question about the special moves (street fighter 4)

If I view the combo list of each character, it shows lik this , what does charge mean anyway? I tryed to do some special moves but I can't perform them, if I see that charge thing, so please help me.

Charge moves involve holding the direction indicated for approximately 1.5-2 seconds before going to the next input. For example, Guile's Flash Kick involves charging down > up+kick. So you would hold down for that 2 seconds, and then shift your stick/thumb/whatever you're using toward up while hitting a kick button. Quick tip: a lot of the characters that have a charge move have one going from back to foward and one down to up; you can just hold down-back (like if you try blocking low) and it registers a charge for both the down and the back. This allows you to stay in place while charging and have access to either move at will.

Edit: on a side note, (nothing against you TC) this question about charging seems to be coming up rather frequently. It's as though most people have never played a proper 2D fighter before or something. Just an interesting observation.

I love the game, but i'm wondering why charge up move in a fighting game... it seems really wrong. Like Guile's Sonic Boom... you can't rush in and sonic boom like Ryu does, since you need to back for 2 second for the charge up.... i really hate charge up characters...magicquebec

Or even this video of two of Japan's top players, one playing as Bison (dictator). {http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWAPsF738N8. Bison is a charge character, but notice how he's for most of the match he's able to pull off Devil's Reverse and double knee presses with barely any noticable wait-n-charge time.

Every fighter has a disadvantages and advantages, normally in every 2d fighter charged character have a quick escape moves or recovery moves, like guile sonic flash, example you're down and your enemy jump right at you to confuse you or to give you the beating of your life. you can hold the down button while youre down and up K, by the time you get up and that is call escape moves and have 80% success rate, which cant be pulled off by non charged character, non charged character in this situation simply block or betting on the shoryuken which hardly wins and end up gettin a beat.

Also advantages of charged characters normally they can follow up their projectile moves, sonic boom guile you can practically walk along with your sonic boom and confuse your enemy. while ryu and ken will not be able to under a normal condition.

example of other fighting games that does this: heidern in kof, kim in fatal fury, ash in kof

all in all if you master it, it will worth your while, tough and unique character to beat.