Every character should have one of these threads, and since I want to learn Sakura, now would be a good time to start one 
What do I need to know when using her? I’m using A-groove, and I don’t have any problem with her custom, that came naturally to me for some reason.
Also please give me some advice for going against Hibiki, I have massive problems vs her.
i actually just started learning a-sakura too 
and like you, i have the custom down, but i jsut dont know how to play her :o
sakura basics:
i dont knoe if this will help but this is wat i do to win, link jabs wit fierce, shoryuken or fierce, hk huricane. wen u coss up, fierce, hk hurricane, jab, actvate cc. and if the people are jump happy, c.hp, does is job well as an anti air, if u seeurself gettin rushed down, turtle and do c.hp wen u see them jumpin or c.hk if their within sweep distance after they jump
as for the hibiki problem, jes be careful, and try not to whiff anything, she can really jack u up, and if u block her slash mov(the one where she jus slashes at u) im pretty sure can actvate and start runnin the cc.
ps: never do fp shoryuken wen they block, its jes beggin to be punished
Think of A-Sak as Yun from 3S. Meter with her is always expendable. Every opportunity you can get to use a CC, don’t hold back. Chip CC every time if you know your opponent can’t escape (non-N-groove, no AC, or if they’re Blanka). If the opponent jumps in, don’t hesitate to do the LP DP juggle CC. If you land a FB in the corner, CC then s.HK xx juggle MP DP’s after that. Air to air dive kick, land, CC. Those are just a few examples. Since she builds meter up so fast there’s no reason not to take the free damage whenever you can.
I would say put your sakura in a position where she already has meter coming into the match, this would make your fight alot easier IMO. if your having trouble getting in, since your in a-groove…to get in i would suggest roll cancelling a hurricane kick…thats my first guess.
That is all I could suggest doing in a-groove, since im a k-groove player. Here are some of the basics I have found helpful in playing her.
+if you land a cross-up, her combos HURT!!!
+remember her fp throw is a knockdown, and they can’t use safefall to get out of it…makes for a good mindgame/rushdown opportunity
+her poke = rh
+sweep isn’t bad, it has pretty good range
+c.lk x 3, fp dp is comboable…and you can just replace it with a block string if they block the first lk
well…that is just what i have found helpful while using her…im just curious as to how many people have used her successfully in k-groove, or find her worthwhile in k-groove (of course, i know she is better in a-groove, no need to state the obvious)
Also just like yun in 3s, abuse the dive kick. That is one of her best moves imo. Of course don’t do it too deep into opponents, but do it when there’s a lot of space between you and the opponnent. If you jump a lot, you can catch a lot of errant pokes or offensive attempts with the dive kick. At the right depth, if they block, they can’t retaliate. Against bums who just turtle and poke all day (especially with blanka), the dive kick can help you out a lot with spacing and stuff (this helps a lot at the beginning of rounds before more complex situations occur). Jumping straight up or back into dive kick is unpunishable most of the time. (But of course don’t dive into fireballs and stuff).
Combowise, first learn cr. lk, st. lk, hp dp and maybe st. mp or cr. mp into hcb hk, hcb k, although the first combo i think is really more practical and useful. Do it after cross-ups (w/ j. mk) and maybe in wake-up games. Close st. hp can be buffered into hp dp too.
You can link cr. mk into supers. Lvl 2 and up fireball super is a good anti-air. I don’t use A sakura too much, but that cc is too good. I’ll probably start using her once i can do the cc from the other side.
Standing hk is a good poke, mk is alright at times to mix it up. Towards mk is also a good move to use in some situations although it’s slow. Cr. hp is an awesome anti-air although it has to be used kinda early. Dp lp is an alright anti-air for air attacks that aren’t directly above sakura.
Her hold is really good too. Psychologically it messes your opponent up especially if you can get two or more in a row. So get rollers and turtlers with. Dash-in into hold and roll hold when safe. To add to mind games tick hold too.
In air to air, and also sometimes in air to ground, a lot of times you can use her air hurricane kick. A lot of people forget she has it.
Plus, I don’t know if this is really classified as basic, but her RCs are really good and can trap people who don’t know how to deal with them. And they are good against one-dimensional cammy, sagat, blanka turtle pokers.
I hope what I said helps. Sakura is a really good character with many options. I thought she was top-tier before the a-groove cc and rcing. She has all the tools, just watch the health bar. If you’re just learning her she might get killed without doing much damage to the opponent, but eventually it’ll be normal to pummel through two r1 characters to the r2 character of a person’s team just with her.
why can’t blanka escape? is his counter too slow?
can anyone hlep me wit her blocked strings? i dont really noe any, my only blocked string is jab, jab, fierce
and s for blankas counter, i think it is slow, or jes doesnt hav enuff priority
her CC goes right through it.
c.lk c.lk s.lk dp+fp jump over repeat, shit works for some reason. Ive seen that japanese p grove kyo player abuse that shit. I’ve never had it done to me before, but it worked on good players, also works after throws.
how abt good,safe, pressurising poke strings with her?
i just got owned by another a sak
he wasnt doing the cc any batter
he was just better using her without meter
i think thats what a lotta people gotta learn
poke strings
for blocked poke strings i like
c.lk c.lk c.hk(?) qcf+p s.hk
s.lp c.hp qcf+lp
s.lp s.hp qcb+k…qcb+k(i think the knockdown hit pushes them back too far to retaliate if blocked)
after they consistently block low because of seeing this string, try
c.lk c.lk f+mk(or whatever the overhead kick is) then some other shit i guess maybe fp throw then a cross up
also try walking up and throwing after the 1st or 2nd c.lk sometimes i dunno
Learn how to RC her fireball and hurricane kick. Her RC fireball is good for breezing through pokes and her RC hurricane kick is good for going through supers and stuff. Remember to use the Forward hurricane kick when semi close/far away and RH hurricane kick when up close.
yeah comboing into the fierce shoryuken is her bread n butter but i think its better to start with c.lk c.lp c.lk s.lk, fierce shoryuken so you can start low, and off a c.lk poke string, unless you crossed them up but dont have meter (in which case the fierce will definately hit for more damage)…as for the cross up, fierce, hk hurricane, jab, activate…HOW THE HELL DO YOU DO THAT? i have pulled it off once out of god knows how many tries and that shits hard. any tips?
i dont think this has been posted, but im not gonna check either way.
sakura can build extra meter off of dive kicks if you kara a :hp: into the :qcf:+:k:.
i think kindevu was doing it this year at evo finals.
damn, that’s kinda dirty since she’s fills up the meter quite fast. u don’t mind me stealin this would ya? :badboy:
What are some good combos to punish people
well, here is what i have to add. i use c groove, and like to chain her running uppercut and then big fireball (the 3 hit one) then when they escape i’ll shadow close with dash and then spin kick, or roll through and grab (choke usually, for maximum demoralization) if they have fight left in them, i’ll dash back with a fake out and when they take the bait i hit em with super fire ball. i can mix it up, but this is the basic idea. better to not understand the combo, but the premise, which is: sakura has suffered from fireball woes in games past, and in cvs2, they got it right. SO you want to use her already op running uppercut, since it has multiple hits, and the multi hit fireball to wear them down, stay on them like a rash, avoid being hit and grab when you can, then set them up for a level 3 explosion, or take them out with a slow, unaided choke hold. sakura has a powerful negative effect, mentally, on a person if properly applied. even after a single round and this can be used to your advantage. if they are afraid of your schoolgirl, you are doing it right. i like to use her as a lead into ken, who plays similarly, but hits harder, and if they get that far, and pass ken i have a haohmaru waiting, always level 2.