I really should have replied to this thread back when
Vagrant posted it, but I was too busy feeling like shit about what happened at Final Round...and yes, to be honest, my regrets still linger. However, not getting into that.
Now, I'm pretty sure Vagrant's dropped MK completely to focus on Injustice, so whatever match-up advice I could give now would not be applicable to him at this point. But to the Sonya players who
do still play MK and are running into Kenshi problems...here's a few tips.
1. Go to the lab and measure the range of Kenshi's Spirit Charge. This is something you'll always want to be aware of. It has a horizontal reach and can sometimes be jumped, but don't get too crazy with the jumping despite that you have a divekick. A solid Kenshi player will be ready to shut you down.
2. Do your best to keep one bar of meter at hand. As long as you do, then even Kenshi will be forced to respect your armor, because
all of his armored specials will lose to your EX Cartwheel as long as your armor activates
after Kenshi's does. It's a general rule with armored moves. Once you have Kenshi worrying about your EX Cartwheel, you can start to apply your offense with d4 - Military Stance.
3. Do your best to mix up your strings that you cancel into Military Stance in order to confuse Kenshi. He will usually look to armor out with EX Spirit Charge or EX Rising Karma. While the latter option resorts in more damage, both will send you full-screen again, which is where Kenshi's strongest game comes into play. Remember that you can cancel into EX Cartwheel off of Military Stance itself in order to stuff Kenshi's armor should he go for it. This will really mess with your opponent's mind.
4. Going off of what
HGTV Soapboxfan said, utilize the shoulder charge from her Military Stance...which, incidentally, was something I mentioned in my commentary for Vagrant vs.
AK JIMMY_VONVITTI. It is a highly underused tool by Sonya players. It covers a large amount of distance and is safe on block. Get into half-screen range against Kenshi while staying
just outside of Spirit Charge range and keep cancelling into Military Stance. If you notice him going for the overhead swords or his b+f+3, let the shoulder charge rip. Once you've got him hesitating, you can come in and take control.
5. The goal of this match is to get Kenshi to the corner and trap him there. Duck the b+f+3, stand-block the overheads, and keep walking patiently towards Kenshi. You want to force him to walk backwards. Once Kenshi recognizes this, he'll need to do
something to get back to a desired position for screen control, and this is where he must take the initiative. When you're forced to play a Sonya player's game, the tides surge against you. It's no different for Kenshi players.
6. If you force Kenshi to use his meter, good! This is what you want. So what if you take 12% from EX Spirit Charge or block it so Kenshi is at +7? Doesn't change the fact that you gain a meter advantage and are forcing panicked moves from Kenshi. Now I'd worry a little more if I was getting hit by EX Rising Karma since it leads to a combo
and knocks me back to the other side of the screen, but my previous point stands. The less meter Kenshi has, the better for you, and this goes the other way around.
There's more I could add, but I think I'll just stop here so as not to overload on the information. I can add more later. This is a match-up I felt confident in back during the MK9 days and I was going to show just why that was the case when I came to Final Round...unfortunately, it all went wrong and I doubt anyone will take me seriously now.
I hope these tips help somebody out there.
EDIT: By the way, I watched that video and cringed at my commentary.
I notice I talk too fast when commentating, although I imagine it's due to me trying to keep up with the fast pace of the match so that the viewers stay informed. But it will all be meaningless if one cannot keep up with my hasty speech.