Gaira Kafuin Slash
Raw power and heavy damage is what Gaira is built for. His slams pack quite a punch and his Super can kill a character with life level in the green blood region (!). However, he is disadvantaged by a short weapon range and the rule for playing Gaira is that he must always stick with the opponent, even stand by the side when he is down.
Prudence punch (
+ button in air)
For use in air encounters, as Gaira's beads are not a good weapon for attacks in the air. Use also when Gaira jumps backward and opponents try to run over.
Profound Pummel (
+ slash)
Bead tossed round repeatedly. Short range, moderate damage, but speed is quite fast, compared with Gaira's other moves.
Victory Riser (+ slash)
Quite a fast move too, and a lot of people do not block long enough to get hit by the upraised bead smash. This last action can hit jumping opponents, whether jumping away or towards Gaira. Opponents hit by this move land nicely at Gaira's foot just waiting to be stomped (+ slash).
Earthquake Assault (+ button)
Favourite move of mine, because most people are plain ignorant about it and because there are few ways to counter it. You will be amazed how easy it is to hit an opponent with this move if you use it upon landing after they block a jumping hit from you.
When opponent is down, go to the spot where he has fallen and use the Earthquake Assault just when he recovers. He will get hit by the smash if he rolls up in front of Gaira and block up, and stunned if he is slightly away or roll behind Gaira but do not block down. If there is a hit, use the move again when he recover. If opponent is stunned, run over and use a running hit, guard crush, 14 slash, Super, ABC rush combo, or the 'Dash of death' (BCD).
If opponent will not come close or attack, use it repeatedly to irritate them and prompt them to jump towards you. Use the Ceiling Slam Grabber when they are baited in this way.
Can also deal minute amount of damage each time opponent is stunned, more if they are stunned twice and fall from the blow; I have killed people with very low life from acrosss the screen by stunning them with this.
Since Gaira has no projectile move, this move also prevents others from using their projectile; stun them before they get to execute it.
Lastly, break an opponent's run with this. They will get stunned and stumble if they are far, or get smashed if they run too close already.
Ceiling Slam Grabber (
+ A)
Simple move with the obvious purpose of grabbing jumping opponents out of the air to bite the dust. Use when opponent jumps towards, away and over Gaira. To do the last one, execute the move in the direction which is normal, assuming the position before he jumps over; The computer is supposed to correct Gaira to turn in the right direction instead to catch the opponent. Otherwise, wait for him to turn before using it. It is also possible to catch Slash Rimururu off her ice platform with this move; With accuracy and correct timing, Sogetsu bust can also be caught when he rush down from the air for his Death Moon move.
Hard Head Grabber (+ B)
Grab opponents who do not block up for a head bash. Use this the instant you land after you hit opponent in the air with 
C (or get hacked by them) in the air.
Reverse Twirl Grab (+ C)
Grab opponent's legs and upheave them if they do not block low. Alternate the use of this move with the head grabber to let the opponent guess whether they should block high or low. As with the above, this can be used upon landing after slashing opponents in the air.
Computer Opponent List.
First set:
Hanzo
Tam Tam
Haohmaru: Prone to be hit by Victory Riser, and stomp thrice with A after he is fallen. Likes to jump around much and so be ready to use Ceiling Slam Grabber or C. Must be extra careful in blcking against him, he can use his sliding kick and the jumping sword hack move alternately, and sometimes go berserk and use his Cresent Moon Slash inhumanly fast.
Rimururu
: C when she uses her ice flower move. After blocking initially when she uses her ice shield, Gaira can immediately use the Hard Head Grabber or Reverse Twirl Grab before the an icicle pokes through the shield. Victory Riser is also a good move against her.
Galford
: Tough fight against him. Jump around and use C against him repeatedly. Do not use Victory Riser and the grabs unnecessarily. You must also know how to block his Replica Attack, and he will recover by the time you run over if you block the move and he deflect away into the open. On the ground he uses his C most often, so block down whenever you are near. The best way to defeat him is to jump over (never try to walk or run over), use guard crush ( or C) to push nim over to the opposite side and follow it up with a Hard Head Grabber or Reverse Twirl Grab.
Jubei
: Very defensive character; jump over, use guard crush to opposite side, followed by the Hard Head Grabber or Reverse Twirl Grab. Be cautious about using other moves. If Gaira uses any move that has a delay if blocked like the Victory Riser, Jubei would most probably use the rushing uppercut move after blocking.
Second set:
Haohmaru
Kyoshiro
Galford
: same as above
Charlotte: Stay close to her as much as possible, otherwise her long fencing sword will make her hard to be attacked. Use a lot of jumping C slashes against her. Victory Riser is particularly good against her, as is the Ceiling Slam Grabber because of her tendency to jump around.
Tam Tam
: Counter his jumps with C and Ceiling Slam Grabber, or the Reverse Twirl Grab after landing from a jump. The Victory Riser move is a definite hit on him, he will stop blocking the last attack of it and get smashed into the air. Stomp on him then.
Hanzo
: A very difficult character to fight, only sure way against him is to use the guard crush-slam grab move.
Amakusa:
His teleport move can be interrupted by Gaira's Hard Head Grabber / Reverse Twirl Grab move. Use Victory Riser when close to him. After using a light punch at a suitable distance away from him, jump over if he react by initiating an attack to give a heavy slash. If Gaira land close to him after that hit, use any of the two ground grab slam attack on him.
Zankuro:
Block down and use guard crush-slam grab move on him after blocking his sword / fist rush, 
C slash or BC slash; the slam grabs are sometimes slow and Zankuro can hack again before the moves are used if the guard crush is not first used. I normally jump over, sidewitch (AB) and use the 14 slash combo to gain a power before finding a chance to use the Super on him.
Basara:
Extremely fast character that makes you run around to chase him. When chasing him as he jumps around, be careful enough to block his chain attack whenever he is in the air. If he teleports and goes through the portal in the ground, go to the new position of the portal and use the reverse twirl grab when he starts to emerge from it. To counter his jumps, use C; he is awfully fast to be caught by a Ceiling Slam Grabber move usually. If you get him to a corner, alternate the use of the A or B slash with a Ceiling Slam Grabber move - he'll keep trying to jump around when trapped. The Victory Riser move have a fair chance in hitting him, just use it sparingly.
Other tricks
The Victory Riser move is really so fast that you can often use it again and again on an opponent before he can make any counterattck on you. Use it also after a failed grab slam move and see the opponent get hit if they try to counter. Conversely, you can use it and try a grab slam move if they block the Victory Riser.
Gaira is maybe the only character in the game who can use a CD slash on the opponent after using guard crush to push the opponent to the opposite side.
Haohmaru ¦ Amakusa ¦ Ukyo ¦ Galford ¦ Hanzo ¦ Genjuro ¦ Sogetsu ¦ Jubei ¦ Kazuki
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