Khan bnb, a Comprehensive Guide

This was made to explain Khan's bnb in depth. While many Khan players have an understanding of it, not many seem to utilize it in full. This is more so for those people. Or, as reference material. This will be broken into segments for easier reading and reference.

1. Khan's bnb Basic's
Khan's main meterless combo is of course, his bnb. 2A, 2A, 2A, 4B xx [4]6+A/B>623+A/B/C. It can be started from any j. normal, d.2a, and of course 2a. Does good damage, decent meter build, easy to perform. You can use [4]6+C on a stand off opponent for a sweep, leading to oki. Other variations during the combo are usually unnecessary and are not optimal. Examples include using 5a instead of 2a's (which is bad because it does less damage, less range, and cannot combo into 4b) and using less 2a's.

2. Quirk's of the bnb
Sadly, the variation using [4]6+A/B>623+A/B/C has a major drawback. after the 623+A/B/C connects, the opponent can down tech and punish with almost anything they want, usually doing more damage to you then you did to them. Against people who do not tech and punish, it is perfectly fine. But as you play more experienced players, they will easily be able to punish you for it, which shuts down Khan's main meterless combo. The reason why the opponent can punish is because in longer combos such as the bnb, the dp will not launch them as high or far as it usually would, allowing them to be able to tech right in front of Khan as he is still recovering from the dp. Also, against most stand off characters the A/B charge into dp will not connect. Sometimes, the combo can push the opponent too far for A/B/C charge to connect, which leads to a decent punish against Khan most of the time. And, you can hit the A/B just close enough to combo from 4b but push the opponent too far away for the dp to land, which also leaves Khan open for a long time. This is the main reason why A/B charge, dp misses most stand off characters. Further more, the bnb can whiff sometimes against short hurtboxes, such as stand off Iggy and crouching Devo, where A/B charge will hit above them.

3. How to Circumvent the Quirks
The main way to combo into dp and not get punished is to use shorter combos. An example would be d.2a xx 623+A/B/C. Anything more than 1 hit makes the dp punishable. Against crouching opponents, A/B charge into dp becomes much easier to connect. 4b is a very important part of the combo, but using it makes it harder to perform as it pushes the opponent farther away which makes landing the charge harder and can push them to far for the dp to connect after A/B charge. A reliable way to A/B charge, dp stand off characters is to skip 4b or don't add as many 2a's. Usually your best option is to use C charge if they're stand off as it gives Khan time for oki, something that relies on the skill of the player to make the best of, so it's not guaranteed damage. Now then, one of the most overlooked parts of the bnb. Against all stand on opponents except Chaka and Oldseph, if you make 623+C hit the edge of them, the bnb becomes unpunishable. The reason why is that most stand on characters have a wider hurtbox, and since 623+C stand crashes, it will crash the stand and the rest of the dp will whiff if done close enough to the edge of the opponent. Sometimes, you can get in 2 hits from the 623+C. If you hit it too deep and the rest of the dp connects with the opponent, they will be able to punish, so you have to get the spacing down. Chaka and Oldseph do not work because their stand off and stand on hurtboxes are the same, meaning no matter how close to the edge of them you land the dp, the rest will still hit.

4. Funky bnb Stuff
One heavily under utilized tactic is to install the gc, dp cancel in the bnb. A/B charge is 0 on hit, so you can perform that part of the bnb, wait for a potential punish, then gc, dp from the install you got from using A/B charge. You're not always in range for the dp to connect, so this can be something to keep in mind. A/B charge is very punishable on block, however, you can still cancel into dp, which can allow you to punish most counter attacks if you can either react or read it. This is part of Khan mind games, where they risk a punish and could get punished for it, so they might wait it out, or they might think that you won't do it, and try to punish you anyway. Another thing you can do is land the A/B charge and try to 2a into either another charge or 214aa. Some people won't see it coming and you get a combo reset because of it. 5a also works, but I wouldn't recommend it because of it's range and it hits mid. Of course, other moves could be substituted but 2a is by far the best option if you're going for this.

5. When you should apply the bnb

Stand off: The standard bnb varies in difficulty to land on stand off opponents, and either way you can still get punished. I recommend using C charge to set up oki. If the opponent is not punishing the dp, then continue to use it, it's guaranteed damage and gives oki if they don't tech. Always adapt to how your opponent acts out of it,if they mess up the down tech they can end up teching and rolling, which should be easy for you to react to. If you're too far for the dp to connect, don't try and do it, you'll be open for a big punish. Try applying techniques mentioned in the previous section. Also, using the standard bnb to close off rounds is perfectly fine.

Stand on: Besides Oldseph and Chaka, you will want to do the bnb and hit the dp to where it only clips the stand as previously talked about, if the opponent doesn't punish your bnb's, feel free to dp deep for maximum damage. You never want to use C charge against a stand on opponent because it allows them to immediately punish you. There are variations of the bnb that allows you to connect A/B charge into dp against Oldseph and Chaka, which is generally combos that start deep so they don't get pushed too far away. Same rule applies that if they don't punish the dp, always do it, and adapt to their actions afterwards.

Here's a list of easy characters to bnb, anyone not listed is difficult to some degree, meaning you may have to hit deeper or time the dp right, and names only implies they can be bnb'd crouching or not:
Jotaro Stand On
Avdol Stand On
Avdol Crouching
Iggy Stand On
Maraiah
Midler Crouching
Old Jospeh Stand Off Crouching
Kakyoin Stand On
Kakyoin Crouching
Dio Stand On
Dio Crouching
Chaka Stand Off Crouching
Pet Shop Crouching
Black Pol Crouching
Hol Horse
Vanilla Ice Stand On
Devo Standing
Alessi Stand On
Alessi Stand Off Standing
Pol Stand On
Pol Crouching
Khan
New Kakyoin Stand On
New Kakyoin Crouching
Boingo
Rubber Soul Crouching
Jojo Crouching