Help with Kyo's Shiki: Kototsuki You

I’ve been trying to get better at my combos in this game and figured a good place to start would be learning my drive cancels.

But I just can’t drive cancel this move for some reason. When do I input the second move?

not sure about the move names but if that’s hcb+b/d, then you drive cancel the leading elbow hit before the pickup animation starts. you may have noticed that the elbow actually does a small amount of damage on its own. if the grab animation happens then you did it too late. you can also try doing the motion for the next move a bit early, and pressing the button and holding it down just before kyo elbows them.