1. Basics. Okay, first of all I'm going to assume you can play. By play I mean, block, jump, attack and defend. Blanka is an offensive character, with relatively easy specials, some great normals, particularly his jumping attacks and good damage. When crouching he has a tiny hitbox making it tough for some characters to hit him.

2. Getting started.

The first thing you should do when starting to play Blanka is go into training mode and get confident at some of his specials. Blanka is not as reliant on constantly charging as for example Guile, you'll be spending more time on the offensive. The beast roll is a prett fast, damaging move and the upwards one is a reasonable if not spectacular anti-air. Blanka's easiest special is his electricity - which is great for stopping cross-ups and snuffing moves out. Be aware though - there are a good number of moves that can hit through it or exchange hits, use when the opponent is close or jumping in.

3. Openers.

For Blanka a good start is a Beast roll, some characters will hit you out of it every time, so if you are playing a shoto - they may anticipate and open with a dragon punch. Failing this, jump backwards and get a charge on for upwards and sideways beast rolls. If your opponent seems 'jumpy' then charge for the upwards beast roll and unleash it as soon as they hit the sky. If you are playing a turtling character and need to take the offensive but your beast roll is getting snuffed - jump in with a tick throw into bite. Blanka's bite has huge range and good damage, so use it..

4. So far.

Okay, so you should have a few specials to use, and an idea of how to start a round. In this part I'm going to go into more details about how to play a round once you've got through that opening moment. To start with I'm going to look at what your options are. Namely the specials we've covered so far, and a few of Blanka's normals which you will find useful.

5. The Beast Roll

There are three normal variations to the roll, plus his super. The hardest to use is the backwards charge, then forwards and kick one. This move starts with a hop back, then a low arc , which can go over fireballs but is hard to time. In my opinion the most useful ones are the horizontal, which is fast and hard to counter and his upwards roll anti-air. The grand shave roll, his super is not as effective an anti-air and is best done close for maximum hits.

6. Electricity.

This is one of the easiest moves to do in the game. It's great for catching out people jumping in, even though you will exchange hits sometimes. Also do it while your opponent is close and charge down and back - then if they try to hit you they will get zapped, if they jump back to get to the right range to hit you out of it - you can unleash a horizontal roll.

9. Where we are up to.

Okay so if you've been following the guide so far you should have a few options to start, a couple of specials to throw out and be using Guiles Sonic Boom, Flash kick trap.

10. Anti-air options.

Blanka has a couple of anti-air options, the upwards beast roll is the obvious one, but a standing heavy kick or a crouching heavy punch if they are at fairly long range can work. If they are trying to cross you up - electricity is probably the best bet,

12. Blanka's Super Shadow Special.

This is an easy move to do - but hard to connect. It's not that effective as an anti-air, but does good damage if you can land all five hits. You can get it to hold in place by holding heavy punch for a couple of seconds.

13. Normal moves.

Blanka has a nasty bite, its got great range and does godo damage. You can also tick into it, use it and abuse it. Another good move is his ground claw - pressing down, forwards and heavy punch will cause Blanka to slide along the floor, with a low hit. This will go clean under Sonic Booms, high Tiger shots and Max Outs, and if close enough it will snuff other fireballs like Hadoukens and Yoga Fires. It also does pretty good damage. Blanka plays a very good 'jumpy' game, he has good height, a fast jump and some mean moves for the air. His heavy jumping kick and punch had good hitbox setups - particularly the kick for longer range, and the punch for shorter. His light kick is a great cross up.

Jumping around, trying to get in close and knock down - then into electricity is a good easy tactic to start with. If they block - forwards and heavy punch for the bite. If people try to go jumpy on you - use the beast rolls, horizontal for longer range, upwards roll for medium to short, and use his electric for the cross-ups.