The Flicker Jab (フリッカー・ジャブ, Furikkā Jabu) is a long range jab thrown from a low angle.
Usage[]
A Flicker Jab is thrown quite differently than an orthodox jab. As opposed to snapping the left hand straight out with great speed (for an orthodox, or right-handed, fighter), a Flicker Jab is thrown from a lower angle and is, as the name implies, "flicked" almost with a jerking motion. This allows for jabs to come from various angles at high-speed, making it an impressive offensive weapon. It wouldn't normally be a good idea to stretch your arm and side out this much, but since you "snap" your wrist at its climax it can use the added momentum to either rebound to the left opening up for a hook, or snap back to your body, ready to fire again.
In the case of Ryō Mashiba, it is greatly accented by his reach and height advantages over most others in his weight classes. Combined with the highly offensive Hitman Style, he easily gains the upper hand from anywhere in the ring against opponents with a shorter reach (in Mashiba's case, everyone). Unfortunately, this also means that getting close is a surefire way to cut off the attack.
Another problem is that a lot of it's effectiveness comes from how different a Flicker is from a Jab. So if you can't train with someone who's good at it, it's very hard to defend. People with experience on the other hand are a danger, since the added momentum to every punch opens up for counters. Takamura demonstrates this fighting Richard Bison, when he learns how to both use and counter the Flicker.