cl. C has very fast start-up, cancel-able and is good for a close combo starter.
cl. D hits twice and isn't cancel-able. It is a very good and easy confirm into Max Mode, and is only special cancel-able in Max Mode. It is also very hard to punish on block because Bao gets pushed back.
Stand
st. A/B/C/D all hit mid and are not cancel-able or chain-able.
st. A is a short ranged jab which can stop incoming hops at a very close range.
st. B hits mid despite its animation.
st. C is a shoulder thrust which can stop incoming hops as well but has bad whiff recovery
st. D has lower body invincibility which can evade most slides and ground skimming projectiles except for Kusanagi's qcf+P and Iori's qcf+P
Crouch
cr. A/C are cancel-able and hit mid.
cr. B is chain-able into itself as well as cr.A, st. A, cl. A and st. B.
cr. B can link into close D.
cr. C has a great distance, lowers Bao's hurtbox, and is hit and whiff cancel-able into his ground command normals and specials.
cr. D is a sweep that is not cancel-able and has bad whiff recovery.
Jumping
j. B/C/D can cross-up a majority of standing and crouching characters
j. A is cancel-able into his d+B air command normal. It can also be used as an instant overhead on crouching opponents.
Neutral j. A is a downward fist swing which is cancel-able into his d+B air command normal, and has fast start-up like j.A.
j. B is a jumping knee attack which is good for air-to-ground offense.
Neutral j. B is a jumping side-kick which is good for stopping full jumps in an air-to-air position.
j. C is good for jump-in attacks and is a bit harder to cross-up opponents than j.B and j.D
Neutral j. C hits standing opponents twice and hits jumping opponents once.
j. D can be used as an air-to-ground attack, and as a jump away ground-to-air against hops and jump-in attacks. It also has a easy cross-up hitbox as well.
Neutral j. D is similar to neutral j. C that it hits standing opponents deep twice and jumping opponents once. Use j. A or j. B instead as a neutral jump anti-air to avoid it getting beaten out by the opponents jump attack.
Blowback Attack
Stand CD is a very good grounded anti-air, Bao's hurtbox shrinks down momentarily (there is no invincibility) then releases a massive head butt. Be careful of the slow start-up. Stand CD is not cancel-able either.
Jump CD is one of Bao's best air-to-air attacks, just mindful that it can whiff on crouching opponents if performed too early in the hop or jump.
Throws
Phantom Head Attack - (f/b + C) close
Grabs the opponent, headbutts them, then jumps away
Can be broken and counter mashed
Hard knockdown
Advice: Bao recovers before the opponent stands up and lands in a favorable position for a cross up j.D or j.2A on the opponent's wake up. The opponent can choose to counter mash against the headbutts to lower the damage (full damage is 10%) or they can choose not to mash as a defensive tactic to run the clock timer or Bao's Max Mode timer if it's activated.
Critical Throw - (f/b + D) close
Grabs and tosses the opponent to the other end of the screen
Can be broken
Hard knockdown
Command Moves
Kawasaki - (f + A)
Bao strikes downward with his hand which can be used after a close heavy punch (C) or his crouching heavy punch. It is only special and super cancel-able, even when used alone. Bao is at negative frames when this attack is blocked, so it can be punished by some characters. Be sure to cancel it safely into his qcb+A fireball but stay aware of possible Guard Cancel Rolls if the opponent has meter. This attack will be used frequently in many of Bao's simpler combos as well as a way to activate into Max Mode smoothly.
Hits Mid
Special cancel-able by itself
Senheki Shu - (f + B)
This move looks somewhat like a hands-free cartwheel flip. It hits overhead and it is not cancel-able into any other moves. Also, Bao's normals cannot combo into this move. Regardless of it's lack of cancel-ability it is a very useful to move to use in close range because of its overhead properties. It can also be used during the end of a blockstring with close or crouching C then substituted with Bao's df+D command normal which is a low attack providing a high/low mixup. Be careful though, because the cl. C or cr. C to f+B leaves a small gap in the middle which can interrupted by many characters invincible reversal attacks or supers. On block it's a bit hard to punish because Bao is granted a small amount of push-back during its recovery. One interesting feature this overhead attack has is that it causes a hard knockdown when hit against a jumping opponent...but the hitbox this move has is quite small which may cause it to miss the opponent or stuff it out cleanly if they are using an angled jumping attack.
Hits overhead
Causes a hard knockdown on airborne opponents
Sensyou Shu - (df + B)
This is a much higher and slower version of his cartwheel kick (f+B), but does not hit overhead. You can't combo into this flip, but you can actually combo after the move hits into whatever fast starting normal or even his DM's. This move is also safe on block, which can throw some opponents off, and can help you set-up some nasty frame traps, or as a way to start offensive pressure The start-up is very slow, which can leave it open to dragon punches and other anti-airing moves before the active hit frame start. The flip can actually slowly cross up standing and crouching opponents if you stand directly next to them but can be easy countered by any special or DM that can anti-air fairly well. Overall, it's a fairly good move to use sometimes, but keep in mind of it's rather slow start-up which is it's biggest disadvantage.
Hits Mid
Rikatsu Shu - (df + D)
One of Bao's best ground command normals. It's fast, hits low, has a decent amount of push-back on block which makes it difficult to punish, causes a hard knockdown, can cause a counter wire wall bounce, and deals a fair amount of damage. On impact, it causes the opponent to fly close the ground and land 3/4 of the screen away from the opponent as a hard knockdown. Bao is able to quick recover from the kick, which is useful for some nasty okizeme set-up during the opponent's wake-up, if your spacing and timing is on point. It is cancel-able from his standing hard punch (C), crouching hard punch (cr.C), and his sweep (cr.D). A fairly easy combo using this kick that most Bao players use is cr.C/st.C, df+D which causes two hits mid-screen...but in the corner, you can place a 2nd df+D after the first one which causes around 25% life from the opponent.
Hits Low
Wire damage
Hard knockdown
Sousho - in air, (d + A)
This normal is the close equivalent to Kyo's j.2C, or Mai's j.2A command normals. It has a cross-up hitbox (which is fairly small), easy to combo into (high hitstun), and causes a hard knockdown on jumping opponents. It's slow start-up makes it difficult to use as an air-to-air normal, so its best used for jump-in attacks or for okizeme on knocked down opponents.
Hits Mid (Not an overhead)
Hard knockdown on jumping opponents
Banda - in air, (d + B)
Bao dives down head first diagonally towards the opponent to the ground. This command normal has a very large cross-up hitbox which can cause some very ambiguous cross-ups on the opponents hard knockdown during their wake-up. During the start-up, Bao pauses for a brief moment, then hurls toward the ground during its active frames, which gives this move the categorization of a dive kick for Bao. During the dive, Bao can be hit with reversal type moves (dragon punches) if the opponent is ready for it...sometimes it might trade against certain reversals (ground-to-air), and might even stuff some crouching uppercuts (crouching heavy punch) if they don't attack before Bao pauses in the air. When blocked, Bao has somewhat slow recovery, so he's open to punishment from normals, specials and desperation moves with fast start-up. Overall, this is a pretty useful normal to use mostly on the opponents wake up or after an instant overhead neutral j.A.
Hits Mid (Not an overhead)
Hard knockdown
Special Moves
Psycho Ball Attack: Raise - (qcf + A)
Psycho Ball Attack: Boung - qcf + B
Psycho Ball Attack: Front - qcb + B
Psycho Ball Attack: Aerial Front - in air, qcb + A
Psycho Ball Attack: Aerial Bound - in air, qcf + B
