i know the situation and all the options in the bison matchup. we are getting off topic yet again. i pointed out something to emb which he agreed with now get over it.cos i have
“Don’t do it on wake-up of course. That’s obvious”
nuff said.
Don’t make me come back there children!!! Anyways I’ll let this rock for a few more days so it sinks in and then I’ll post some more stuff I been thinking on as well as just random stuff like hit confirms we should all be using by now but probably don’t out of force of habit from using old ones.
omfg dude get over it… show me some footage of your sagat you talk like your a grandmaster . i didnt say i use it on wake up… clearly you are trying to drag the argument out even after i try to dead it. quit the fukn woman shit will ya.seriously you ask what the problem with the sagat forums are its stupid shit like you are doing.
Ayo hw, watch the salt. Children are made to be taught and idiots to be ignored.
OT: I liked your write up EL, it made me realize that the times that i have most fun with sagat is the matchups were i can preserve meter to keep my options available. I also find meter management crucial in this game so heres one for all of you :
- Your fullscreen against character X . Character X just neutral jumped and in so you threw a low tiger to push him a bit back and to guarantee chip damage. Character X will probably focus absorb + dash back but currently has no options of fullscreen punish. Do you guys proceed to buffer kara shot or given the safety of the situation will you whiff a light uppercut for meter? Which one and why?
Depends on the char, how much meter I have, how confident I am that they won’t do some completely random nonsense that might hit me (although you said the char has no good full screen options so that takes care of that). I’ll prolly throw a shot though since the shot builds me a bit of meter and lets me stay in control/keep up pressure.
normally i would aswell throw out the 2nd shot, but recently ive begun whiffing l.srk and i noticed the diference in overall meter build when i tryed it out.
i sometimes do dp as well but usually tshot. Uber lols at your post earlier.
Wtf do I want to talk about next? Positioning vs damage which I touched on briefly before or rushdown Sagat?
rush down sagat. ppl underestimate his rushdown
Positioning vs damage is something i take into account as vital in certain matchups. (such as fei)
I would like to hear either
I want to hear both. Yeah I said it. I’m greedy Emblem, what of it?
No seriously though, I guess positioning vs. damage is what I’d rather read about.
The doc called it first so rushdown sagat it is. Fine by me since rushdown Sagat is pure art and this style ain’t dead with the king, it just takes alot of skill and mastery to do effectively.
What’s rushdown and why do it?
Rushdown is a style of play where you seek to overwhelm your opponent’s defense by putting pressure on them. Rushdown in of itself has alot of yomi going on because there are many different kinds of mix-ups and traps you can utilize and many responses your opponent can reply with. Rushdown isn’t just about hitting your opponent. There is a greater goal in mind. To break your opponent down mentally and get into their head. By getting in their face and and bringing them out of their comfort zone you want to essentially “break” them. Get them to the point of desperation where you can net easy damage because they just can’t stop your mix-ups or effectively deal with your rush or the other opposite extreme where they are so afraid of your rush they begin to reversal often even when you aren’t touching them. Rushdown feels almost like the exact antithesis of the high speed chess match that is SF, because it can seem reckless and mashy instead of calculating and intelligent, but I assure you there is just as much going on here that there is going on during footsies, zoning and any other aspect of the game.
Rushdown is high reward high risk. That’s just how it goes. You are using your own body to get in there and attempt to take control and score a knockdown so you can maintain momentum and ride that momentum to victory. Strong rushdown can be scary and it can even allow you to beat people that are stronger players then you because you put them in a position where they are cornered mentally. Another benefit is that it allows you to quickly build up meter as you relentlessly apply pressure and mix-ups and more meter = more options. Effective rushdown also comes down to knowing things about your char that your opponent doesn’t or knowing some kind of trap or pressure string that gives you alot of options that your opponent doesn’t know how to deal with. In this regard we Sagat players are lucky since rushdown Sagat has become a lost art so many players don’t know how to deal with it. This is one of the reasons why Sanford sees alot of success when he rushes down. Players simply don’t see rushdown Sagat anymore so they don’t know how to deal with it. I don’t know how long this novelty will last however so we must keep innovating if only to evolve ourselves even further.
Rushdown is stupid fun though and that’s why I like it and the same goes for just about anyone that uses a rushdown style of char. It’s fun to do, it’s rewarding, it gets people hype, it’s flashy and it’s just flippin cool. And not anyone can do it. It takes alot of skill and understanding. It directly rewards you for the time and energy you put into understanding the game. So if you really want to put your knowledge of the games offensive and defensive options to the test, you really ought to try to learn to rushdown with the King. You will only reap benefits by doing so.
Starting your Rushdown
Once upon a time in SF4 Vanilla, Sagat had a move called Tiger Knee Crush or TK for short. He still has this move of course but it is no longer what it was. TK has now been more or less regulated to a mid range footsie tool that needs perfect spacing or he can be punished very easily for doing it. But in Vanilla it was the go to rushdown move thanks to decent recovery and good frame advantage on block when spaced well. In Super, Sagat gained more recovery on TK and reduced block stun. Add to the fact that he lost his cancel on st.short and many people felt like Sagat’s days as a rushdown king were numbered. But while his rushdown is no longer quite as easy to start, it’s still deadly. He still has several good tools at his disposal to establish rushdown and keep the pressure on. I will go over them before delving deeper into Sagat’s rushdown/pressure game. One very interesting thing is how Sagat’s zoning coincides with establishing rushdown. Excited to see what I mean? Yeah, I know you are.
Tiger Uppercut
Now how does Sagat’s go to AA option create rushdown opportunities? After an uppercut Sagat’s opponent is right in front of them. Now Sagat has complete control over the match. They have grounded invincibility but you know when that ends but they don’t when you will attack or if you will bait or what attack you will do if you DO decide to attack. This is honestly the main way Sagat creates opportunities to rush. Zone to limit your opponents options and then TU/Kara TU and voila, you can start wake-up pressure. Don’t know what wake-up pressure is? That’s ok. It’s another component of rushdown and we will talk more about it later.
Step Roundhouse
Same concept as TU really. I listed it separately though because if your opponent quick rises after taking this hit Sagat can get a safe jump off. What’s a safe jump you ask? All will be answered in time.
Throw/Sweep
Usually these will be off a punish or mix-up resetting the rushdown situation and allowing you to keep momentum going. More safe jumps and wake-up games to be had.
Focus Attack level 2
Now this is where the fun starts. Now we get into what he can do to establish momentum on the ground. Sagat’s lvl2 FA is one of the best in the game. He hits lvl 2 fast and the range is greater then his st.lk. If it hits then free combo and then you get that knockdown and the fun really starts. If it’s blocked then fine. FADC and you are at +4 my friends. Lots to work with. Jumping takes 4 frames so you can NJ mk or cross up fairly safely. Not to say you can’t be hit with a reversal, but against chars with so-so reversals those are solid options. You can also go for low short pressure after the FADC. If they hit a button then they get counter hit so only a reversal can really stop you or a backdash to avoid it. FA lvl2 is a strong way to to start your rushdown. Remember that Sagat hits lvl2 quick so go into practice mode and get a feel for how fast he can get there.
Dash in
We’re getting really bold here guys, but this works. Sagat’s dash is solid. 18 frames and a distance of 11.0. There are better ones, but it gets the job done. This is something you want to do after you have made your opponent turtle up a bit and he/she is blocking. Maybe they just ate a st.forward or a tiger shot to the face but no matter what the case you have established control during footsies and made your opponent want to be defensive for a bit and that’s when you make your move. After a dash in I would suggest keeping it basic. Go for a throw or sum low short pressure.
Tiger Knee Crush
So while this move isn’t what it once was, it’s still a solid tool when spaced correctly. LK version is +1 when perfectly spaced while EX version being completely unchanged from it’s vanilla incarnation is +4. So after an lk tk low jab xx shot is a solid option that will stuff just about anything that isn’t invincible. If you know they won’t press any buttons then go for the throw or low short pressure. After EX knee your pressure is generally alot more free because the frame advantage is much greater. EX Knee in general is just good stuff and a kara ex knee is great for rushdown as it gets you in, can beat alot of stuff, pushes them far into the corner on hit and even when it’s blocked you maintain momentum as long as it was spaced right or they block crouching.
Jump in attack
Pretty damn viable vs chars with poor AA like Claw for example. Not much to this method. J. mp still has a strong hitbox it’s just doesn’t last forever like it used too. j.hp or j.hk are also good options.
So that covers how Sagat can start his offense. He def has some solid options to fall back on. Nothing is easy and simple as Vanilla TK, but still some fairly safe not to mention effective ways of establishing his rushdown.
Offensive Concepts and Mix-Up Options
So before I mentioned some terms that I said I would go over and now I will. This is some fairly advanced stuff but to rushdown effectively it’s information you will need to know.
Frames
Frames are a measurement of time. The game runs at 60 frames per second. When you have frame advantage that means your opponent can’t move for that amount of frames say you are at +2 so that means they can’t move for that long. So if you do a move after that even a slower move it’s kinda like you are subtracting those 2 frames from the start-up of that move since you are at +2 frame advantage. This is one way frame advantage is useful. It’s vice versa when you are at frame disadvantage. You are stuck in block stun for however many frames you are at disadvantage.
Pressure String
Generic term for when you put your opponent under the pressure of your normal attacks. These can be anything really from a frame trap to a block string.
Block String
A string with no gaps in it that an opponent can mash through. This is purely for pressure purposes. You are not trying to catch your opponent hitting buttons. You are just trying to keep them pinned so you can maintain momentum. Sagat has few examples of these and he can’t maintain true block pressure for any substantial length of time. His true block strings are pretty much any medium cancelled into a low shot or low short to low jab. That’s it. And of course a blocked jumping medium/heavy into blocked medium xx tiger shot.
Frame Trap
A pressure string designed to catch an opponent hitting buttons by taking advantage of the gaps you intentionally leave in your pressure string. Sagat has many of these and his offense truly thrives on them. His pressure is designed to catch people mashing on buttons, but more on that later. Frame traps are very advanced. They require intricate knowledge of frame data as well as knowing the frames of your opponents attacks and a strong feel for what button they will choose, when and why and what set-up you can use to maximize the damage potential of your trap. Absolute guard in SF4 series also makes frame trapping effectively a very advanced but rewarding tactic to master. It’s obvious the game designers felt that frame traps should play a role in this game because when you stuff someones attack before it becomes active the game registers that as a counter hit.
Counter Hit
When you counter hit someone you deal 25% more damage and gain more frame advantage on hit. Lights get +1 more while mediums/heavies gain +3. Combos not normally possible become possible thanks to counter hits. Set-ups designed to take advantage of counter hits are called counter hit set-ups and are a synonym for frame traps.
Tech Traps
Tech traps are a specific type of frame trap designed to beat crouch teching aka Option Select Tech. Sagat is good at this and has various frame traps to make someone regret relying on crouch tech.
Option Selects
This is when you take advantage of the game’s engine and the buffer system to input multiple actions. According to what your opponent does the engine itself will actually choose what action you do to. A basic OS is safe jump in rh buffer TU. You buffer the TU during the time when the jump rh would connect. If it connects or is blocked you get pressure and a mix-up opportunity if they backdash then TU will catch them. Option Selects are extremely advanced so knowing how to abuse them is crucial for maintaining a strong offense and defeating many defensive options.
Safe Jump
A powerful offensive tool that forces a player to block and then deal with their opponents offense. Basically it’s a jump in attack timed in such a way that if the opponent reversals with anything aside from a 3 frame move or faster then the aggressor will recover in time to block and then gets a free punish. If they block then the aggressor gets free pressure.
Wake-up game/Wake-up pressure
Any type of mix-up or pressure that’s applied to someone when they get up from the ground. Can be hard to deal with since the aggressor has alot of momentum in this situation and any wrong move on the part of the defender can result in alot of health lost or even losing the round.
Mix-up
A mix-up is simply defined as doing different things to keep your opponent guessing. It’s really anything to keep them honest from cross-ups, overheads, lows and throws.
Hit confirm
Vital to a strong offense. It’s confirming visually that you have hit your opponent and then following through with your combo. Very easy to train this skill. Go into practice mode and set block to random. Then practice hit confirming with low short x 3 xx TU. Do this 2 hours a day and after about a week and it will be cake. Then move onto other combos.
Meaty Attack
An attack placed on top of your opponents hitbox as their wake-up invincibility ends. So they are literally getting up into your attack. This way they MUST block or reversal. If they block you get more frame advantage since only the last one or two frames of your move touched them. So you get greater momentum and stronger mix-up potential if only momentarily. Safe jumping is actually a form of meaty attack except you are in the air of course not on the ground.
Tick Throw
Basic technique of pressuring with a normal or a string then moving in for a throw after your opponent has blocked your pressure. Less effective because of OS Tech but still is a solid tactic and one all rushdown players know and rely on due to how solid it is.
Cross-up
Hitting behind your opponent so they need to block in the other direction otherwise they get hit. Good for keeping your opponents on their toes and a relatively safe way to start/maintain momentum.
Ok, so that was alot to go over. Let it sink in and then read on. I’m going to get into what Sagat’s personal style of rushdown is about and how this stuff applies to him.
Rushdown Philosophy of Sagat - Frame trap King, the Power of Low short pressure and strong 50/50’s
Since Sagat doesn’t have alot of true block strings his rushdown is a bit different. He is all about frame traps as well as basic, but powerful 50/50 mix-ups. A few of his normals give good frame advantage on block, but the main one I will focus on is low short. Range is ok, start-up is 5 frames and while not ideal if you look at his frame data you can see why the dev team did that. Sagat’s low short is +3 on block. Wow. Why give a zoning character such a powerful rushdown normal? Because clearly he was not designed to be just a zoning char. That’s evident when you look at all his close range tools. Sagat is fully equipped with strings of moves that help him keep his pressure going as well as an overhead so it’s actually fairly easy for him to net damage up close. Low short is not only his main pressure tool, but it’s his main hit confirm tool too. It’s also great in footsies as a buffer into low TS. The hitbox is good enough that this attack can beat shoto low forward when spaced well. It is simply a great tool overall. The power of this attack is that it creates a sort of option tree for Sagat. On hit you just confirm into your combo and then maintain your momentum on their wake-up. But on block it just creates a situation where Sagat can take his offense in any direction he wants. He can continue his low short pressure and then just block string into low shot and go back to zoning. You can opt for a simple 3-way mix-up between throw, sweep/low forward xx low shot, or overhead. You can cross up and then low short some more to reset your offense. Really it’s just amazing what this move does for his offense. If people try to mash out more then likely you will catch them even if they try to mash dp since the frame gap isn’t that wide so alot of the time dp mashers dont get the motion out in time and they get caught with the low short and end up getting comboed.
Sagat’s low short is also one of the best meaties in the game. Because it recovers so fast he can net a knockdown then pressure freely without fear of being hit. He can do this to many of the cast that have reversals that are 7 frames or more. 7 framers take perfect execution though so don’t attempt it unless you are a master at it. And thanks to absolute guard Sagat can do OS Block Short. Basically a timed meaty low short on wake-up followed by another is completely safe vs chars with bad wake-up. The first low short will recover in time to block if they attacked and no second low short will come out. Sagat will just block. If they blocked or didn’t attack then the second short comes out and Sagat can continue his pressure. This is incredibly powerful offensively and is a staple of Sagat’s wake-up pressure vs chars with poor wake-up.
Once the power of low short has been established that’s when you can mix it up. Overheads, tick throws, and tech traps are the name of the game but it all stems from making your opponent respect the power of his low short which honestly isn’t that hard.
The Power of the Basics
Sagat’s rushdown can be extremely intricate, but remember that basic rushdown is extremely effective. Sagat has solid tools all around to get damage off and keep his opponent off balance. He can get alot of rushdown mileage just mixing up between overhead, throw, and low short hit confirms during wake-up pressure. Remember that basic 50/50s can be just as effective as frame traps and cross ups when applied correctly. You need to have a solid base to work with before you can get into the crazier rushdown stuff and that’s where things like tick throws and simple 50/50s will allow you to establish that strong rushdown/mix-up foundation to build upon.
Awhile back I talked about tech traps and frame traps so I will just copy and paste that here.
Anti mashing frame traps
On Block
cr.lk > cr.lk
cr.lk > cr.mp
cr.lk > far st.lp
cr.lk > st.hk
st.lp > st.lp
st.lp > cr.mp
TK > cr.lp
FA lvl 2 DC > cr.lk
FA lvl 2 DC > st.hk
FA lvl 2 DC > cr.mp
On Hit
cr.lp > cr.lk
cr.lp > cr.mp
cr.lp > st.hk
Several of these are just natural block strings like the cr.lk traps and the far st.lp traps as well. Sagat’s normal pressure strings act as traps for mashers. He is basically designed to punish mashers. The FA stuff is just a little bit extra. After blocked FA lvl 2 dash cancel you are at +4. So those follow-ups all leave only a 1 frame gap. The Tiger Knee follow-ups will need your own judgment. Usually cr.lp is the safest easiest thing to do that will stuff anything except an invincible move of course. But you can opt for other options as well. The traps on hit are just really good if you noticed you nailed a quick jab, but didn’t react fast enough to cancel into it or you just didn’t buffer. Of course you could go for another cr.lp for the link, but the frame trap is an option as well. Generally the most reliable traps are just the basic ones. cr.lk strings that lead to easy hit confirms or mix-ups. If they mash just go into your combo. If they keep block you can mix-up between overhead, tick throw, cross-up, etc. You have options and that’s what you want and it’s part of what makes Sagat a strong character. FA lvl 2 is also solid for starting up a pressure strings that can lead to potential counter hits. Most of these only leave a 2 frame gap while others leave a 1 frame gap.
Anti OS Tech frame traps
cr.lk > cl.mp
cr.lk > cl.mk
cr.lk > st.mk
cr.lk > cr.hp
cr.lk > cr.hk
cr.lk > cr. mk
st.lp > st.mk
st.lp > cr.mk
st.lp > cr.hk
st.lp > cr.hp
Most of these have a 4 frame gap, while the ones ending in cr.hk or cr.hp have a 5 frame gap. Generally when someone is trying to OS tech they have a rhythm they are pressing cr.lk+lp too. They are trying to feel you out and low short strings have a pretty easy rhythm to them. So by doing a move that leaves a much wider gap you are giving the os tech a chance to come out, which your next move stuffs before their cr.lk becomes active. These are all on block BTW. If you get the sweep that’s really good vs safe jumpable chars since safe jump OS TU is really fucking good and beats alot of wake-up options or you can opt for safe jump OS TK if you are fighting a character with a teleport and you feel they will tele. I personally love the tech traps that use cr.mk, cr.hk, cl.mk, and st. mk. The mk ones are really great IMO. With the st. mk you are looking to see if you nailed that counter hit and if you did you can link into a TU since the frame advantage on CH for mediums is +3 added on to w/e it normally is. In this case you would be at +6. With close mk if you get that hit in, you are at +3 and close enough to link into cr.lp xx TU. cr.mk tech trap is just really nice and easy since you can cancel into a TS after that or a TK for added pressure and just go from there. cr.hp can be good if you just feel you need that extra frame for their os tech attempt to come out so you can stuff it and you want extra damage. You can link into a TU off of this as well on CH if you are close enough, since you would be at +7. Not even that hard since that’s a 3 frame link. You could link into a super as well, if you wanna be mega pro lololol.
Ok, so that’s relying more on frame data to beat OS tech, but there are other ways as well. I’ll go over some really basic strats to beat os tech.
Ways to beat OS Tech
cr.lk walk forward a bit then do a normal (cr.lp, cr.lk , cr.mp, cl.mp,st.hk or cl.mk)
Just a really basic simple way to try to bait an OS tech and stuff it with a normal and then pressure from there. This works better on opponents that react to someone walking towards them and then attempting the OS tech.
cr.lk walk forward then late grab
You are basically trying to grab their late tech attempt. Remember if you didn’t grab in time for them to tech then the low short comes out which you can grab.
cr.lk then walk forward TU
You are just blowing through them completely. If you have 2 bars this is risk free.
cr.lk walk forward then EX TK
Great in the corner. Similar to when Ryu does EX tatsu to beat OS tech attempts. If you do this outside of corner you just end up flying over your opponents head. But in corner if they block you just land behind them and there is a hitbox behind you as well, so as you come down they will be put in blockstun and you will have frame advantage.
cr.lk wait then low TS
Again, giving your opponent that small gap and just throwing a shot right in their face to punish that attempt to abuse the engine.
Keep in mind these are just basic effective ways to beat OS tech and there are others. Experiment and see what you can come up with on your own. I hope this was informative.
This is NOT all Sagat has. These are many variations and honestly the tiniest adjustment in timing will mess with the frames of these traps and mileage will vary. It also depends on your opponent as well and when they like to hit buttons.
Still this is a great place to start and should help you greatly improve your offense and understanding of his traps.
Counter hit combos
Honestly Sagat has about 2 that I use specifically for counter hit set-ups.
Cr.lk > cr.hp
Cr.lk > cl.mp
The first is just a very easy hit confirm into TU/EX TU. Sagat can score big damage off a hit just because some one tried to crouch tech. Comboing into EX TU does 338 which is nothing to scoff at. The second is made to catch mashers and from there you can hit confirm into cr.lp xx TU. Both of these are safe on block if no one countered as well and both can link into Super if you are feeling fancy.
Offensive FADC
So alot of the time you see Sagat’s go for the generic TU FADC step kick. That’s fine and all especially since it nets you a safe jump if they quick rise, BUT you can get a true safe jump opportunity with those two bars. A hit confirm like cr.lk, cr.mp xx low shot FADC Sweep is a 1 frame link. Damage is decent though and Sagat builds meter like a champ. So you need to decide if the chance to establish some safe rushdown pressure is worth two bars. If anything it’s another option you have available to you and as we said before exposing your opponent to something they have never seen before can be very jarring.
Another thing you can do is FADC off a tiger shot. Again just good for pressure and meter isn’t THAT big a deal since you build meter back fast during pressure.
Corner Game
Sagat’s footsies get stronger here and his rushdown more threatening because of it. He has free reign over the spacing so his slow walk speed means little in this situation. I would say keep Angry Scar stocked here since a random spaced knee = free 220 damage. A meaty overhead is a free TU btw when you are point blank so keep that in mind as well. Throws become very easy to safe jump off of as well since your opponent is right in front of you. Chars with poor wake-up options get killed in the corner once Sagat gets a knockdown. He can easily ride that momentum to victory.
General Sagat Outline
Just going to list what he has under each category and a few basic options for you to keep in mind that you can come back too anytime you need a quick refresher.
Main rushdown tools - Cr.lk, cross-up jump lk, FA lvl2, spaced lk tk/ex tk, dash forward
Block strings - cr.lk > cr.lp, cr.mp xx low shot, cr.mk xx low shot
Main hit confirm - cr.lk , cr.mp xx hp tu/ex tu. Good for the knockdown while still netting decent damage. EX TU gives great damage and the knockdown. Best used when point blank or near point blank. After a cross-up or FA lvl 2 is best. cr.lk, cr.lp xx mk tk is good when you aren’t point blank. Going to need to dash after the tk to apply wake-up pressure.
Mix-up options - Cross-up, f+hp(overhead), sweep, low forward xx low tiger shot
Frame traps/Tech traps - Cr.lk x2/x3, cr.lk > cr.mp, cr.lk > cl.mp, cr.lk > cr.hk, cr.lp > cr.hp, lk tk > cr.lp
Meaties - cr.lk, f+hp(overhead), sweep, cr.hp
Option Selects - OS Block Meaty cr.lk > cr.lk, Safe jump OS TU, Safe jump OS sweep. (good for back dashers although OS TU can catch backdashers too.)
Safe jump set-ups - Sweep, forward throw anywhere( just dash twice then walk forward for a split second and jump in attack. You can’t OS off this though unless they are near corner because Sagat doesn’t land close enough.) Any throw near the corner. Step RH or double step rh but only if they quick rise.
Meaty set-ups - TU, Sweep, forward throw (Kara rh tk to close the distance then dash in and you can apply meaty pressure). hk tk and mk tk. (You will have to dash in after this to apply meaty pressure same as with TU)
Basic Tips
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Remember you have two goals. To break your opponents defense and to break their mental state.
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Sagat has strong basic tools to get the job done. Sometimes it’s better to just go for the overhead to beat low block instead of some elaborate tech trap.
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Speaking of overhead, this move is good. It’s slow, but does 100 damage and 150 stun!!!
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You may need to forsake momentum a bit to establish a mental trap. Say you always go for the tick throw after a few low shorts. Your opponent expects this and techs every time. Each time this resets the spacing and gets you off him. But this sets a precedent so next time you pressure your opponent you have set the stage for a tech trap with a sweep so you can net an easy safe jump into more pressure.
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Cross-ups are just damn good. Sagat’s cross-up may not be the best but it does what he needs it too. Want to create wake-up pressure but you fear a reversal? Cross them up and then pressure them. Simple and effective.
That’s gonna do it guys at least for now. If I need to add anything let me know. I may add more later if I feel it’s missing something or I may just expand on certain concepts. Hope this helped you take your Sagat to the next level.
And remember that rushdown is first and foremost about having fun. Experiment and try to come up with new things. Invent your own unique rushdown flow and enjoy breaking down your opponents and their defense. Try to feel where they are at mentally so you can avoid running into reversals or giving up your momentum trying to bait a reversal that never comes out.
See what Sagat has to offer and I promise you will reap the rewards.
damn good write up. much appreciated
Wouldn’t Cr mp>cr lp be a frame trap as well? I’ve been playing around with this a lot and seeing a lot of success off of catching people pressing buttons.
Indeed.
yes , but so what if it is? your not gonna confirm anything after hitting it , it doesnt link into anything except itself and thats 1 frame. cr . lk is much better
Not saying it isn’t better, but against people who are familiar with sagat’s block strings, something like this will catch them off guard. On bigger characters, I’ll cancel into EX TK to maintain pressure or EX TS to push them further back. Both are if I have a good amount of meter. Also, on some characters, like chun crouching, cr mp>cr lp xx LK TK is safe on block, and if she presses buttons, both hits will connect.