What are the most useful things you practice with Sakura in Training Mode?

Classic Fighting Games Ultra Street Fighter IV
1

I’m a complete noob and am not sure if I’m practicing properly in Training Mode. Just wanted to hear common training exercises/tips from experienced players.

The stuff I practice comes from the sticky thread, USF4 official bible, and watching pro sakura players, but it’s hard for me to tell what’s outdated and whether I’m doing it right. (For example, I didn’t know I’m supposed to plink until a friend told me. I also didn’t know if you do Cr MK with down forward instead of down, it’s easier to cancel into Shoryuken.)

My exercises (feel free to point out any that are wrong):

I always pick a random enemy.

  1. My most important combo?[list]
    [*]Cr LK, Cr LP, Cr LP, Cr MK (plink MK and LK), HP Shoryuken
    [/list]

  2. Stronger version of my combo when I have meter?[list]
    [*]Cr LK, Cr LP, Cr HP (plink HP and MP), Ex Tatsu
    [/list]

  3. Full Punish w/o FADC[list]
    [*] Focus lvl 3, Cl MK, LK Tatsu, Cr HP (Plink HP and MP), LK Tatsu, Cl LK, Ex Tatsu
    [/list]

  4. Stuff after Ex Tatsu[list]
    [] LP Shoryuken, Ultra 2
    [    ] Dash and Ultra 1
    [*] Otoshi
    [/list]

  5. Vortex stuff [list]
    [] High hit - JFHK, JFMK, Jump Neutral HK
    [    ] Cross-up high hit - JFMK
    [] Low hit - Jump in and CRLK
    [    ] Cross-up low hit - Jump in and CRLK
    [/list]

  6. Stuff I’m not sure how to practice - FADC, Blocking, Block strings, Frame traps, Safe-jumps, Hit-confirm, Option Selects

2

That’s a pretty good list of things to practice at a beginner level (assuming that’s where you’re at). I’ll list the things that I think are most important even if they are already on your list. Of course you should plink wherever possible. If it’s uncomfortable at first keep doing it and then it’ll become second nature.

Cr.lk, Cr.lp, Cr.mk xx HP DP
Cr.lk, Cr.lp, Cr.hp xx HP DP
Cr.lk, Cr.lp, Cr.lk xx EX Tatsu (for far away, standing opponents)
Cr.lk, Cr.lp, Cr.hp xx EX Tatsu
St.mk xx LK Tatsu, Cl.hp xx LK Tatsu, Cr.hp xx HP DP/Ex Tatsu (your basic, max punish for most situations/characters, learn this to scare your opponent of making mistakes).

EX Tatsu, Otoshi x2, wait for opponent to hit the floor, backdash, Charge level 3 fireball (corner only, backdash isn’t needed midscreen, but adjust accordingly).
HP DP, tap down, jump, late Nj.hk (corner only, 4f safe jump).
HP DP, walk forward a bit, J.hp (makes most shoto’s DP’s whiff on wakeup. Also works after forward throw)
MP DP, hold upforward, J.hk (5f safe jump).

Cr.mk xx HP DP (Practice this a lot from all situations, walking back and forth, after jumping, so that you’re able to do this consistantly whenever you want. This is her main ‘footsie’ tool.

A lot of her basic combos act as really good frame traps anyway, so sometimes you’ll catch them out when trying to do your combo and they’re blocking (blockstring). There are some other specific ‘frame’ traps that are useful but I would personally say they aren’t needed unless you’re playing someone with really good teching.

Practice your anti airs (Cr.hp, St.hp, LK DP, Far.hp, Far.mk and of course Ultra 2 KKK version). The ones in bold are most useful.

To practice frame traps, safe jumps and whatever, record Sakura doing a certain sequence. Then, using the another character, see what you can do to get out of it (training room’s most useful feature if you ask me).

Option selects are important but if you’re just starting out, I’d miss them out for now since you don’t want to learn too much at once.

I’ve probably missed a lot but hey, I get forgetful when typing out long posts :smile:

3

This is what I do in training room while waiting for a match
… cr.lp, cr.mk xx hp.dp
tatsu loops, ending with both dp and ex tatsu
ex shouken/hp shouken fadc cl.hp …
counterhit overhead, cr.mk/st.lk xx ex tatsu/hp shouken
counterhit hk.tatsu, cr.lp/st.lk …

Setups and safe jumps I never really practiced in training room. I always try them during battle and if it goes wrong I know my timing was wrong.