double f. hk - you gotta hit them at the very top of their jump, and then just time it right, you’ll hit em twice. after you press the F.hk the 2nd time, start doing the ultra joystick motion (you don’t have to hold f. hk while the move is going), so you can hit the KKK right when the move animation ends. Remember the key to learning timings: if the move comes out but doesnt hit, you hit it to late, and if it doesnt come out at all, you hit it too early (or screwed up the input, turn on inputs in training mode to see if thats yr problem). Also, because of input leniency/short cuts, you can get an ultra out by going d, df, d, df, f KKK/ppp, saves one input, and for me at least makes it cleaner. just dont try that crap in super turbo/3rd strike, your inputs gotta be perfect lol.
Also, know that f.HK can only hit jumping opponents (except for Sagat mirror and 'gief), and the startup can be high so you have to either react really fast or predict a jump. If they are inside poke range, you are better off with TU, because of how far the kick moves you forward, your only gonna hit guys that are jumping at about half screen, outside of poke range.
Last pro-tip, super important: Trade TU’s are your best friend. if you uppercut a jump in and get hit, its a FREE f. HK ----> ultra. EVERY TIME. if they jump and you trade it should be game over, never wanna miss that free damage.
You can’t plink the jab without rewiring your joystick lol, thats the one button that can’t be plinked. However, its a 2f link on the cr.lp, which shouldn’t be too hard to get.
Here’s how i execute the combo for pretty good accuracy: db and lk, db & lk/lp (for the plink), RIGHT as the 2nd lk hits, move the stick to df, then press d and lp (that small time of moving the stick to df helps my timing to get the link to lp right), df and HP for the TU.
Practice practice practice.
one last tip: your fastest move is cr. lp, 3 frame startup. that means some moves you block might not be able to punish with a 5 frame Tiger uppercut, but if you block a move that leaves you at +4 frames, you can do a cr. lp cancelled into TU/TK for bigger damage, or low TS for some decent damage/safe damage.
when you get good/fancy, you can do a cr.lp/cr. mp/ cr. mk xx Low TS, FADC which is enough time to confirm if it hits, where you can throw if blocked, or do a cr. lp xx TU if it hits (or cr mp if your timing is great for a few more dmg). Major style points and good/smart/safe pressure at poke range.
For fake kick, you gotta take two fingers and press down and slide off real quick, kinda like your tapping your fingers off the end of a table or something.
Also, don’t take the trials too serious, as most of those combos are very impractical. With good spacing, smart shots, solid AA’s, and punishing mistakes your opponent makes, you can get a lot of wins without doing any combos beyond easy punishes, Sagat isn’t Ibuki, where you gotta know 30 different combo variations.
In reality, sagats biggest weapon (or biggest weakness) is your brain, and the choices you make. If played smart, sagat has all the tools to hang with, and even dominate the majority of the cast. However, when played sloppy, its easy to get blown up, especially by vortex characters. We don’t have an instant win button like fei’s rekkas, so think about what you are trying to do with each move/button you press. Good luck!
