Solid concepts, but some bad choices for punishment and mix-up strings. The commentators even noticed that you never AA’d when you were fighting Balrog… Might wanna work on that-- s.HK for a widely spaced jump, s.MK for a reset against a closer jump or EX Flame Kick for damage.
Really try to work on making cr.LP> Rekka into an up-close poke habit instead of cr.MP. While cr.MP is good for frame traps, when you’re close enough to jab and cancel the jab into Rekka, that’s just as good, if not better in certain situations.
Watch spacing from jumps and try to mix up your follow-ups to them–FK> FADC, BnB, Throw, etc. I saw the matches get somewhat repetitive due to the fact that you really only fooled around with the BnB and cr.LK which were both blocked.
Specifically against Balrog, there’s a certain range of the screen (roughly mid screen) where if he launches a special punch, you should be able to react quickly enough with HK CW. I use this reliably even in the lag of online play, so it should be possible for you too. Also, play around with cr. MK against Balrog as he tries to wake up. Anything that’s not EX’d will fail against it; anything that doesn’t hit low will also fail. If he does absorb with EX armor, follow up with a flame kick, etc.
You’re handy with the BnB after EX CW, but there are certain situations where you should recognize the spacing is too far off–use cr.LP> Rekka instead.
Lastly, you got pretty lucky with lv.3 Focus, but I wouldn’t rely on that for more experienced players for obvious reasons. The long-range focus really is also kinda pointless and can give your intentions away; Focus in response to an attack instead of immobilizing yourself in anticipation. A Balrog could simply do Turn Punch> Dash Punch to catch you during back dash or break your focus. Ryu can launch an EX FB to break focus or score chip if he’s close enough. Make Focus more spontaneous for your matches.
–Vs. citiofbrass
I’ve played him quite a few times online before-he’s a real beast not only with Sakura but with Honda and Cammy as well. Surprisingly, most of my wins against him were against his Sakura, although I can’t say I won very often. In the vid of you fighting him, I noticed he was spamming jab to keep you from CW’ing in. In that situation, really all you can do is either be good at timing a Rekka or walk forward. You don’t want to jump in since it’s easy to see coming and easy to react to.
What sucks about Sakura is that she has so many great block strings involving Shunpukyaku–whenever possible, stay out of jab range with her and use your pokes (cr. MK, cr. HP, cr. MP, Rekka x1, etc.) to just stab her to death. With a sizable life lead, run away! She’ll try to build meter, but there isn’t much she can do to catch you. If you manage to knock her down and she doesn’t have meter, go for a throw–you can grab SRK and Shunpukyaku before they’re launched, forcing her to jump. You can try to FK this jump if it comes late enough.
In the beginning though, you obviously want to be in range to actually HIT Sakura, so no backing off :razz: Other than that, I see that you really only got caught by Sakura’s mix-up routines (which if you learn them, they’re easy to block). After EX Shunpukyaku, watch how Sakura moves–if she dashes in, he’s going for the reset, meaning you should block the opposite way that you were facing. If the movement is subtle, then continue blocking normally. Watch for cross-over attempts and such which can confuse you as to which way to block. Lastly, Option Select is your friend in this match, so get used to it!
I know my connection was funky the last time, but if you want to give it another shot, just invite me. I’ll accept if I know I can get solid games in (i.e. roommates are out of the apartment).
