startup and a relatively large recovery. It's not a very good move to use outside of maximum range where it can be used as a poke, and even then Crouching Medium Punch is a better option. It can be used somewhat as an anti-air but it's not very good. Avoid this attack.
Not Cancellable.
Damage: 60.
This move now has a faster startup, a better hitbox, and does more damage. It can be used as an excellent poke, and it is somewhat effective as an anti-air but still not very good.
Damage: 80

- (close) - Just slightly slower than a jab (by 1 frame in fact), decent recovery, and safe on block this move is excellent. Great for using in blockstrings. You can link this move into Light Punch or Light Kick. It is also cancellable on hit or block (but don't cancel on block, unless you are going for a chip damage victory, since you'll just make yourself less safe). Sadly it is his only good option for blockstrings and frametraps (kind of). It also requires that Yoshimitsu is in point blank range. Also the pushback on hit means you can't link it back into itself.
Cancellable.
Damage: 60.

- - This move is quite slow, and it's quite unsafe to quick reversals. Nonetheless it has a great range which makes it a good poke, and it'll be hard to punish at max range. The move is horrible against aerial opponents though, so if they jump over the poke you will be very open to punishment.
Not Cancellable.
Damage: 90.
This move now does a lot more damage (more than Gehosen in fact) making this a very dangerous poke. Landing the move as a Counter Hit also knocks back your opponent, negating any forward progress he may have made, while doing even more damage. It's still terrible against aerial opponents so be careful. This is the only sword normal that didn't get an improved hitbox.
Damage: 120

- - It looks pathetic but it's actually pretty good for poking since it has a decent range. It looks like it hits low but it doesn't have to be blocked low.
Cancellable.
Damage: 30.

- - This move has quite a good range and again, it's good for pokes. Not safe on block from up close, but at max range your opponent would need a fast, long ranged attack to punish. Use outside Light Kick range.
Cancellable.
Damage: 60.

- - This move has quite a bit of range but it has a slow startup and large recovery. However if hit at far enough distances it becomes a very good poke due to the pushback it creates. On hit or block, you'll end up even more than Yoshimitsu's Hard Punch range away (you'll be around half screen away) which makes it hard to punish. It can also be used an anti-air if timed correctly and if your opponent isn't directly over your head, but rather at a slight distance.
Not Cancellable.
Damage: 90.
This move now causes a float effect on hit. The opponent however doesn't float high enough to juggle them outside of the corner. It's good for tag cancelling however. This move is now also throw invincible.

Crouching Normals
- - Not a lot of range, but it comes out fast. Use up close to poke at your opponent. Can link into itself and Standing Light Punch.
Cancellable.
Damage: 30.

- - Quite a good amount of range, just less than Crouching Hard Punch. Again used as a poke. Also used as a hit confirm from long range. While it looks like it hits low it doesn't need to be blocked low.
Cancellable.
Damage: 60.
This move now has an improved hitbox, and it hits low making this a great poke. If you land it even at maximum range you can cancel it right into Heavy Gehosen or Sword Poke Windmill to get a combo going.

- - It has average speed and is actually somewhat safe on block for a hard attack (not just because of it's frame advantage on block but also because of it's range). Good move for poking, range being slightly larger than Crouching Medium Punch. It's still better to use Crouching Medium Punch since this move can't be cancelled and it's less safe. It's Yoshimitsu's best anti-air, it's much more reliable than Standing Hard Punch (which isn't saying much, it's still terrible). It can hit airborne opponents just on the tip of the slice-arc. It's also best used at a distance as a poke.
Not Cancellable.
Damage: 90.
This move now has an improved hitbox and does considerably more damage, making it an even more dangerous poke. It still seems to have a bit of a gimpy range however, so standing hard punch is a better poke at times. On Counter Hit it causes a float, after which you can do a Light Gehosen (from close range) or tag cancel for your partner to finish up the combo.
Damage: 120.

- - Not much range, but it's one of only two normals that Yoshimitsu has that hits low. Useful for when you're right in your opponent's face and you wanna throw in a low mixup while poking. It just might work if your opponent disrespects your low game (highly unlikely though). If you don't want to play a mixup game then it's better to use crouching jab instead.
Cancellable.
Damage: 30.

- - For a crouching medium kick, it's surprising that it doesn't hit low. This means Yoshimitsu has no long range low pokes. But as a poke on it's own it's still good. It has good range and is safe on block. You can also use it as a hit confirm.
Cancellable.
Damage: 60.


- - Yoshimitsu does a standard sweep. Naturally this scores you a knockdown. It has decent range and is the only other normal that hits low. Not a good poke. Slow startup and quite unsafe on block. At maximum range you can still be punished if blocked. If you're sure your opponent isn't blocking low then throw this out there from an optimal range.
Not Cancellable.
Damage: 90.
This move is now cancellable. This increases the moves effictiveness as a poke since you can cancel into a safe special or even teleport.

Air Normals
- - It comes out fast and it stays out quite long. Probably it's only use is to cover yourself with an attack while jumping. Don't use this move too much.
Damage: 40.

- - Yoshimitsu performs a horizontal slice. For an air normal this has a lot of range. It's a pretty good attack if you're jumping while your opponent jumps forward; you'll slice them right out of the air. It can hit your opponent anywhere from right in the head to right in the shins, however because of it being a horizontal attack it's not a good jump in. If you're at an optimal range then you can jump vertically up and use this move as a safe poke. A good opponent may be able to react to your jump though. Use it mainly for air to airs.
Damage: 70.


- - This is a pretty good move since it stays out quite long and does a fair bit of damage (more than most Jumping Hard Punches). It hits 3 times so anyone trying to use armor as an anti-air (looking at you, Hugo and Zangief) is gonna eat blade. It's a very good jump in attack, landing it will allow you to follow into a combo that will net you big damage (see combos section). It also juggles opponent in the air regardless of counter hit or not, meaning you can follow up if they are high enough when you land (more about this in the combos section).
Damage: 35+35+35=105.

- - Stays out quite long, but not as long as Jumping Light Punch. This move is just a watered down version of Jumping Medium Kick, although it has the same range, if not a little more. It also cannot be linked into Crouching Medium Punch.
Damage: 40.

- - This move is a little slower than Jumping Light Kick, but it does more damage, it crosses up the opponent, and you can link into Crouching Medium Punch. It also stays out as long. Good for air-to-airs but not the best jump in in the world.
Damage: 60.

- - This move has a lot of startup, and doesn't stay out long. It's hard to hit grounded opponents with. It's also pretty bad in the air. Landing it will put your opponent into a groundbounce state. However the opponent can quick recover from this state meaning you can't follow up.
This move now causes unrecoverable groundbounce on aerial opponents. More in the combo sections on how to follow up when you land this. It still has a pretty crappy hit box though, and Yoshi can actually do better combos after landing a jumping hard punch both as an air to air or as a jump in.

Unique Attacks
- , , - Triple Roundhouse Combo - Yoshimitsu performs three roundhouse kicks in a row. You don't have to do all three kicks, you can do two or even just one. This move hits high and will actually miss most crouching opponents (not the large ones, characters like Zangief and Kuma can be hit). All three kicks will combo (this is range dependent, if you're at some distance, the second hit won't connect). The first two hits will juggle airborne opponents regardless of counterhit. The last kick will float the opponent in front of you, grounded or airborne, allowing you to combo after (more in the combos section). The first kick is just about safe on block, and each kick thereafter gets progressively unsafer. If the opponent is standing it can be used as a decent poke, but only the first kick if you're not in range for the second. If the first is blocked then don't do the second. This move is mostly useful in combos, especially juggle combos since after a launcher it can be Yoshimitsu's most damaging set up outside of Super/Cross Arts.
Damage: 50+50+50 (due to damage scaling, when all three hits connect the final damage would be 140)
The hitbox of the first kick has now been enlarged meaning it will hit crouching opponents. The first hit also forces the opponent to stand if it conencts allowing the other two hits to connect.

- (During Forward jump) - This move doesn't have an official name in the movelist. This move is identical to jumping Light Kick, however performing it moves Yoshi forward slightly and it also slightly alters his jump arc. It will always juggle an opponent in air to airs, and it can be chained into jumpin Medium Kick. If you land both moves on a jumping opponent, once you land you can finish the combo by performing a Gehosen or a crouching Hard Punch.
Damage: 40.

- - This move also doesn't have an official name in the movelist, so I'm just calling it the Front Flip Stomp (FFS for short). Yoshimitsu does a front flip and stomps on the opponent's head with his feet. It has quite a bit of startup, and is punishable on block (but not by much), but it's an overhead which makes it a valuable tool in Yoshi's arsenal. It's quite hard to hit opponents out of the air with this move, so don't bother trying. This move has one follow up, listed next.
Overhead.
Damage: 40.

- - Yoshimitsu performs the medium version of Slap U Silly. Not much to say here besides doing this after a blocked FFS is not a good idea (unless you go for chip damage, but you only get 15 chip) because it makes you less safe. You can perform its evasive followups on block to make you somewhat safer. The followups can also be performed on hit but they cannot be comboed into. If you connect with this move you can tag cancel it and do a big combo with your opponent.
Damage: 20+20+20.

- - Poison Wind Steel Fist - Yoshimitsu performs another FFS. It's a lot less safe than the first FFS and it's also less safe than the follow up after the first FFS. However, it hits overhead so you can use it to catch out a crouching opponent after they block the first two attacks.
Overhead.
Damage: 40.

- - Poison Wind Bronze Fist - Yoshimitsu performs a backdash. It's very unsafe if your opponent can react fast enough.
This is an evasive move and does no damage.

- - Poison Wind Silver Fist - It's completely unsafe, not being invincible or anything and having quite a bit of recovery, but the distance it takes you, and the fact that your opponent will be in block or hit stun when you perform this move, should make it easy for you to reposition yourself safely. However, on block, a quick opponent can punish you if they dash, special step, or any other fast moving attack. This move also has a followup.
This is an evasive move and does no damage.
This move now moves Yoshi back faster, but at a decreased range. It's also completely invincible until Yoshi lands on his feet, but once he does he's still slightly open to attack.

- - Poison Wind Gold Fist - It's main use is to counter-punish opponents who attempt to punish your handspring. If an opponent jumps it can be used to anti-air but it's difficult to connect. If the move hits it launches your opponent into the air, however you can't combo from it nor can you tag cancel it. Don't use this move too much. After the handspring, it's better to focus on repositioning yourself.
Damage: 70.
This move is now totally invincible to aerial attacks making it a slightly better anti air than before. You can also land a Heavy Gehosen after it anywhere on screen and then another Gehosen or Crouching Hard Punch after the first one to tack on some more damage. This move can also be tag cancelled.

- - Flea - This move is a Stance change. This stance gives you access to more normals, and one special move (Flea to Poison Breath, see Special Moves section). You can also dash or crouch while in this stance. Pressing will cause Yoshimitsu to dig the sword's blade entirely in the ground and sit Indian style. Doing this will avoid most projectiles in the game (this is not able to avoid Chun-Li's Kikoken and Sagat's Low Tiger Shot). Pressing will cause Yoshimitsu to dash forward while still in Flea stance.

While Yoshimitsu is neutral in this state, opponents who come into contact with the sword will be hurt by it. However it only hits once, until you perform a dash, a crouch, Jumping Flea, or if your opponent jumps over you to the other side, which will reactivate the sword's hitbox. There is no way for you to hurt your opponent yourself with the sword during Flea. They have to hit the sword with a limb of their own. If Yoshimitsu is during Flea he will revert to his regular stance.
Damage: 75.

- , or , or - Jumping Flea - You can either jump straight up, forward, or backward. You can also perform a High Jumping Flea by inputting right before jumping, which lets you jump significantly higher. During the entire jump the sword is hitbox is active, meaning you can hit an opponent on the way up, or on the way down. Hitting an opponent on the way up is unsafe as they can recover (on both hit and block), while hitting them on the way down is safe on block. This is not recommended to use against airborne opponents sicne the sword hitbox is under Yoshimitsu and you can easily be hit out of the air. Being hit during Jumping Flea will revert Yoshimitsu to his regular stance when he lands. You can continuously jump as long as you are in Flea stance, and the sword will always be active throughout the entire jump.
Safe on block (+2 frames, but only on the way down)
Damage: 60.

- - Flea to Sliding Headbutt - This move hits low, and has a great range, making it a good poke. You can easily catch out standing opponents if you catch them unawares. While it's unsafe on block, Yoshimitsu is considered airborne making it slightly difficult to punish him properly since if he gets hit with a normal move he won't be juggled and will recover. However with good timing, or with special moves, Yoshimitsu can be punished. But for the most part it's not a bad idea to do this move often, but don't get reckless with it. During the slide you can also go under projectiles, however not during the startup ie it goes under projectiles during the middle of the move, meaning you can't do it on reaction from a range where you can hit the opponent. You have to anticipate the fireball; if you anticipate a fireball and perform the slide, you will go right under it and also hit the opponent, allowing you to combo afterwards (see Basic Combos section).
Damage: 60.

- - Flea Release - Yoshimitsu reverts to his regular stance. Not much to say about this except that it takes a short while and Yoshimitsu is unsafe during the whole thing, however for the first few frames the sword remains active.

[FatMus2]

Special Moves

Here are Yoshi's Special Moves.

- - Slap U Silly - This is his signature move from the Tekken Series. Light punch makes Yoshi do two spins, Medium makes him do 3 spins and Hard makes him do 4 spins. The move comes out kind of quick but is unsafe on block. You can't follow up on hit. Not too much use for this move outside of combos, and even then there are better moves to combo with.
Damage: 20 per hit.

- , , ... (repeatedly press the punch button) - Yoshimitsu does more Slap U Silly spins, up to four more. You can do this on hit, block or whiff. After the fourth spin Yoshi becomes dizzy and falls to the floor in a knockdown state. Depending on how you look at it this can be a good thing or a bad thing. Obviously it's a bad thing because while Yoshimitsu is dizzy (right before he falls) he is fully open to any attack the opponent decides to punish you with. However it can be a good thing since when he ends up on the floor you can roll forward (or wake up on the spot if you think your opponent will follow your roll. This allows you to reposition yourself. It's just better to avoid the fourth spin, always stop after the third spin regardless of hit or block. In fact it's better to just avoid this move overall.
Damage: 20 per hit.

- - EX Slap U Silly - Yoshimitsu does 7 Slap U Silly spins. No extra inputs required and he doesn't get dizzy. The first spin has a hit of armor so you can use this move somewhat defensively, however if you're going to spend meter it's better to just use EX Gehosen. You can tag cancel this move and follow up with a combo.
Damage: 20+20+20+20+20+20+20=140.

- - Stone Fists - This move is almost identical in terms of properties to Slap U Silly. The only differences are that it has a bit more range and hits low. It also has slightly more recovery making it less safe on block. It's a good move to use to catch opponents off guard since it hits low making it more useful than Slap U Silly outside of combos. However it juggles worse than Slap U Silly so don't use this move in combos, use it more as a poke.
Damage: 20 per hit.

- , , ... (repeatedly press the kick button) - Yoshimitsu does more Stone fist spins, up to four more. Same as the Slap U Silly extra spins. After 4th spin Yoshi gets dizzy and falls down. Again it's best to just stop at the third extra spin, or avoid this move entirely.
Damage: 20 per hit.

- - EX Stone Fists - Yoshimitsu does 7 Stone Fist spins. Same as EX Slap U Silly except for the extra reach and it hitting low.
Damage: 20+20+20+20+20+20+20=140.

- - Poison Breath - This move is considered a projectile, but it doesn't travel across the screen, it only stays in front of Yoshimitsu's face, but it does have decent range. Light kick comes out the fastest (making it the only version able to be comboed into), but doesn't stay out as long and hence takes longer to recover. Medium kick comes out slower, but stays out longer and recovers faster. Heavy kick takes just a bit longer than Medium, and it stays out just as long and has the same recovery. However landing the Heavy kick version will crumple your opponent allowing you to combo afterwards, although you need to be very quick to do so. Light and medium kick version are both actually unsafe on hit, and all 3 versions are unsafe on block. At the right ranges they can be used as anti airs and will knock down airborne foes. The best use of this move is to cancel opponent projectiles and using the Heavy kick version to catch your opponent and get a crumple (however this relies on chance since it starts up too long to be used as a punish). All versions do the same damage.
Damage: 50.

- - EX Poison Breath - This is basically a mix between Light kick and Heavy Kick versions of Poison Breath. It starts up the same as light, and causes a crumple state on hit. It has the same recovery as hard and is also unsafe on block like all the regular versions. It does do a little bit more damage. The main point of this move is that because it starts up the same as light kick you can cancel into it, allowing you to extend combos off of the crumple state (more in the combos section).
Damage: 70.

Poison Breath (and EX Poison Breath) can also be performed while in Flea stance. The move is the same motion as in regular stance. All versions do the same damage. There are a few differences though:
1) All versions start up faster than their regular counterparts, except for Heavy kick which is the same.
2) Light kick stays out as long as the other versions.
3) All versions have much more recovery.
4) Light and Medium kick are both much more unsafe on block. However Heavy kick and EX versions are both a lot safer.

- - Gehosen - This is his "uppercut" move, but it's somewhat difficult to use as an anti-air. It doesn't even have invincibility on startup. It also does take a while to come out for an uppercut and you can actually be grabbed out of it. It might sound like a bad move but it does decent damage and it will be used mostly in combos. If the move is performed on standing opponents they can be juggled with standing light kick. The distance of the hop forward depends on the strength of the button pressed. Light punch is slightly forward while Heavy punch moves him forward the most. In combos its best to use Heavy punch since it moves you forward so you can follow up with the juggle. All versions otherwise are the same. Don't use this as a reversal unless your opponent is in the air.
Damage: 110.
Light Gehosen is now completely invincible to aerial attacks during startup, making it an excellent anti-air. It also starts up a little faster making it easier to use in combos. However the damage has been reduced. Medium Gehosen now has full invincibility on a tiny bit of startup, making it a somewhat good reversal and a decent anti-air (not as good as Light Gehosen though). It's damage has also been reduced. All versions of Gehosen hit aerial opponents a lot easier now, so from the right ranges each version is a good anti-air, with Light Gehosen being the best. In combos you'll want to use Heavy version more for the damage.
Damage: 80, 100, 110

- - EX Gehosen - This move is an excellent reversal. It starts up faster than regular version and is totally invincible during it's startup. Sadly you can still be grabbed out of it. However that, and the fact that it's unsafe on block are it\s only bad points. It does decent damage, hits twice so you can stop those pesky armor moves, and you can combo after it when connecting on grounded opponents. This move is totally the opposite of the regular version in that you want to use this is as a reversal and you do not want to use it in combos; it's actually worse than regular Gehosen and you'll just end up wasting meter. It's also somewhat easier to use as an anti air.
Damage: 140.

- - Suicide - This is another one of Yoshimitsu's signature moves. Yes it inflicts damage on yourself, and this will be in the form of recoverable health. The strength of button pressed determines the speed of startup, and the amount of self-inflicted damage. However all three buttons do the same damage to your opponent. So it's best to just do the light punch version always. When this connects on a grounded opponent they will go into crumple state, however your own recovery means you can't combo meaning you will have to tag cancel. It will sort of float airborne opponents meaning you can tag cancel. This move won't combo off of any normal due to its long startup, however you can combo in high juggles (more in the combos section). Also, all versions of suicide are overheads.
Damage: 120.
Damage inflicted on self: 60, 70, 80.
Each version of the move is now invincible to specific things: Light version is invincible to throws, Medium version is invincible to physical attacks, and Heavy version is invincible to projectiles. This makes the move a decent reversal, especially if you guess correctly that your opponent might try something on your wakeup and you punish them for it. It's also good as, you guessed it, a poke. If your opponent is footsie or projectile happy then you can use the Medium or Heavy versions respectively. The move has also seen a huge increase in damage, with the drawback being there is also a huge increase in self inflicted damage. If you land this move it's essential to tag cancel and perform a combo with your partner so you can net huge damage, especially if you land Suicide as a counter hit since this will give you a whopping 313 damage on its own! This move will now no longer hit airborne opponents making it useless in combos. This move will only be used as a poke or a reversal or a punish.
Damage: 250
Damage inflicted on self: 200

- - EX Suicide - Both hits will connect on grounded opponents and will leave them in a crumple state. However Yoshimitsu will fall to the ground when the move is completed meaning you cannot combo after it, you will need to tag cancel. This move does a tonne of damage and is great in juggle combos, however your opponent needs to be quite high for both hits to connect. Since this move has two hits it's best to tag cancel the first hit to give yourself more time to set up a combo. You can also charge special move for a meterless EX/Super. This is also an overhead.
Damage: 100+100=200
Damage inflicted on self: 90.
This move now has a slight damage increase, both self-inflicted and on your opponent.
Damage: 300.
Damage inflicted on self: 250

- - Sword Poke Windmill - While the sword is spinning it will create a vacuum effect which will suck in opponents from just over half screen distance. When opponents get sucked in they will be hit continuously by the spinning sword. It does a fair bit of damage. The move takes a short while to start up, but it stays active for very long. Your opponent can block this move and it does quite a bit of chip damage, but it is very unsafe on block. However due to its range you can still use it as a somewhat decent poke and suck them in if they whiff attacks or are neglecting to block. If an opponent jumps and does an attack that doesn't hit you, they can be sucked in to the windmill. However if they jump normally they can block when they reach the ground. This move is excellent for tag cancelling since your opponent is held in place for such a long time. You can even charge a move up to EX or do a whole combo of your choice with your partner, allowing for some high damage output.
This move is Yoshimitsu's Super Charge move.
Damage: 5+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+45=120

- - EX Sword Poke Windmill - The beginning animation is the same as regular SPW, with a slightly increased range. However, instead of the blade continuously hitting if the move connects, Yoshimitsu will slice through the opponent and end up on the other side. This move does a tonne of damage, and is a very good move to punish with. If blocked, the move will just be a regular SPW. This move is great for ending ground combos. It's a bit tricky to end juggle combos, however it will suck in opponents who are in a groundbounce state. Just like the regular SPW this move can be used as an anti provided your opponent throws out an attack that doesn't hit you before he lands.
Damage: 190.

[FatMus2]

Super Art and Cross Art

Super Art
- - Sword Poke Whirlwind - Startup is similar to Sword Poke Windmill and EX Sword Poke Windmill, however it has more range, almost full screen. When the opponent gets sucked into the sword Yoshimitsu will unleashes a series of devastating sword slices, ending in a decapitating slice. This Super does nice damage, and it has all the uses of the regular Sword Poke Windmill. On block it becomes a regular Sword Poke Windmill. This move will suck in opponents who are in a groundbounce state, but it won't work in juggle combos. However it will work right after a partner's launcher or a tag cancel and Yoshi does nothing but the super. Yoshi also needs to be in point blank range for the super to connect, for example in the corner. This move is slightly invincible during startup making it a good reversal, but it isn't invincible to projectiles. You can use it to suck in opponents who are whiffing attacks or if they jump and do an attack that doesn't hit you.
Damage: 315.
The super now has projectile invulnerability during the suction phase of the super, making this a good punish for projectile users. However you can still be hit by the projectile after the super ends and it hasn't moved past Yoshimitsu.

Cross Art
- Much like every Cross Art it's invincble on startup, making it a useful reversal. Even though it looks like Yoshimitsu grabs his opponent it can still be blocked, where it's very unsafe. Like most Cross Arts it's good in combos and even as an anti-air if timed and spaced right.
Damage: 100 + Partner's super.
Due to a universal buff Cross Arts now do more damage.
Damage: 150 + Partner's super.

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Frame Data

Click HERE to find Frame Data for Yoshimitsu.
Shoutouts to zUkUu

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Basic Combos
Note that these combos are all for the 2013 version of the game

Yoshimitsu doesn't have much in the way of high damaging combos, even if you use EX Moves. However his combos do look quite cool, especially ones that involve Gehosen. Gehosen is also easily followed up after a tag cancel so if you have the right partner you can get big damage if you spend meter to tag cancel. Remember that these aren't every combo Yoshimitsu has, you can probably find more with a bit of experimenting for yourself.
(Note: A Comma ( , ) denotes a link, An X ( X ) denotes a cancel, and a hyphen ( - ) denotes a string/chain)

Bread And Butter
Jumping , Crouching X (Heavy Gehosen), , X (Heavy Gehosen).

Damage: 365.
This is Yoshi's most damaging meterless combo. It should be performed when you land a Jumping Heavy Punch. The range of both Jumping Heavy Punch and Crouching Medium Punch gives you a lot of leeway to land this combo i.e. you can land this entire combo from even the maximum range of Jumping Heavy Punch. You can also do this combo without the Jumping Heavy Punch; if you land the Crouching Medium Punch even from the tip you can pull off the whole combo (without the Jumping Heavy Punch the combo will have 302 damage).

A list of combos
1) - Jumping , Crouching X (Sword Poke Windmill).

Damage: 261 (180 without the Jumping Heavy Punch).
This is a pretty good way to combo into Sword Poke Windmill, which you can then tag cancel and pull off your partner's biggest combo. One thing to be aware of is that you don't continue the combo too early otherwise the windmill and the partner's move may overlap and cause your opponent to drop out of hit stun meaning he will be able to block. You can also do this combo without the Jumping Hard Punch, essentially just using the long range of Crouching Medium Punch to poke at your opponent and then cancel into Sword Poke Windmill.

2) - Crouching , Crouching X (Heavy Gehosen) , X (Heavy Gehosen).

Damage: 260.
Similar to the BnB except it begins with one of Yoshimitsu's only links (a pretty awkward one too). If you manage to land a Crouching Light Punch then this is the combo you want to do.

3) - [From Flea Stance] (Flea to Sliding Headbutt), - - (Triple Roundhouse Combo), (Heavy Gehosen).

Damage: 251.
This is the combo to perform after landing a Sliding Headbutt. You could also do the BnB (without the Jumping Heavy Punch) or even Combo 1 if you're looking for a grounded tag cancel.

4) - [Anti-Air] (Light Gehosen), (Heavy Gehosen).

Damage: 190.
Pretty self explanatory, just perform another Gehosen after connecting with the first as an Anti-Air. To get more damage simply perform a Crouching Hard Punch (this will do 200 damage overall), however it's nigh impossible to continue comboing after tag cancelling a Crouching Hard Punch so if you have meter it's better to do the Gehosen so you can tag cancel it and get alot more damage through your partner.

5) - [Anti-Air] (Light Gehosen), , X (Heavy Gehosen).

Damage: 235.
This combo is similar to the BnB except it starts with an Anti-Air Light Gehosen. Also the Light Kick will only connect if your opponent is juggled close to Yoshi, which might not always happen due to the horizontal range of Gehosen, especially with the stronger versions. If Yoshi is not in range then just perform Combo 3 instead.

6) - [Anti-Air] (Light Gehosen), Close Standing , Crouching X (Heavy Gehosen).

Damage: 265.
This combo is slightly situational. It requires your opponent to be juggled high and close to Yoshi for the Close Standing Medium Punch to connect.

7) - [Air-to-Air] - , Close Standing , Crouching .

Damage: 242.
Both hits of the aerial string must connect to perform the rest of the combo. The Crouching Heavy Punch is not boosted after the standing Medium punch but linked.

8) - Poison Wind Gold Fist, (Heavy Gehosen), Crouching .

Damage: 276.
This is a pretty fun combo. After the backflip from Silver Fist, if you can land the Gold Fist on a grounded opponent follow up with a Heavy Gehosen and then a Crouching Heavy Punch for a pretty cool combo. If you want to tag cancel for a sacrifice in some damage perform a Heay Gehosen instead of the Crouching Heavy Punch.

9) - Jumping , Crouching X (EX Poison Breath), Crouching X (Heavy Gehosen), , X (Heavy Gehosen).

Damage: 401
Probably the only combo where you'd want to use an EX Move , where it's basically just an extension of the BnB adding only 36 damage. It's probably not worth spending the meter for a measly 36 damage increase, when you could just tag cancel after the original BnB and get a whole lot more damage.

Tag Combos
These are combos to do after you are brought in off a tag cancel. They will work after most launching moves like a Launcher, Shoryuken or Heihachi's Dragon Uppercut Followup. The damage these will do varies, it all depends on what your partner did before the tag.

1) - - - (Triple Roundhouse Combo), Crouching .

You can substitute Crouching Heavy Punch with Heavy Gehosen if you want to tag cancel back to your partner. This is his most damaging

2) - Close Standing , Crouching X (Heavy Gehosen).

3) - (Light Gehosen), Crouching .

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Strategy

Team Building
If you want to play Yoshimitsu most effectively, then you want to play him as a point character. His ability to build meter and easily tag into his partner, and his lack of high damaging combos and need of meter, means he should always be first. In fact this ability is so good that even some other characters who are traditionally more effective on point (mainly rushdown oriented, like Law or Dudley) might fare better as anchors if teamed with Yoshi because he can make the job of closing the distance just that much easier allowing high damage combos and alot of meter building(granted, meter building HAS been nerfed but it's still sufficient). However this doesn't hold true for all point characters, so it's better to team him with a very good anchor; someone who can get big damage after a Sword Poke Windmill or Gehosen tag cancel (example Heihachi), or someone who will benefit from having an opponent at close range (example Zangief).
The only time you would want Yoshimitsu as an Anchor is if his partner excels in zoning with good fireballs like Chun-Li or Guile, however a team such as this will not net big damage in combos, but will be almost untouchable with the keepaway.

Gems
When it comes to gems, Yoshimitsu will benefit greatly from Defense and Meter gems.
Defense will benefit Yoshi because Yoshimitsu is a little slow and can get caught, and if he gets knocked down with his back close to the corner he may have a hard time getting the opponent off him so with some defense gems he can hold out for a little while. Both Iron Wall and Fortitude will suffice, and personally I prefer the activation condition of getting hit by normals, however depending on your own playstyle you should pick your own activation conditions.
Meter gems will really add alot to Yoshimitsu's already relatively high meter building. Tag cancels would be even more frequent, not just for combos and racking up the damage, but also to keep Yoshimitsu safe after a blocked Sword Poke Windmill, or other moves that keep the opponent in considerable blockstun. I prefer the activation condition of connecting with Special moves, but again if your own playstyle is different then you should choose your own conditions.
Power gems of course benefit more in the combo department. Since Yoshimitsu has relatively low damage output these gems will help him get some more dmage out of every hit making ending matches easier. But in the long run, if you have Meter gems you'll be able to tag cancel more frequently into your partner which will give you big damage in combos. Power should only be used if you're not going to rely on tag cancels and want Yoshimitsu to do most of the damage in a match, which really shouldn't be the case anyway.
Speed is pretty much useless for Yoshi because he has no reason to throw himself at an opponent since he's not a rushdown character, and he doesn't really need it to get away because he has a teleport.
Live Recovery gems are decent if you tend to take two too many knocks but I personally prefer Defense gems.
Assist Gems...Bah!

I personally believe Yoshi benefits the best from one Defense gem and 2 Meter gems. Bear in mind that gems should be unique for each player since everyone has different playstyles, and also different teams.
The 2013 update has seen the addition of Preset gems for use in tournament play. I personally prefer to use the Meter preset for Yoshi.

Gameplay
Yoshimitsu excels in poking away at an opponent. Crouching HP and Standing HP are brilliant pokes to keep opponents away, while Crouching MP is a good poke to hack away with at your opponents legs and keep some pressure. Of course Yoshi isn't a rushdown character so you don't want to put on too much pressure. SwordPoke Windmill is also a good poke (it even has the word Poke in its name) due to its range and massive combo opportunities through tag cancelling. But of course it's incredibly unsafe on block, which is why you must make sure you either time them perfectly to punish whiffers and jumpers, or have a bar of meter before you do it so you can tag cancel into your partner and keep Yoshi somewhat safe. In fact after a blocked Windmill you can pull of some dirty tricks such as charging Zangief's grab and releasing it just as the Windmill finishes so that you can grab them, or timing King's Moonsault Press just right to hit them with an almost unavoidable unblockable.
If opponents see you Windmill when they jump, they may empty jump to save themselves from being sucked in to the blade. This is when you utilise Super Charge Dash Cancelling. Charge up the Windmill very briefly, so that your opponent jumps when they see the startup, then dash cancel forwards and hit them out of the air with a Gehosen, and then continue juggling. If they don't jump you can dash backwards to create a safe distance from your opponent, which might actually bait your opponent into jumping towards you to close the gap. Again, Gehosen them out of the air.
Flea Stance is good if you want to mess around with your opponent, especially because they almost never expect to be hit by Sliding Headbutt which is a low attack and will allow you to pull off a full combo.
If you knock an opponent down, when they get back up mix them up by either doing the Front Flip Stomp or Crouching Medium Punch. You can even do Heavy Poison Breath as a meaty attack (ie performing it as early as possible so the very end of the attack hits the opponent as they get up) which if blocked will be somewhat safe, and if it hits it will crumple them which of course will allow you to continue comboing.
Yoshi's only real meterless reversal is Medium Gehosen which is only invincible for 4 frames of startup while the move itself has 10 frames so it isn't always reliable. EX Gehosen is brilliant however, since it has a lot more invincible frames, however it won't allow you to combo as well from it. Your best reversal is just Teleport backwards, provided Yoshi isn't too close to the corner and has enough space behind him.

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Just in case one more reserve.

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This guide is going to be gradually rewritten, updated with notes concerning the 2013 patch, and eventually finished . Every note that refers to the 2013 balance aspects will be in red.
Stay tuned