Choi is a very unique character due to his atypical mobility. Choi's regular jumps go higher and further than anyone else's, and his hops are at most characters' full jump height. In addition to this, he has specials that allow him to back away to end of the screen very fast and one that lets him fly in 8 directions in the air. This makes Choi good at a hit-and-run kind of playstyle. Choi's range, however, is the shortest in the game, and if he's not right next to the opponent he probably can't hit them with anything that's scary. Offensively Choi relies on light chains and crossups to score hits, and a divekick for pressure. Choi's weaknesses are a lack of a reversal, and that his jumps can be a liability sometimes since it's hard for him to run a standard offense.
Changes from Previous Versions
98 to 98UM
Normals:
st.A is now cancelable
cr.C has a longer cancel window
Taunt has a hitbox
f+A can now be cancelled and combo-ed from
Specials:
After b~f+P you can now do j.qcf+K
After a qcb+P you can now do j.qcf+K
d~u+P is now stable and all hits will connect on hit
Supers:
qcf,hcb+K now does 13 hits
98UM to 98UMFE
Specials:
Charge times are shorter, standardized with the rest of the cast
Normal Moves
Close
cl.A: A fairly standard cl.A. Good light combo filler. Chainable and cancelable.
cl.B: Very similar use to cl.A, but hits a bit lower down and has slightly more activation range. Chainable and cancelable.
cl.C: Your main heavy combo starter. Cancelable.
cl.D: Same as st.D.
Standing
st.A: Can stop hops if well-timed, but due to Choi's short stature it's easy to whiff. Chainable and cancelable.
st.B: Good for light chain combos. Has decent priority. Cancelable.
st.C: Long startup, short active frames. Hits a bit higher than st.D but otherwise a worse button.
st.D: Good priority, lots of active frames, and safe on block, making it a decent meaty.
Crouching
cr.A: A decent close-range poke, and good for blockstrings. Chainable and cancelable.
cr.B: His best starter for low combos and blockstrings. Chainable.
cr.C: It has good active frames, which makes it a nice meaty. Good priority. Cancelable on hit, block, and whiff.
cr.D: A short-ranged sweep.
Jumping
j.A: Decent jump-in and air-to-air button.
j.B: Solid jump-in button with nice downwards priority.
j.C: Hits twice. Great crossup button. Cancelable.
nj.C: Good downwards hitbox. Cancelable.
j.D: Good jump-in button. Useful amount of active frames and a nice downwards hitbox.
CD Normals
st.CD: Has low invincibility. Cancelable on hit, block, and whiff.
j.CD: Very fast for a j.CD, and it has a nice forwards hitbox, making it an excellent air-to-air move. Cancelable.
Throws
Head Jabber:b/f+C (close)
Hold throw, not techable. Choi climbs up onto the opponent and slashes their face with his claws repeatedly. Can be mashed for more damage, but the opponent can countermash to make it end quicker. Causes soft knockdown.
Low Bloodletter:b/f+D (close)
Regular throw, techable. Choi goes behind the opponent and stabs them in the back, sending them flying fullscreen away with a soft knockdown.
Command Moves
Double Decker Slice:f+A
Choi rolls forwards and does a double slash with his claws. Cancelable.
Has very long startup so it's a hard move to land, but it has low recovery, so if it gets blocked Choi is safe.
Leads to very good reward on hit; in Extra mode he even has a 100% Quick MAX combo from it.
However, the chances of Choi landing this move are very low, and the long startup makes it really risky to throw out at any point, really.
Hits mid.
Mad Slasher Kick:f+B
Choi does a mid-hitting vaulting kick.
On hit, you can link his qcf,hcb+K DM, or a standing light into the DM for a bit of extra damage.
Can be canceled into from cl.C for a nice blockstring or combo.
Slightly plus on block.
Special Moves
Hisho Kuretsu Zan:d~u+B/D (hold)
Choi flies towards the back wall.
If you hold the button with the B version, Choi does a dive kick from the wall.
If you hold the button with the D version, Choi does his Hoko Tenkan from the wall instead.
Very good retreating option, as it's fast and carries him as far away as possible.
In Advanced mode, this can be a good way of building meter by repeatedly doing it near the wall.
In Extra mode, this can be a good way of getting a safe distance away so you can charge up your meter.
Hoko Tenkan:hold D, then any direction+A/B/C/D (x3) (during d~u+D)
* Same as the Hoko Tenkan move description below, except Choi starts out doing a horizontal one by default and then gets to do three more after that.
Hurricane Cutter:d~u+A/C
Choi spins and creates a small twister around him.
Good anti-air move. Hits on both sides of Choi, so it can catch people trying to jump over/roll through him.
Very punishable on block.
Has no invincibility at all.
Flying Monkey Slice:b~f+B/D
Choi flies forwards with his claws out.
Hoko Tenkan:any direction + A/B/C/D (x3) (during b~f+K)
By pressing a button and a direction, Choi starts flying in that direction instead. He can fly in any of the 8 directions of the stick.
On hit, you can keep flying into the opponent by pressing the button and a direction again after each hit and it will combo. Great for juggles.
You can do the same thing on block, but on block there will be a gap in between the hits where the opponent could reversal.
In order to stop this from happening, Choi can bait reversals by going straight back after a hit has been blocked instead of going forwards again.
The last change of direction on block should always be away from your opponent, as the move is pretty punishable if Choi is close to them.
Can be used for running away, or just being annoying by being unpredictable with the direction changes.
Flying Slice Dash:b~f+A/C
Choi dashes forward and delivers a mid-hitting slash.
Has some startup invincibility, so it might be able to beat something out if you get lucky.
A pretty bad special move.
Has neither low or high invincibility when running, so it will get beaten by almost any move.
Very punishable on block.
Kaiten Hien Zan:qcb+A/C
Choi curls up into a ball and spins forwards.
Too slow to combo from anything.
Deals a decent amount of chip damage, but is too punishable for it to be good.
After the move makes contact you can cancel into a j.qcf+K, which can make it a little bit safer.
Flying Monkey Ambush:A/C (during qcb+P)
Choi leaps forwards attacking with his claws from his ball position.
Can only be done if the ball attack whiffed.
Can mostly be used for a surprise poke.
Very punishable on block.
Hits mid.
Soaring Kick:qcf+B/D (in air)
Choi does a divekick in the air.
Good for changing your air trajectory to bait out anti-air attempts.
Fairly safe on block, so it's good for dealing some chip damage.
Cancelling j.C into it can be a nice pressure strategy.
Desperation Moves
Phoenix Flattener:qcf,hcb+B/D
Choi runs forwards and does a ranbu type DM.
Combos from lights and heavies, making this Choi's best combo confirm option.
Unsafe on block.
MAX version does more damage.
Tornado Ripper:hcbx2+A/C
Choi creates a giant tornado of wind around him.
You can move backwards or forwards while the DM is active.
The regular version only hits once.
MAX version on hit can juggle up to 3 times.
Can be a good tool to deal some hard-to-avoid chip damage when your opponent's health is very low, though it will be beaten by guard cancel blowbacks so it is a knowledge check.
Will destroy projectiles.
Punishable recovery.
Cannot be jumped over.
Combos
General Notes
In any metered combo, replace qcf,hcb+B with qcf,hcb+BD if you have the resources.
Meterless
Low
cr.B, cr.A, d,u+C
Mid/Jump-In
(j.X), cr.B, cr.A, d,u+C
Can be done after a jump-in.
Other
j.C, j.qcf+B
With Meter
Low
cr.BxN, st.A, qcf,hcb+B
You can do this as cr.BxN, qcf+A, hcb+B for an easier cancel.
Mid/Jump-In
(j.X), cr.B, st.A, qcf,hcb+B
Can be done after a jump-in. You can do this as (j.X), cr.B, qcf+A, hcb+B for an easier cancel.
(j.X), cl.C/cr.C, f+B, (st.A), qcf,hcb+B
Can be done after a jump-in, although this is difficult, especially with buttons other than j.C. st.A is optional, you can go straight into qcf,hcb+B after f+B at the cost of a bit of damage.
what a horrible little man
