-Introduction
 *frame traps are a very important part of fighting games, especially SF4. Some characters can survive without them, but others depend on them
 *frame traps are a big reason why footsies exist, and a driving force behind gameplay
 *without frame traps, the only mixups would be high/low, left/right and chip damage
 *high/low mixups can usually be either block on reaction or prevented with anti-airs
 *left/right mixups usually also stem from jumping
 *chip damage isn't always viable. Some characters don't have a safe way of doing chip, or sometimes the life differential is too great to overcome in the remaining time
 *if you can avoid all other mixups with good defense, frame traps are the only reason for playing footsies and keepaway

-What is a frame trap?
 *a mixup that forces the opponent to guess between hitting a button and blocking
 *you can frame trap with normals, DP's, divekicks and even focus attacks
 *some characters have stronger frame traps than others
 *for example Cammy can use her EX cannon strike in frame traps to go over normals, become airborne, hit backdashes, use option selects, or create massive frame advantage on hit or block

-Why do frame traps work?
 *for a frame trap to be a mixup, you must be able to create an unfavorable outcome for when the opponent blocks and when they press a button
 *for example, Fei long can perform a frame trap after a blocked rekka
 *if you don't push a button after, you may miss a punish, or at very least lose screen space, chip damage and momentum
 *if you do push a button, Fei long can counter hit you with another rekka
 *this is not a strong frametrap, since fei wont get much damage off guessing correctly, and risks eating a big punish if the second or third rekka is blocked
 *however, even just the threat of this frametrap means that the opponent has to think twice before pressing buttons after blocking a rekka

-What about throw mixups?
 *the most common type of throw mixup a is a mixup between a tick throw and a frame trap
 *a tick throw is when you throw an opponent after landing a move that gives you frame advantage
 *a tick throw mixup starts when you are within throw range and have frame advantage
 *tick throws allow every character to crate unfavorable outcomes for when the opponent is blocking
 *this is a mixup because the opponent must chose between attempting to defend from the throw or blocking
 *if the opponent blocks, they risk getting thrown
 *if the opponent defends against the throw, they risk getting counterhit or punished
 *a tick throw mixup is never a "50/50" because both the attacker and the defender have much more than 2 options
 *factors such as when you choose to throw or frame trap effect what options you can beat

-The specifics of a tick throw
 *all normal throws have 3 frame startup, and the time you have to tech a throw after being hit is 6 frames
 *if the opponent presses crouch tech on the frame they get thrown, up to 6 frames after they get thrown, they will tech the throw
 *if the opponent presses crouch tech 1 or 2 frames before your throw hits they, they will get thrown
 *if the opponent presses crouch tech 3 frames before you want your throw to hit them, they will either get thrown if they have a c.lk with 4 frame startup, or you will get hit by the c.lk if they have a c.lk with 3 frame startup
 *if the opponent presses crouch tech 4 or more frames before you want your throw to hit them, you will get hit by their c.lk (assuming it is at most 4 frame startup)
 *this means that the tech window for crouch teching is always 7 frames
 *if the opponent is stand teching, they cannot be throw out of the startup of their throw, giving them a tech window of 9 frames
 *for the purposes of this video, we will say that you have gained frame advantage because the opponent is in blockstun
 *you can also gain frame advantage because the opponent is in hitstun, recovering from a move, waking up from a kockdown, or being reset from the air
 *throwing an opponent as soon as they exit blockstun will reduce both tech windows to 7 frames
 *throwing an opponent 2 frames after they exit blockstun will give the opponent a 9 frame window if they stand tech, a 7 frame window if they crouch tech, and will hit the opponent if they crouch tech on the first or second frame after exiting blockstun
 *throwing an opponent 3 frames after they exit blockstun will not beat any additional options and give the opponent an opportunity to hit you out of your tick throw (assuming 3 frame c.lk)
 *therefor, it is best to throw your opponent 0-2 frames after they leave blockstun, depending on if you think they are stand teching or not
 *in order to throw someone as soon as they exit block stun, you need to tick with something that is at least +2 on block

-The specifics of frame traps
 *The idea of a frame trap in this case is to beat the options that tick throw does not
 *to beat the earliest possible crouch or throw tech, you must leave a 2 frame gap between when the opponent leaves blockstun and when your attack hits
 *to beat the latest possible crouch or throw tech, you must leave a 7 frame gap between when the opponent leave blockstun, and when your attack hits
 *you must mix up the gap you leave in order to cover all of your opponent's tech options
 *a 1 frame gap is you safest frame trap; it cannot be beaten by crouch tech or stand tech, but it will only work if the opponent techs on the 1st or 2nd frame after they exit block stun
 *note that you cannot counterhit someone out of a throw, so be prepared to confirm between hit and counterhit if necessary
 *a 2 frame gap is still a very safe option; however, now trade with a first frame crouch tech (if 3 frame startup) which is usually a good thing! however, it will lose to first frame stand tech
 *note that now you may need to confirm between hit, block, counterhit and trade! that's a lot to keep track of
 *a 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 frame gap can all be beaten cleanly by progressively later techs. However, this risk is necessary in order for there to be a true mixup!
 *in order to cover all of the opponents tech option you need at least 4 different frame traps with different gaps between each to cover every tech timing
 *a 0 frame gap to beat 1st frame techs
 *a 1 frame gap to beat 1st and 2nd frame techs
 *a 2 frame gap to beat 2nd and 3rd frame techs (also will trade with 1st frame crouch techs)
 *a 3 frame gap to beat 3rd and 4th frame techs (also will trade with 2nd frame crouch techs)
 *a 4 frame gap to beat 4th and 5th frame techs (also will trade with 3rd frame crouch techs)
 *a 5 frame gap to beat 5th and 6th frame techs (also will trade with 4th frame crouch techs)
 *a 6 frame gap to beat 6th and 7th frame techs (also will trade with 5th frame crouch techs)
 *note that if your opponent is only crouch teching, mixing up between 2 and 5 frame gaps will cover almost all tech timings
 *if your opponent has a 4 frame crouch short, and is only crouch teching, mixing up between 2 or 3 and 6 or 7 frame gaps will cover all tech timings

-Exploiting human limitations
 *when performing a throw mixup it is important to note that human reaction times can prevent the opponent from knowing if they are in blockstun
 *by the time an opponent can visually confirm that they have blocked a light attack, they have likely already been out of blockstun for several frames
 *this means that if an opponent is only teching on reaction to blocking attacks, they will never be able to tech a tick throw performed 1 frame after they exit blockstun
 *to counter this, many people try to predict when they will exit blockstun by teching rhythmically in anticipation of blocking light attacks
 *by varying when you you perform the light attack that you want to tick throw or frame trap off of, you can throw off the opponents rhythm
 *this can cause their predicted tech timing to be too early or too late to effectively defend from a tick throw
 *you can also use some of the faster medium attacks to accomplish the same thing

-Throw mixups from outside of throw range
 *the biggest problem with performing a throw mixup is getting next to the opponent while having frame advantage in the first place
 *if you manage to gain frame advantage outside of throw range, you can still perform frame traps
 *opponent can no longer stand tech since you are out of throw range
 *you are often times also outside the range of most of the opponent's faster normals, allowing you to safely leave larger gaps in your frame trap
 *in this situation, the opponent has less of a reason to hit a button, since you cannot throw them from the range you are in
 *you can, however, walk forward into throw range
 *the reason an opponent would hit buttons immediately after exiting blockstun if you are out of throw range is to defend against you walking forward, rather than you throwing them
 *if you are sufficiently far outside of throw range, an opponent may have time to visually confirm that you are walking forward, and only then will they attempt to tech a throw
 *in this case, you can either walk into throw range before performing your frame trap, or walk forward then backwards to get the opponent to whiff a throw
 *the technique of walking into and then out of throw range to bait a whiffed tech attempt often referred to as "the shimmy"
 *if the opponents walk speed is fast enough in comparison to yours, the opponent can also choose to walk backwards
 *walking backwards can create enough space so that the opponent can stay out of throw range and avoid the mixup entirely
 *a simple way to deal with backwalking is to hit the opponent with a low attack, which they cannot defend against while backwalking

-Crouch teching vs stand teching
 *previously, I have discussed how stand teching effects frame traps and tick throws. It is a better defensive option for defending against these mixups
 *stand teching gives you a bigger tech window if the opponent is not throwing you on the first frame after exiting blockstun
 *stand teching not only cannot be counterhit, but will also beat any normal in range in the event of a trade
 *however, frametraps are not always the best option for punishing stand techs
 *stand teching opens yourself up to new mixups that would be otherwise ineffective versus a crouch teching opponent
 *since stand teching requires you to stand, if the opponent does a low attack, even if it is a block string or before you have hit the tech button, you will get hit
 *you are often standing for several frames before and after you actually press the tech button(s), so there is a large portion of time where you are vulnerable to low attacks
 *the opponent can do a blockstring into a low attack instead of going for a frame trap
 *this means that the opponent is taking no risk at all, while you are risking getting hit
 *in addition, the opponent can walk backwards, out of throw range and then punish the lengthy recovery of a throw whiff
 *again, the opponent is taking very low risk for a potentially huge reward
 *some characters can frame trap with airborne or throw invincible moves
 *for example, Cammy can use her EX cannon strike to avoid throws during frame traps
 *this means that Cammy is no longer limited to only being able to hit a stand tech during its startup
 *without the fear of being thrown, Cammy can leave a large gaps in her frame trap which covers all of the opponent's tech timings!
 *this effectively puts the opponent in a 50-50 mixup, if all they are willing to do is block or stand tech
 *in this 50-50, the opponent has no winning options. The outcome will be one of the following:
  1) the opponent techs a throw: Cammy throws 0-2 frames after the opponent leaves blockstun, opponent techs 0-6 frames after leaving blockstun
  2) the opponent is in blockstun and Cammy is at about +14 frame advantage: Cammy leaves a 6 frame gap in her frame trap, opponents blocks
  3) the opponent gets thrown: Cammy throws, opponent blocks
  4) the opponent is in hitstun and Cammy is at about +16 frame advantage: Cammy leaves a 6 frame gap in her frame trap, opponents stand techs 0-6 frames after leaving blockstun
 *as you can see, blocking will lead to one of 2 bad situations, while teching will lead to either a neutral or terrible situation

-Reversals, backdashes, and other defensive options
 *in addition to teching or blocking, every character can also backdash or use an invincible or airborne reversal
 *dealing with reversals can be very difficult, and is heavily dependent on the particular matchup
 *in general, a good way to deal with reversals is to simply block
 *if the opponent's reversal is quick enough, you may be able to block it if you choose to do a late frame trap to catch the opponent if they tech on the 6th or 7th frame after leaving blockstun
 *if the opponent's reversal is slow enough, you may be able to perform an early frame trap and recover in time to block the reversal
 *backdashes can be beaten by option selecting the normals you use in your frame traps
 *the most common and universal option select is to buffer a sweep behind chained jabs or shorts
 *you can also perform an option select by buffering a special move behind an non-cancelable normal
 *against many characters it is possible to perform early or late frame traps while still being able to block reversals and catch backdashes
 *the timing required to do this is too strict to be able to perform consistently
 *if you suspect that your opponent is going to reversal, it is best to bait it by other means. The timing of frame traps that are safe against reversals is very very strict
 *every character can also focus backdash or jump
 *jumping is almost never a good idea when trying to escape a throw mixup
 *even if you jump when the opponent tries to throw you, the opponent will recover in time to block or even anti air you
 *if you try to jump out of a frame trap, you will usually get hit out of you prejump animation and eat a full combo, or get hit out of the air and be put into another throw mixup
 *jumping to avoid a throw mixup should only be used when fighting a grappler
 *focus backdash is used to escape from frame traps and option selects
 *if you have a bad backdash, the opponent can sometimes punish your backdash with normals that they are using to confirm off of their frame trap
 *in this situation focus backdash loses to both a frame trap of any timing and a throw of any timing and should not be used
 *this is true for every character in the corner (except oiled Hakan, that cheap bastard)