Sakura Strategy and Match-up Thread (2.0)

Classic Fighting Games Ultra Street Fighter IV
1

Hi, this is the Sakura Strategy and Match-up Thread (2.0)

A lot of comments in the spoiler sections are a few years old so they may be irrelevant. Please take everything you read here with a grain of salt, try to come up with stuff yourself in training mode and by thinking on your own, you might find better solutions and evolve as a player.

Getting spoon fed and not experimenting on your own is gonna make you a bad player.

Love,

Smashing

For character specific combo’s look no further:

IN TRAINING MODE!!

And here:

Option selects:

Setups and safejumps:

Full fake crossup/unblockable list:
*note that most of these setups come after (corner) otoshi 2x, whiff the 3rd hit.

Abel - jump hp, cr.mp, j.hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup)

Adon - cr. HP, dash back, J. Hp (fake crossup) /J. Mk (crossup)

Akuma : jump, cr.mp, j.hp (unblockable)
notes: if Akuma does nothing, he won’t be hit

  • Dash, lp dp, j.mk (unblockable) ~os backjump cr.mk xx dp and it’s a guaranteed kill

Balrog - backjump, dash, j.mk (fake crossup) / j.lk (crosses up, delay if necessary)

Bison - Backdash, lk tatsu, j.hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup)
notes: I almost never use that. I usually go for: otoshi x3, you end up in the corner, lk tatsu to crossup dicta again -> throw/cr.lk/frwd. mk/hp/istant overhead/whatever
this way he LOSES his charge and can’t psycho crusher out. I copied Uryo off course

Blanka - n/a

  • Throw,st.lk,j.mk(unblockable)

Cammy - Backdash, lk tatsu, j.hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (a little delayed for crossup)
notes: midscreen after ex tatsu, do dash, sweep, lk, j.hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup)

Chun Li- jump, cr.mp, j.mk ( unblockable)
notes: there is no reason for not doing this unblockable. If you just wanna do a fake crossup, there’s the chance it won’t be a safe jump agaist ex. spinning. I’m working on a midscreen unblockable and I’m pretty confident I can make it. Check some posts earlier for the others unblockables

  • Throw,st.lk,j.mk(unblockable)

Cody - frwd jump hp, cr.mp, j.hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup)

  • cr.hp,backdash,j.mk(unblockable)
  • Throw, st.lk, j.mk (unblockable)

Dan : backjump, dash, j. hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup)

Dee Jay - backjump hp, dash, j. hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup) (unblockable setup if timed correctly with j.hp)

  • cr.hp,backdash,j.hp(unblockable)

Dhalsim - Backdash, lk tatsu, j.hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup)

Dudley : backjump, dash, j,hp (unblockable)
notes: if you mess up the setup, often the hp will be a fake crossup

El Fuerte-Backdash,lktatsu,j.hp(unblockable)

  • cr.hp,backdash,j.mk(unblockable)

Evil Ryu- jump hp, cr.mp, j.hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup)
notes: really tricky timing

Fei Long- backdash, lk tatsu, j.hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup)

  • cr.hp,backdash,j.mk(unblockable)

Gen : jump, cr.mp, j.hp (unblockable)
notes: if Gen does nothing, he won’t be hit

  • Dash, lp dp, j.mk (unblockable)

Gouken : the parry blows up every setup, so just stay in the front and mix it up from there

Guile - backjump, dash, jump hk (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup)
notes: super ambiguous, and the only character that requires j.hk

Guy - jump, cr.mp, j.hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup)
notes: the hp/mk hits REALLY late

  • Throw,st.lk,j.mk(unblockable)

Hakan - backjump, dash, j. hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup)

Honda - n/a

Ibuki -jump, cr.mp, j.hp ( unblockable)
notes: if you mess up the setup, the hp will be a fake crossup

  • unblockables: mp shoryu, hold up j.mk
  • after sweep and throw: tap down, j. mk
  • Throw,st.lk,j.mk(unblockable)

Juri - backjump, dash, j. hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (a little delayed if necessary)

Ken - backjump, dash, j. hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup)

Makoto - backjump, dash, j. hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup)
notes: depending on how high you hit with the otoshi, you should delay the mk a little bit just to be sure to crossup

Rose - jump, cr.mp, j.hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup)

  • Backdash, lk tatsu, j.HP/j.mp

Rufus - jump, dash, j.hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup)

  • (midscreenunblockable) EXtatsu-> dash -> sweep -> whiffcr.LK->j.HP. (if you blockfowardit hits from the front, if you block back it hits you cross-up, if you don’t block it hits you cross-up; reversals whiff)

Ryu -backjump, dash, j. hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup)

Sagat - Backdash, lk tatsu, j.hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup)
notes: hp timing is tricky

  • Jump, dash, j.hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup)
    after meterless otoshi combo (cr.hp xx otoshix2) do dash, dash, cl.st.mk, j.hp/j.mk
  • Neutral jump, dash x2, j.HP/j.mk

Sakura : Dash, lp dp, j.mk (unblockable)

Seth: backdash, lk tatsu, j.hp or hk (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup)
notes: after meterless otoshi combo (hp xx otoshix2) do dash, dash, cl.st.mk, j.hp/j.mk

T Hawk - backdash, lk tatsu, j.hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup)
notes: very tricky, but often you end up in the front even with the fake crossup so it’s great

Vega - cr.hp, backdash, j.mk (unblockable)

Viper - Backdash, lk tatsu, j.hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup)

  • cr.hp, backdash, j.mk(unblockable)
  • Dash, lp dp, j.mk (unblockable)

Yang: backjump, dash, j. hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (a little delayed if necessary)
notes: the timing on the j.hp is a little tricky

  • Throw,st.lk,j.mk(unblockable)

Yun: backjump, dash, j. hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (a little delayed if necessary)
notes: the timing on the j.hp is a little tricky

  • cr.hp,backdash,j.mk(unblockable)
  • Throw,st.lk,j.mk(unblockable)

Zangief - backdash, lk tatsu, j.hp (fake crossup) / j.mk (crossup)

Ok here we go:

Abel

Abel

[details=Spoiler]*What I do for Abel is I do a light shinpuukyaku torwards him, then jump as he tries to grab you for it. After that just punish him for it by kicking the shit out of him. Being in the air is a No-No against him 'cause he’ll just do falling star and put you into the dirt. Instead use light Shinpuukyaku a lot 'cause there isn’t much he can do against it. WHEN ABEL ROLLS YOU CAN THROW HIM OUT OF IT~! So you see him roll, throw that sucka! *
- Special-K-

*Rekka is punishable after first hit and if he tries to roll past you, you can either: *
a) sweep
b) throw

Either way you get knockdown and the potential to turn the tides. ? GoDSh0t

His U2 can be broken in many ways:
Reversal Ultra, all shunpuus, all shouoken’s, ex hadoken.

You can escape by using air kara tatsu. ex air kara tatsu goes full screen.

Try to keep this guy cornered and keep pressuring him or he will pressure you.

You can lp shou his wheel kicks on reaction. Both Ultras will also punish any wheel kicks on reaction. If you want to fight him air to air then use j. lp alot.

U2 is recommended for this match but I still use U1 vs Abel. - Mr. Flowers
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Adon

Adon

[details=Spoiler]All the specials of Adon are armor breakable, expect his jaguar kick if he does it from air (the circular kick), it is VERY UNSAFE to try a focus attack against him. Don’t forget you can punish his “dive kick” (i think it’s jaguar tooth) by a well timed c.fierce (not so difficult to get the timing). Punish the circular kick by ex dp (harder timing), and the wiffed ones by c.mk to dp. ? Richmonx

The thing that I would be aiming for, would be the instant right after I block his jaguar tooth. I’d go straight into a focus attack. After that, I would either release the focus right after his first jab, and/or dash and low jab and then throw. However, that would be the only time that I would ever attempt a focus attack since Adon has alot of armor breakers. Luckily, his jaguar kick is not an armor breaker so if he tries one after his jaguar tooth I’m pretty sure only the first hit connects at that range, and then he’ll be in for some punishment. I wouldn’t worry too much about his anti-air since they don’t really do much damage. Like Sakura, a majority of the damage he does are from combos. I think standing fierce punch or roundhouse (Note that a standing roundhouse or fierce punch becomes like an anti-air if the opponent is close enough) will punish fake jump-ins and would also try to cross-up as much as possible after knocking him down keeping in mind to time/distance your light kick cross-up well. ? minase

his normal jaguar kicks are -3/-2 on hit, air jaguars can be focussed

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Akuma

Akuma

[details=Spoiler]If they like to xup tatsu on wake up, use wake-up U2 to keep them honest. It also looks nice because Akuma is behind you when it hits. - dragonballjoseph

Focus attack is great vs his s.hk. Absorb the first hit and release after the second hit whiffs while she is crouching. If he is doing jump back fireball alot you can shouoken to get under it and punish him. The strength used depends on the distance he is from you.

You can use lp shouoken to escape any demon flip shens but if he does demon upon landing you are screwed so mix up how you deal with demon flips or just be careful once he has ultra.

You won’t win a fireball war against him but you can war a little to build meter or get him to come to you or look for a chance to ex otoshi.

U2 is best for this match to catch demon flips and after lp shouoken’s that catch his jump back fireball. - Mr. Flowers

OS block his j.hk/tatsu, for more information: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLqBiDUHxt0[/details]

Balrog

Balrog

[details=Spoiler]s.LK > EX Tatsu punishes Straight punches range dependant - TOKiMONSTA

As a charging character, he hates to be crossed up. He also doesn’t has cross-ups of his own. So my main priority is to try to knock him down and cross him up. Most of Boxers that tries to headbutt my cross-ups usually misses so I time my cross-up just a split second before he turns to the other side. His dashing straight can be focused, so in some instances I do try to throw him after a focus dash. Then I can either attempt a cross-up, crouching jab, do nothing, and lot of other things. Another thing that I find effective against charging characters like Rog is after the launch-into-midair with EX hurricane kick, instead of following-up with jump-smash, mix up with a jumping roundhouse or a well-timed jumping light kick to land on the opposite side and then go for another combo. - minase

You got to be really good at blocking in this match because he can out footsie you easily. Anytime you see him flash yellow (ex moves) hit grab or ultra. As stated by others cross ups and empty cross ups are good in this one. Chuck in an overhead now and again to shake him up whenever you feel safe enough to try one. Do not just blindly jump in at this guy. He is great at controlling space.

U1 for this match. You need the damage and if you are lucky you can catch a ex move with U1. - Mr. Flowers

*TC note: a meaty lk.tatsu on wakeup is safe because headbutt will miss you (do it a little bit later then normal). Ultra will probably hit you though.
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Bison

Bison

[details=Spoiler]After a FP Shouken, you can empty jump forward and immediately LK tatsu and if he EX psycho crushers it beats it clean and allows you to combo after it (because for whatever reason he stays grounded). This is of course only if Bison quick stands. If he doesn’t quick stand, you just whiff LK tatsu and are still right next to him (which either means you can do another meaty one or try for something else. Either way you build bar and shut down EX Psycho crusher ? DanielRGT

jump back HK on his wakeup.
- if he does (EX) Psycho Crusher input fierce DP to punish.
- if he does (EX) Scissor, pretty much free combo.
**noteIf you don’t do j.HK you get 2 more frames to punish.
- if he does (EX) Devils Reverse, you will hit him out of it.
-if he does (EX) Stomp, you will hit him out of it. - TOKiMONSTA

When jumping from far away, j.lp will beat his roundhouse clean, from closer up, j.hp will also stuff roundhouse (With j.hp you really want to hit him above his hitbox because if he’ll time it right you either trade or lose). - CanadianDstryr

You can dash to avoid all headstomps. Jump forward mp beats all headstomps. All scissors kicks apart from light kick scissors are punishable.

Zone him full screen and bait U2 or headstomp where possible. Keep pressuring him but don’t jump at him directly until he is knocked down. Go for cross ups and empty cross ups. Neutral jump shunpu is good vs Bison on his wake up. Use overhead when you feel its safe to do so.

I use U1 in this match but U2 is also good. - Mr. Flowers

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Blanka

Blanka

[details=Spoiler]Against Blanka you don’t really have many options. You have to throw some safe hadoukens from far away and poke with s.hk punish when you can but other than that it’s pretty much a match of patience. ? GoDSh0t

- Don’t jump at Blanka.
- Try to keep him out. Stay far away enough that you can throw hadoukens without being hit by slide.
- Learn how to bait slide and punish it on block or focus attack it. Yes this can be hard to do.
- If he is doing the hop tricks spam c.lk as it will beat most of the mix ups.
- Be sure to use the right anti air for his jump ins.

Now for dealing with his ultras it can be really really tricky. With Ultra 1 its easy to end up just killing yourself. I assume everyone knows how to block Blanka U1 in the normal way. downback, upback when he jumps then downback for the rest of it. You can then punsh with c.mk xx or ultra.

If he does the ultra a little bit away from you you can actually c.hp then ball when he jumps up. You got to know the spacing for this one. Also at some distances you can do ex shou to duck under his ultra when he jumps up. Again spacing on this is tight. If he utra’s far from you you can kara tatsu over to the other side of the screenor sometimes you can backdash and do your own ultra. But it gets trickyif he charges his ultra on the spot. You usually end up killing yourself if you try to shouoken or backdash ultra when he decided to charge the ultra. Its weird like that.

Treat this guy like a shoto character. Don’t just go crazy with the jumping. The hardest thing to deal with is his hop tricks but asides from that just try to edge him in the corner and keep him there.

I use U1 for the damage but you can use U2 to reaction ultra any non ex horizontal balls and blocked upballs. Mr. Flowers

*TC note: jabs-beats-balls. Try not to do it in his slide range. You can also hit him out of Blankaball with a well timed c.hp. Its possible to lp.srk him on standing block but this takes a lot of practice (I heard that he must hit you with his face for the srk to connect).

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Cammy

Cammy

[details=Spoiler]Most of her specials are absurdly punishable. Cannon spike and cannon drill can both be punished on block. Throw out a sweep if you feel like you’re too far away to go into a real bnb combo. ? GoDSh0t

*TC note: if she hits you with a deep Spiral Arrow (and you block it) do a lk.tatsu to cross her up and follow up with c.hp

Use c.lk + c.lp + c.hp OS to negate divekicks+techs (this can easily be beaten by the divekicker!!)[/details]

Chun

Chun Li

[details=Spoiler]On (crouching) wakeup, you can use a meaty lk.tatsu for a crossup (it will combo). ? mzr30

After a forward throw, do a j.short to land behind Chun and be safe if she does ex sbk. - dragonballjoseph

*TC note: A well timed j.hp will also beat her ex sbk

If she ever does U2 point blank you can ex shou through it. Never try to jump cos it will hit you.

If she whiffs U2 then you can air kara tatsu over her or simply wait for the animation to finish and then jump in with a punish.

Chun’s j.hpx2 beats almost everything Sakura can do in the air.
Footsies with Chun is hard cos she has a faster walk speed and way better dash. Her pokes and sweep pwn everything.

Try to focus attack hazansho or punish it with Ultra on reaction.
If she is sitting on ex birdkick you can neutral jump hk on her wake up. Time it so that the tip of Sakura’s feet hit chun’s head during the ex birdkick animation and it will stuff it clean.

If she does kikoken and follows it forward you can ex or hk shunpuu to catch her stupid ass.

U2 is great in this match to catch chun’s slow floaty jump. Also alot of Chun’s love to jump in the corner. Air tatsu> U2 will make her think twice (no it won’t they’ll jump again…) - Mr. Flowers[/details]

Cody

Cody

[details=Spoiler]1. Do Sakura’s forward throw
2. Instantly jump over and do a short tatsu just as you land.

If they (crouch) block it, you’ll end up on the other side, and can continue your combo. And it’s pretty meaty, so you can do the full tatsu loop if you want (st.forward > cl.fierce > c.fierce > st.short). - dragonballjoseph

This also works on those two if you do ex shunpu, jab reset, dashunder, lk shunpu. ? Skatan Milla

All of Cody’s criminal uppers are punishable by c.mk xx FP Shouken. The LP Criminal Upper is exactly -5, so you have to be on-point with your c.mk timing. ? DanielRGT

This is where I think the aerial tatsu would be useful to stay aggressive against Cody. I would attempt that approximately 2 Cody sweep distances away. If he does the dash kick upper, he’ll miss and I’ll land right behind him for some punishment. If he crouching fierce me as if I’m jumping in, he’ll miss and I’ll be in front of him. To blow me away in this case, he’ll need to use his Fierce punch criminal upper but I think most Cody players wouldn’t use that as an anti-air anyway. - minase

This is another match where its either pressure or be pressured. If he is doing a block strong on you don’t push buttons. This guy is a frame trapping beast. You can blast through with ex shou if you wish but better have bars for fadc if blocked.

You can zone him pretty well. His rock throw has alot of recovery so its easy to ex otoshi him. Beware he doesn’t bait you with fake rock throw though.

Neutral jump air tatsu and air to ground jump in tatsu are good vs Cody. Just keep mixing things up on him with grabs and empty jumps etc or he will mix up on you. Watch out for his zonk knuckle. Air to air his neutral jump hp and jump towards/backwards hk are very strong.

U1 or U2 is fine. Mr. Flowers[/details]

C.Viper

C.Viper

[details=Spoiler]On (crouching) wakeup, you can use a meaty lk.tatsu for a crossup (it will combo). ? mzr30

Viper doesn’t have many punishable moves. I know that if you see her start to do her thunder knuckle, hadoken or charge hadoken. If she does her burning kick, then you can ex Shouken it or just revenge hit absorb it then dash in and combo/grab her. What you have to do is keep her on her toes and kinda keep her away. Throw out some Hadoukens from far full to half screen. When she’s close either charge hadokuen to fake her or Shouken, Cancel with Ex revenge, dash, grab. - Special-K-

Don’t try to punish her light/medium thunder knuckle, they’re both very safe. If she tries to do burning kick you can do one of two things:
a) Focus attack
b) hit her out of the air with c.hp

She has shit health (just like our precious sakura) so it shouldn’t take much to take her down. ? GodSh0t

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Dan

Dan

[details=Spoiler]Zone him to death. If he gets close kara tatsu to the other side of the screen. Just lame him out like how Akuma lames us out. If you manage to bait a dp punish the hell out of it. Don’t let him get close with his dankuu. He’ll run mix ups on you and its not nice to lose to Dan. Never use focus attack on this guy. Simply zone and wait for a chance to punish.

U2 is probably best for Dan. - Mr. Flowers

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2

Deejay

Deejay

[details=Spoiler]If DeeJay blocks a cr.fp xx lk tatsu, you can go for another cr.fp xx lk tatsu and his only option is to backdash. All of his reversals (except for ultra and maybe super) get beat by your cr.fp. All of them. He can also throw technically, but if you see he’s mashing throw you can punish him accordingly by baiting it.

Also if he anti-airs you with slide a lot when you jump over a fireball from a distance, just empty jump and you’ll block the slide. Do combo of choice from there.

Still, I wouldn’t recommend jumping in general. Also don’t cross deejay up. - DanielRGT

-If you are being pressured with his block strings into a knee-shot, a reaction cl.fierce will knock him out of it.
-You can punish a blocked sobat (all versions) with c.mk xx fierce sho. - dragonballjoseph[/details]

Dhalsim

Dhalsim

[details=Spoiler]Air tatsu’s are your friend in this match. Don’t be predictable with them though. You want to push him to the corner and mix up up and pressure him till he dies.

If he is jumping backwards alot use dash then shouoken. If he teleports behind you c.hp it on reaction or even ultra it if you are quick enough.

You can grab him out of his Ultra 1 start up and you can shunpuu over it (be careful with that one).

U2 is great for those teleports but go with U1 if you really want the damage (might not catch him again lol). Mr. Flowers

*TC note: rush this guy down, you want him in the corner. c.mp > buffer hadouken quickly to counter his light pokes.

Putting Dhalsim in the corner is a #1 priority imo. - DanielRGT[/details]

Dudley

Dudley

[details=Spoiler]1. Do Sakura’s forward throw
2. Instantly jump over and do a short tatsu just as you land.

If they (crouch) block it, you’ll end up on the other side, and can continue your combo. And it’s pretty meaty, so you can do the full tatsu loop if you want (st.forward > cl.fierce > c.fierce > st.short). - dragonballjoseph

This also works on those two if you do ex shunpu, jab reset, dashunder, lk shunpu. ? Skatan Milla

Sakura can meaty lk shunpu throgh A LOT of wakeup options, you’d be surprised.
Dudley ex srk is one of them for example. ? Skatan Milla

Full screen to mid screen spam s.lp/c.lp. It will beat any MGB. Not even ex MGB has invincibilty on it. That move is completely punishable before it hits. If he does MGB into your c.lp then hitconfirm into shouoken from there.

c.hp beats his j.hk so don’t worry about that. Be careful not to do hadokens too close cos he will duck through them. Don’t use focus attack either unless you are countering his focus attacks or if he is a Dudley that likes s.hp/f+hp alot.

This match is hard for Dudley if you just keep him out. Watch for his sweeps he has two of them. Both are slow on start up but if he can’t get to you through jump ins, ducks and MGB he’ll probably try to knock you down if he gets into sweep range with c.hk or c.mk

Try not to get knocked down whatever you do cos once he is inside or has you cornered you will eat alot of glove. If he knocks you down and stands right over you on your wake up he will most likely go for his meaty overhead (f+hk) which can combo into pain. If you see this coming then block high on wake or backdash.
If cornered you can kara tatsu out if you see a chance just be careful to not get hit by c.hk cos that can juggle into all sorts of pain.
Other than that just be patient wen cornered. Sometimes its better to eat a throw than a counter hit leading into Ultra for dudley.

If he uses Ultra 1 don’t throw any fireballs from any range once he has ultra unless you are willing to fadc it. A good dudley can duck or dash from full screen and if you throw a hadouken at that moment his ultra 1 will catch you.

When you have Dudley knocked down don’t do jump in attacks unless meaty. His cross counter has a start up of 3 frames. ex counter is 1 frame start up. His cross counters do not work on low attacks so a good tactic is empty jump or empty cross up into c.lk hitconfirm or go for throw. If he whiffs cross counter at a distance do not fall for the bait. Each version of his cross counter has a different amount of active frames. Only punish it if he does it upclose (sort of like gouken’s counter). If he hits you with ex cross counter he can tac ultra 2 to the end of it.

Don’t fear his dp unless its as anti air or its ex. He can combo into ultra from anti air lp dp just like ryu and he can combo into super from everything lol.

The ex Jet Upper dp is the only one with invincible frames. so feel free to pressure him on wake up with low attacks when he has no meter.

If Dudley lands lp or mp MGB on you hit or block best thing to do is backdash or wait. He can frame trap with lp MGB>s.lp xx MGB over and over if you try to press anything. Use the invincible frame on backdash to escape. If he catches on to your backdashes then just wait. Sometimes its better to eat throw than dp leading into Ultra 2. Sometimes they mix in cross counter aswell against people who like to mash c.lp up close.

*DanielRGT note: (about MGB) It’s -8 plus it’s an absurdly long animation. It can be punished with c.mk xx Shouken or st.jab xx Shouken. Go into training mode to get the timing down because that’s what confuses a lot of people, when to punish it.

Never try to punish lp MGB or mp MGB. The recovery on those is like -2, -4. Don’t get trapped!

His short swing blows can all be grabbed out of on start up if he does them too close. If he sees you are grab happy and he does it at the right ranges you will take damage. ex ssb is very dangerous. he can fadc ex ssb on hit into U2 if he catches you with that in the corner. Also note that he can fadc out of ssb and his ducking upper, ducking straight, jet upper and thunderbolt moves.

Thunderbolt is really really bad. If he uses this move it’ll most likely be to chip you. It can cross up so be sure to block the right way. It has no invincibility sohe can be hit out of it anytime. The move is sometimes punishable even on hit since it doesn’t always knock down. Very punishable by us on block or on whiff. ? Mr. Flowers

*TC note: a meaty lk.tatsu on wakeup is safe against U1
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El Fuerte

El Fuerte

[details=Spoiler]If you’re playing a Fuerte, and they have a habit of doing U2 on wakeup, just do a meaty j.hp > OS EX Shouoken. You’ll hit him out of it. It is a grab, and the start-up is 1 frame, but it doesn’t have hit or throw invulnerability like other command throws. That, or just bait with a normal, and then jump backwards so you can punish. Be careful to time it right, or he can EX Guacamole legs you out of the air. ? SFCatgirlFanatic

Use lp.shou on wake up. You’ll swoop under most splashes and air grabs, and be be safe afterwards. obviously it can be read and punished by fuerte but it’s one more tool that i find nifty.

when you’re back on the offensive, you need to be very aggressive. they love to run back and do their jumping tostada grab as you jump in, if you can read those you’re already half way there. when you get a knock down on him, watch his meter as they like to ex-air grab their way out of that situation. best option for sakura is a meaty lk (or maybe just a st.fp) if he has no meter OR, as always, the amazingly ambiguous jumping fierce punch. shuts everything down in this game, i love it. - holdthephone

**TC note: focus is your best bet on wakeup, it beats everything except for his grab. Jump back fierce beats a lot of his jumping specials.*[/details]

E.Honda

E.Honda

[details=Spoiler]Honda’s recovery on super is 31 frames.

Sakura’s dash is 18 frames. 18 x 3 > 31, so obviously, you cannot punish him. 18 x 2 > 31, so again, can’t punish. You can punish if he whiffs into a corner or is close enough for 1 dash into ultra. 18 + 6/7 < 31. - TOKiMONSTA

-You really need to know your AAs in this match. Zone him out with fireballs, and if you jumps, punish it with the proper sho, and juggle if possible. If you get knocked out of it or trade, then you used the wrong version. And you also need to know when he is in c.fierce range.
-Remember to keep him honest. If he starts focusing fireballs and dashing towards you, zone him with st.RH.
-Unless he predicts your jumps, using air tatsu to get out of the corner is very effective - dragonballjoseph

Like Dan just zone him to death.
All buttslams can be beaten out with c.hp.
When in close its mix up city. Either he mixes you up or you mix him up. Try to make your combos count and get the dizzy. After he is dizzied you will win so long as you don’t get hit by anything stupid.

I go with U1 for the damage but if you are zoning right you’ll have many chances for U2. - Mr. Flowers

Focus dash > punish works against buttsmash. - Skatan Milla[/details]

Evil Ryu

Evil Ryu

[details=Spoiler][/details]

Fei Long

[spoiler=Fei Long]LP Rekka punished by s.LP range dependant
After 2 Rekkas, punished with c.MK ? Skatan Milla

Gotta be patient. Alot of matches get clsoe to time out because its just one long footsie war vs fei long.
Stay grounded as much as you can. Try to bait those flame kicks and zone where possible.

U1 or U2 for Fei. - Mr. Flowers[/details]

Gen

Gen

[details=Spoiler]This guy is great with cross ups so know how to block. If you wanna go air to air with him use j.lp. It stuffs most of his BS. Abuse him on his wake up but watch for that up kick special he does. Its easy to punish that once he lands.

U1 or U2 here.- Mr. Flowers[/details]

Guile

Guile

[details=Spoiler]- Although, you don’t win the fireball war with him, it’s good to do it against him for the sake of meter for ex otoshi to get in. You can’t do it willy-nilly though, try to find his boom patterns and use it so he can’t AA you. - dragonballjoseph

Against Guile is really tough. Its only easy if you can read the opponent.

Any whiffed flashkick is golden for Sakura. You can jump on him for free on his wake up with cross up mk. It stuffs all flashkicks.

Keep this guy cornered. Never go for the easy cross up when he is cornered. You’ll have to go through the gauntlet again if he escapes.

U1 for the damage. Don’t bother with U2 on guile. He rarely jumps anyway unless cornered. - Mr. Flowers

Putting Guile in the corner is a #1 priority imo. - DanielRGT[/details]

Guy

Guy

[details=Spoiler]-c.fierce > elbow
-if you’re zoning him out with fireballs and he jumps over and does the elbow, punish with a sho. - dragonballjoseph

*TC note: Like joseph said: go for the c.hp he can’t grab you while crouching either so jumping is a no go for him.
- punish his running HK with s.lp, c.mk > srk or with super if you have it.
- his running lk is easily punishable I recommend c.lk, c.lp, c.mk > srk.

You can dash under all of his jump in flip moves. You can ultra them on reaction too but be careful that you don’t get baited.
With Guy its mostly just bait and punish. As long as you block all his mix ups you’ll be fine.

U2 for this match. It really is amazing vs Guy. - Mr. Flowers[/details]

Gouken

Gouken

[details=Spoiler]*On wake up, do lk tatsu pressure to beat out counters. They really can’t do anything about it. Gouken’s ultra and ex tatsu will beat it though. - dragonballjoseph *

Don’t use ex otoshi in this match unless you are 100% sure he is gonna throw a horizontal hadoken.

lk tatsu is great on his wake up and so are empty jump ins. Empty jump>throw or whatever works wonders. If its a Gouken who is poke happy then ex shouoken his ass.

Gouken is a pussy cat up close. Just be careful making your way in through his zoning and you’ll be golden.

Deal with his demon flip in the same way as Akuma.

U1 or U2 are good here. - Mr. Flowers[/details]

Hakan

Hakan

[details=Spoiler]This guy is pretty free. Just don’t get 360’d. Don’t get grabbed out of the air and don’t get caught in a move where he can slide to catch you.

U1 or U2 here. - Mr. Flowers[/details]

Ibuki

Ibuki

[details=Spoiler]All blocked neckbreakers are punishable.
If you block a ex dp from her expect a kunai to follow so either focus attack to absorb it and crumple her landing or jump in on her while she throws the kunai.

*Ibuki’s backwards dp + k is U2 punishable, on hit or block. Ex backwards DP is not punishable by U2 i believe since it makes Ibuki fly to the other side of the screen. TC note: her HK version is safe from U2 however, if she throws a Kunai, she’s fucked.

Approach her with caution and watch for her sneaky slides and overheads.

Try to keep this bitch in the corner and let her die there.

U2 is best vs Ibuki. Catch her trying to start a vortex. - Mr. Flowers

If you block her ex dp, just dash under. Sakura’s hitbox is small enough for any possible followup kunai to miss during her dash. Unless the ex dp is blocked at like max range, but this is very rare.

You can punish her neckbreakers harder with st.HP xx lk.tatsu , cr.HP xx whatever. No need to do cr.LK/cr.LP nonsense. You’re not hit confirming, you’re punishing. - MingoDynasty[/details]

Juri

Juri

[details=Spoiler]If you do a earlier meaty lk.tatsu on Juri’s wakeup you’ll avoid the EX pinwheel. It won’t be safe against U2 though. - dragonballjoseph

This chick is great in the air so please do not jump. If she is zoning you with her fireball please do not focus absorb cos she will dive kick you.

You can get her with ex otoshi during her fireball store but you gotta be on point and predict it.

All of her wheel kick shempushas are unsafe and the ex one can be grabbed out of start up.

Her ex shempusha does not hit opponents crossing up so use that knowledge to your advantage.

Try to get in and stay in. Once you get some momentum going try not to let up and keep control as much as you can in the match.

U2 is probably best here. - Mr. Flowers[/details]

Ken

Ken

[details=Spoiler]*After you block his f.mk press s.lk its beats everything else he can do after. *

If he likes playing footsies try buffer hp shouoken into c.mp and use that as your main poke for some nice counter hits leading to knockdown.

There are many ways to play against Ken and many ways he can play against you so try to find any patterns he has and exploit those.

If he jumps from beside you right over to the other side use s.hp as anti air. If he jumps from far use s.hk as anti air.

His jump in air tatsu’s can be beaten by s.lp.
Neutral jump hp also stuffs air tatsus.

Either ultra is fine vs Ken. - Mr. Flowers[/details]

Makoto

Makoto

[details=Spoiler]Zone this chick. If she gets passed your zoning and likes poking alot don’t hesitate to use your ex shouoken to keep her honest. If she likes backdashing alot on wake up use OS or simply jump in to where she will end up or even walk forward c.mk xx shouoken.

Once she is in the corner slap her up using lk shunpuu and air to ground shunpuu.
Don’t let her karakusa you. Throw beats karakusa.

This match is pretty free unless the Makoto is vryu or someone really good like that.

U1 or U2 vs makoto. Doesn’t matter. - Mr. Flowers[/details]

Oni

Oni

[details=Spoiler][/details]

Rose

[spoiler=Rose]

If she does a slide, be prepared to tech. Most Rose players do the slide > throw way too often. Also, her cl.mk is throw-immune (since she’s airborne), so don’t try to throw on wake-up.

She has pretty bad hit-strings, so if they try the cr.lp > cr.lk > cr.mp, just go for an EX Shouoken after the lk. ? SFCatgirlFanatic

As far as rose goes, a lot of rose players like to do this absolutely-not-a-block-string blockstring:

c.lp, c.lk, cr.mp xx lk soul spiral.

It’s not a block string, so if after cr.mp you see the startup of soul spiral you can reversal EX Shouken or Ultra and she’ll get hit easily. ? DanielRGT

If she likes to reflect your hadokens then ex otoshi or ex shunpuu to get at her.
Any unsafe spiral drills can be punished. If she backdashes alot then anticipate the backdash and play to punish that.

When she has U2 either wait it out or watch for a gap to counter. DO NOT JUMP when she has U2 and DO NOT mash on backdash. I sub Rose and I land U2 the most from clowns doing that.

U1 is best vs Rose. Get the damage. - Mr. Flowers

*TC note: Rose loves to slide. c.mk > buffer shoryuken from a whiff distance will do the trick.

*If she times it right, her j.fp will beat your c.hp. *

When you meaty lk.tatsu her you will cross her up if she does EX Soul Spiral, it will even combo![/details]

Rufus

Rufus

[details=Spoiler]*Block EX Messiah close enough and it will go over you and you get a free punish. c.LK close enough and EX Messiah first couple hits will hit then will go over you for a punish. Blocked EX Messiah High and Low can be beat out with c.HP for a less risky option then lvl2 focus. - TOKiMONSTA *

*Against rufus…i used to try to meet him air to air and space him out to slow down the rampage. What makes this matchup tougher IMO is ultra 2, not so much in that I’m scared of ultra 2 itself, but it makes more rufus players willing to burn meter on ex messiah, and makes resets against him alot more risky.however rufus easy stun is great, and after I train my opponent to block my jump ins, depending on how the match goes i start throwing in empty jumps to combo off OS low short +tech. *

Its something nice to add to her ambiguous jump fierce/mk game after a knock down.
generally to after a galactic tornado, i toss out a low short+shoryu…most rufus are going to hit buttons after and you’ll nail it, and unless they smarten up you get to do it all day. at the very least, it slows them down just hitting the standing short even with out the shoryu. ? mrmarkrobson

Don’t jump in this match unless its jump backwards mk or something to stuff him jumping fowards.

You can hammer s.lp to stuff his dive kicks. You’ll get most of your damage off of comboing from c.lp/s.lp/c.lk etc.

If he does ex messiah you can neutral jump the follow up or focus attack it. Be careful though because he might not follow up. Spacing is crucial in this match. Full screen its very easy to zone him unless he has U2.

U2 is great vs Rufus. U1 if you really want to maximise damage output. - Mr. Flowers

*TC note: Use c.lk + c.lp + c.hp OS to negate divekicks+techs. (this can easily be beaten by Rufus by delaying his divekick/frametraps[/details]

3

Ryu

Ryu

[details=Spoiler]you should punish sweep with c.mk > srk. If he hits you with the tip of the sweep then its a good idea to reversal hp.srk - CanadianDstryr

After a few matches, I find that a well timed jump-in Fierce punch will trade with Ryu’s shouryuken and he takes more damage. Having said that, I think the most effective range against him would be just outside of Ryu’s sweep. And if he dares do a fireball at that range, punish with an EX Shou-ken. I’d be really careful with cross-ups but I’ll take every opportunity to get one in cos that’s my main way of doing damage. I would also suggest doing alot of fake jump-ins to bait anti-air attempts and then punish. - minase

With Ryu it really comes down to watching out for patterns.

Drop a combo now and then to see if they are mashing. Don’t jump in unless its a meaty cross up. Jump in hp can sometimes beat shoryuken’s but don’t try that too much.

Punish whiffed shoryuken’s with c.mk xx shouoken or c.hp/s.hp/s.mk > whatever if you are close enough.

Air to ground tatsu can knock him out of hadoken at mid screen distance.

Know when to rush and when to be patient. You can zone with him a little if you need time to figure him out.

Meaty c.hk stops the Ryu’s who love jumping on wake ep (especially in the corner).

For the ones who like to do jump back hk in the corner do meaty sweep or j.lp or lp shouoken to cut that BS out. Or simply sit on your c.hp. You can either walk under them to c.hp or you can wait a safe distance for them to jump onto it (like the dummies they are).

U1 or U2. - Mr. Flowers[/details]

Sagat

Sagat

[details=Spoiler]st.mk works great against Sagat?s pokes ? Skatan Mille

Bait the wake DP from him and punish. Don’t trade FB (who would) and stay close to punish him when he throws Sagat cool down time on the FB is short. The Tiger knee can be punish bad if blocked, the first hit must land too for maximum time to punish. ? Phillyfanboy

This is yet another match that often comes down to reading the opponent.
I’ll just say you can’t jump in willy nilly against Sagat even though he is nerfed. You’ve got to be patient and quick to react. Try not to get mixed up by him. Try to keep on your feet and try to corner him. Things get slightly easier once he is cornered. Use c.hp and s.hp as anti airs. Watch that your c.hp doesn’t get baited so that it whiffs.

U1 is best vs Sagat. - Mr. Flowers

*TC note: be carefull with jumping, most of the time you want to stay grounded unless you scored a knockdown.
[/details]

Sakura

Sakura

[details=Spoiler]You can zone Sakura until she has meter for ex otoshi. Its actually quite hard for me to stuff ex otoshi. I’ll work on that in training mode.
If you try to zone Sakura at mid screen distance watch out cos she can air to ground shunpuu to catch your recovery on the fireball.

To bait Sakura’s c.hp jump forward and do air shunpu to land on the other side of her. Then punish the recovery of c.hp if she tried that.

U2 is great in this match because its easy to land air shunpuu on her in the corner. Alot of Sak players like to jump.

U2 is best in the Sakura mirror. - Mr. Flowers[/details]

Seth

Seth

[details=Spoiler]Against a good Seth there is virtually no chance to win unless he messes up somehow.
You can’t really do anything to him unless you knock him down or stuff him in the air.
You can beat his jump back fierce with j.lp or air shunpuu. You can backdash his dive kicks or air to air those. If he ever does full screen wall jump U2 that on reaction.

Its really all about mind games in this match. Even if you know his patterns it can still be really tough. Once he get in you have to guess if he will dp or command grab or simply teleport or jump away again.

U2 is best in this match since Seth is jump happy. - Mr. Flowers[/details]

T.Hawk

T.Hawk

[details=Spoiler]Hawk has really good pokes so be careful. You will have to try to lame him out as much as possible with good zoning. Try not to get mixed up by him. If you go on teh offense use meaty cross ups. IMO if you must take damage from him its better to take the damage from his tomahwak dp than his command grab.

You have many anti airs to defeat him. Just gotta know what range to use each one and the timing. He can use his dive at different heights and distances to keep you on your toes.

U2 always in this match for his jumpy ass. - Mr. Flowers[/details]

Vega

Vega

[details=Spoiler]Focus attack a lot against Claw. He doesn’t have much to stop it. You’re not gonna outpoke him, and just c.HP his dives or just hit him in the air before he does it. ? HeartNana

If you see the Vega player you are playing against likes to backflip, you can do a jump in and if they backflip you can react to it by just walking up and hitting them with something like c.mk xx shouken, etc. ? DanielRGT

Vegas backflip is fairly easy to punish, considering you’re not too far away. If I remember correctly, I usually hk. tatsu or cr.mk -> shou against the backflips. - ShogunFlow

A good Vega is almost impossible to beat because he will just dance in and out of his poke range and stab you to death.

Nevertheless, there is alot of unsafe stuff you can punish.

His wall dive can be beaten in the air by j.mp. On the ground you can focus dash if he didn’t use the ex version which hits twice. Once he has landed you can perform almost any combo on him.

Blocked sweeps that hit deep are very punishable. His backflips are very punishable. If you see it coming walk forward or jump forward and punish it.

Watch for his cross up wall attack that goes horizontal. If you block it right you get a free c.mk xx shou or even ultra.

Don’t push too many buttons cos his pokes eat yours alive. Don’t jump on him unsafely either cos his upkick dp will get you.

Zone him where possible to bait his unsafe specials and his ultras.

I still go with U1 in this match. No point trying to U2 is wall dive because he can change how he travels. - Mr. Flowers

*TC note: after he crouch blocks your shoryuken FADC into lk.tatsu for a crossup[/details]

Yang

Yang

[details=Spoiler][/details]

Yun

[spoiler=Yun]St.mk is a good AA for his divekick from far range. I’m not too sure about up close, st.lp might be good. I will test this out in matches

Forward throw, cr.lp, crossup j.mk is a good safejump for his DP, (It seems to block his EX DP as well) <—This requires further testing

And if you read a divekick after his blockstring, jump back mp is good. Be careful he doesn’t continue the blockstring though (All about reading here)

I would avoid using EX DP as much in this matchup as in other matchups because Yun loves being in the air and you don’t want to eat a lunge punish into a knockdown from him on whiff.

cl.mp > cr.hp xx tatsu > cr.mk xx DP works on Yun.

You will not get much chance to get damage on Yun so use the most damaging possible combos.

Ex hadoken is good in this matchup imo, because it forces him to stop palming and force him to block or if he jumps, DP that fucker.

Remember, Yun has below average health and stun, so make the most out of your momentum because you will get little chances to inflict damage. - Fergus2k8

*TC note: Yuns like to frame trap (with b.mp etc target combo). Once you predict that (and Yuns love to do it so its not that hard to predict) use your c.mk xx srk to go under the b.mp. I like to lvl 1 focus against dive kicks, it works really well if you know its gonna come.

If Yun is dancing mid/full screen instead of using palms, expect a EX lunge punch. As soon as you see yellow you should ultra/ex srk that top tier bastard. You can also jab him out of EX lunge punch and out of divekicks.

Safe jumps are pretty good against Yun so using your m.srk wouldn’t be a bad choice. I know Ryu can option select a dp on jumpin, if he does that Yuns can’t do upkicks so their only wakeup option is to block. Don’t know if this would work with Sakura’s EX dp but its worth a try.
[/details]

Zangief

Zangief

[details=Spoiler]Against Zangief you have a little more options than you do with Blanka. You far hadouken game with pokes works here as well but you can throw in charged hadoukens to prevent his jump-in; sweep when he tries to lariat. Take care not to throw hadoukens when he’s in banishing flat range. On jump-in you can try an air hk, it comes out early and has good vertical reach so it can stuff lariats before they come out if timed correctly. If he blocks your hk go right into c.lp c.hp xx light shinpuukyaku then gatling c.lk once you gatling him far enough away you can jump backwards xx light shinpuukyaku in the air and reset the distance for you to try again. Mostly it’s just a matter of not getting sucked into his throw game. ? GoDSh0t

He’ll spam his 360s like no tomorrow. I would be doing alot of footsies along with jumping roundhouse. Crouching strong into EX hurricane kick can be particularly useful if you want to stay aggressive and he can’t 360 you after it either so you can crouching strong again into another EX hurricane kick again. If you don’t have the meter then cancel crouching strong into hadoken. He might try to focus my hadoken, in which case, I would try to throw him, or in most cases, jump up roundhouse. ? minase

Use air tatsu to get out of the corner as long as he doesn’t got any meter for EX green hands. - dragonballjoseph

This guy is a real pain!
Zone him as much as possible.
neutral jump mk stuffs lariat and you can continue the combo once you land.Blocked sweep from him is punishable. Watch for his whiffed s.hk or whiffed c.mk into command grab.

You can punish lariats that are not far from you with c.mk xx shouoken.

Try the best you can not to get knocked down because his oki-dokie is scary as hell!

All blocked green hands are punishable.

You will definitely find many chances to use U2 in this match up though it will only tickle him so try not to use it until that revenge meter is full. U1 is great for damage but its unlikely you’ll get to use it on him. - Mr. Flowers

*TC note: Zangief needs to GTFO. s.hk+hadouken is your friend.
[/details]

4

Good stuff. Nice to have them all in one thread

5

Very well done! Thanks for doing this. Add this to the index aswell.

http://shoryuken.com/f271/what-sf4-thinks-sakura-match-up-211527/

6

O nice, never came across that thread before.

7

Couple things I picked up.
Zangief: Far fierce is a good AA for Zangiefs that like to short jump into lp. SPD range.
Never ever neutral jump Zangief. If you guessed wrong and he didn’t command throw, you’re going to get put back on the mat and into a very unfavorable guessing game.

Ryu: From in fairly close, hp. Sho will punish sweep on block.

Claw: For Claws that like to pressure with c.lp, nothing that follows should be a blockstring. If he’s particularly jab happy, and you have the meter to cancel, you may want to take a shot at EX Shoing it. I wouldn’t reccomend doing it every time, as there’s no way to confirm it will hit, but its an option none the less.

Dictator: When jumping from far away, j.lp will beat his roundhouse clean, from closer up, j.hp will also stuff roundhouse.

8

Zangief: neutral j.hk is awesome against Zangief. It beats SPD, Lariat and (EX) Green hands. I don’t know why you wouldn’t take advantage of this.

Ryu: you should punish with c.mk > srk. If he hits you with the tip of the sweep then its a good idea to reversal hp.srk. Did not know this though pretty nice, I’ll add it.

Vega: I wouldn’t recommend it against really good Vega players.

Dictator: I never tried j.lp against him before, good find. With j.hp you really want to hit him above his hitbox because if he’ll time it right you either trade or lose.

9

Only real issue I have with neutral jumping Zangiefs is he can green hand under on reaction and cause a lot of trouble.
As for claw, that was the one piece of advice given to me after being frametrapped and kara thrown repeatedly, haven’t had the opportunity to put it into practice as my scene has one Vega, and that’s not even his main.

Edit: don’t know why it didn’t occur to me to c.mk xx sho vs sweep LOL. That works man.

10

In your notes against Dudley you have this sentence:

“His ex MGB is -8 on block so it can be punished if you are quick. I wouldn’t advise you try to punish with anything unless you are really quick or already mashing ex shouoken or something”

EX Shouken can’t punish EX Machine Gun Blow. EX Shouken has 12 frame startup.

Also, there shouldn’t be any “quickness requirement” involved in punishing that move. It’s -8 plus it’s an absurdly long animation. It can be punished with c.mk xx Shouken or st.jab xx Shouken. Go into training mode to get the timing down because that’s what confuses a lot of people, when to punish it.

As well, j.FP in the corner will never cross up unless done extremely late. Leads to very ambiguous crossup situations.

11

This was much needed! Thank you!

Edit: Why isn’t this thread “What SF4 Thinks Of The Sakura Match Up” a sticky? Would have helped me a lot starting out.

12

Here a few match-up things I use.

Against shotos and Guy
-If you do a combo ending with fierce sho (or AA juggle), instantly jump, and when you’re over him, do j.RH. If they dp (or ex tatsu for Guy), it’ll whiff. And punish. It is also pretty sneaky as it looks like a xup.

If Viper or Makoto have meter, and they like to use an ex move (ex seismo cancel and ex chop) to be invincible to a jump attack, OS with ex sho. This OS is also good against Akuma’s who like to back teleport.

Against Honda
-You really need to know your AAs in this match. Zone him out with fireballs, and if you jumps, punish it with the proper sho, and juggle if possible. If you get knocked out of it or trade, then you used the wrong version. And you also need to know when he is in c.fierce range.
-Remember to keep him honest. If he starts focusing fireballs and dashing towards you, zone him with st.RH.
-Unless he predicts your jumps, using air tatsu to get out of the corner is very effective.
(This also works well against giefs when they don’t have meter for ex green hand)

Against Gouken/Juri
-On wake up, do lk tatsu pressure to beat out counters. They really can’t do anything about it. Gouken’s ultra and ex tatsu will beat it though. And if timed right, it will go over Juri’s ex pinwheel.
(not sure if it goes over her U2 though)

Against Akuma
-If they like to xup tatsu on wake up, use wake-up U2 to keep them honest. It also looks nice because Akuma is behind you when it hits. =D

Against Deejay
-If you are being pressured with his block strings into a knee-shot, a reaction cl.fierce will knock him out of it.
-You can punish a blocked lk sobat with c.mk xx fierce sho

Against Chun
-After a forward throw, do a j.short to land behind Chun and be safe if she does ex sbk

Against Guy
-c.fierce > elbow
-if you’re zoning him out with fireballs and he jumps over and does the elbow, punish with a sho.

Against Guile

  • Although, you don’t win the fireball war with him, it’s good to do it against him for the sake of meter for ex otoshi to get in. You can’t do it willy-nilly though, try to find his boom patterns and use it so he can’t AA you.
13

To be honest. I was to lazy to read Mr. Flowers story about Dudley (its the only one I didn’t read I assumed it would be right) because I know the matchup pretty well. One of my personal notes is: after MGB: s.lp. I agree, I’ll edit it.

14

Against shoto’s+guy: hp.srk isn’t an untechable knockdown, its really unsafe to do this. Even after a grab you can’t really do this because lp.srk will beat you out of the air. You can however sweep, dash up and then neutral j.hk to stuff their srk. Guy is a no go in any way you look at it, the only way to beat his EX tatsu is instantly pressing hk after the neutral jump but if he doesn’t use his wakeup reversel you don’t hit him and he gets a free combo.

Chun: there’s also nothing she can do about a well timed j.hp

Great stuff though, will definitely be using the U2 against Akuma’s crossup tatsu. From now on I’ll just add whatever I think is worth posting, the other stuff I’ll debate. I’ll try to test the things I never used in training mode.

15

I need some more tips against Balrog. Good ones are killing me.

16

Feel free to edit my post. I’m not a frame data nut. All I know is you gotta punish it fast. s.lp/s.lk xx hp/ex shouoken punishes blocked hp and ex mgb. I saw a vid of Love_Me_Wanton do it and I tried it myself a day later in a match and that worked.

17

my buddy plays fuerte and he’s pretty good, so something i figured out – lp shou will get you safely out of his okizeme. it obviously can be read and punished, but it’s one more maneuver that makes the guessing game more favorable for you. it goes clean under tortilla and tostada (most of the time), and if he goes for a slide he’s going to eat it.

i still get raped though, i hate fuerte =[

18

Here are some tips:

Like stated before, c.LK can punish rush straights although range dependent you can buffer DP with your c.LK so that if he is too far nothing will happen except your c.LK will whiff, and you can also plink c.LK with c.LP to help the strict punishing. And very much like crouch tech, the boxer can counter-hit set up you if he catches on to what you are doing.

Start of round I almost always start with c.MK > Buffer DP so if he’s the type that likes to do a rush punch straight away you will tag him with it. If he doesn’t do anything, you don’t lose anything. Alternatively you can nj.HK but if he does upper or delay his straight you will get tagged.

Against TAP, much like Ken’s f.MK, don’t let him get away with abusing it. It’s safe but most Boxers like to push buttons after it so you can try to catch whatever he is trying to with s.LK > Tatsu. Will lose to TAP > EX Headbutt gimmick.

On his knockdown, if you jump in, OS with EX Shou or HP Shou to catch his EX Uppers escapes. LK Tatsu will also make headbutts whiff like stated.

Full screen, throw fireballs and always buffer in ultra if he does TAP or EX rush through them. Be careful with spacing, don’t let him dash ultra you if he has the meter. And be ready to AA with Shou if he jumps over them.

In footsie wars, s.RH and c.MK again are the main go-tos.

Still a tough match-up, but hopes this helps.

19

0.o my buddies gonna be sad the next time we play :smiley:

Thanks Toki!! and good stuff smashingme.

20

Some more basic BS match up stuff from me that you can add if you feel like. I made sure not to included any frame data numbers this time.

Wall Of Text

Spoiler

Abel

His U2 can be broken in many ways:
Reversal Ultra, all shunpuus, all shouoken’s, ex hadoken.

You can escape by using air kara tatsu. ex air kara tatsu goes full screen.

Try to keep this guy cornered and keep pressuring him or he will pressure you.

You can lp shou his wheel kicks on reaction. Both Ultras will also punish any wheel kicks on reaction. If you want to fight him air to air then use j. lp alot.

U2 is recommended for this match but I still use U1 vs Abel.

Akuma
Focus attack is great vs his s.hk. Absorb the first hit and release after the second hit whiffs while she is crouching. If he is doing jump back fireball alot you can shouoken to get under it and punish him. The strength used depends on the distance he is from you.

You can use lp shouoken to escape any demon flip shens but if he does demon upon landing you are screwed so mix up how you deal with demon flips or just be careful once he has ultra.

You won’t win a fireball war against him but you can war a little to build meter or get him to come to you or look for a chance to ex otoshi.

U2 is best for this match to catch demon flips and after lp shouoken’s that catch his jump back fireball.

Balrog
You got to be really good at blocking in this match because he can out footsie you easily. Anytime you see him flash yellow (ex moves) hit grab or ultra. As stated by others cross ups and empty cross ups are good in this one. Chuck in an overhead now and again to shake him up whenever you feel safe enough to try one. Do not just blindly jump in at this guy. He is great at controlling space.

U1 for this match. You need the damage and if you are lucky you can catch a ex move with U1.

Bison
You can dash to avoid all headstomps. Jump forward mp beats all headstomps. All scissors kicks apart from light kick scissors are punishable.

Zone him full screen and bait U2 or headstomp where possible. Keep pressuring him but don’t jump at him directly until he is knocked down. Go for cross ups and empty cross ups. Neutral jump shunpu is good vs Bison on his wake up. Use overhead when you feel its safe to do so.

I use U1 in this match but U2 is also good.

Blanka
Treat this guy like a shoto character. Don’t just go crazy with the jumping. The hardest thing to deal with is his hop tricks but asides from that just try to edge him in the corner and keep him there.

Cammy
All of her specials are punishable. Her instant cannon strikes are a nightmare to deal with. Try to zone or pressure her before she can pressure you. j.lk cross up can stuff her cannon spike.

I use U1 for the damage but you can use U2 to reaction ultra any non ex horizontal balls and blocked upballs.

Chun-Li
If she ever does U2 point blank you can ex shou through it. Never try to jump cos it will hit you.

If she whiffs U2 then you can air kara tatsu over her or simply wait for the animation to finish and then jump in with a punish.

Chun’s j.hpx2 beats almost everything Sakura can do in the air.
Footsies with Chun is hard cos she has a faster walk speed and way better dash. Her pokes and sweep pwn everything.

Try to focus attack hazansho or punish it with Ultra on reaction.
If she is sitting on ex birdkick you can neutral jump hk on her wake up. Time it so that the tip of Sakura’s feet hit chun’s head during the ex birdkick animation and it will stuff it clean.

If she does kikoken and follows it forward you can ex or hk shunpuu to catch her stupid ass.

Its a tough match for Sakura. Chun-Li is top tier for alot of reasons.

U2 is great in this match to catch chun’s slow floaty jump. Also alot of Chun’s love to jump in the corner. Air tatsu> U2 will make her think twice (no it won’t they’ll jump again…)

Cody

This is another match where its either pressure or be pressured. If he is doing a block strong on you don’t push buttons. This guy is a frame trapping beast. You can blast through with ex shou if you wish but better have bars for fadc if blocked.

You can zone him pretty well. His rock throw has alot of recovery so its easy to ex otoshi him. Beware he doesn’t bait you with fake rock throw though.

Neutral jump air tatsu and air to ground jump in tatsu are good vs Cody. Just keep mixing things up on him with grabs and empty jumps etc or he will mix up on you. Watch out for his zonk knuckle. Air to air his neutral jump hp and jump towards/backwards hk are very strong.

U1 or U2 is fine.

Dan
Zone him to death. If he gets close kara tatsu to the other side of the screen. Just lame him out like how Akuma lames us out. If you manage to bait a dp punish the hell out of it. Don’t let him get close with his dankuu. He’ll run mix ups on you and its not nice to lose to Dan. Never use focus attack on this guy. Simply zone and wait for a chance to punish.

U2 is probably best for Dan.

Dhalsim

Air tatsu’s are your friend in this match. Don’t be predictable with them though. You want to push him to the corner and mix up up and pressure him till he dies.

If he is jumping backwards alot use dash then shouoken. If he teleports behind you c.hp it on reaction or even ultra it if you are quick enough.

You can grab him out of his Ultra 1 start up and you can shunpuu over it (be careful with that one).

U2 is great for those teleports but go with U1 if you really want the damage (might not catch him again lol).

E. Honda
Like Dan just zone him to death.
All buttslams can be beaten out with c.hp.
When in close its mix up city. Either he mixes you up or you mix him up. Try to make your combos count and get the dizzy. After he is dizzied you will win so long as you don’t get hit by anything stupid.

I go with U1 for the damage but if you are zoning right you’ll have many chances for U2.

Fei Long
Gotta be patient. Alot of matches get clsoe to time out because its just one long footsie war vs fei long.
Stay grounded as much as you can. Try to bait those flame kicks and zone where possible.

U1 or U2 for Fei.

Gen
This guy is great with cross ups so know how to block. If you wanna go air to air with him use j.lp. It stuffs most of his BS. Abuse him on his wake up but watch for that up kick special he does. Its easy to punish that once he lands.

U1 or U2 here.

Guile
Against Guile is really tough. Its only easy if you can read the opponent.

Any whiffed flashkick is golden for Sakura. You can jump on him for free on his wake up with cross up mk. It stuffs all flashkicks.

Keep this guy cornered. Never go for the easy cross up when he is cornered. You’ll have to go through the gauntlet again if he escapes.

U1 for the damage. Don’t bother with U2 on guile. He rarely jumps anyway unless cornered.

Guy
You can dash under all of his jump in flip moves. You can ultra them on reaction too but be careful that you don’t get baited.
With Guy its mostly just bait and punish. As long as you block all his mix ups you’ll be fine.

U2 for this match. It really is amazing vs Guy.

Gouken

Don’t use ex otoshi in this match unless you are 100% sure he is gonna throw a horizontal hadoken.

lk tatsu is great on his wake up and so are empty jump ins. Empty jump>throw or whatever works wonders. If its a Gouken who is poke happy then ex shouoken his ass.

Gouken is a pussy cat up close. Just be careful making your way in through his zoning and you’ll be golden.

Deal with his demon flip in the same way as Akuma.

U1 or U2 are good here.

Hakan
This guy is pretty free. Just don’t get 360’d. Don’t get grabbed out of the air and don’t get caught in a move where he can slide to catch you.

U1 or U2 here.

Ibuki
All blocked neckbreakers are punishable.
If you block a ex dp from her expect a kunai to follow so either focus attack to absorb it and crumple her landing or jump in on her while she throws the kunai.

Approach her with caution and watch for her sneaky slides and overheads.

Try to keep this bitch in the corner and let her die there.

U2 is best vs Ibuki. Catch her trying to start a vortex.

Juri

This chick is great in the air so please do not jump. If she is zoning you with her fireball please do not focus absorb cos she will dive kick you.

You can get her with ex otoshi during her fireball store but you gotta be on point and predict it.

All of her wheel kick shempushas are unsafe and the ex one can be grabbed out of start up.

Her ex shempusha does not hit opponents crossing up so use that knowledge to your advantage.

Try to get in and stay in. Once you get some momentum going try not to let up and keep control as much as you can in the match.

U2 is probably best here.

Ken
If he likes playing footsies try buffer hp shouoken into c.mp and use that as your main poke for some nice counter hits leading to knockdown.

There are many ways to play against Ken and many ways he can play against you so try to find any patterns he has and exploit those.

If he jumps from beside you right over to the other side use s.hp as anti air. If he jumps from far use s.hk as anti air.

His jump in air tatsu’s can be beaten by s.lp.
Neutral jump hp also stuffs air tatsus.

Either ultra is fine vs Ken.

Makoto

Zone this chick. If she gets passed your zoning and likes poking alot don’t hesitate to use your ex shouoken to keep her honest. If she likes backdashing alot on wake up use OS or simply jump in to where she will end up or even walk forward c.mk xx shouoken.

Once she is in the corner slap her up using lk shunpuu and air to ground shunpuu.
Don’t let her karakusa you. Throw beats karakusa.

This match is pretty free unless the Makoto is vryu or someone really good like that.

U1 or U2 vs makoto. Doesn’t matter.

Rose
If she likes to reflect your hadokens then ex otoshi or ex shunpuu to get at her.
Any unsafe spiral drills can be punished. If she backdashes alot then anticipate the backdash and play to punish that.

When she has U2 either wait it out or watch for a gap to counter. DO NOT JUMP when she has U2 and DO NOT mash on backdash. I sub Rose and I land U2 the most from clowns doing that.

U1 is best vs Rose. Get the damage.

Rufus

Don’t jump in this match unless its jump backwards mk or something to stuff him jumping fowards.

You can hammer s.lp to stuff his dive kicks. You’ll get most of your damage off of comboing from c.lp/s.lp/c.lk etc.

If he does ex messiah you can neutral jump the follow up or focus attack it. Be careful though because he might not follow up. Spacing is crucial in this match. Full screen its very easy to zone him unless he has U2.

U2 is great vs Rufus. U1 if you really want to maximise damage output.

Ryu
With Ryu it really comes down to watching out for patterns.

Drop a combo now and then to see if they are mashing. Don’t jump in unless its a meaty cross up. Jump in hp can sometimes beat shoryuken’s but don’t try that too much.

Punish whiffed shoryuken’s with c.mk xx shouoken or c.hp/s.hp/s.mk > whatever if you are close enough.

Air to ground tatsu can knock him out of hadoken at mid screen distance.

Know when to rush and when to be patient. You can zone with him a little if you need time to figure him out.

Meaty c.hk stops the Ryu’s who love jumping on wake ep (especially in the corner).

For the ones who like to do jump back hk in the corner do meaty sweep or j.lp or lp shouoken to cut that BS out. Or simply sit on your c.hp. You can either walk under them to c.hp or you can wait a safe distance for them to jump onto it (like the dummies they are).

U1 or U2.

Sagat
This is yet another match that often comes down to reading the opponent.
I’ll just say you can’t jump in willy nilly against Sagat even though he is nerfed. You’ve got to be patient and quick to react. Try not to get mixed up by him. Try to keep on your feet and try to corner him. Things get slightly easier once he is cornered.
Use c.hp and s.hp as anti airs. Watch that your c.hp doesn’t get baited so that it whiffs.

U1 is best vs Sagat.

Sakura
You can zone Sakura until she has meter for ex otoshi. Its actually quite hard for me to stuff ex otoshi. I’ll work on that in training mode.
If you try to zone Sakura at mid screen distance watch out cos she can air to ground shunpuu to catch your recovery on the fireball.

To bait Sakura’s c.hp jump forward and do air shunpu to land on the other side of her. Then punish the recovery of c.hp if she tried that.

U2 is great in this match because its easy to land air shunpuu on her in the corner. Alot of Sak players like to jump.

U2 is best in the Sakura mirror.

Seth
Against a good Seth there is virtually no chance to win unless he messes up somehow.
You can’t really do anything to him unless you knock him down or stuff him in the air.
You can beat his jump back fierce with j.lp or air shunpuu. You can backdash his dive kicks or air to air those. If he ever does full screen wall jump U2 that on reaction.

Its really all about mind games in this match. Even if you know his patterns it can still be really tough. Once he get in you have to guess if he will dp or command grab or simply teleport or jump away again.

U2 is best in this match since Seth is jump happy.

T. Hawk
Hawk has really good pokes so be careful. You will have to try to lame him out as much as possible with good zoning. Try not to get mixed up by him. If you go on teh offense use meaty cross ups. IMO if you must take damage from him its better to take the damage from his tomahwak dp than his command grab.

You have many anti airs to defeat him. Just gotta know what range to use each one and the timing. He can use his dive at different heights and distances to keep you on your toes.

U2 always in this match for his jumpy ass.

Vega
A good Vega is almost impossible to beat because he will just dance in and out of his poke range and stab you to death.

Nevertheless, there is alot of unsafe stuff you can punish.

His wall dive can be beaten in the air by j.mp. On the ground you can focus dash if he didn’t use the ex version which hits twice. Once he has landed you can perform almost any combo on him.

Blocked sweeps that hit deep are very punishable. His backflips are very punishable. If you see it coming walk forward or jump forward and punish it.

Watch for his cross up wall attack that goes horizontal. If you block it right you get a free c.mk xx shou or even ultra.

Don’t push too many buttons cos his pokes eat yours alive. Don’t jump on him unsafely either cos his upkick dp will get you.

Zone him where possible to bait his unsafe specials and his ultras.

I still go with U1 in this match. No point trying to U2 is wall dive because he can change how he travels.

Zangief
This guy is a real pain!
Zone him as much as possible.
neutral jump mk stuffs lariat and you can continue the combo once you land.Blocked sweep from him is punishable. Watch for his whiffed s.hk or whiffed c.mk into command grab.

You can punish lariats that are not far from you with c.mk xx shouoken.

Try the best you can not to get knocked down because his oki-dokie is scary as hell!

All blocked green hands are punishable.

You will definitely find many chances to use U2 in this match up though it will only tickle him so try not to use it until that revenge meter is full. U1 is great for damage but its unlikely you’ll get to use it on him.