How can you tell if your input is too early or too late? Questions on situations that have puzzled me

Classic Fighting Games Super Street Fighter II Turbo
1

So I’ve been playing off and on on GGPO and Fightcade for the last 10 years and play on some of the console flavors (Ultra Street Fighter 2 and 30th anniversary) and one of the things I’ve never been able to tell always is if I attempted a move too early or too late. Some of the re-releases have in their training modes a place where you can see the input from your controller, but I’ve found this doesn’t help. I can see that the input is exactly what I’d expect, except it doesn’t tell you how the game actually interpreted to give a move (or not). I’ve always wondered why in the training mode, for the reversal timing for example, it doesn’t tell you if you went too early or too late. This would make it much easier to adjust, at least for me, since I base it purely on the visual animations. Examples I’ve had trouble with:

  1. If I attempt to go for a reversal when I’m getting up, and didn’t get it, did I go too early or too late? I guess you can’t tell specifically. However, sometimes I stand up and I’m just standing there. I’m assuming in that case, it was too early?

  2. If I was forced into block stun and about to be thrown, I mash for the counter throw (usually I hold back and medium punch for Ryu), and sometimes instead of getting a throw or a punch, I walk backwards first (which is visible on screen). So if I was holding back and was pressing medium punch, did i press too early so the walking overrides it?

  3. If i go for an attack as someone is getting up, let’s say crouching medium punch, there are times where it looks like Ryu’s arm should be connecting right as the person is getting up, but instead (not counting a throw) i get hit by a counter attack that was NOT a reversal. I suppose this can be super subtle unless you memorized the hitboxes.

  4. Going for tick throws, I can understand if you are too far away (let’s say cross-up hurricane kick), you can be too far and the person recovers before you can throw. Yet, there are times where I’m right next to the person, I have forced them into blocking and immediately go for the throw, but instead get hit by a counter attack that wasn’t a reversal (so not a throw). This one really perplexes me as I can’t tell at all if I was too late or early with the input.

2

Have you tried pianoing your reversals?

3

I’ve never used it because I when I do a reversal, I wanted to control the distance of how far I’m going to go vertically or horizontally. If I do piano, I have no clue which one I’m going to get.

4

But you get a reversal.