5 Must-Know Fighting Game Terms

Every hobby, sport, or career has crazy terms that to outsiders, sound like pure nonsense, and video games are no exception. First-person shooters, RPGs, and sports games each have their lingo, but no gaming community has the widest range of terms like the fighting game community.

It might be difficult to understand what’s being said to beginners and outsiders, but luckily a website was created to contain and explain fighting game terms. 

Created by fighting game veteran, Infil, the website is an extensive fighting game glossary containing terms and definitions. You’re able to use a search bar, search terms by alphabetical order, or search terms by which games they’re used in.

Tekken, Street Fighter, Super Smash Bros, and Mortal Kombat are just some of the games that are represented in this glossary. It also has video examples to go along with the definitions if you’re more of a visual learner. 

This isn’t the first time Infil has done something like this; he previously made an extensive guide for the fighting game, Killer Instinct. The glossary has too many terms to keep count, but there’s a ton of useful information. Here are 5 fighting game terms you should know to get a better understanding of fighting games. 

The term footsies is used when you’re trying to keep your opponent at bay, or when you’re trying to open up the space between the two of you by hitting them with some jabs. Most commonly, you do that by hitting them with some low kicks, although as Infil points out, it doesn’t always have to be kicks to be considered footsies. Whether we know it or not, we’ve all played footsies before. 

The term Okizeme is used when you’re trying to figure out what to do when your opponent is getting up from the floor. As they’re getting up, there are many things they can do, so it’s important to juggle all the available options.  

Now, we’re really getting into the weeds. Frame Trap is when you do two moves, one after the other, but there’s a quick time gap between them. If your opponent tries to attack you during this time gap, they will be hit; this is considered a frame trap. 

This is a term we’re all familiar with, but might not have known the name. Chip damage is the damage done to a player when they are blocking. Because they are blocking, their health won’t take massive damage, but it’s still getting chipped away. Sometimes, chip damage is the thing that’s needed to turn the tide of the battle.

The final fighting term that’s important to know is hit stun. This term is used to describe when your character is still reacting to getting hit. During a hit stun, your character can’t do anything. Although it’s a pretty self-explanatory term, it gets confusing amidst the sea of other terms that are getting thrown at you mid-fight. 

Although there are dozens of fighting game terms, these are 5 must-knows. But if you want to dive into the deep end of fighting games, make sure to check out Infil’s fighting game glossary and donate if you want to help him continue making this content. 

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